Havard Family of Brecknockshire

Beardsley, in "English & Welsh Surnames" states that the name "Havard" is of Gothic origin but is so old that the meaning of the name is obscured in antiquity.
Sir Gregory Havard of "Devynock" was apparently the first to adopt the surname of "Havard." Because of his strength and prowess in battle, and his indomitable will, he was known as the "Bull of Brecon." Reputedly he was one of King Harold’s Chief Captains when the Normans defeated the Saxons at Hastings (1066). The "Bull" was outlawed and his estate (Devy­nock) was confiscated. However the Havards later reacquired Devynock and it is still owned by the family.
For further reference see: Burke’s "General Armourie," Debrett’s "Gen­eral Armoury," Fairbain’s "Books of Family Crests" and Boutell’s "Manual of Heraldry."
Theophilus Jones, in his "History of the County of Brecknockshire (Wales)" states that several of the pedigrees of the Havard family of Wales show that Bernard Newmarch was a uterine brother of William the Con­queror (but this assertion is not confirmed by English historians); that after Bleddign was defeated, Bernard Newmarch followed feudal custom and dis­tributed the land he had seized to the Knights and Gentlemen who accom­panied him on his expedition, reserving to himself seigniory of the whole; and that among the Knights and Gentlemen was Sir Walter Havard, who received the Manor of Pontwylyn.
Jones also states that, "another family of note in Brecon and the neigh­borhood were the Havards, and though they are no longer settled at Pon­twylyn (now a farm house, about one mile northward of the Priory), yet the Havards have multiplied and their name is more frequently heard in Breconshire at this day, than any of the followers of Bernard Newmarch; and as they are now so completely dispersed that they cannot be confined to any particular precinct, the mansion where they first settled may be con­sidered as the proper habitation for the purpose, at least, of introducing their genealogy."
Jones continues, "The last resident of this name (Havard) at Pontwylyn was Thomas Havard, Sheriff of Breconshire. In 1543, Thomas Havard occurs as Sheriff and is described as of C Wrt Sion Young. The site of this mansion, which appears to have been surrounded by a mote, is apparent on the left-hand side of the road leading to Battle, near the turnpike house."
A booklet describing Brecon Cathedral, Brecon, South Wales, re-pub­lished in 1954, states, "The Havard Chapel was built as a Chantry Chapel on the site of two earlier chapels in the 14th Century, by the Havards of Pontwylyn, the most powerful family in the Parish, who were descended from Sir Walter Havard, the Norman Knight to whom Bernard de Newmarche gave the Manor of Pontwylyn and many other lands, on his conquest of this country."
The booklet continues, "—the Havards were a brave and knightly race, much praised by our Welsh bard, Lewis Glyn Cathi, in his poems; and some of them with Sir David Gam followed the Lord of Brecknock, King Henry V to Agincourt. For many generations they were buried in this chapel, though the only relic of the Havards now remaining here is the fragment of a tomb­stone bearing their arms and motto, ‘Hope In God.’ "
When Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh attended church in August, 1955, at Ancient St. David’s Cathedral, St. David, South Wales, the Bishop of the Cathedral, Dr. W. T. Havard, delivered the sermon.
For the genealogy of the Havard Family of the County of Brecknock­shire, see Jones’ "History of the County of Brecknockshire." A chart of the "History of Brecknockshire" will be found in the Havard Family Supplement.