16th century | 1700s | Other years in Wales Other events of the century This article is about the particular significance of the century 1601–1700 to Wales and its people.
Events 1601 June – John Salusbury is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England for his assistance in suppressing the Essex Rebellion. October The "Wrexham riot" occurs, when supporters of Sir John Salusbury are involved in violent clashes with surviving Essex supporters led by Sir Richard Trevor. William Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff, becomes Bishop of St Asaph. 22 November – Francis Godwin is consecrated the new Bishop of Llandaff. December – Sir John Salusbury becomes MP for Denbighshire. date unknown – James Price (of Pilleth) becomes High Sheriff of Radnorshire for the first time. 1602 7 July – Sir Richard Bulkeley is appointed to the Council of Wales and the Marches. 17 July – The Lord Lieutenancy of Monmouthshire is separated from that of Wales and is held by Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester. Sir Edmund Morgan (of Llandaff) is High Sheriff of Monmouthshire. 1603 24 March – Henry Frederick, son of King James I of England, is invested as Duke of Cornwall upon his father's accession. date unknown – David Hughes founds Beaumaris Grammar School. 1604 27 February – Roger Brereton of Borras becomes MP for Flint. Carmarthen is made a county corporate by charter of King James I of England. Thomas Myddelton becomes Sheriff of London. John Davies becomes rector of Mallwyd. Sir Richard Bulkeley is elected MP for Anglesey. 1605 January – Catholic plotter Thomas Morgan (of Llantarnam) is condemned to death for his part in a conspiracy involving Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, but the sentence is not carried out. 8 March – Sir Eubule Thelwall is appointed steward and recorder of Ruthin for life. The earldom of Montgomery is created for Philip Herbert, a favourite of King James I of England. 1606 12 April – A new Union Flag is created by royal decree to mark the union between England and Scotland; Wales is not represented in the design. 31 October – John Griffith, later MP for Beaumaris, matriculates at Brasenose College, Oxford, aged 15. date unknown Hawarden High School is founded as a single-classroom grammar school with £300 left by local resident George Ledsham. William Spurstow, MP, is instrumental in the passing of a bill to relieve Welsh cloth from the need to have a seal of content. A storm buries the village of St Ismail near modern-day Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire. John Wynn, eldest son of Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet, marries Eleanor Cave. 1607 30 January – Bristol Channel floods cause devastation on the Welsh coast, from Laugharne in Carmarthenshire to above Chepstow in Monmouthshire. Cardiff was the most badly affected town, with the foundations of St Mary's Church destroyed. 26 March – Peter Mutton is granted the reversion of the office of Attorney General in Wales and Shropshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Cheshire, and Flintshire for life. 11 May – Marriage of Blanche Somerset, daughter of the Earl of Worcester, and Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour. date unknown Serious outbreak of plague in Conwy. Walter Jones, of a family of Welsh wool merchants, begins the construction of Chastleton House in Oxfordshire."A Short Guide to Chastleton House", by Oliver Garnett, for The National Trust, 1997. 1608 7 November – Charles Vaughan (of Porthamal) is knighted. 26 November – Peter Wynne, a member of Captain Christopher Newport's exploration party to the villages of the Monacan above the falls of the James River in Virginia, writes to John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater, informing him that some members of Newport's party believe the pronunciation of the Monacans' language resembles "Welch", and have asked Wynne to act as interpreter.Mullaney, Steven The Place of Stager University of Michigan Press 1995 p. 163 Richard Wynn, the future 2nd Baronet, enters the service of the Lord Chamberlain in London. 1610 4 June – Henry Stuart is created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. date unknown Plas Teg is built by Sir John Trevor near the village of Pontblyddyn, Flintshire. The Old Church of St Gwenllwyfo, Llanwenllwyfo, undergoes restoration work, as shown by the date of the oak screen and pulpit. Ewenny Pottery started. Approximate date of Kennixton Farmhouse, now located at St Fagans National History Museum near Cardiff.Historical Buildings – St Fagans: National History Museum – Kennixton Farmhouse . Accessed 27 September 2013 1611 29 June – Creation of the Wynn Baronetcy for Sir John Wynn. John Jones of Gellilyfdy is placed in a debtors' prison in London. 1612 Sir Thomas Button winters at the mouth of the Nelson River in Canada, naming it after the ship's sailing master, who had died. 1613 29 September – Official opening of the New River, supplying London with fresh water. Sir Hugh Myddelton, who has been instrumental in its creation, is the brother of Sir Thomas Myddelton, Lord Mayor of London in the same year. 1614 26 December – The will of haberdasher William Jones leaves "nyne thousand pounds to the Company of Haberdashers of London to ordain a Preacher, a Free School and Alms houses for twenty poor and distressed people, as blind and lame as it shall seem best to them, of the Town of Monmouth, where it shall be bestowed". Monmouth School and the Monmouth Alms Houses are among the establishments founded as a result. Beaumaris Courthouse built. Marmaduke Lloyd becomes King's Attorney for the Marches and is appointed to the Council of Wales and the Marches. 1615 Wye Bridge, Monmouth, is rebuilt in stone. 1616 November – Charles Stuart is created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, four years after the death of his elder brother. Thomas Gerard, 1st Baron Gerard, is appointed President of the Council of Wales and the Marches, replacing Ralph Eure, 3rd Baron Eure. 1617 William Compton, 1st Earl of Northampton, becomes President of the Council of Wales and the Marches. Sir Richard Wynn, 2nd Baronet, becomes Groom of the Bedchamber to Charles, Prince of Wales, retaining the position until the prince becomes King Charles I in 1625. Richard Whitbourne is recruited by William Vaughan to govern his new colony of Cambriol. 