The Williams Family Connection

JOHN WILLIAMS, clerk (the second son of the first Daniel who died in 1643) was an ancestor of the Penpont family which was in his time called Abercamlais Isaf and inhabited by a farmer of the name Awbrey, being the freehold of Games of Newton.

DANIEL WILLIAMS, the eldest son and heir of this John, married one of the daughters and heiresses of Hoo Games of Newton, with whom he had this and a considerable property besides. By her, he had an only son who died single a short time before he had attained to the age of twenty one.  Had he lived to that period the whole of the Newton property would gone to this family.  Mr. Williams married a second time an heiress.  However, the other descendants of Sir John Games in the third generation were females; one of them marrying Mr Walker of Oxfordshire and leaving an only daughter who married into the Hensol family. This brought Newton and other possessions in Breconshire to the late EARL TALBOT, by whom they were sold to different persons.

Newton was purchased by the late THOMAS WILLIAMS, clerk, vicar of Brecon,  devised by him to his nephew Richard Davies, clerk, deceased, and became the property of the ARCHDEACON OF BRECON, the son of the last mentioned Richard Davies.

The Archdeacon and his wife had an only daughter, Elizabeth, who married Thomas Williams who became Dean of Llandaff.  (Thomas was of the Aberbran branch of the Williams family of Abercamlais.)  Thomas and Elizabeth’s eldest son, the REV PREBENDARY GARNONS WILLIAMS (christened Garnons as there was a fear that the family name was dying out) inherited Abercamlais and the estate from a young bachelor cousin at about the same time that his grandfather, the Archdeacon of Brecon died.  Garnons and his wife Catherine Hort had 10 children (the sons collectively decided that they would take Garnons as part of their surname and for this reason it is not hyphenated).

From then on, Newton and the farm have been let.

From about 1880 until the autumn of the year 2000 four successive generations of the Evans family lived in the house and farmed the land.  During the whole of the 20th Century the Golf Course has encircled the house and buildings.

In 1935 the grandson of the Prebendary, CAPTAIN NEVILL GARNONS WILLIAMS inherited the estate and after the War, in 1955, was given a Grant by CADW to do extensive works to the old part of Newton which was in danger of falling into disrepair.  There was much excitement in the large upstairs drawing room when the mouldings beside the windows came into view.  Inside the house no further major work was done.

In 1983, Nevill’s daughter SUSAN ANGELA GARNONS BALLANCE inherited the estate. Newton is presently owned by her son Anthony Ballance and his wife Andrea and continues to be let.

Over the last 20 years the Estate has completed extensive repairs to the outside of the building with the help of CADW.