Francis Gwyn
Encyclopedia
Francis Gwyn PC
(1648 - 14 June 1734), was a Welsh politician and official.
, Glamorganshire, who married Eleanor, youngest daughter of Sir Francis Popham of Littlecott, Wiltshire
; he was born at Combe Florey
in Somerset
about 1648. He was trained for the profession of the law, but having ample means went into politics.
in February 1673 he was returned for Chippenham
. After the dissolution in January 1679 he remained outside the House of Commons discharging his official duties, but in 1685 was elected for Cardiff. In the Convention Parliament
of 1689-90 and in its successor from 1690 to 1695 he sat for Christchurch in Hampshire, and on the latter, if not on the first occasion, he was recommended by Lord Clarendon
.
He represented Callington, Cornwall, from 1695 to 1698, and was elected for Totnes in 1699 and 1701. From 1701 till 1710 he represented Christchurch, and Totnes again from 1710 to 1715. Gwyn was a tory, and lost his seat on the accession of George I until in March 1717 he was re-elected for Christchurch. At the general election in 1722 he was returned for both Christchurch and Wells, when he chose Wells, and at the dissolution in 1727 he retired from parliamentary life.
When Lord Rochester
was lord high treasurer under James II, Gwyn was joint secretary to the treasury with Henry Guy, and when Rochester was made lord-lieutenant of Ireland in 1701 Gwyn was his chief secretary, and a privy councillor. At one time he served as a commissioner of public accounts. From June 1711 to August 1713 he was a commissioner of the board of trade, and he was then secretary at war until 24 September 1714, when he received a letter of dismissal from Lord Townshend
. He was recorder of Totnes and steward of Brecknock.
, xlvi. 358-64 (1886). When the House of Lords met at the Guildhall, London, in December 1688, he acted as their secretary, and kept a journal of the proceedings.
Several letters by Gwyn dated 1686 and 1687, one of which was written when he was setting out with Lord Rochester and James Kendall on a visit to Spa, are printed in the 'Ellis Correspondence' (ed. by Lord Dover), i. 170-171, 202-3, 253-4, 314-15. In 'Notes and Queries,' 2nd ser. xii. 44 (1861), is inserted a letter from him to Harley, introducing Narcissus Luttrell
the diarist, and many other communications to and from him are referred to in the Historical MSS. Commission's reports. The constancy of his friendship with Rochester was so notorious that in the 'Wentworth Papers,' p. 163, occurs the sentence 'Frank Gwin, Lord Rotchester's gwine as they call him.'
, by his wife Amy Fraunceis, coheiress of John Fraunceis of Combe Florey, and grand-daughter of Edmund Prideaux, attorney-general of Cornwall. They had four sons and three daughters, besides others who died young, and their issue is set out in the pedigree in Hutchins's 'History of Dorset.'
By his marriage Gwyn eventually became owner of the property of that branch of the Prideaux family, including Ford Abbey. The property passed from the family on the death of J. F. Gwyn in 1846, and there was an eight days' sale of the abbey's contents. The sale of the plate, some of which had belonged to Francis Gwyn, occupied almost the whole of the first day. The family portraits, collected by him and his father-in-law, were also sold. In the grand saloon was hung the tapestry said to have been wrought at Arras, and given to Gwyn by Queen Anne, depicting the cartoons of Raphael, for which Catharine of Russia, through Count Orloff
, offered £30,000; and this was sold to the new proprietor for £2,200. One room at Ford Abbey was called 'Queen Anne's,' for whom it was fitted up when its owner was secretary at war; and the walls were adorned with tapestry representing a Welsh wedding; the furniture and tapestry were also purchased for preservation with the house.
Gwyn died at Ford Abbey on 2 June 1734, aged 86, and was buried in its chapel.
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...
(1648 - 14 June 1734), was a Welsh politician and official.
Background
Gwyn was the son and heir of Edward Gwyn of LlansannorLlansannor
Llansannor is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom.It has a population of roughly 200 people. It contains a parish church, a pub , a primary school and a village hall, which has recently been rebuilt thanks to the efforts of the parishioners.Llansannor is traditionally a...
, Glamorganshire, who married Eleanor, youngest daughter of Sir Francis Popham of Littlecott, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
; he was born at Combe Florey
Combe Florey
Combe Florey is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district, on the West Somerset Railway. The village has a population of 252...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
about 1648. He was trained for the profession of the law, but having ample means went into politics.
Member of Parliament
At a by-electionBy-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in February 1673 he was returned for Chippenham
Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency)
Chippenham is a parliamentary constituency, abolished in 1983 but recreated in 2010, and represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
. After the dissolution in January 1679 he remained outside the House of Commons discharging his official duties, but in 1685 was elected for Cardiff. In the Convention Parliament
Convention Parliament
A Convention Parliament is a parliament in English history which, owing to an abeyance of the Crown, assembled without formal summons by the Sovereign...
of 1689-90 and in its successor from 1690 to 1695 he sat for Christchurch in Hampshire, and on the latter, if not on the first occasion, he was recommended by Lord Clarendon
Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon
Henry Hyde 2nd Earl of Clarendon PC was an English aristocrat and politician. He held high office at the beginning of the reign of James II of England, who had married his sister.-Early life:...
