MORGAN FYCHAN (d. 1288), lord of the Welsh barony of Avan Wallia (or Nedd-Afan) in the honour of Glamorgan,
son of Morgan Gam (q.v.). Like his father he was a supporter of the North Wales princes. He may for a time have been deprived of Avan, for in 1282 he is described merely as lord of a half commote in Baglan. His son, LLEISION (d. 1328), the first of the family to adopt the surname ‘de Avene,’ was certainly lord of Avan, being succeeded there in turn by his son and grandson, John and Thomas de Avene. Sometime after 1350, Avan passed into the hands of the chief-lord, probably as a result of an exchange of lands effected by Jane, daughter and heiress of Thomas, and wife of William Blount. The younger son of Morgan Fychan, Rhys, who succeeded to his father's lands in Baglan, was, however, the ancestor of several well-known Glamorganshire families including the Mackworths and the Williamses of Aberpergwm (qq.v.).
Bibliography:
- G. T. Clark, Cartae;
- D. Rhys Phillips, The Hist. of the Vale of Neath.
Author:
Professor Thomas Jones Pierce, M.A., F.S.A., (1905-1964), Aberystwyth
