(467) Baynham and Throckmorton of Clearwell Court and Baynham of Westbury Court

Baynham of Clearwell and Westbury 

The extensive manor of Dene (comprising the later settlements of Mitcheldean and Abenhall on the eastern edge of the Forest of Dean) belonged from the early 12th century to the de Dene family, and passed from father to son until 1319, when on the death of William de Dene the estate was divided between his daughters and co-heirs, Joan, the wife of Ralph ap Eynon, and Isabella, the wife of Sir Ralph de Abenhall. The larger moiety passed to the ap Eynon (later Baynham) family, who were represented in the late 15th century by Thomas Baynham (1422-1500), with whom the genealogy below begins. He married twice, and his second wife was Alice Walwyn, heiress to the second moiety of the manor of Dene and also to extensive property, centred on Clearwell Court, around Newland on the western edge of the Forest of Dean. Having married Alice, he handed over his original Mitcheldean and Abenhall estate, which since the mid 15th century had also included land at Westbury-on-Severn, to the elder son of his first marriage, Sir Alexander Baynham (c.1460-1524) and went to live on his second wife's estate at Clearwell, which in due course was left to their eldest son, Sir Christopher Baynham (c.1478-1540). Thus there arose the two branches of this family, whose paths were to diverge so markedly in the 16th century, with the Baynhams of Clearwell staying loyal to their Roman Catholic faith and the Baynhams of Westbury and Mitcheldean becoming early Protestants - one of whom suffered martyrdom for his beliefs - and later nonconformist dissidents. The fortunes of both families declined in the later 16th and 17th centuries, due not so much to the penalties imposed on them for their religious beliefs, as because of their improvidence.

The Clearwell branch of the family, although it came from the second marriage of Thomas Baynham, was probably the wealthier in the 16th century. Both Sir Christopher and his son, Sir George Baynham (c.1500-46) were knighted and served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire. Sir George was Constable of St. Briavels Castle, and was evidently a knight in the military sense, since he was part of the king's army that captured Boulogne. Sir George's eldest daughter Frances married Sir Henry Jerningham, a prominent courtier who was Master of the Horse to Queen Mary, and she was one of the Queen's ladies in waiting. After Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, however, the family's open Catholicism and their association with the Marian regime led to their progressive eclipse. Sir George's eldest son, Christopher Baynham (c.1528-57) was a minor when his father died and although he married he had no children. The estate therefore passed to his brother Richard Baynham (c.1530-80), who was High Sheriff in 1570-71 but held no other offices. He was unmarried, so on his death the Clearwell estate passed to his brother Thomas Baynham (c.1536-1611). He may well have built most of the Clearwell Court recorded by Kip at the beginning of the 18th century. He was twice High Sheriff, but his sons predeceased him and his estates were divided between his daughters Cecily (c.1583-1614) and Joan (1585-1647). Joan married John Vaughan, a member of another prominent Catholic family, and was repeatedly fined and imprisoned for her faith. Cecily married Sir William Throckmorton (d. 1628), 1st bt., of Tortworth (Glos), a member of a cadet branch of one of the leading Recusant families. His is said to have 'wasted his estate by riot and improvidence', and there is evidence in the records of his hasty temper. He bequeathed the Clearwell estate to his elder son, Sir Baynham Throckmorton (1606-64), 2nd bt., who failed to make a success of ironworking in the Forest of Dean in the 1630s, losing so much money that his estate was vested in trustees for a time to pay off his debts. A Royalist in the Civil War, he was captured at Gloucester in 1645 and his estates were sequestered and later sold, although he subsequently recovered them. He and his son, Sir Baynham Throckmorton (1628-81), 3rd bt., were rewarded comparatively generously after the Restoration, but the 3rd baronet had no sons, and his daughters' trustees sold the Clearwell estate in 1698. The baronetcy passed to a cousin, Sir William Throckmorton (d. 1682), 4th bt., who was killed in a duel the following year, and the title then became extinct.

The Westbury branch of the family began with Sir Alexander Baynham (c.1460-1524), who was both a soldier and a lawyer and served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire on many occasions. Through his second marriage, to Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Tracy, he was closely connected with a number of prominent early Protestant critics of the established Catholic church, and his youngest son James Baynham (d. 1532) seems to have taken up this cause with all the intemperance of youth. He was eventually accused of heresy, and after recanting once and then repudiating his recantation, he was condemned to death and burnt at the stake in London in 1532. In 1524, the Westbury and Mitcheldean estate descended to James' elder half-brother, John Baynham (c.1488-1528), and then to his only son, William Baynham (c.1511-68), who was still a minor when he inherited. Perhaps because of the Puritan sympathies in his family, William's wardship was granted to Sir John Gage of Highmeadow (Glos), so William's later teenage years will have been spent in an orthodox Catholic household. Nothing seems to be known of William's later religious views, and it may well be that his uncle's terrible example taught him the wisdom of keeping his opinions to himself. When he died, his estates passed to his eldest son, Robert Baynham (c.1542-72), who married but had no issue. He divided his property, with the Westbury estate passing to his brother, Joseph Baynham (c.1548-1613), while the Mitcheldean and Abenhall lands were left to his widow for life. She married again, to Sir Robert Woodruff (d. 1609), kt., of Alvington (Glos), and her lands only came to Joseph on her death in 1610.

By the 1560s the Protestant Church of England was increasingly firmly established as the national church, but it was founded on compromise, and there were many who wished to remove what they saw as the remaining trappings of popery and to embrace a purer form of Calvinism. Joseph Baynham was one of them, and was seen as the leader of a group of about forty like-minded men and women in the parish of Westbury by 1603, who attended the parish church as infrequently as possible and met - perhaps in a barn on Joseph's land - to hold their own services. His son and heir, Alexander Baynham (b. 1589), evidently shared his father's views, and was fined for non-attendance at church in 1616 and 1623. Alexander had inherited the Westbury and Mitcheldean estates on his father's death in 1613, but found them loaded with debt. In 1619 he sold the Mitcheldean property, and in 1625 he was obliged to sell the Westbury estate too. His later career is obscure, but there seems to be evidence that he was working as an overseas merchant, perhaps trading from Bristol or London. His second, and perhaps only surviving son, Alexander Baynham (1615-c.1660) apparently emigrated to America at the beginning of the Civil War and made a new life there. There is no evidence that his father followed him, but it is possible, as no death record has been found for him in England.

Clearwell Court (later Clearwell Castle), Gloucestershire

Nothing now remains of the predecessor of the present house (usually known as Clearwell Court until the 20th century). Its origins can probably be traced back to Robert Greyndour (d. 1443), who was the first owner of the estate to be styled as ‘of Clearwell’ rather than ‘of Newland’, the large village in whose parish the estate lay. When Robert died in 1443 his house – presumably on the same site as the present building – comprised a hall, chapel, 12 chambers, buttery, pantry and cellar, besides farm buildings. In 1484 the estate passed by marriage to the Baynham family, and it remained in their possession until 1611, when it again passed by marriage to the Throckmortons. In the mid 17th century, Sir Baynham Throckmorton, was a leading figure among the county gentry, and one of the senior officials in the Forest of Dean. He had to pay a large fine to recover his estate from sequestration in the Civil War, and subsequently forfeited it again and had to buy it back in 1653, crippling the family finances. In 1698 his son's heirs sold the house to Francis Wyndham of Uffords Manor (Norfk). 