.
He represented Callington, Cornwall, from 1695 to 1698, and was elected for Totnes in 1699 and 1701. From 1701 till 1710 he represented Christchurch, and Totnes again from 1710 to 1715. Gwyn was a tory, and lost his seat on the accession of George I until in March 1717 he was re-elected for Christchurch. At the general election in 1722 he was returned for both Christchurch and Wells, when he chose Wells, and at the dissolution in 1727 he retired from parliamentary life.
Official
In return for the sum of £2,500 Sir Robert Southwell vacated for Gwyn the post of clerk of the council, and he was sworn in on 5 December 1679, holding the office until January 1685. Until the death of Charles II he was a groom of the bedchamber, and he was twice under-secretary of state, from February 1681 to January 1683, under his cousin, Edward, Earl of Conway, and from Christmas 1688 to Michaelmas 1689.When Lord Rochester
Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester
Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester KG PC was an English statesman and writer. He was originally a supporter of James II but later supported the Glorious Revolution in 1688.-Early life:...
was lord high treasurer under James II, Gwyn was joint secretary to the treasury with Henry Guy, and when Rochester was made lord-lieutenant of Ireland in 1701 Gwyn was his chief secretary, and a privy councillor. At one time he served as a commissioner of public accounts. From June 1711 to August 1713 he was a commissioner of the board of trade, and he was then secretary at war until 24 September 1714, when he received a letter of dismissal from Lord Townshend
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Bt, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman. He served for a decade as Secretary of State, directing British foreign policy...
. He was recorder of Totnes and steward of Brecknock.
Works and correspondence
The minutes of the business which he transacted during his periods of office were sold with the effects of Ford Abbey in 1846. He accompanied James on his expedition to the west in November 1688, and his diary of the journey was printed by C. T. Gatty in the Fortnightly ReviewFortnightly Review
Fortnightly Review was one of the most important and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000; the first edition appeared on 15 May 1865...
, xlvi. 358-64 (1886). When the House of Lords met at the Guildhall, London, in December 1688, he acted as their secretary, and kept a journal of the proceedings.
Several letters by Gwyn dated 1686 and 1687, one of which was written when he was setting out with Lord Rochester and James Kendall on a visit to Spa, are printed in the 'Ellis Correspondence' (ed. by Lord Dover), i. 170-171, 202-3, 253-4, 314-15. In 'Notes and Queries,' 2nd ser. xii. 44 (1861), is inserted a letter from him to Harley, introducing Narcissus Luttrell
Narcissus Luttrell
Narcissus Luttrell was an English historian, diarist, and bibliographer, and briefly Member of Parliament for two different Cornish towns...
the diarist, and many other communications to and from him are referred to in the Historical MSS. Commission's reports. The constancy of his friendship with Rochester was so notorious that in the 'Wentworth Papers,' p. 163, occurs the sentence 'Frank Gwin, Lord Rotchester's gwine as they call him.'
Family
In 1690 Gwyn married his cousin Margaret, third daughter of Edmund PrideauxEdmund Prideaux
Sir Edmund Prideaux was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament, who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. He was briefly solicitor-general but chose to resign rather than participate in the regicide of Charles I and was afterwards attorney-general a position he held...
, by his wife Amy Fraunceis, coheiress of John Fraunceis of Combe Florey, and grand-daughter of Edmund Prideaux, attorney-general of Cornwall. They had four sons and three daughters, besides others who died young, and their issue is set out in the pedigree in Hutchins's 'History of Dorset.'
By his marriage Gwyn eventually became owner of the property of that branch of the Prideaux family, including Ford Abbey. The property passed from the family on the death of J. F. Gwyn in 1846, and there was an eight days' sale of the abbey's contents. The sale of the plate, some of which had belonged to Francis Gwyn, occupied almost the whole of the first day. The family portraits, collected by him and his father-in-law, were also sold. In the grand saloon was hung the tapestry said to have been wrought at Arras, and given to Gwyn by Queen Anne, depicting the cartoons of Raphael, for which Catharine of Russia, through Count Orloff
Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov
Count Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov was a Russian soldier and statesman, who rose to prominence during the reign of Catherine the Great.Orlov served in the Imperial Russian Army, and through his connections with his brother, became one of the key conspirators in the plot to overthrow Tsar Peter III...
, offered £30,000; and this was sold to the new proprietor for £2,200. One room at Ford Abbey was called 'Queen Anne's,' for whom it was fitted up when its owner was secretary at war; and the walls were adorned with tapestry representing a Welsh wedding; the furniture and tapestry were also purchased for preservation with the house.
Gwyn died at Ford Abbey on 2 June 1734, aged 86, and was buried in its chapel.