ReOrg: the case on one line of sight. Every key milestone of the Great House Farm (Tŷ Mawr) story from 1877 to the live 2026 deadlines, including every creation of a record, whether or not the original has been obtained. Each milestone links to its dedicated evidence catalogue page and carries an amber box showing what was known by that date but is not recorded in the account of the milestone. This page does not recite the evidence; the catalogue pages do.
How to read the amber boxes. “Known by then” means known to the family, on a document, or on the public record at that date, with the source and status shown in the register below. “Not recorded” means it does not appear in the surviving account of that milestone that the Wiki holds (a recital, a judgment, a press report, an agency reply); for the 1955 and 1962 orders the primary papers themselves are still to be obtained (
E125,
E130), so the label will be checked against them. An omission is an observed fact;
whether it was careless, innocent, or concealed is not established by this page, and each point is a ground for requesting the document, not a finding about any person. This is a family reconstruction for counsel, not legal advice. Truth statuses follow the Wiki’s
operating rules: DOCUMENTED FACT · FAMILY EVIDENCE · RECONSTRUCTION · LEGAL INFERENCE · UNRESOLVED.
Jump to: Known-facts register · 1877–1949 · 1950–1969 · 1969–1983 · 1984–1989 · 1989–2005 · 2019–2026 · What cuts against · Forward roadmap
The known-facts register
Each fact is stated once here and referred to by its code in the milestones below. F = title facts; H = heritage facts.
| Code |
What was known |
Known from |
Status · evidence |
| F1 |
The farmhouse parcel was separated from Bute-retained land in 1877 |
1877 |
FAMILY EVIDENCE · E115 |
| F2 |
The family’s long, continuous occupation of the house and land |
from at least 1891 |
DOCUMENTED FACT · N01, E151 |
| F3 |
No rent paid on the house parcel after 1928 |
1928 |
FAMILY EVIDENCE · E120 |
| F4 |
On F2 and F3, twelve years’ adverse possession of Parcel A had matured by 1940, fifteen years before the 1955 order |
1940 |
LEGAL INFERENCE (follows from F2 and F3) |
| F5 |
The family planted trees on Parcel A as an assertion of ownership |
by 1955 (dates to be sourced) |
FAMILY EVIDENCE, not yet sourced · E151 |
| F6 |
No document conveying Parcel A to WGR is known; the 1938 conveyance has not been read for scope 🕒 |
1938 |
UNRESOLVED · E121 🕒 |
| F7 |
WGR’s own 1939 tenancy plan shows Parcel B only, expressly not Parcel A |
May 1939 |
DOCUMENTED FACT · DBDT123/7 |
| F8 |
In 1949 an attempt was made to place Mary on a Parcel B tenancy; she refused and asserted ownership |
2 Feb 1949 |
FAMILY EVIDENCE · E122 |
| F9 |
The family title papers were taken in 1950–52 |
1950–52 |
FAMILY EVIDENCE · E123, E124 |
| F10 |
Mary’s resistance in 1955 rested on her ownership claim; “the whole of the farm” was not defined by plan |
1955 |
FAMILY EVIDENCE / UNRESOLVED until the order is seen · E125, E127 🕒 |
| F11 |
Execution left the house and garden; the north forest and south-east green were taken |
4 Jul 1955 |
FAMILY EVIDENCE / UNRESOLVED · E126 🕒 |
| F12 |
Living witnesses could have been asked: Mary (to March 1983), Frederick (to 1967), their children |
1955 onward |
DOCUMENTED FACT · E114 |
| F13 |
WGR’s own 1962 claim was confined to the farmhouse and garden |
11 Dec 1962 |
DOCUMENTED FACT (as recited) · E130 |
| F14 |
Mary pleaded ownership on 3 July 1974; it was never tried |
3 Jul 1974 |
DOCUMENTED FACT (court record) · E135 |
| F15 |
Mary remained in actual occupation until her death on 26 March 1983 |
1955–1983 |
DOCUMENTED FACT |
| H1 |
RCAHMW surveyed the house in 1974 as a sub-medieval or late-17th-century building, noting problems from an ownership dispute |