Clearwell Court: a detail from the Kip engraving of c.1710, showing the Tudor house that existed then.

Kip’s engraving of the house in c.1710 shows a complex, apparently multi-period building, although none of the fabric then standing is likely to pre-dated the 16th century.  Because many of the windows are shown as having hoodmoulds, it seems probable that it had taken its final form by 1600, and much of it may have been constructed by Thomas Baynham, who owned the estate from 1580 onwards. In 1672 it was assessed for tax on 21 hearths, making it one of the largest houses in the Forest of Dean.

In 1727 Thomas Wyndham approached the Palladian architect, Roger Morris, for a plan and estimate for rebuilding the Elizabethan house. The new house, which was probably begun the following year, was not, however, the conventional classical building one would expect of the date and architect. Instead, Morris produced for Wyndham the earlier of two Gothick castles which form such an unexpected element in his oeuvre. A Gothick house was plainly envisaged from the start, as the estimate includes £63 10s. for 320 ft. of ‘Bartellment wall with your Crest and Carv’d all 4ts’ (i.e. of battlements carved with the family crest and finished on all four sides). Like Morris’ other castle, Inveraray in Scotland, Clearwell was originally wholly symmetrical, but it contrives much more successfully than most early Gothick Revival houses to recreate the raw-boned roughness of the medieval fortress. Had Horace Walpole known it, he might well have described Clearwell as ‘having the true rust of the Barons’ wars’.

Clearwell Castle: the 18th century house is first recorded in this engraving of 1775, when it had already been extended at the rear.

In the mid 1720s, the Gothick style was beginning to be used for garden buildings but had perhaps never been applied to a full-scale house before. The idea may have been suggested by Lord Bathurst’s Alfred’s Hall in Cirencester Park, which like Clearwell was located deep in woodland; both buildings may also have been intended by their owners as temporary retreats for hunting and other rural recreations. Tim Mowl has pointed out the parallels with Lumley Castle  (Co. Durham), as remodelled by Vanbrugh in 1721-8. Lumley was fundamentally a real medieval castle, but whether consciously or otherwise Clearwell echoes the form of its west front: a low domestic range flanked by higher corner towers with immense angle buttresses and battlements. The oeil-de-beouf windows which decorate the basement of Clearwell, and which appear in some of Morris’ more orthodox Palladian works, such as Combe Bank, also occur in Vanbrugh’s remodelling of Lumley. Certainly Vanbrugh would seem to be the only architect whose works could have suggested the rugged masculinity which is Clearwell’s most impressive attribute, and Sir Howard Colvin pointed out a clear link between a design by Vanbrugh and Morris’ other Gothick castle, Inveraray.

As originally completed, the house consisted of just the two corner towers and linking hall, with a pair of stone staircases at the rear. Although planned on an immense scale, the house thus offered very little accommodation: Morris’ estimate refers only to a hall, great and common parlours, and a library. Not surprisingly, the Wyndhams soon added the lower, two-storey range across the back of the house, and the projecting library wing behind that. These additions certainly existed by 1775, and Professor Rowan has argued convincingly that they were made before Thomas Wyndham died in 1752. The later extensions and the entrance gateway and screen may also have been designed by Morris, who died in 1749, but the lodges flanking the screen are later additions.

Clearwell Castle: the hall as altered by John Middleton, c.1867. Image: Historic England.

None of Roger Morris’ original interiors survives, or is recorded, although it is possible that the splendid Classical chimneypiece in the hall is an original fitting. Caroline Wyndham, who inherited the estate about 1820, and married the Earl of Dunraven, lived here until 1870 and late in life employed the Cheltenham architect John Middleton to refit the interior, probably c.1867. Middleton, who is best known as a Gothic Revival church architect, was restrained from significant alterations to the exterior and provided a set of superb Classical chimneypieces and Palladian-style compartmented ceilings modelled on those in James Gibbs’ Book of Architecture, a fitting choice since it first appeared in 1728, the year Clearwell was begun.

Clearwell Castle: the house today.

In 1907 the last of the Wyndham owners sold Clearwell, and in 1911 it was bought by Colonel Vereker with over 2,000 acres. In 1929 the house was seriously damaged by fire, which destroyed most of Middleton’s decoration, although the chimneypieces survived and were incorporated in a modified restoration. After Col. Vereker’s death in 1947, the house was bought by the County Council, but no use was found for it and it was sold to a housebreaker who stripped off the lead roof and removed all the floors and other woodwork. Demolition seemed inevitable in the social climate of the 1950s, but Fate was cheated by Frank Yeates, a grocer from Blackpool, who had been brought up on the estate. He and his family acquired the house and slowly retrieved it from dereliction, initially while living in a caravan on the site,  although much work still remained to be done in the 1970s, when the house was used by a number of rock bands as an atmospheric place in which to write, rehearse and record their music. When the Yeates family sold Clearwell in 1981 the house was, remarkably, still unlisted, and unfortunately the new owners removed and sold a number of the surviving Middleton chimneypieces before this oversight could be corrected. In 1984 the house was sold to Mr & Mrs. Russell-Steele, who completed the restoration and opened the house as a hotel. It has since changed hands a number of times, and after a period back in private occupation, it is now a popular wedding venue.

Descent: Alice Walwyn (d. 1518), wife of Thomas Baynham (d. 1500) and later Sir Walter Denys (d. 1505), kt.; to son, Sir Christopher Baynham (c.1478-1540); to son, Sir George Baynham (c.1500-46); to son, Christopher Baynham (c.1528-57); to brother Richard Baynham (c.1530-80); to brother Thomas Baynham (c.1536-1611); to daughter Cecily (c.1583-1614), wife of Sir William Throckmorton (1579-1628), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Baynham Throckmorton (1606-64), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Baynham Throckmorton (1628-81), 3rd bt.; sold 1698 by his heirs to Francis Wyndham (d. 1716); to son, John Wyndham (d. 1725); to son, Thomas Wynham (d. 1752); to son, Charles Wyndham (later Edwin) (d. 1801); to son, Thomas Wyndham (d. 1814); to daughter, Caroline (d. 1870), wife of Windham Henry Quin (later Wyndham-Quin) (1782-1850), 2nd Earl of Dunraven and Mountearl; to her grandson, Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin; sold c.1882 to John Eveleigh Wyndham (d. 1887); sold 1893 to Henry Collins, whose mortgagees sold 1907 to the sitting tenant, Col. Alan Gardner (d. 1907); executors sold 1910 to James Lewis Lewis; sold 1911 to Col. Charles Vereker (d. 1947); sold 1952 to Frank Yeates; sold 1981 to Gresham family; sold 1984 to Mr & Mrs Russell-Steele;... sold 1997 to Country House Weddings Ltd.

