Cecil Edward Vaughan Owen (Q69543)

Cecil Edward Vaughan Owen (1901-1981) was a local historian and teacher. He was born on 13 March 1901, the fifth child of Dr John Vaughan Owen of Glascoed, Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire, and the nephew of Nicholas Bennett Owen of Glanyrafon, Trefeglwys, Montgomeryshire. He was educated at Llanidloes County School, Oswestry School, and Edinburgh University, and studied history at Durham University. He spent his working life teaching in England, and then retired to Glascoed to pursue his historical interests. He was an authority on Llanidloes and the Arwystli area of Montgomeryshire, particularly in the field of vernacular architecture, and was in demand as a lecturer. He wrote articles for Montgomeryshire Collections, including his 'Arwystli Notebook', begun in 1953. Some of his lectures to the Arwystli Society were published posthumously as An Arwystli Notebook Part 1 (Llanidloes, [1990]). He was President of the Cambrian Archaeological Association, 1971-1972; vice-president of the Powysland Club, 1979-1981, as well as being chairman of its Council, and in 1957 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He remained a member of St Idloes Church, Llanidloes, throughout his life, becoming a churchwarden. He was unmarried and died on 7 March 1981.