GLYNNE family, of Hawarden, Flintshire
This was a branch of the Glynn or Glynne family of Glynllifon, Caernarfonshire, whose ancestry may be traced back to Cilmin Droed-ddu, the founder of the fourth noble tribe of Gwynedd. In 1654 the castle and manor of Hawarden, together with the estate, were purchased by JOHN GLYNNE (1602 - 1666), the second son of Sir William Glynne of Glynllifon. Educated at Westminster, he matriculated at Hart Hall, Oxford, 9 November 1621, and entered Lincoln's Inn, 27 January 1620. He was called to the Bar on 24 June 1628, and elected M.P. for the borough of Caernarvon, and for Westminster in 1640. From the outset of his parliamentary career he sat on various committees, and with his cool, merciless summing-up of the case for Parliament against the earl of Strafford, he scored his first major triumph. He successfully sought the favour in turn of Cromwell and of king Charles II. During the Commonwealth he held the various offices of serjeant at law, judge of assize, and Lord Chief Justice of the Upper Bench. Adhering to the Presbyterian party from 1645, he incurred the ill-favour of the army, and on a charge of treason he was expelled from the House and committed to the Tower, 8 September 1647, where he remained until 23 May 1648. He was elected M.P. for Caernarvonshire, 1654-5, and April-December 1660. With keen political foresight he resigned his legal offices, and lost no time in favouring the return of the monarchy. He was knighted 16 November 1660, and soon afterwards made prime serjeant. He married (1) Francis, daughter of Arthur Squib, and (2) Anne, daughter of John Manning. He owned estates at Henley (Surrey), Bicester (Oxfordshire), and Hawarden, Flintshire. Aged 64 years, he died on 15 November 1666 at his London home, and in accordance with his wish, expressed in his will, dated 15 August 1664 (a copy of which is included among the Hawarden collection at the National Library of Wales) he was buried with his first wife under the altar of S. Margaret's church, Westminster.
John Glynne was succeeded by his son Sir WILLIAM GLYNNE (died 1689), who, on 21 May 1666, at the general distribution of honours after the Restoration, was made a baronet. Educated at Jesus College, Oxford, he took his degree on 25 March 1656. In January 1658 he was elected to represent Caernarvon in Richard Cromwell's Parliament. He was sheriff of Flintshire in 1673, and inherited the Hawarden estate on his father's death. He married Penelope Anderson. Their son, Sir WILLIAM GLYNNE (1662 - 1721), 2nd baronet, succeeded to the title and family estates. He too was educated at Oxford, which constituency he represented in Parliament in 1698. He was made a D.C.L. of Oxford in April 1706. On 5 July 1688 he married at S. Giles-in-the-Fields, Mary, daughter of Sir Edward Evelyn of Long Ditton. Their only son, WILLIAM GLYNNE (1689 - 1719) was an M.A. (Oxford), and Fellow of All Souls. Sir William died in 1721 and was succeeded by his brother Sir STEPHEN GLYNNE (died 1729), 3rd baronet, who married Sophia, sister of lady Mary Glynne. In April 1729 he died, and was followed in July by his eldest son and successor Sir STEPHEN GLYNNE (died 1729), 4th baronet. The title and estates now fell to the second son, Sir WILLIAM GLYNNE (1709 - 1730), 5th baronet, who died unmarried, at Aix-la-Chapelle, one month after attaining his majority, and was succeeded by his brother Sir JOHN GLYNNE (1713 - 1777), 6th baronet, who matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford, 13 November 1730, and was made D.C.L., 7 July 1763. He is reputed to have spent £35,000 in his unsuccessful election contest with Sir George Wynne for the borough of Flint in 1734, but later served as M.P. for Flintshire, 1741-7, and for Flint, 1753-77. He was sheriff of Flintshire in 1751. His marriage to Honora Conway (see under Ravenscroft), daughter and heiress of Henry Conway of Broadlane House, almost doubled the Hawarden estate. In 1752 he built the residential castle of Hawarden which was extended in 1809. His wife died in 1769, and on 27 March 1772 he married Augusta Beaumont. Sir John died suddenly on 1 July 1777, and was succeeded by his third son Sir STEPHEN GLYNNE (1744 - 1780), 7th baronet, who was born 12 May 1744. Educated at Queen's College, Oxford, he entered holy orders, and became rector of Hawarden. In 1779 he married Mary, daughter of Richard Bennett of Farmcott, Salop. On 1 April following he ruptured a blood-vessel while hunting, and died immediately. His only child, Sir STEPHEN RICHARD GLYNNE (1780 - 1815), 8th baronet, was born a month after his father's death. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he became a keen agriculturist and an amateur architect. In 1806 he married at S. George's, Hanover Square, Mary, second daughter of Richard, lord Braybrooke. He died suddenly at Nice, 5 March 1815, and was succeeded by his son Sir STEPHEN RICHARD GLYNNE (1807 - 1874), 9th baronet. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (B.A. 1828, M.A. 1831), at both of which places he knew W. E. Gladstone, who married Catherine, Sir Stephen's sister, on 25 July 1839. He represented Flint as a Liberal, 1832-7, and Flintshire for the next ten years, and was lord lieutenant of Flintshire for many years. He travelled extensively on the continent. Sir Stephen's greatest hobby was the inspection of old churches, and he is reputed to have compiled notes on 5,530 churches in Britain alone. A fine scholar, he had a remarkable memory, and was generally liked for his singular refinement. He died suddenly while on a visit to London, 17 June 1874; as he was unmarried the title became extinct. The estates went by arrangement to William Henry, eldest son of W. E. Gladstone.
Author
- Dr David Jenkins, (1912 - 2002)
- Glynne of Hawarden Family Papers at the N.L.W.
- Whittaker, 'The Glynnes of Hawarden' in Journal of the Flintshire Historical Society1906
- The National Library of Wales Journal ii, 23-5
- Foster, Alumni Oxonienses: the members of the University of Oxford
- Burke's … Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, 1874
Sources
- Wikipedia Article: Glynne baronets
Further Reading
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
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