Westbury Court, Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire

A manor house is recorded at Westbury from 1200, and the first buildings probably stood in a field south of the present garden. During the late Middle Ages and Tudor times the estate belonged to the Baynham family, and Sir Alexander Baynham (c.1460-1524) may have been the first member of his family to build on the site nearer the road where later houses stood. In his engraving of the house of c.1710, Kip shows an L-shaped house, with lower and perhaps older outbuildings in front of it, which was perhaps built or altered for Joseph Baynham (c.1536-1613) or after his son Alexander sold the estate in 1625. Sir Duncombe Colchester, is reputed to have altered the house in 1656, although nothing obviously of this date is detectable in Kip's print. The house's most distinctive feature was the extraordinary oriel window with its fish-scale tiled roof, a feature which could conceivably be of the 1650s. The main entrance stood at the end of a range, in the same way as at Ampney Park. The house had eleven hearths in 1672 and twenty-three rooms in 1715.

Westbury Court: the Kip engraving of the house and its water garden made c.1710.

Duncombe's son Maynard Colchester (1664-1715) turned his attention from the house to the garden, where between 1696 and 1705 he created a fashionable water garden with a long canal and a garden house at its southern end, together with a formal layout of yews, hollies, nut and fruit trees, and flowers. The detailed accounts for work on the garden mention over 3,500 yews, 2,500 hollies, Scots firs, filberts, laurestinus, tuberoses, phillyreas, plums, cherries, pears, peaches, apricots, nectarines, red and white grapes, tulips, iris, crocus, jonquil, hyacinths, narcissus, honeysuckle, mezereum, bay, asparagus, anemones, and ranunculus.  The accounts allow the progress of the works to be traced in some detail, but tantalisingly fail to identify the designer responsible. It may, however, not be a coincidence that Colchester was a friend of the widowed owner of nearby Flaxley Abbey, Catarina Boevey, who created a straight canal in her own garden. 

Westbury Court: the statue of Neptune

A few years later, c.1720, Maynard Colchester (d. 1756) enlarged the garden by building a second summerhouse and forming a second canal parallel to the first, which joins an earlier transverse canal (shown in the Kip engraving) to form a T-shape. A statue of Neptune was erected in the second canal which is reminiscent of some Bristol sculpture, and could be related to the statues of Neptune and Ceres at Hanham Court, and to the Hercules at Highnam Court. Westbury's Neptune is certainly older than the 1740s, and one story recounts that it was found in the River Severn. Whether this is true or not, it could well have come originally from Highnam, and been a component of a garden layout of some interest there, but there is no documentary evidence for this intriguing possibility.

The Jacobean Westbury Court was destroyed by fire in 1742, and Michael Sidnell, a Bristol house carpenter, was called in to design and erect a replacement. This house, which was a four-storey building of brick with stone dressings, took three years to erect, and may never have been properly finished. It is said to have been occupied only from 1780 to 1805, and in the latter year orders were given for its careful dismantling, and the sale of the building materials, which were reused in finishing Tutshill House (Gloucestershire) for Sir George Bolton. The Colchester family moved to a smaller house a few miles away, The Wilderness at Mitcheldean, but fortunately they continued basic maintenance of the gardens at Westbury as a destination for drives and picnics. At some point in the 1880s, Maynard Colchester-Wemyss replanted some of the topiary in the garden, but through misinterpreting the Kip print he made the topiary shapes rise out of the top of a hedge rather than a simple grass plat; an error that has been perpetuated in subsequent restorations.

Westbury Court: the new house built in 1895 attached to the larger garden pavilion. Image: Historic England

In 1895 the Colchester-Wemyss family moved back to Westbury, building a new house, not on the site of the earlier buildings but attached to the garden pavilion at the end of the Long Canal, which was radically altered in the process. The new house (the architect of which is not known) was a low building of two storeys with a hipped roof and a projecting wing. It survived until 1960, when the Colchester-Wemyss family sold the estate to a developer, who obtained planning permission to build ten houses in the garden and in c.1962 demolished the house and the original wall running the length of the Long Canal. 

Westbury Court: the restored garden pavilion in 1984. 
Image: Nicholas Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

The original garden pavilion was not demolished but was left badly damaged, and the canals were only saved at the last minute from being filled in. In 1964 the County and District Councils combined to buy the garden for preservation. The County Council built a home for the elderly on the site of the original house in 1967-8 and gave the garden to the National Trust, which after an extensive appeal raised the funds to recreate a formal garden and employed Paterson & Bishop of Cheltenham to restore the damaged pavilion in 1970. The garden is now entered through gatepiers bearing Baroque urns from Ebworth Park, moved here in about 1970, but the rusticated gatepiers with heraldic lion finials near the main road are, however, a survival of the 18th century house on the site. In its restored state, the garden captures better than any other in the county the feel of the gardens depicted by John Kip at the beginning of the 18th century, and is most appropriately planted only with varieties which would have been available at that time. In recent years, however, the planting has been damaged by flooding and the low-lying garden is now at risk from rising sea levels.

Descent: Sir Alexander Baynham (c.1460-1524); to son, John Baynham (c.1488-1528); to son, William Baynham (c.1511-68); to son Robert Baynham (c.1542-72); to brother, Joseph Baynham (c.1548-1613); to son, Alexander Baynham (b. 1589), who sold 1625 to John Dutton; sold 1628 to Nicholas Roberts (d. 1637) of Stanton Harcourt (Oxon); to son, Caesar Roberts (d. 1641); to uncle, Giles Roberts, who sold 1641 to Richard Colchester (d. 1643); to son, Sir Duncombe Colchester (d. 1694), kt., who came of age c.1650; to son, Maynard Colchester (d. 1715); to nephew, Maynard Colchester (d. 1756); to son, Maynard Colchester (d. 1787); to brother, John Colchester (d. 1801); to son, Maynard Colchester (d. 1860); to great-nephew, Maynard Willoughby Wemyss (later Weymss-Colchester and then Colchester-Wemyss) (d. 1930); to son, Sir Maynard Francis Colchester-Wemyss; sold 1944 to his brother, Col. J.M. Colchester-Wemyss (d. 1946); to widow, Stella Colchester-Wemyss, who sold 1960 to a developer; sold 1964 to Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucester Rural District Council; garden given 1967 to The National Trust.

Baynham family of Clearwell Court

Baynham, Thomas (1422-1500). Son of Robert ap Eynon alias Baynham (d. 1436) and his wife Margaret Abrahall (d. 1475?), born 9 April 1422. High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1479-80; Constable of St. Briavels Castle (Glos), jointly with his son Christopher, 1483. He married 1st, Margaret, daughter of Sir John Hody (d. 1441) of Stowell (Som.) and Nitheway, Brixham (Devon), Chief Justice of England, and 2nd, Alice (c.1457-1518), daughter and heir of William Walwyn (d. 1471), and had issue:

(1.1) Sir Alexander Baynham (1460-1524) [for whom see below, Baynham family of Westbury Court];

(1.2) William Baynham (d. c.1520); educated at Inner Temple; joint steward of Latimer lands in Gloucestershire from 1486; JP for Gloucestershire, 1486-1500; MP for Hindon (Wilts), 1491-92; married Eleanor, daughter of Richard Amerys, and had issue one son; buried in Temple church, London;

(2.1) Sir Christopher Baynham (c.1478-1540), kt. (q.v.);

(2.2) Elizabeth Baynham (d. 1511?); married 1st, by 1493, Robert Russell (d. 1502) of Strensham, and had issue at least one son; married 2nd, as his second wife, Sir Robert Throckmorton (d. 1518), kt. of Coughton Court (Warks), and probably had further issue; buried at Strensham (Worcs), where she and her first husband are commemorated by a brass; she is said to have died in 1511; her second husband died in Italy on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land;

(2.3) Isabell Baynham; married, c.1490, Sir Giles Brydges (d. 1512) of Coberley (Glos) and had issue at least one son (John Brydges (d. 1557), later 1st Baron Chandos of Sudeley) and two daughters; buried at Coberley;

(2.4) Anne Baynham; married 1st, Henry Clifford; married 2nd, by 1493, William Trye (c.1467-1525), and had issue at least one son;

(2.5) Susan(na) Baynham; married Ralph Butler (b. 1478) of Badminton (Glos) and had issue at least one son;

(2.6) Jane Baynham; married Fulk Walwyn (c.1467-1509) and had issue at least one daughter.

