Plas Newydd Bed & Breakfast, St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire

 In 1560, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , the Plas Newydd estate was incorporated into the Noyadd Trefawr estate as part of the dowry of Margaret, the granddaughter of Vychan Ap Ryddrerch, Lord of Towyn, in her marriage to Thomas Ap Harry of Noyadd Trefawr. Their son, Stephen Parry, became High Sheriff of Cardiganshire, and the original house on the site was then occupied by generations of the Parry family for over 200 years.

The Parrys remained here throughout the reigns of Elizabeth, James I, Charles I, Cromwell, Charles II, James II, William & Mary, William III, Queen Anne, George I and George II, but by the time George III came to the throne, the family had run out of male heirs, and the Plas Newydd estate was sold at auction by the Noyadd Trefawr estate in 1779 to Sir Watkin Lewes.

Watkin Lewes was educated at Shrewsbury school and Magdalene College , Cambridge , where he graduated in 1763 . He entered the Middle Temple and was called to the Bar in 1766 . He married well and his wife brought him considerable estates in Glamorgan and Pembrokeshire.

Having contested Worcester unsuccessfully in four elections, he sought civic and parliamentary honours in the City of London . His rise was rapid; in 1772 he was made Sheriff and also Alderman of Lime Street Ward , was knighted in 1773 , and in 1780 became Lord Mayor of London . In 1780 he was elected as one of the four Members of Parliament for the City of London , retaining this seat until 1796 . He remained an Alderman up to his death in 1821 and was High Bailiff of Southwark from 1784 to 1817.

He acquired the Plas Newyyd estate in 1779 and had a new house built to replace the orignal house on the site . He retained the name Plas Newydd meaning New Mansion.

The latter part of Sir Watkin's life was marked by financial difficulties. He was imprisoned for debt, and ended his days in the London Coffee House on Ludgate Hill within the rules of the Fleet Prison. It is suggested in Francis Jones's 'Historic Cardiganshire Houses and their Families' that he 'lost his money to fast women and slow horses'.

Sir Watkin Lewes's time at Plas Newyyd is beautfully described in Richards Fenton's 'Historical Tour Through Pembrokeshire" published in 1810 .....

"A little to the eastward of St Dogmaels, on a pleasant eminance stands Plas Newydd, new mansion, a name perfectly appropriate, being a late creation of my countryman and old friend Sir Watkin Lewes, as a temporary residence whenever he found leisure from city duties to visit his native country. It commands a most delightful view of the ruined abbey, the estuary of the Teivy and the town of Cardigan, a prospect pleasing to any eye ...."

 In 1846 Plas Newydd was sold by auction along with 2 cottages and 25 acres to Captain George Bowen.

Captain George Bowen, a Cardigan shipowner, was something of a local hero having saved two men single handed from a shipwreck on Cardigan bar. In recognition of his bravery he was presented with a silver cup and made coxswain of the first Cardigan lifeboat. He lived at Plas Newydd from 1846 until his death at the age of 84 in 1878.

His daughter Alice married the Rev Alban Alban, the Rector of Bridell church who had lodged at Plas Newydd for many years, and she remained at Plas Newydd until her death in 1918.

The 1889 map opposite shows Plas Newydd as it was at the time (it still appears on current Ordnance Survey maps).

David Lloyd George was the first, and only, Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the turbulent years from 1916 to 1922. His father came from Pembrokeshire but died at age 44. As a result, the young David was brought up in his mother's home area in North Wales .

This signed copper etching of Lloyd George by the well know artist A Watson Turnbull was found in the attic. - perhaps a gift to an earlier occupant from a friend or admirer.