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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

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 F ...

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 Wales ...

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 Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Wilton (c. 1240 – 5 April 1308) was an English nobleman after whom one of the four Inns of Court is named. He was son of Sir John de Grey and grandson of Henry de Grey. The property upon which Gray's Inn sits ...

,''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales''. John Davies,

Nigel Jenkins Nigel Jenkins (20 July 1949 – 28 January 2014) was an Anglo-Welsh poet. He was an editor, journalist, psychogeographer, broadcaster and writer of creative non-fiction, as well as being a lecturer at Swansea University and director of the crea ...

, 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'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

(d. 1308) *

John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey de Wilton John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Wilton (died 28 October 1323) was an English nobleman and administrator. He was the son of Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton and his wife Maud de Verdun (or Maud daughter and heir of William Baron FitzHugh). ...

(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 Joh ...

(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 (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