He also had an illegitimate daughter:

(X1) Maud Baynham (d. 1563); married William Wyrrall (d. 1577) of Bicknor (Glos) and had issue four sons and five daughters.

He inherited two-thirds of the manor of Mitcheldean (Glos) from his father and the other third in right of his second wife. After his second marriage he lived on his wife's estate at Clearwell and handed over his Mitcheldean property to his eldest son.

He died 16 February 1499/1500 and was buried at Mitcheldean, where he is commemorated by a monument; an inquisition post mortem was held 12 June 1500. His first wife probably died in the 1460s. His widow married 2nd, before 16 October 1503, as his fourth wife, Sir Walter Denys (d. 1505), kt. of Dyrham (Glos), and died 10 or 22 October 1518; her will was proved 4 February 1518/19.

Baynham, Sir Christopher (c.1478-1540), kt. Only son of Thomas Baynham (1422-1500) and his second wife, Alice, daughter and heir of William Walwyn of Bickerton, born about 1478. High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1511-12, 1517-18. He was knighted, 13 October 1513. He married Joan, daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan of Pencoyd (Mon.), and had issue, perhaps among others:

(1) Sir George Baynham (c.1500-46), kt. (q.v.);

(2) John Baynham; mentioned in the 1623 Visitation of Gloucestershire but not otherwise recorded and perhaps a mistake for the following;

(3) Thomas Baynham (d. 1587), of Noxon Park, Bream (Glos); (since he describes himself as 'gent' not 'clerk' in his will, he was presumably not the man of this name who was rector of Aston Ingham (Herefs), 1544-48 and Mitcheldean (Glos), 1548-50; the clergyman was perhaps his cousin); married Mary [surname unknown] and had issue four sons; will proved in Gloucester, 1587;

(4) Alice Baynham; married, after 1518, John Walsh (d. 1541) of Shelsley Walsh (Worcs), son of John Walsh of Shelsley Walsh, and had issue two sons and four daughters;

(5) Joan Baynham (fl. 1518); perhaps the 'Jane Baynham' who married James, son of Thomas Hyett of Lydney, and had issue two sons and three daughters;

(6) Dorothy Baynham; married Walter ap Robert, said to have been the son of Thomas ap Robert;

(7) Mary Baynham; married, as his first wife, Thomas Mill of Harescombe (Glos) but had no issue.

He inherited the manors of Clearwell, Noxon and Hatherways Court from his mother in 1518.

He died 22 June 1540. His wife was living in 1518 but her date of death is unknown.

Baynham, Sir George (c.1500-46), kt. Eldest son of Sir Christopher Baynham (c.1478-1540) of Clearwell and his wife Joan, daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan of Pencoyd, born about 1500. High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1544-45 and Constable of St. Briavels Castle. He accompanied the King's army into France in 1544 and was knighted by the king after the capture of Boulogne, 20 June 1546. He married 1st, c. 1524, Bridget (c.1506-26?), daughter of Sir William Kingston KG of Flaxley (Glos), kt., and 2nd, 1527 (settlement 15 November), Cecilia (d. 1585), daughter of Sir John Gage (1479-1556), kt. of Highmeadow (Glos), and had issue:

(1.1) Frances Baynham (c.1526-83), born about 1526; heir to her great-uncle, Sir Anthony Kingston (d. 1554), kt.; Lady in Waiting to Queen Mary I; married, as a child, about 1536, Sir Henry Jerningham (1510-72), kt. of Costessey Hall (Norfk), Constable of Gloucester Castle, 1528-72 and a leading figure at the court of Queen Mary I as Master of the Horse, 1557-59, son of Edward Jerningham of Somerleyton (Suffk), and had issue three sons and two daughters; buried at Costessey, 23 December 1583; will proved in the PCC, 15 February 1583/4;

(2.1) Christopher Baynham (c.1528-57) (q.v.);

(2.2) Richard Baynham (c.1530-80) (q.v.); 

(2.3) Joan Baynham (fl. 1585); married, before 1557, Sir Anthony Strelley (1528-91) of Strelley (Notts), son of Sir Nicholas Strelley (d. 1560), and had issue six sons and two daughters; living in 1585 but death not traced;

(2.4) Dorothy Baynham (fl. 1611); married 1st, Roger Williams (d. 1585) of Usk and Llangibby (Mon.) and 2nd [forename unknown] Morgan; living in 1611, when she was mentioned in her brother's will;

(2.5) Mary Baynham; married, after 1585, [forename unknown] Fenton of Fenton (Notts);

(2.6) Thomas Baynham (c.1536-1611) (q.v.);

(2.7) Anne Baynham (fl. 1585); married John Strelley (b. 1532) of Strelley (Notts), son of Sir Nicholas Strelley (d. 1560), and had issue at least two sons;

(2.8) John Baynham (fl. 1546); mentioned in his father's will, but died unmarried and without issue;

(2.9) George Baynham (fl. 1585); mentioned in his mother's will in 1585; probably died unmarried and without issue;

(2.10) Philippa Baynham (d. c.1636); inherited her husband's property in Newland, which she bequeathed to her nephew, William Williams; married, probably after 1585, William Connock alias Connox of Coleford (Glos) (d. 1623), but had no issue; died about 1636; will proved 6 February 1636/7;

(2.11) Alice Baynham; married, 27 May 1573 at Newland, Thomas Brayne (d. 1604) of Littledean (Glos); apparently predeceased her husband;

(2.12) Jane Baynham (fl. 1598); married, probably after 1585, [forename unknown] Turberfield.

He was given Clearwell Court in his father's lifetime. After the death of her second husband, his widow lived in Bristol.

He died 25 September 1546, and was buried at Newland; his will was proved 4 December 1548; an inquisition post mortem was held in 1546/7. His first wife probably died following childbirth in 1526. His widow married 2nd, Sir Charles Herbert MP (d. 1557?), kt., of Troy (Mon.); she died in June or July 1585 and her will was proved in the PCC, 8 July 1585.

Baynham, Christopher (c.1528-57). Eldest son of Sir George Baynham (c.1500-46), kt. and his second wife, Cecilia, daughter of Sir John Gage, kt., born about 1528. Educated at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1546/7). He was a minor at the time of his father's death and was made a ward of the Crown; he came of age in 1549/50 and paid a fine to avoid knighthood, 1554/5. He married Bridget, daughter of Arthur Porter, but had no issue.