1974 |
DOCUMENTED FACT · E137 |
| H2 |
GGAT warned about the site’s archaeological sensitivity |
1 Oct 1982 |
DOCUMENTED FACT · E139 |
| H3 |
The East Vale Local Plan said the buildings should be retained |
Feb 1987 |
DOCUMENTED FACT · E143 |
| H4 |
Cadw inspected in July 1988 and coded the house “YYY” |
29 Jul 1988 |
DOCUMENTED FACT · E144 |
| H5 |
GGAT warned again; the later excavation found burials just below the topsoil |
27 Jul 1992 |
DOCUMENTED FACT · E147, E148 |
1. Foundations: 1877 to 1949
1877. Bute–Thomas transaction and counterpart lease. A division of the farm, with a Daniel Thomas quarrying arrangement.
FAMILY EVIDENCE / UNRESOLVED.Evidence: E115 (placeholder) ·
E116 (placeholder, 6 Nov 1877) ·
E117 (placeholder).
Unknown: sale or quarry lease; what the plan shows.
1891. John Williams at Great House Farm. DOCUMENTED FACT. Evidence: N01 (present).
February 1916. Bute yearly tenancy to John Williams, “the whole farm”. DOCUMENTED FACT (as recited). The family accepts this covered both areas; it is the strongest document against the parcel case unless its plan excludes the house parcel.
Evidence: E118 (placeholder).
Unknown: whether a plan exists.
15 May 1924. Bute–Corbett drain agreement (WA231076 item 2). Evidence: E119 (placeholder; orderable).
Unknown: which land it burdens.
1928. Quarrying ends; last rent paid on the house parcel. FAMILY EVIDENCE. The family’s established case is that the 1877 arrangement took effect here.
Evidence: E120 (missing) ·
1983 diary: Daniel Thomas receipts (reference only).
1938. Bute conveys its reversion to Western Ground Rents (WGR). Evidence: E121 (family-held; scan awaited).
Known by then, not recorded: F1 the 1877 division ·
F2 occupation since 1891 ·
F3 no rent since 1928. The question this milestone must answer, and which no account has answered, is
F6: what instrument, if any, conveys
Parcel A to WGR.
May 1939. WGR’s revised tenancy to John Williams, with plan. DOCUMENTED FACT. Evidence: DBDT123/7 (present).
Known by then, not recorded: the plan is WGR’s own and shows
Parcel B only (
F7). It has not appeared in any later account of the “farm”. Also
F1,
F2,
F3.
1940. Twelve years from 1928: the alternative limitation date. LEGAL INFERENCE; no record is created.
Not recorded anywhere since: F3 and
F4. On the family’s facts, adverse possession of Parcel A matured against WGR and Bute here, fifteen years before the 1955 order; the 1987 Court of Appeal instead started the clock in 1955.
2 February 1949. Frederick Buckler’s unwritten yearly tenancy (surrender and re-grant); Mary refuses and asserts ownership. DOCUMENTED FACT (as recited) / FAMILY EVIDENCE. Evidence: E122 (no document) ·
D696 (lead).
Recorded as: a tenancy in Frederick’s name.
Known by then, not recorded: F8 Mary’s refusal and ownership claim ·
F3/
F4 ·
F6 ·
F7 the 1939 plan, Parcel B only.
2. Possession: 1950 to 1969
June 1950 to c. 1952. A lodger is placed at the farmhouse; title papers are taken; the lodger is later reported convicted of theft. FAMILY EVIDENCE. Evidence: E123 (missing) ·
E124 (lead).
Later recorded as: Mary’s title documents “never produced” (1987).
Not recorded: F9, why they were not produced.
4 July 1955. WGR’s Order 14 possession order against Frederick Buckler alone, and its execution. The order is expressed to cover “the whole of the farm”; Mary, who lived in the house and claimed to own it, was not a party.
Order: DOCUMENTED FACT (as recited). Taking of forest and green: FAMILY EVIDENCE / UNRESOLVED.Evidence: E125 (placeholder) ·
E126 (placeholder) ·
E127 (missing) ·
narrative ·
loss dossier.
