THE OTHER "SIR ROGER OF POWYS"
By
Darrell Wolcott
The familiar man known as Roger
of Powys was a son of Gronwy ap Tudor ap Rhys Sais II and held Whittington in Salop in the mid-twelfth century.
He died about 1186 and had a brother named Jonas. They were half-brothers of the Peverel siblings which included Miletta
who married Warin de Metz and gave birth to the first Fulk fitz Warin.
This Roger was followed by his son, Meurig, to whom King Henry II confirmed possession
of Whittington.[1]
The medieval pedigrees[2] also
claim Sir Roger of Powys had sons named Roger Fychan and Gronwy, that he was a Knight of Rhodes and married Sissely ferch
Hwfa ap Iorwerth ap Gruffudd ap Ieuaf ap Ninniaw ap Cynwrig ap Rhiwallon. They further claim Roger divided his lands
at Estwick between those two sons, with Gronwy also receiving a manor called Pentref Madog. The pedigrees claim his
eldest son, Meurig, received Whittington.
Our work on this family
indicates two wholly different men called Roger of Powys are rolled into one by the pedigrees. While both appear to
have descended from Tudor Trevor, the second Roger (who lived over 100 years after the first) probably belongs to the family
of Iddon ap Rhys Sais II who held lands at Dudleston north of Ellesmere. We have dated this later Roger by these marriage
connections:
Rhys
Sais 1025
l
Tudor 1055
l
1095 Ninniaw ap Cynwrig
Bleddyn 1085
l
l
1130 Ieuaf Tudor [3]
1120
l
l
1165 Gruffudd Bleddyn
1150
l
l
1200 Iorwerth
Owain 1180
l
l
1230 Hwfa Iorwerth
Hen 1210
l
l
1260 Sissely===Sir
Roger 1245 Iorwerth Fychan 1240
l
l
1275
Gronwy of Estwick Iorwerth Foel 1270
__________l_______ _____l_____
l
l l
l
1305 Llewelyn Ieuan
1310 Ednyfed Gruffudd 1300
l
l
l 1310 l
1335 Llewelyn Fychan Llewelyn 1345 Llewelyn Madog
Lloyd
l
l
l 1335 l 1330
1365 Gruffudd*
Dafydd 1375 Madog Dafydd
l
l
l 1370 l 1360
1395 Llewelyn Ieuan
1410 Richard Madog
l
l
l 1405 l 1390
1425 Gruffudd
l
l Dafydd
l
l
l l 1420
1455 Efa========Dafydd** 1440 John======Maud
l
1440 l 1450
1470 Philip Brid or Bride====================Alison
1475
l
1500 Margaret==James Eyton 1495
l
William Eyton*** 1525 (lv 1592)
l
James Eyton 1560
(also lv 1592)
*This Gruffudd is called
"of Pentref Madog in Dudleston"
**This Dafydd is called
"of Estwick"
***William provided the
pedigree to Lewys Dwnn in 1592
Further confirmation of the chronology
of the second man named Roger can be seen by another branch of his descendants:
Rhys Sais I 1025
l
Tudor 1055
__________l________
l
l
Bleddyn
1085 Gronwy 1090
l
l
Rhys Sais II 1124 Roger 1120
l
(Whittington)
Tudor 1154
l
Bleddyn 1185
l
Owain 1215
l
1245
Sir Roger Cynwrig 1245
l
l
1280
Roger Fychan Cynwrig Sais 1275
l
l
1315
Maredudd Gwilym 1305
l
l
1345
Gwerfyl=======Ieuan Foel[8] 1335
(Estwick)