John Gwin 1650-1725

John GWIN ca.1650-1725

Biographical Note

John Gwin III, a country gentleman and also, probably, a lawyer was the son of John Gwin of Llangwm Ucha in Monmouthshire. A commonplace book written by his father, John Gwin II, has remakably survived, and can be found in Gwent Archives. His grandfather, John Gwin I, was manager of the iron works at Tintern in 1629. John Gwin II was Chief Constable of Trellech and Raglan and this role may have been passed to his son. It is likely that John Gwin III inherited his father's lands at Llangwm but the only certain information about him derives from his will, written in 1710. John Gwin III's uncle was Walter Cradock, a well-known Puritan Divine of that time.

Books

John Gwin II cites several published works in his commonplace book including Nicholas Culpeper's The English Physitian Enlarged (1661). He also copied out passages from almanacks, poems by William Wroth and Richard Mathew's work The Unlearned Alchymist (1662) for which he gives bibliographical details. When writing of his substantial house, no doubt also lived in by his son, he describes ‘a studdy with 5 planks made up in that chamber for to hould books being in the greate chamber’. John Gwin III's will describes bequests including 'my Divinity books, History bookes, Statutes at large and all my law books'. In an inventory dated 1713, his books are valued at a modest £2 out of a total estate value of £64.

Sources

• NLW LL 1725-28 Will of John Gwin of Llangwm Ucha

• Gwent Archives, D43/4216. The Commonplace Book of John Gwin, 17th century.

• Withey A. Medicine and mortality in early modern Monmouthshire: the commonplace book of John Gwin. Welsh History Review, 2008; 23: 163 - 74.

• Hopkins, Tony John Gwin's Commonplace Book. A talk given to the Friends of Friendless Churches. https://friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/john-gwins-commonplace-book [Accessed 17.8.21]

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