A name that originally owed its popularity through admiration for the twelfth century crusading King Richard the Lionheart, ‘Richards’ features prominently in the historical record.
• While many early native Welsh were frequently embroiled in warfare, in later centuries their descendants who came come to bear the Richards name have gained fame through a diverse range of endeavours.
• One particularly noted Welsh family is the Richards of Betws Y Coed, in Dolgellau, Gwynedd; born in 1752, Sir Richard Richards was the judge and politician who served for a time in the powerful post of Baron of the Exchequer and who, through marriage, acquired the estate and mansion of Caerynwch, near Dolgellau.
