Peter Adams visited Anglesey and did some exploring in May 2019. All of the text and images below are his work.

(N.B. some images have been edited for perspective.)

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William Lewis Hughes built the Victorian house on the site of an earlier house. William Lewis Hughes the 1st Baron Dinorben made his vast fortune from the nearby Parys mountain copper mine which was the biggest in Europe.He also owned another vast estate in Wales. He was a Whig member of parliament. He died in 1852 leaving his title and fortune to his disabled son who died eight months later. The estate was then passed on to Gwyn Gertrude Hughes his daughter who married Arundell Neave 4th baronet in 1872. Sir Arundell died five years later at age 48 having produced three children with Gwyn, the youngest of the two sons died in the first war and the daughter, her of the clock fame died in London in the early 50s. The Neaves sold the estate in the mid 50s. The Victorian pile (pictured above) was demolished in the 70s and a new house now stands on the site.The estate is still intact at 5000 acres, of sheep grazing and a shoot . The house and grounds are private. I got the vicar to open the church for photos.The church is a victorian building that replaced a medieval one that stood nearby. Just for the record Llys is Welsh for manor house.

 

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The following brief reference to the Neaves is extracted from a lengthy report on the Archaeology of the Llys Dulas estate commissioned by the current owners in pursuit of a planning application for fishing lakes in 2013.

 

C A S T L E R I N G  A R C H A E O L O G Y  R E P O R T  N O. 4 0 7

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When Lady Dinorben died in 1871, leaving an estate of just under £10,000, Llys Dulas passed into the hands of her daughter Gwyn Gertrude. She married Sir Arundell Neave in 1871, whose family estate was Dagnam Park in Essex. His family title was created in 1795 for one Richard Neave, the Governor of the Bank of England from 1783 to 1785.

  Sir Arundell died in 1877 and the estates were inherited by his son Sir Thomas Lewis Hughes Neave (1874-1940). The principal home was Dagnam Park and Llys Dulas was their second home. Sir Thomas held the office of  Deputy Lieutenant of Anglesey and became a Major in the service of the Royal Anglesey Militia. He was succeeded by his son, Sir Arundell Thomas Clifton Neave, 6th Baronet (1916–1992).

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Sale of the Llys Dulas Estate 1953-4

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In 1953 the estate was put up for sale by Sir Arundell Thomas Clifton Neave. In the early 20th century. Yale and Hardcastle, chartered surveyors based in Caernarfon, had acted as agents for the Neave family in respect of Llys Dulas Estate. The estate papers dated 1923-1959 deposited at Ynys Môn Archives primarily relate to the Sale of Llys Dulas Estate, correspondence, schedules and rental values of the properties on the estate.