Recorded as: a possession order for “the whole of the farm” against the tenant, executed on 4 July 1955.
KNOWN BY 1955, NOT RECORDED (omission observed, intent not established):
- Whether the order covers Mary’s home and garden, and whether she accepted or resisted it, is not stated in any account. Execution left the house and garden undisturbed (F11).
- Her resistance rested on her ownership claim, not on a tenancy dispute (F8, F10).
- “The whole of the farm” is not defined by plan, acreage or parcel (F10).
- No conveyance of Parcel A to WGR is mentioned; the 1938 conveyance is not cited for it (F6).
- The only WGR tenancy plan known, the 1939 agreement, is Parcel B only and expressly excludes Parcel A (F7).
- The family’s tree planting on Parcel A as an assertion of ownership (F5, not yet sourced).
- No rent on the house parcel since 1928, so adverse possession of Parcel A had matured by 1940, as a matter of fact, fifteen years earlier (F3, F4).
- Generations of continuous occupation (F2).
- The theft of the title papers in 1950 (F9).
- The 1949 attempt to place Mary on the Parcel B tenancy, which she refused (F8).
- Living witnesses who could have been asked: Mary, Frederick, their children (F12).
- The forest north of the house and the green to the south-east were taken in the same enforcement (F11).
Note: the order, warrant and return have not yet been obtained, so items 1 to 3 and 12 are checked against E125 and E126 when they arrive.
1959 and 1965. WGR tenancy offers concerning the remaining house and garden. Evidence: E128 (placeholder).
Known by then, not recorded: the full 1955 list,
F1–
F12. Offers confined to the house and garden are WGR’s own indication of what it then regarded as still unresolved.
29 March 1961. Deed: WGR, South Western Brick & Tile and Cardiff City. Evidence: E129 (placeholder; orderable).
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F12. A disposal by WGR six years after the 1955 enforcement, with no recorded source for its title to Parcel A land (
F6).
11 December 1962. Cardiff County Court orders possession of the farmhouse and garden, with mesne profits since 1955. Not enforced before 1974.
DOCUMENTED FACT (as recited). Evidence: E130 (placeholder) ·
narrative.
Recorded as: possession of the house and garden for WGR.
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F12; whether Mary pleaded her ownership (
F10); and why profits ran from 1955 for the house and garden if the 1955 order had already covered them. WGR’s own claim was limited to the house and garden (
F13).
3. Registration: 1969 to 1983
31 December 1969 and 1971. WGR conveys to BP Pension Trust; abstract of title prepared. Both are known only as recited, and neither is on the HMLR first-registration schedule.
Evidence: E131 (missing) ·
E132 (missing).
Recorded as: the root of BP’s title to “the farm”.
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F13, in particular no source for WGR’s title to Parcel A (
F6), the 1939 plan (
F7), and Mary’s occupation and ownership claim (
F8,
F15).
16 June 1970 and 1972. VG41 registered; outline permission for about 13 houses. Evidence: E133 (placeholder) ·
E134 (placeholder).
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F13; that Mary lived in the house and disputed its ownership (
F15); no archaeological condition although the house stood beside an early church site. Unknown: who claimed VG41 and what the ownership certificate said.
April 1974. Mary’s open day to save the house; RCAHMW survey (H. J. Thomas). DOCUMENTED FACT. Evidence: N03 (present) ·
E137 (scans being ordered).
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F13. The press reported ownership “in dispute for 25 years” (
F8); the national record body noted the dispute (
H1). Both are public records of the dispute that the later licence and registration steps do not mention.
3 July 1974 and 31 October 1974. Mary pleads ownership; the action is never relisted; BP issues licence letters. DOCUMENTED FACT (court record). Evidence: E135 (placeholder) ·
E136 (image awaited) ·
narrative.
Recorded as: a licence to remain, later held to make her possession permissive.
Known by then, not recorded: F14 her ownership plea, which BP’s own action had received; that BP Properties held only a contract to buy; and
F1–
F13. The licence is dated 19 weeks after the plea.