He inherited Clearwell Court from his father in 1546. After his death, the estate passed in turn to his brothers Richard (d. 1580) and Thomas (d. 1611).

He died 6 October 1557 and was buried at Newland; an inquisition post mortem was held in 1558. His widow is said to have died at Calais (France) in 1558.

Baynham, Richard (c.1530-80). Second son of Sir George Baynham (c.1500-46), kt. and his second wife, Cecilia, daughter of Sir John Gage, kt., born about 1530. High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1570-71. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Clearwell Court from his elder brother in 1557.

He died in 1580.

Baynham, Thomas (c.1536-1611). Third son of Sir George Baynham (c.1500-46), kt. and his second wife, Cecilia, daughter of Sir John Gage, kt., born about 1536. High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1582-83, 1602-03. He married, c.1578, Mary, daughter of Admiral Sir William Winter (c.1521-89), kt. of Lydney (Glos), and had issue:

(1) Thomas Baynham (1581-1604?), baptised at Newland, 6 September 1581; died without issue in the lifetime of his father and was perhaps the man of this name buried at Bristol, 18 January 1603/4;

(2) Cecily Baynham (c.1583-1614) (q.v.);

(3) Joan Baynham (1585-1647), baptised at Newland, 17 November 1585; co-heiress of her father, inheriting land at Mitcheldean and Abenhall, to which she retired after the death of her husband; a Roman Catholic and religion, who is said to have been imprisoned for her faith at Gloucester in 1641; married John Vaughan (d. 1618) of Kinnersley (Herefs), and had issue three sons and one daughter; buried at Abenhall (Glos), 7 June 1647;

(4) George Baynham (1586-1606?), baptised at Newland, 23 October 1586; died without issue in the lifetime of his father; possibly the 'gent' of this name buried at St Saviour, Southwark (Surrey), 1 August 1606.

He inherited the Clearwell Court estate from his elder brother in 1580. At his death his property was divided between his daughters.

He died 2 October 1611 and was buried at Newland; his will was proved in the PCC, 21 June 1612, and an inquisition post mortem was held in 1613/14. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baynham, Cecily (c.1583-1614). Elder daughter of Thomas Baynham (c.1536-1611) and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir William Winter, kt. of Lydney (Glos), born about 1583. She was married*, 24 September 1602 'in an out malt room in the house of Thomas Bayneham in Newland by John Carelesse', curate of Morton Jeffries (Herefs), to Sir William Throckmorton (1579-1628), 1st bt.** of Tortworth (Glos) and Deputy Constable of the Forest of Dean, son and heir of Sir Thomas Throckmorton, kt. of Tortworth, and had issue (perhaps among others):

(1) Anne alias Hannah Throckmorton (fl. 1607), born before 1607; married, as his second wife, John Johnson (d. 1667) of Pinchbeck and Ayscoughfee Hall (Lincs), son of Francis Johnson of Lilford (Northants), and had issue one son; death not traced;

(2) Sir Baynham Throckmorton (1606-64), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(3) Elizabeth Throckmorton (1608-75), born 6 January 1607/8; named in the will of her grandfather and her sister-in-law, Dame Alice Throckmorton; died unmarried, 12 December, and was buried at Newland, 15 December 1675; will proved at Gloucester, 1676;

(4) Sir Nicholas Throckmorton (d. 1664), kt., of Hewelsfield, born after 1607; married Alice (d. 1670), daughter of Richard Gough of Hewelsfield (Glos) and had issue two sons and four daughters (including an elder son, Sir William Throckmorton (d. 1682), 4th bt., who was killed in a duel, whereupon the baronetcy became extinct); he died, heavily in debt, and was buried at Hewelsfield, 21 June 1664.

She inherited the Clearwell and Newland estates of her father in 1611.

She was buried at Tortworth (Glos), 20 November 1614. Her husband, who is said to have 'wasted his estate by riot and improvidence' married 2nd, Alice Morgan, and 3rd, Sarah Hall (fl. 1632); he died 18 July and was buried at Newland, 20 July 1628.

* The irregular character of this marriage led to a case in the diocesan consistory court in 1607 (Gloucestershire Archives, GDR vol. 100, p.359)

** His baronetcy was one of the second batch to be created, on 29 June 1611.

Throckmorton, Sir Baynham (1606-64), 2nd bt. Elder son of Sir William Throckmorton (1579-1628), 1st bt., and his wife Cecily, daughter of Thomas Baynham of Clearwell, baptised at Tirley (Glos), 5 August 1606. Educated at Inner Temple (admitted 1624). JP for Gloucestershire, 1634-45, 1660-64; Chief Forester of Forest of Dean, 1634-45; High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1642-43. In 1635 he acquired a Crown lease of the Forest of Dean and, with three partners, sought to develop its iron industry, but the venture did not prosper and he was obliged to convey his estates to trustees to settle his debts in 1637; in 1640 a new Crown grant was made to his arch-rival, Sir John Winter. In the Civil War he was an active Royalist, serving as a Commissioner of Array for the King and a Lt-Colonel in the Royalist cavalry until he was captured at Gloucester in 1645. His estates were sequestrated but as he did not pay the fine to redeem them, the estate was sold to Thomas Gookin, although this may have been a collusive purchase to circumvent the fine, as he eventually recovered the property. In 1659 he was held in preventive custody as a precaution against a Royalist revolt, being released on bail of £2,000. After the Restoration, he was elected MP for Gloucestershire, 1662-64. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 18 July 1628. He married, c.1626, Margaret (c.1610-35), daughter of Robert Hopton of Witham (Som.) and sister of the Royalist commander, Lt-Gen. Ralph Hopton (1596-1652), 1st Baron Hopton of Stratton, and had issue:

(1) Sir Baynham Throckmorton (1629-81), 3rd bt. (q.v.);

(2) Hopton Throckmorton (1631-54), baptised at Newland, 6 October 1631; died unmarried and was buried at St Mary-le-Strand, London, 24 October 1654;

(3) Maj. Thomas Throckmorton (d. 1656); an officer in the New Model Army, who was part of the invasion force under Col. Buller that captured Jamaica and was later sent back to the island as part of the garrison under Col. Sidgwick; he fomented discontent about lack of pay and poor conditions through petitions that attracted widespread support, but he overstepped the mark in insubordination and was court martialled for mutiny; sentenced to death he might have been reprieved if he had backed down, but he refused to do so and was shot in Jamaica in May 1656; his will proved in the PCC, 12 March 1656/7;

(4) William Throckmorton; died without issue and probably young;

(5) Francis Throckmorton; died without issue and probably young.

He inherited the Clearwell and Newland estate from his father in 1628.

He died 28 May 1664 and was buried at St Margaret, Westminster, 29 May 1664; he is commemorated by a monument at Newland church. His wife died in childbirth, 18 August 1635, and was buried at The Gaunts Chapel, Bristol, where she is commemorated by an elaborate monument.

