Robert Nicholl Carne
Rev. Robert Nicholl Carne (born Robert Nicholl; 13 April 1763 – 10 November 1849) was a Welsh rector, landowner, magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of Glamorgan. He built Dimlands Castle toward the end of the 18th century on land left to him by his father, Whitlock Nicholl, from whom he inherited about 99 acres.
He was born at The Ham, Llanilltud Fawr, Glamorganshire, Wales, the sixth son of Whitlock Nicholl (1720–1788) and Anne Lewis. He earned an M.A. and was ordained in 1787, becoming curate of Chavenage House in 1788. In 1791 he bought the Thomas Lewis estate in Llanblethian, and by 1795 he was rector of Port Eynon, later moving to Llanmaes House; records show him as rector of Llanmaes in 1824.
In 1799 he began building Dimlands Castle on land inherited from his father. His initial estate was about 99 acres, and he acquired surrounding properties including Caer Wrgan (Wrganstown) and the Millways near Boverton (part of Fonmon Castle estate), as well as the Earl of Plymouth’s property, and Whitecross Farm from his relative Whitlock Nicholl of Adamsdown. By 1817 he owned lands at Brynsach and Westfield, and by 1835 a farm in Bute.
Through his second marriage, he acquired the Nash Estate in 1842, including properties in Nash and Llysworney and the Lechmore farm. His first marriage, to Mary Woodward in 1792, produced one child who died in infancy; Mary died in 1799. His second marriage, in 1800, was to Elizabeth Loder Carne, heiress to Rev. John Carne of Nash; they had two sons, Robert Charles Nicholl Carne (born 1806) and John Whitlock Nicholl Carne (born 1816), and four daughters: Emma-Anne, Anna-Maria, Ellen-Louisa, and Frances-Susanna. In 1842 he added the Carne surname by royal licence.
Robert Nicholl Carne died in 1849 at Dimlands, leaving the Nash estate to his son Robert and Dimlands to his son John.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:49 (CET).