Charlie Llewelyn was the youngest son of John Talbot Dillwyn Llewelyn, the sporting squire of Penllegaer House, who had been the leading figure behins the formation of Glmaorgan CCC in 1888.
Charlie played twice for Glamorgan during the early 1890s before enjoying a career in politics and public service. Like his elder brother Willie, he was coached by Billy Bancroft in the grounds of his family’s home at Penllergaer, before further honing his skills at Eton. Charlie also played for the Cadoxton club, alongside his brother and other leading figures in the political and sporting life of South Wales.
In August 1891 Charlie appeared for the Welsh county against Monmouthshire at Rodney Parade – a game which Glamorgan won by an innings and 169 runs. Charlie’s contribution however was a mere single. Nevertheless, he played again in May 1892 for the Glamorgan side against a Colts XXI at St. Helen’s, scoring 0 and 3, besides taking a catch. The match saw the county side win again, this time by the slender margin of two wickets, giving Charlie the distinction of never having lost whilst playing for the Welsh county.
In 1893 Charlie married Katherine Minna, the daughter of Richard Venables of Llysdinam, and besides acquiring the extensive estate near Llandrindod Wells, he changed his surname to Venables-Llewelyn. For some time, Charles had held an interest in meteorology and after moving into Llysdinam, he set up a weather station, collecting maximum and minimum temperatures as well as rainfall totals, with his data being supplied for many years to the Met. Office. In 1982 Llysdinam hit the weather records as it recoded the lowest-ever temperature ever recorded in November in the U.K. with a reading of -28 degrees C.
Charlie also entered local politics and subsequently became a Welsh Conservative MP, representing Radnorshire in the House of Commons during 1910. During the Great War, Charlie was an officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, before serving as both High Sheriff and Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire. Between 1940 and 1946 he also acted as Chairman of Radnorshire County Council.
Charlie and his wife had also created a wildlife centre at Llysdinam whilst his son Michael set up the Llysdinam Field Centre in 1970. It was run by Cardiff University until 2010, before re-opening in 2014 as a centre to support independent, inter-disciplinary research into topics such as sustainability, landscape and sense of place.
LLEWELYN, Charles Leyshon Dillwyn (‘Charlie’).
Born – Ynysygerwn, 29 June 1870.
Died – Newbridge-on-Wye, 24 June 1951.
Batting and Fielding Record
| M | I | NO | RUNS | AV | 100 | 50 | CT | ST | |
| MC Friendlies | 3 | 5 | 0 | 28 | 5.60 | – | – | 1 | – |
Career-best performances
Minor County Friendlies – 16 v MCC at Lord’s, 1891.