Throckmorton, Sir Baynham (1629-81), 3rd bt. Elder son of Sir Baynham Throckmorton (1606-64), 2nd bt., and his wife Margaret, daughter of Robert Hopton of Witham (Som.), born at Evercreech Park (Som.), 11 December 1629. Educated at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1647). MP for Gloucestershire, 1656-58, Wootton Bassett, 1660-61 and for Gloucestershire, 1664-79 and a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, 1660-81. He was a pretty consistently loyal supporter of the Court party in Parliament, and in recognition of his political service to the king in Parliament, he received a Crown grant of Kingswood Forest (Glos) in 1670, which he was supposed to reafforest and stock with deer for the king's hunting; he had also to build a new lodge and suppress the enclosures made by squatters since forest law had ceased to be enforced. His attempt to take possession of the land led to a violent dispute with some 800 families of coal miners and smallholders who had encroached on the forest, who successfully him drove out along with the chief ranger and his officers, and the sheriff's bailiffs; nobody was killed but many narrowly escaped, and royal authority was never again asserted over Kingswood. He was a JP for Gloucestershire, 1657-81, DL for Gloucestershire, 1660-81, and an officer in the Gloucestershire militia (Lt-Col., 1660). Lord Herbert of Raglan (later 1st Duke of Beaufort) appointed him Deputy Constable of St. Briavels Castle and Deputy Warden of Forest of Dean, 1660-81, and he was popular with the free miners there on account of his defence of their privileges in Parliament; he himself was elected a Free Miner in 1668, and he sat as Judge of the Courts of Mine Law held at Clearwell in 1668, 1676, and 1680. It seems ironic that that he should at the same time have been supporting the rights of the commoners in Dean and seeking to suppress the commoners of Kingswood! He was widely employed on commissions, and was a member of the commission of enquiry into the Forest of Dean, 1679. He was knighted at Rochester (Kent), 28 May 1660, during King Charles II's progress to take the throne at the Restoration, and succeeded his father as 3rd baronet, 28 May 1664. He married* 1st, 11 December 1652 at the house of Ralph, Lord Hopton, in London, Mary (1635-66), daughter of Giles Garton of Billingshurst (Sussex) and 2nd, 11 December 1669 at St Dunstan, London, Katherine (b. c.1650), eldest daughter of Piers Edgcumbe of Mount Edgcumbe (Cornw.), and had issue:

(1.1) A daughter (d. 1654); died 25 July 1654 and was buried at Newland, where she is commemorated by a monument.

(1.2) Elizabeth Throckmorton (1657-83), born 7 June and baptised at Newland, 9 June 1655**; executor of her father's will; died unmarried, 27 January and was buried at Newland, 28 January 1683/4;

(1.3) Caroline Throckmorton (1661-1714), baptised at Newland, 29 August 1661; married, 1685 (licence 19 July), Capt. James Skrymshire (1659-1724), son of John Skrymshire of Norbury (Staffs); buried at High Offley (Staffs), 19 February 1713/4;

(1.4) Mary Throckmorton (c.1664-84), born betweeen 1662 and 1666; died unmarried, 29 January, and was buried at Newland, 30 January 1683/4, two days after her elder sister; administration of her goods was granted 8 December 1685;

(2.1) Catherine Throckmorton (1670-1720), born 26 October and baptised 23 November 1670; married, 23 December 1696 at Newland, Thomas Wylde (c.1670-1740) of The Commandery, Worcester, MP for Worcester, 1701-27 (who m2, 27 February 1720, Ann (1686-1761), daughter of the Hon. Robert Tracy of Coscombe House (Glos), justice of common pleas, and widow of Charles Dowdeswell MP (1689-1714) of Forthampton (Glos)), son of Robert Wylde of Worcester, and had issue one son and three daughters; buried at St Peter the Great, Worcester, 28 February 1719/20.

He inherited the Clearwell and Newland estate from his father in 1664; after his death the estate passed to trustees for his widow and daughters, who sold it in 1698.

He was buried at Clerkenwell, 31 July 1681, when the baronetcy passed to his cousin, Sir William Throckmorton, 4th bt.; it became extinct when Sir William was killed in a duel the following year. His will was proved in the PCC, 13 February 1681/2. His first wife died 2 April and was buried at Newland, 4 April 1666. His widow was living in 1696, but her date of death is unknown.

* He noted, in the Newland parish register, that both his marriages had taken place on his birthday.

** The Newland register for this period has been partially eaten by rats and the year is uncertain but inferred.

Baynham family of Westbury Court

Baynham, Sir Alexander (c.1460-1524). Elder son of Thomas Baynham (1422-1500) and his first wife, Margaret, daughter of Sir John Hody (d. 1441) of Stowell (Som.) and Nitheway, Brixham (Devon), Chief Justice of England, born about 1460. Educated at Lyon's Inn, London. He was knighted while on campaign in Scotland in 1482. High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1483-84, 1497-99, 1503-05, 1516-17; JP for Gloucestershire, 1500-24; a member of the commission of inquiry into the depopulation caused by the inclosure of arable land in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, 1517. Through his second marriage, he was closely connected with many of the leading figures in the county who supported the Protestant reformation, and it seems likely, though it is far from certain, that he shared those views. He married 1st, before 1487, Margaret, daughter of Sir Richard Vanne, kt., and 2nd, c.1494, Elizabeth (d. 1527), daughter of Henry Tracy and widow of Edmund Langley, and had issue*:

(1.1) John Baynham (c.1488-1528) (q.v.);

(2.1) Thomas Baynham (d. 1532); inherited the manor of Steeple Lavington (Wilts) from his younger brother; died unmarried and without issue; unlike his younger brother, he seems to have been well affected to the Catholic church, and his interesting will, proved 4 November 1532, makes provision for the tenants for life of his property to fund a priest to sing masses in memory of himself and his parents, but only for so long as this remains legal, so clearly he foresaw the possibility of the Protestant reformation;

(2.2) James Baynham (d. 1532), educated at the Inner Temple (admitted by 1518 but expelled by 1522 for non-payment of dues and for 'offences'); inherited the manor of Steeple Lavington from his father in 1524; he held Protestant views, then considered heretical, and was examined by Sir Thomas More and others, tortured, and executed for heresy; he married, c.1531, [forename unknown], the widow of Simon Fish (d. 1531), an evangelical lawyer and pamphleteer; he was burnt at the stake at Smithfield, 30 April 1532;

(2.3) Margaret Baynham (d. 1554); inherited a moiety of the manor of Steeple Lavington from her brother in 1532, subject to a life interest of Rev. Thomas Baynham of Mitcheldean, but sold it in 1537; married, as his second wife, John Peyto (c.1478-1542) of Chesterton (Warks), and had issue three sons and four daughters; will proved 17 August 1554;

(2.4) Joan alias Jane Baynham (fl. 1572); inherited a moiety of the manor of Steeple Lavington from her brother in 1532, subject to a life interest of Rev. Thomas Baynham of Mitcheldean, but sold it in 1572; married 1st, as his second wife, Robert Wye (d. 1544) of Over  Lypiatt (Glos), and had issue seven sons and two daughters; married 2nd, Hugh Westwood MP (d. 1559) of Chedworth (Glos), but had no further issue; living in 1572;

(2.5) Ellen alias Eleanor Baynham (d. 1524); died young and was buried at Westbury-on-Severn, 1524.

