Wales Estate Records

From FamilySearch Wiki

Estate records are a valuable genealogical resource. These records may reveal where and when your ancestor lived and where they previously lived. Often, family relationships and information may be stated or inferred such as the names of spouses, children, heirs, other relatives, and neighbors. Additionally, the occupation and social status of your ancestor may be gleaned from these records.


Estate records include:

  • Rentals or rent rolls (often an annual or semi annual list of renters)
  • Leases (a lease for lives may identify two or three generations of a family)
  • Lease books
  • Estate maps
  • Correspondence

To find estate records that may include your ancestor, review the list of estates and records in the county and parish where your ancestor lived. Property in most parishes was divided between multiple estates.

Anglesey Brecon Caernarfon Cardigan Carmarthen Denbigh Flint Glamorgan Merioneth Monmouth Montgomery Pembroke Radnor
Dyffryn-Alled Estate, Denbighshire, 1787.


Additional estate records my be found by searching for the names of the landowners in the area where your ancestors lived and then searching for the records they kept of tenants.

Names of landowners are found in:

National Farm Survey (1941-1943)
Lloyd George Domesday (1910)
Return of Owners of Land (1873)
Tithe apportionment (1830-1840)
Land tax assessments (1780-1832)
Local histories