23 May 1975. BP Pension Trust conveys the farmhouse and garden to BP Properties (WA240304). Evidence: E138 (placeholder; orderable).
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F14; the pending ownership plea is not referred to in what survives of the conveyance record.
1 October 1982. GGAT warns about the site. Evidence: E139 (placeholder).
Not recorded: any action on it for 2,258 days (
H2), up to the day of demolition.
30 November 1982 to 12 May 1983. First registration of WA231076 and WA240304; Linklaters certificate; Mary dies on 26 March 1983. DOCUMENTED FACT. Evidence: FC-001 ·
FC-002 ·
FC-003 (capture placeholders) ·
1982–83 page.
Recorded as: a certificate that the solicitors knew of no question or doubt affecting the title; class of title unknown.
Known by then, not recorded: F14 the undecided ownership plea;
F15 Mary in occupation;
F1–
F13. The WA240304 application was made a month before her death, and the follow-up letters of 8 and 12 April 1983 came after it.
4. Litigation, eviction and demolition: 1984 to 1989
13 January 1984 to 1987. A3 application; BP’s writ (22 May 1984); records go missing. [SOURCE PENDING] The Cardiff Library deed copy and card were lost in 1984; the RCAHMW Johns–Buckler correspondence is lost “since 1986/87”.
Evidence: FC-005 (missing litigation file) ·
E115 ·
E137.
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F15. Mary, the principal witness to all of it, died in March 1983 before the writ; the pattern of losses is unexplained and is not proof of anything.
10 July 1986. High Court trial; defence run on adverse possession. Evidence: E140 (placeholder).
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F15, including the 1939 plan (
F7) and the 1928 rent facts (
F3,
F4). Unknown whether any of it was put to the court.
February 1987. East Vale Local Plan: retain the buildings. 2 February 1987: WA240304 is amalgamated into WA231076 while the appeal is live. Evidence: E143 (placeholder) ·
FC-004 (placeholder) ·
amalgamation page.
Known by then, not recorded: F14 and
F15 (the title merged with the ownership claim never decided);
H3 published policy to retain, against what was done in 1988.
31 July 1987. Court of Appeal decides BP Properties Ltd v Buckler [1987] EWCA Civ 2; leave sought from the House of Lords. DOCUMENTED FACT. Evidence: E141 (family copy; upload awaited) ·
E142 (placeholder) ·
narrative.
Recorded as: BP had the paper title; Mary’s documents were never produced; the clock started in February 1955; the 1974 letters made her possession permissive.
Known by then, not recorded: why her documents were not produced (
F9); that the clock on her facts started in 1928, maturing in 1940 (
F3,
F4); WGR’s own 1939 plan (
F7); no known conveyance of Parcel A to WGR (
F6); the 1949 refusal, her ownership claim in 1955 and the taking of the forest and green (
F8,
F10,
F11); the undecided 1974 plea (
F14); generations of occupation and the planting (
F2,
F5). No judicial wrongdoing is suggested: the question is what was put before the court.
29 April 1988. Attempted eviction abandoned; a BP spokesman says Mr Buckler “did not appeal”; the press reports Mary “lost three previous High Court cases”. Evidence: N07 ·
N15 extracts (present).
Known by then, not recorded: that he had appealed and sought leave from the House of Lords (
E142), and that no court had decided her ownership (
F14); plus
F1–
F15.
3 May 1988 and 29 July 1988. Strasbourg application lodged; Cadw inspects and codes the house “YYY”. Evidence: E145 (placeholder) ·
E144 (two photographs only).
Known by then, not recorded: H1,
H2,
H3 and the full title record
F1–
F15. Cadw cannot say whether any of H1 to H3 was considered.
30 November 1988. Bailiffs force entry. See the
Event Nomenclature Register.
Evidence: N14 ·
N15-04 ·
E113 ·
E114 (present).
Recorded as: lawful enforcement of a possession order.
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F15,
H1–
H4; the Strasbourg application already pending.
3–5 December 1988. Cadw’s weekend assessment; the High Court refuses the injunction; Cadw declines to list. Evidence: E144 ·
N10 (present).