He received the Westbury Court estate as a gift from his father, perhaps on his first marriage. The manor of Steeple Lavington (Wilts) was settled on him and his second wife by her parents in 1494.

He died 25 September 1524 and was buried in the lady chapel at Westbury-on-Severn. His will was proved 19 November 1524 and an inquisition post mortem was held in 1524/5. His first wife died between 1488 and 1494. His widow died after 14 November 1527; her will was proved 21 January 1527/8 and an inquisition post mortem was held in 1527/8.

* Some sources attribute more of his children to his first marriage.

Baynham, John (c.1488-1528). Only child of Sir Alexander Baynham (c.1460-1524) and his first wife, Margaret, daughter of Sir Richard Vanne, kt., born about 1488. He married Anne, daughter and co-heir of Sir David Mathew (d. 1504), kt. of Radyr and St. Fagans (Glam.), and had issue, possibly among others:

(1) William Baynham (c.1511-68) (q.v.).

He inherited the Mitcheldean and Westbury estates from his father in 1524.

He died 6 August 1528; an inquisition post mortem was held in 1528/9. His widow married 2nd, Thomas Morgan; her date of death is unknown.

Baynham, William (c.1511-68). Only recorded child of John Baynham (c.1488-1528) and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir David Mathew, kt., of Radyr Court (Glam.), born about 1511. On his father's death, his wardship was granted to Sir John Gage, the father-in-law of his kinsman, Sir George Baynham of Clearwell, so his upbringing will have been in a Catholic household; nothing seems to be known of his own religious views. He married Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Blennerhasset of Princethorpe (Warks), and had issue:

(1) Robert Baynham (c.1542-72) (q.v.);

(2) Alexander Baynham; died without issue;

(3) William Baynham; died without issue;

(4) Joseph Baynham (c.1548-1613) (q.v.);

(5) Daniel Baynham (d. 1620); lived at Grange Court, Westbury-on-Severn; married, 24 December 1579 at Westbury-on-Severn, Silvester, daughter of John Hampton, and had issue three sons and four daughters; buried at Westbury-on-Severn, 29 August 1620;

(6) Francis Baynham; died without issue;

(7) Samuel Baynham; died without issue;

(8) William Baynham; died without issue.

(9) Elizabeth Baynham; married, 5 June 1569 at St Mary, Whitechapel (Middx), William Readston, and had issue two sons and two daughters;

(10) Anne Baynham; married, before 1590, Edward Weston (b. c.1550) of Chertsey (Surrey), second son of John Weston of Ockham and Send (Surrey), and had issue three sons and four daughters;

(11) Margaret Baynham; married, 12 December 1581/2 at Westbury-on-Severn, Charles Vaughan, but had no issue; 

(12) Mary Baynham; married, 18 November 1563 at Westbury-on-Severn, Thomas Elberton, but died without issue;

(13) Joan Baynham (b. 1558), baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 30 October 1558.

He inherited the Mitcheldean and Westbury estates from his father in 1528 and came of age in about 1532. He settled the manor on himself and his wife and their issue, 20 June 1542.

He died 10 August 1568; an inquisition post mortem was held 25 October 1568. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Baynham, Robert (c.1542-72). Eldest son of William Baynham (c.1511-68) and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Blennerhasset of Princesthorpe (Warks), born about 1547. Escheator for Gloucestershire, 1570-72. He married Mary [surname unknown] (d. 1610) but had no issue.

He inherited the Mitcheldean and Westbury estates from his father in 1568. At his death the Mitcheldean property passed to his widow for life, and only on her death in 1610 to his brother Joseph.

He was buried at Westbury-on-Severn, 15 October 1572; an inquisition post mortem was held at Gloucester Castle, 7 January 1572/3. His widow married 2nd, Sir Robert Woodruff (d. 1609), kt. of Eastbach Court, English Bicknor (Glos) and later Alvington Court (Glos); she died 14 March 1609/10 and was buried with her husband at Alvington, where they are commemorated by a monument erected at the cost of a dwarf maintained in their household.

Baynham, Joseph (c.1548-1613). Fourth, but second surviving son of William Baynham (c.1511-68) and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Blennerhasset of Princethorpe (Warks), born about 1548. High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1594-95. He was a noted Puritan and was the most prominent of forty dissenters recorded in Westbury in 1603. He married 1st, Ann, daughter of [forename unknown] Hampton; 2nd, Mary (d. 1587), daughter of Sir John Bonham (d. 1555), kt., of Hazelbury (Wilts), and 3rd, 15 February 1588 at Arlingham (Glos), Joan (d. 1612), daughter of William Smith of Brownshill (Glos) and widow of Thomas Bicke alias Becke of Arlingham, and had issue:

(2.1) Elizabeth Baynham (b. 1582; fl. 1610), baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 21 March 1581/2; married, 1610 (settlement 15 February 1609/10), Rev. John Hayward, curate of Leonard Stanley (Glos), son of Thomas Hayward of Wellington (Herefs);

(2.2) Dorcas (alias Dorothy) Baynham (1583-1668), baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 19 January 1583/4; married William Clutterbuck (c.1581-1655) of Kings Stanley (Glos) and had issue one son and three daughters; died 20 January and was buried 1 February 1667/8 at Wotton-under-Edge where she is commemorated by a memorial window;

(2.3) Mary Baynham (1584-85), baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 8 February 1584/5; died in infancy and was buried at Westbury-on-Severn, 1 April 1585;

(2.4) Ann Baynham (1587-91), baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 16 July 1587; died young and was buried at Westbury-on-Severn, 31 January 1591/2; 

(3.1) Alexander Baynham (1589-after 1643?) (q.v.);

(3.2) Ann Baynham (b. 1593), baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 11 March 1592/3; married Richard Barrow of Westbury-on-Severn.

(3.3) Joseph Baynham (b. 1596), baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 16 May 1596; lived at Arlingham in 1619 and later at Lypiatt; married, 12 September 1625 at Minchinhampton (Glos), Alice, fourth daughter of Robert Freame of Lypiatt (Glos), and had issue.

He inherited the Westbury Court estate from his elder brother in 1572 and the Mitcheldean estate on the death of his sister-in-law in 1610.

He died 19 July and was buried at Westbury-on-Severn, 20 July 1613; an inquisition post mortem was held in 1613/14. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His second wife was buried at Westbury-on-Severn, 17 July 1587. His third wife was buried at Westbury-on-Severn, 11 December 1612.