1618 John Griffith is appointed High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire. Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet, becomes Custos Rotulorum of Caernarvonshire. 1619 Mostyn Colliery is recorded as being worth approximately £700 annually to the Mostyn family, which suggests a fairly substantial output.The History of the British Coal Industry: Vol. 1 – Before 1700; John Hatcher, 1993, p. 132 1620 Bishop William Morgan's Bible translation into Welsh is revised by Bishop Richard Parry and John Davies (Mallwyd) as Y Bibl Cyssegr-lan, published in London. 1621 New MPs include Lewis Powell, William Herbert, Henry Vaughan and John Trevor. 1622 William Vaughan arrives in Cambriol to begin a stay of three years, during which he writes The Golden Fleece. 1623 Sir Richard Wynn, 2nd Baronet, is one of the party accompanying the Prince of Wales to Spain. His account of the journey was published a century later. 1625 8 July – A deputation including Sir Sackville Trevor takes a petition to King Charles I. 1627 June – Sir Sackville Trevor serves with distinction in the expedition to La Rochelle led by George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. September – Sir Sackville Trevor leads a flotilla that blockaded the mouth of the Elbe in support of the land force sent under Sir Charles Morgan to assist King Christian IV of Denmark. 1636 The three-arch stone bridge, Pont Fawr, at Llanrwst is built by Sir John Wynn of Gwydir Castle; its design is attributed to Inigo Jones. 1638 Bont Fawr at Dolgellau built. 1639 Abergavenny receives its charter of incorporation. 1640 date unknown – Godfrey Goodman, Bishop of Gloucester, is imprisoned for 5 weeks for refusing to sign the oath known as the Laudian canons. 1643 September – Vavasor Powell leads a march of eighty men to Machynlleth. 9 November – Thomas Myddelton takes Farndon Bridge at Holt on behalf of Parliament. 1644 January – Thomas Fairfax breaks the six-week siege of Nantwich. September – The first battle of the English Civil War on Welsh soil takes place at Montgomery. Thomas Bulkeley is created 1st Viscount Bulkeley in recognition of his service to the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. Roch Castle is captured by Parliament; the owner's daughter, Lucy Walter, flees to London and thence to The Hague. 1645 4 February – Jeremy Taylor is among the Royalist prisoners taken during the siege of Cardigan Castle. June – King Charles I of England begins a tour of South Wales, in the wake of his defeat at the Battle of Naseby, to rally support. 16 July – King Charles I dines with the Morgans at Tredegar Park. 25 July – King Charles I is entertained by the Morgans of Ruperra Castle. 5 August – King Charles I visits Colonel Edward Prichard at Llancaiach Fawr. September – King Charles I visits Denbigh. 1646 19 August – Raglan Castle surrenders to Parliamentary forces. October – Colonel William Salusbury surrenders Denbigh Castle to Parliamentary forces, with the king's written permission. Barrister William Philipps buys the island of Skokholm for £300. 1647 19 January – Holt Castle surrenders to Parliamentary forces after an 11-month siege. 16 March – Harlech Castle surrenders to Parliamentary forces, the last Royalist stronghold of the English Civil War on mainland Britain. 1648 8 May – Battle of St. Fagans August – Katherine Fowler ("Orinda") marries James Philips of Cardigan Priory. 1649 29 January – Thomas Wogan and John Jones Maesygarnedd are among the signatories to the death warrant of King Charles I. April – Rowland Laugharne, John Poyer and Rice Powell, former Parliamentary commanders, are condemned to death for their role in the rebellion leading to the Battle of St Fagans. They draw lots and the sentence is carried out only on Colonel Poyer. 9 April – Lucy Walter, mistress of the Prince of Wales, gives birth to the future Duke of Monmouth. unknown date – Aberystwyth Castle slighted by Commonwealth troops. 1650 22 February – The Act for the better propagation and preaching of the Gospel in Wales is passed by Parliament, resulting in the ejection of dissident clergymen and creating English-language schools. 1656 date unknown – Colonel Philip Jones buys Fonmon Castle from the St John family. 1657 George Fox visits Dolgellau, resulting in the foundation of a local Quaker community, led by Rowland Ellis. Jenkin Jones becomes minister at Llanddetty. 1659 5 August – Booth's Rebellion proclaims Charles II as King. Its leaders include Thomas Myddelton of Chirk Castle. 19 August – Booth's forces take Chester. 1660 23 July – Creation of the Aubrey baronets of Llantrithead 17 October – Hugh Lloyd becomes Bishop of Llandaff. William Philipps is elected MP for Haverfordwest. At about this date, Elizabeth Cromwell (widow of Oliver) retires to Wales. 1661 20 April – Royalist Arthur Annesley is created Earl of Anglesey. Bridge at Carrog built over Dee. 1662 Henry Walter and Charles Edwards are among the ministers ejected as a result of the Act of Uniformity. 1663 Baptist leader John Myles takes the Ilston Book with him when he and his whole congregation emigrate to North America, where they found the First Baptist Church in Swansea. Bangor Bridge built at Bangor-on-Dee. 1664 Thomas Wogan, former Parliamentary commander and regicide, escapes from York Castle and flees to the Netherlands. 1666 Last recorded news of Thomas Wogan, resident in Utrecht and plotting against King Charles II. 1667 Francis Davies becomes Bishop of Llandaff. 1668 Rhydwilym Baptist Chapel in Llangolman is founded. 1669 Henry Morgan lands on Île-à-Vache and begins using it as the base for his piracy. 1673 17 June – Land for a Friends meeting house at The Pales in Powys is acquired; by the early 21st century it will be Wales's oldest in continuous use. 1678