Dyffryn Clwyd was a

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were ...

of Medieval

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and from 1282 a

marcher lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...

ship. In 1536, it became part of the new county of

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

. The name means

Vale of Clwyd The Vale of Clwyd ( cy, Dyffryn Clwyd) is a tract of low-lying ground in the county of Denbighshire in north-east Wales. The Vale extends south-southwestwards from the coast of the Irish Sea for some 20 miles (about 30 km) forming a triangl ...

in English and is still the name for that region of north Wales in modern Welsh. Dyffryn Clwyd was one of the cantrefi of

Perfeddwlad Perfeddwlad or Y Berfeddwlad was an historic name for the territories in Wales lying between the River Conwy and the River Dee. comprising the cantrefi of Rhos, Rhufoniog, Dyffryn Clwyd and Tegeingl. Perfeddwlad thus was also known as the Four ...

, and itself was made up of three

commote A commote ( Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wale ...

s, Colion,

Dogfeiling Dogfeiling was a minor sub-kingdom and later a commote in north Wales. It formed part of the eastern border of the Kingdom of Gwynedd in early medieval Wales. The area was named for Dogfael, one of the sons of the first King of Gwynedd, Cunedda ...

and

Llannerch Llannerch (sometimes spelled Llanerch) was a commote in the cantref of Dyffryn Clwyd which later became the Marcher Lordship of Ruthin. Situated in an area south of Ruthin the commote covered an area of which included the parishes of Llanfair Dy ...

. The lordship was granted in 1282 to Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton,''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales''. John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) p. 334

Justice of Chester The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the county palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830. Within the County Palatine ( ...

and

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

's commander for his campaign of 1282 into north Wales. The lordship remained in the Grey family until Richard Grey, 6th Baron Grey de Ruthyn, 3rd Earl of Kent sold it to Henry VII in 1508.

Marcher Lords of Dyffryn Clwyd

* Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton (d. 1308) * John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Wilton (1268–1323) *

Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Ruthin (c. 1298 – 6 March 1353) was summoned to parliament in 1324. He saw much service as a soldier. Roger was the son of John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Wilton and Maud de Verdon. He married Elizabeth daughter of Jo ...

(died 1353) *

Reginald Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Ruthyn Reynold Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Ruthin (c. 1322 – c. 4 August 1388) was the son of Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn and Elizabeth de Hastings. He was summoned to Parliament from 1354 to 1388. Marriage and children He succeeded his father ...

(1319–1388) *

Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn Reynold Grey, 3rd Baron Grey of Ruthyn (c. 1362 – 30 September 1440), a powerful Welsh marcher lord, succeeded to the title on his father's death in July 1388. Lineage Reginald Grey was the eldest son of Reynold Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Rut ...

(1362–1440) * Edmund Grey, 4th Baron Grey de Ruthyn, 1st Earl of Kent (1416–1490) * George Grey, 5th Baron Grey de Ruthyn, 2nd Earl of Kent (d. 1503) * Richard Grey, 6th Baron Grey de Ruthyn, 3rd Earl of Kent (1478–1523), lord 1503–1508.

References

Cantrefs Marcher lordships Medieval Wales Commotes of Gwynedd {{Wales-geo-stub