Recorded as: an assessment of about 48 hours, no interior access, the family not consulted, no file kept.
Known by then, not recorded: H1 the 1974 survey,
H2 the 1982 warning,
H3 the 1987 plan; no preservation notice was served although the power existed; and the full title record
F1–
F15.
6 December 1988. Demolition from about 4am. Evidence: N15-07 ·
E113 (present).
Known by then, not recorded: every item above (
F1–
F15,
H1–
H4). The demolition took place within hours of the refusal of the injunction and the listing decision, while the Strasbourg application was pending and 2,258 days after the GGAT warning.
14 April 1989. The Commission declares the application inadmissible. Evidence: E145 (placeholder) ·
Strasbourg review.
Recorded as: no “possession” because the courts held the property belonged to another.
Known by then, not recorded: that the courts had not tried title and none of the title papers had been before any court (
F6,
F7,
F9,
F14); and
F1–
F15.
5. Redevelopment and archaeology: 1989 to 2005
1989 to 13 March 1990. Planning officer’s report 89/01396/OUT; outline permission. Evidence: E146 (appendices B–E missing).
Recorded as: demolition disposed of in one clause; a later document calls the house a listed building, which it never was.
Known by then, not recorded: H1–
H3, and that the title and the ownership dispute had never been tried (
F14).
August 1990. GGAT archaeological assessment, commissioned by BP Properties. Evidence: GHF-E029-01 (catalogued; PDF to attach).
Recorded as: the house demolished in 1983 in one section; ground that “could not be investigated” zoned low potential.
Known by then, not recorded: the actual 1988 date,
H1 and
H2.
27 July 1992, then 38 days. GGAT warns; reserved matters approved with no new archaeological condition. Evidence: E147 (page 2 missing).
Known by then, not recorded: H2,
H5,
H1; the missing second page means what the Council considered cannot be reconstructed.
1993–94. Excavation of 1,026 burials; Home Office licence lapses (21 April to at least 3 May 1994); Condition 18 treated as discharged on counsel’s opinion over GGAT’s objection. Evidence: E148 (1994 report is a priority missing original).
Recorded as: “a difference of opinion”; the historic-environment record carries 858 burials, not 1,026.
Known by then, not recorded: H5 and the 1982 and 1992 warnings; what was removed during the licence lapse.
10 November 1994. The woodland is transferred to Forest of Cardiff (WA735527). Evidence: E149 (placeholder; orderable) ·
Woodland.
Recorded as: a single woodland bought after due diligence.
Known by then, not recorded: the north forest was taken in 1955 (
F11); no source for WGR’s title to it (
F6); the register shows two strands of title; price unknown.
2005. Forest of Cardiff to Goldsworthy Homes transfer and excision from WA735527. Evidence: E150 (placeholder; orderable).
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F15; HMLR later describes the title as “closed in 2005”.
6. Recovery: 2019 to 2026
2019 and November 2025 onward. GGAT’s 1990 report is deposited with the national archive; the family begins records requests to more than 20 bodies.
Records Access Chronology ·
FOI status.
25 May, 3 June and 30 July 2026. HMLR complaint decision; inspection and preservation requests; first-registration schedule of 43 documents. Evidence: FOI Reply Register ·
FC-002.
Recorded as: the 1987 judgment treated as settling title; the title “closed in 2005”.
Known by then, not recorded: F1–
F15; the 1969 root deed is not on the file (
E131); the June requests are unanswered in substance.
5 October 2026. Museum Wales reply to FOI 2026-036. E106-R33-A1 ·
A2 ·
A3 (present).
6–9 October 2026. Fresh-paradigm cross-review; Litigation Activation begins; the loss is reframed as the 1955 taking of the Parcel-A woodland and green. Forensic Master Chronology ·
Control Room.
