[2] The Vaughans are descended from Collwyn ap Tangno, founder of the fifth noble tribe of North Wales, Lord of Eifionydd, Ardudwy, and part of Llŷn, who had his residence on the site of Harlech Castle.

[2] The founder of the modern estate was the parliamentarian and lawyer, Sir John Vaughan, who was made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas by Charles II.

It was Sir John Vaughan who acquired from the Earl of Essex much of the former monastic lands of the Cistercian abbey Strata Florida.

The estate has been passed down in the landed family from father to son in a direct line since it was acquired by marriage in 1200.

Strata Florida Abbey, in the centre of Wales, was given to the 1st Earl of Essex to broker during the English Reformation and dissolution of the monasteries, and he sold much of it to the Stedman family.

The Vaughan family was granted the title Earl of Lisburne in 1776 and remained at Trawsgoed mansion over successive generations.

In 1873, the Vaughan's estate acreage at Trawsgoed was the largest in Cardiganshire at 42,666 acres (172.66 km2) as listed in the government return of landowners.

[10] It was the 6th Earl of Lisburne who added the 50-room Victorian wing to the old Georgian mansion and built the summerhouse, squash and tennis courts, and the ornamental fountain.

The house eventually included seventy rooms, gardens with rare Chilean and Himalayan tree species that thrive in the mild moist climate of coastal Wales, a stable block, lodge house, and an unencumbered view of the Cambrian Mountains.

[12] The Vaughan family owns over 5,000 acres (20 km2) of the original estate that includes upland pastures, Common Land and farmland on and adjoining Cors Caron.

The Met Office operates a Weather Station at Trawsgoed, providing climate data for the surrounding area.