GWYNNE, George (c.1623-73), of Llanelwedd, Rad.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690, ed. B.D. Henning, 1983
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Family and Education

b. c.1623, 1st s. of David Gwynne of Berrisbrook, Carm. by Joan, da. of George Morgan of Itton, Mon. educ. St. John’s, Oxf. matric. 4 Dec. 1640, aged 17. m. Sybil, da. and h. of Roderick Gwynne of Llanelwedd, 2s. 6da. suc. fa. 1651.1

Offices Held

Commr. for militia, Rad. 1648, 1659, Mar. 1660; sheriff, Carm. 1650-1, Mon. 1662-3; commr. for assessment, Carm. 1652, Carm. and Rad. 1657, Mon. and Rad. Jan. 1660, Brec. and Rad. Aug. 1660-9; j.p. Brec. and Carm. 1653-8, Rad. 1653-d., Mon. and Brec. July 1660-4; commr. for propagation accounts, S. Wales 1654, security 1656; dep. lt. Brec. and Rad. 1661-?d.; commr. for oyer and terminer, Wales 1661; receiver-gen. Mon. by 1664-?d.

Biography

Gwynne came from a Carmarthenshire family settled at Glanbran by the 15th century. His father was a royalist colonel in the Civil War, but as a younger son his estate was too modest to bring him within the scope of the commissioners for compounding. Gwynne himself does not seem to have been active, apart from signing the agreement between the Carmarthenshire gentry and the Pembrokeshire county committee in 1645. In 1650 his uncle made over to him most of his estates in Monmouthshire, but Gwynne apparently preferred to reside on his wife’s inheritance in Radnorshire, where, in spite of his Cavalier background, he held local office and was twice chosen knight of the shire during the Interregnum.2

Gwynne was re-elected in 1660, but he was not an active Member of the Convention, being appointed only to the committees for the confirmation of marriages and the regulation of fees. He was named to the order of the Royal Oak with an estate of £1,500 p.a., but failed to secure the stewardship of the crown manors in Radnorshire, which was given to the Earl of Carbery. At the general election of 1661 he was apparently induced by Carbery to stand down in favour of the outsider, Sir Richard Lloyd I, and with Griffith Jones he tried to carry the borough for another courtier, probably (Sir) Allen Brodrick, against Edward Harley. He was active against conventicles and in the militia, but met with such frustration that in 1664 he begged to be allowed to lay down his commission, which exposed him to envy and malice. As receiver-general for Monmouth, he was ordered to be sent for in custody by the House for not paying over money received for loyal and indigent officers, but no further proceedings are recorded. His will, with a codicil, dated 14 Dec. 1672, was proved on 26 Nov. 1673, and suggests some pecuniary embarrassment in spite of his splendid estate. His debts totalled less than £500, but a mortgage on some messuages in Carmarthenshire had been forfeited, and the Monmouthshire lands were to be sold if necessary to pay debts, legacies and funeral expenses.3

Ref Volumes: 1660-1690

Authors: John. P. Ferris / M. W. Helms

Notes

  • 1. Bradney, Mon. i. 408; Jones, Brec. iv. 246-8; PCC 98 Pye.
  • 2. Old Wales, ii. 326-7; J. R. Phillips, Civil War in Wales, ii. 154. 275-8; Cal. Comm. Comp. 1824; PCC 406 Alchin.
  • 3. CSP Dom. 1660-1, p. 67; 1663-4, p. 573; BL Loan 29/79, Thomas Harley to Sir Edward Harley, 18 Mar., 30 Apr., 25 July 1661; CJ, viii. 541.