After the deaths of Llywelyn, Dafydd, and their eldest brother Owain the Red between 1282 and 1283, Rhodri became the most senior member of the Aberffraw Dynasty to retain his liberty because he had sold his rights of succession to his brother Llywelyn around 1270 before he had had any children of his own.
Tomas did not make any claim himself to the throne of Gwynedd.
Tomas inherited his father's lands in Cheshire and Surrey (Tatfield).
However, he parted from his Cheshire estates in favour of lands at Bidfield in Gloucestershire and Dinas in Mechain Is Coed (Powys).
This is not the only evidence of an enduring interest in re-establishing a base in Wales because he appears to have made an unsuccessful claim on the Lordship of Llŷn on the basis that he was the closest male heir of Owain Goch.