What cuts against, and what the omissions would change
Stated in the same place as the accusation, under the Wiki’s rule that interpretation stays open to challenge.
| Milestone |
If the omitted facts had been weighed |
Cuts against |
| 1939 and 1940 |
Adverse possession against WGR would have matured about 1940 (HIGH) |
The 1916 tenancy is recited as “the whole farm” and the family accepts it covered both areas; if the family held the 1939 plan in 1984–87 and did not use it, the fraud route weakens |
| 1955 |
Mary joined as a party; the forest and green stay in Parcel A; no 1955 starting point for the later chain (HIGH) |
The order, warrant and return are unseen, so its own wording and plan may cover the forest and green; F5 and F10 are not yet sourced; the 1955 taking is also the start of the historic limitation clock |
| 1962 |
A boundary statement showing what WGR still sought (MODERATE) |
The narrower claim may simply reflect that the house was the part still occupied |
| 1974 to 1983 |
Ownership tried while Mary was alive; first registration with a qualified class of title or delayed (HIGH if the file shows a misstatement) |
A solicitor may honestly have treated the 1962 order and 1974 licence as disposing of doubt; the Court of Appeal upheld the licence route; deeds were normally returned after registration |
| 1984 to 1987 |
Title tried as well as licence (HIGH) |
Absence of a deed from a register file is not proof of concealment; an amalgamation is not inherently improper 🕒 |
| 1988 |
A listing or preservation notice would have required consent before demolition (HERITAGE) |
Cadw coding was marginally below the bar on one of its explanations; no statutory duty then existed to consult occupiers; Cadw engaged in time in 2026 |
| 1989 |
A property-rights analysis might have differed (UNCERTAIN) |
A second application is barred by Article 35(2)(b) and the Human Rights Act does not reach pre-2000 acts |
| 1990 to 1994 |
Stronger archaeological safeguards and a more intact assemblage (HERITAGE) |
GGAT did not demolish or decide listing, and the Council relied on counsel’s opinion |
| 1994 to 2005 |
If the transfer was a gift, purchaser protections may not apply (UNCERTAIN) |
The charity says it bought after due diligence; a bona fide purchase would change the route to indemnity |
| 2026 |
A register-mistake and indemnity analysis tested against the 1983 file (MODERATE) |
The judicial-review window from 25 May 2026 has passed; indemnity is time-limited |
The shared premise. Each adverse step relies on an earlier one describing the land as “the farm”. No document yet seen is an independent conveyance of Parcel A into the WGR and BP chain. Where each record is still a placeholder, the catalogue lists what is unknown, and the first documents to obtain are E125, E126, E121, FC-002, FC-001 and FC-005. See Case Analysis and Anticipated Objections. 🕒
Forward roadmap: what is live now
| Date |
Milestone |
| 9 Oct 2026 |
HMCTS and MoJ chase; RCAHMW scan order for E137 (NMR 6048941, 6048943, 6048945); Litigation Activation sprint runs 9 Oct to 14 Nov |
| 12–14 Oct |
Heneb and NLW follow-ups; archive, National Archives, Companies House and Vale scrutiny actions |
| 16 Oct |
Vale and ICO decision point (Vale 00210772 internal review unanswered since 7 July) |
| 20 and 23 Oct |
Cadw complaint chase; Heneb chase |
| 26–28 Oct |
Wales Office IR/26/16, Cadw ATISN 27589, Vale 00211557 deadlines; HMLR subject access request and MoD escalation control |
| 3 Nov |
Heneb complaint outcome expected |
| 18 Nov |
ICR window control (ICR/090/26); the legal review gave about 25 November for the six-month clock, so verify the exact date |
| 18 Dec |
Programme gate G0 |
| Early 2027 |
Forest of Cardiff has said the remaining woodland may go on the open market; a protective or standstill decision is needed before then |
Dates are from Where Things Stand and the Litigation Activation stage plan, as at 9 October 2026; those pages control.
Related: Master Timeline · Forensic Master Chronology · Evidence Chain · Legal Review · Missing Records Register · Source Conflicts Register · Evidence Library 🕒
Page version & change log
Current version: 1.0.0
| Version | Date (UTC) | Editor (human or agent name) | Change | Source / evidence |
|---|
| 1.0.0 | 2026-10-18T15:42Z | Tab (for Sion Buckler) | Footer standardised; no content change | Editing Protocol, 18 Oct 2026 |
Agents and editors: follow the Editing Protocol.