PHILIPPS
or
PHILIPS
family, of
Treygbi
near
Cardigan
, and of
Porth-Einion
, and later of
Cardigan priory
— (see
Phillimore
's note on the name, in
Owen
,
Pembrokeshire
, iv, 475). It is frequently said that this family was a branch of the
Philippses
of
Picton
(see the preceding article) — so, e.g. in
Laws
,
Little England
, 355; but it would be more exact to derive both of them from the
Philippses
of
Kilsant, Carms.
— from
Sir
Thomas
Philipps
of
Kilsant
, who was also the progenitor of the
Picton
family. The pedigree varies in different books, e.g.
Dwnn
, i, 85;
Meyrick
,
Cardiganshire
, 2nd ed., 172;
W. Wales Hist. Records
, i, 14-5.
Sir
Thomas
Philipps
had as third (or fourth) son,
OWEN
PHILIPPS
, whose son was
EINION
PHILIPPS
,
sheriff
of
Cardiganshire
in
1588
.
Einion
's son (by his second wife
Elizabeth
Birt
) was
GEORGE
PHILIPPS
,
sheriff
in
1606
, who in
1616
acquired
Cardigan priory
, thenceforth the chief seat of the family. He m.
Anne
Lewis
. Their son,
HECTOR
PHILIPPS
,
sheriff
in
1634
, became the third husband of
Anne
, daughter of
Sir
William
Wogan
(others say
John
) of
Wiston, Pembs.
They had two sons:
(1)
JAMES
PHILIPPS
(
1594
-
1675
),
who matriculated from
Jesus College
,
Oxford
, in
1610
, and was
sheriff
in
1649
. Like his brother
Hector
(below), he was a zealous
Parliament man
in the
Civil Wars
, a ‘
Commissioner of Sequestration
’ in
west Wales
, a
member of the army committee
(and a
colonel
), and a member of the
High Court of Justice
. He was
Member of Parliament
for
Cardiganshire
in the Parliaments
1653
,
1654
,
1656
(in which year he gave up the seat to become Member for
Pembrokeshire
), and
1659
, and for
Cardigan borough
in
1660
and
1661
— losing the seat on petition (
Meyrick
, op. cit., 340-1). He and his brother were regarded as grasping, but it is fair to add that a
1661
reference to
James
(
Cambrian Register
, i, 167) describes him as a man ready to do a kindness. He d. in
1675
. He had been thrice married. His first wife was
Frances
, daughter of his kinsman
Sir
Richard
Philipps
of
Picton
. His second wife (
1647
) is famous; she was
KATHERINE
(
1631
-
1664
), daughter of
John
Fowler
, a
London
merchant
, and her mother,
Katherine
(
Oxenbridge
)
, had become the second wife of
James
Philipps
's father
Hector
(above) — the marriages reflect the close connection, economic and political and religious,
between
south-west Wales
and the
City of London
in those days.
Katherine
Philipps
the younger was a well-known
poet
, writing under the pseudonym ‘
Orinda
,’ and her poems and letters make frequent reference to
Cardigan
and its surroundings. She was b.
1 Jan. 1631
, and d. in
London
18 Jan. 1664
— see the
D.N.B.
article upon her. There were two children of the marriage:
Hector
(d. in childhood), and
KATHERINE
(b.
1656
; alive in
1699
), who m.
Lewis
Wogan
of
Boulston
(see the article on that family); they had fifteen children, but a daughter alone survived.
James
Philipps
's third wife was
Jane
Rudd
of
Aberglasney, Carms.
— the books call her ‘Anne,’ but her will (
1674
) shows that her name was
Jane
.
(2)
HECTOR
PHILIPPS
(d.
1693
),
who entered the
Middle Temple
in
1654
. His political views were identical with his brother's; he became
sheriff
in
1688
, and was
Member of Parliament
for
Cardigan borough
in
1679
(twice),
1685
,
1689
, and
1690
; he d. in
March 1693
. He was twice married; his first wife was a daughter of the
Parliamentary commander
Skippon
(q.v. in
D.N.B.
), He inherited his brother's estates, but left only a daughter. The estates came (by
1744
at latest) into the hands of the
Pryses
of
Gogerddan, Cards.
(qq.v.)
. The priory was, in
1774
, in the hands of the father of
Thomas
Johnes
(q.v.)
of
Hafod
, and later in those of a
Bowen
of
Tredroer
(‘
Troed-yr-aur
’), who employed the
architect
John
Nash
(q.v.)
of
Cardigan
to enlarge it. In
189
7 it came into the hands of the
Pritchard
family, one of whom,
Emily
Pritchard
, wrote its history —
Cardigan Priory
(
1904
). It has since been completely transformed, and is today a hospital.
Bibliography:
- Sources named in the article.
Author:
Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, C.B.E., D.Litt., Ll.D.,
F.S.A., (1881-1969), Bangor.