Baynham, Alexander (1589-after 1643?). Elder son of Joseph Baynham (c.1548-1613) and his third wife, Joan, daughter of William Smith of Brownshill (Glos) and widow of Thomas Becke, baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 27 January 1589/90. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford (matriculated 1609) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1611). Like his father, he was a Puritan in religion, and was fined for non-attendance at church in 1616 and 1623. He was probably the man who petitioned Parliament to request that the dispute between him and the master and owners of the ship John and Thomas, respecting certain goods shipped at Genoa, might be referred to merchants for arbitration. He married, apparently before 1604* as a child, although the settlement was not agreed until 1606, Elizabeth, daughter of Arnold Oldisworth** of Bradley Court, Wotton-under-Edge (Glos), Clerk of the Hanaper to King James I, and had issue, apparently among others:

(1) Joseph Baynham (b. 1613), baptised at Wotton-under-Edge, 26 December 1613; perhaps died young;

(2) Alexander Baynham (1615-c.1660?), baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 23 March 1614/5; probably to be identified with the man of this name who emigrated to Maryland, c.1642, lived for a while in Barbados and then settled in Westmoreland County, Virginia; married Anne (d. 1662) (who m2, c.1660, Thomas Butler (1626-78) of Washington, Virginia (USA)), daughter of James Baldridge of St. Mary's, Maryland (USA), and had issue at least one son (who died young) and three daughters; died between 1658 and 1662;

(3) Elizabeth Baynham (b. 1616), baptised at Westbury-on-Severn, 23 June 1616; living in 1623;

(4) Lucy Baynham (d. 1667); married, 20 November 1640 at St Margaret, Westminster (Middx), Rev. Henry Jeanes (1611-62), rector of Beer Crocombe (Som.), 1635-c.1643 and Chedzoy (Som.), 1647-62 and author of Presbyterian theological works, son of Christopher Jeanes of Kingston (Som.), and had issue; buried at Chedzoy, 22 May 1667.

He inherited the Westbury and Mitcheldean estates from his father in 1613. He sold the Mitcheldean estate to Nicholas Roberts in 1619, and the Westbury estate to John Dutton in 1625.

He was probably living in 1643, but his date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

* Alexander and Elizabeth his wife were parties to a deed executed by his father Joseph in 1604 [Gloucestershire Archives, D1677/GG/595]

** According to some accounts, Arnold Oldisworth emigrated to America and died in 1621.

Principal sources

Westbury on Severn Parish Magazine, October 1895 [copy at Gloucestershire Archives, (H)E13.19]; Dean Forest Guardian, 22 March 1929; Gloucestershire Countryside, 1955-58, p. 13; I.E. Gray, The making of the Westbury Court gardens, Garden History Society Occasional Paper 1, 1969 [copy at Glos Archives, PA354/2]; A. Rowan, ‘Clearwell Castle’ in H.M. Colvin & J. Harris, The country seat, 1970, pp. 145-9; K. Morgan & B.S. Smith, 'Westbury-on-Severn', in VCH Gloucestershire, vol. 10, 1972, pp. 85-93; Country Life, 27 September 1973, pp. 864-6, 13 October 1988, pp. 244-6; [Gervase Jackson-Stops], Westbury Court garden, 1984, pp. 21-22; T. Mowl & B. Earnshaw, Trumpet at a distant gate, 1985, p. 38; A.P. Baggs and A.R.J. Juřica, 'Newland', in VCH Gloucestershire, vol. 5, 1996, pp. 195-231; A.R. Warmington, Civil War, Interregnum and Restoration in Gloucestershire, 1997, pp. 192-202; D. Verey & A. Brooks, The buildings of England: Gloucestershire - The Vale and the Forest of Dean, 2002, pp. 798-800; T. Mowl, Historic gardens of Gloucestershire, 2002, pp. 53-6; D. Jacques, ‘Who knows what a Dutch garden is?’, Garden History, (30:2), 2002, pp. 114-30; K. Felus, ‘Westbury Court: an inward-facing garden?’, Gloucestershire Gardens & Landscapes Trust Newsletter, 34 (2005), pp. 8-10; A.C. Baynham, The life and times of a Forest family, 2011; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for Rev. Henry Jeanes (1611-62).

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive, although there are miscellaneous documents among the papers of the Colchester-Wemyss family of Westbury Court [Gloucestershire Archives, D36]

Coat of arms

Gules, a chevron between three bulls' heads cabossed argent, armed or.

Can you help?

• Can anyone supply a drawing or painting of the short-lived Georgian house at Westbury Court, demolished in 1805?
• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above.
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from descendants of the family who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgement

This post was first published 31 August 2021. I am grateful to Bill Cronin, Tim Mowl, Steven Parissien, Joyce Russell-Steele and Roger White for their help with this account.

(466) Bayly of Plas Newydd, baronets and of Ballyarthur

Bayly of Ballyarthur

The first of this family to make a name for himself was the Rt. Rev. Lewis Bayly (c.1575-1631), whose origins are obscure, but perhaps lay in Carmarthen. As a boy he evidently exhibited unusual ability in the schoolroom, and he was probably placed in the household of the Jones family of Abermarlais (Carms.) to learn genteel ways. He was ordained before the end of the 16th century, and began a rapid rise through the ecclesiastical hierarchy in 1597 as vicar of Shipston-on-Stour (Warks). Moving to Evesham (Worcs) in 1600, he quickly acquired a reputation as a preacher, whose Calvinistic views were tempered by a circumspect acceptance of the hierarchy and forms of the Church of England. By 1612, his sermons had been collected into a book (The practise of pietie) which was influential and widely read. In about 1604 he became a chaplain to Prince Henry and received several new preferments, although he still seems to have resided chiefly at Evesham. In 1612, after Prince Henry's death, he became a chaplain to the king, and in 1616 he was made Bishop of Bangor, in north Wales. Lewis was clearly an ambitious man, and ambitious for his sons as well as himself, since he abused his position as bishop to appoint three of his sons to benefices within his own diocese. Having established his sons by his first marriage in careers during his lifetime, he used his will to provide for his widow, Anne, and his two children by her. Anne, who was a Bagenal by birth, had brought him property in Anglesey and in Ireland, apparently including Plas Newydd, which he left to her for life with remainder to their son, Nicholas Bayly (c.1620-89). What happened next is not entirely clear. Either his interest in the Plas Newydd estate was something less than a freehold, or else after his widow's death in 1633 the Bagenals recovered possession - perhaps through a guardianship arrangement for the Bishop's children. At all events, by the time of his death in 1639 Arthur Bagenal was in possession, and his son Nicholas Bagenal (1629-1712) held Plas Newydd until his death. Only then was it bequeathed to the Bishop's grandson, Sir Edward Bayly (c.1662-1741), 1st bt.

Nicholas Bayly (c.1620-89), orphaned in 1633 and perhaps brought up by Bagenal relatives in Ireland, came of age in a world about to be plunged into Civil War. He was an enthusiastic Royalist, who suffered the sequestration of his property and was willing to join Penruddocke's Uprising in 1655 against the Commonwealth regime. In 1659, when the actions of General Monck began to make the Restoration of the Monarchy seem possible, he was the first man to bring the welcome tidings to King Charles II in exile. This coup, coupled with his loyalty and losses during the Civil War and Commonwealth (of which he never ceased to remind the monarch in petitions and memorials) gave him a claim on the king's generosity, and although circumstances did not permit the king to reward all those who deserved favour, he received a commission in the army and a series of further grants that added up to a more liberal reward than most received. Nonetheless, his life gives the impression of a rather footloose, insecure existence, with his time divided between London, Worcestershire (where he had a small property) and Ireland, where he probably spent most of his time on the Bagenal estates in Co. Down and Co. Louth.

Nicholas' only surviving son, Sir Edward Bayly (c.1662-1741), 1st bt., was brought up in Ireland and was for a decade an MP in the Irish Parliament. In 1712, on the death of his cousin, Nicholas Bagenal, he inherited Plas Newydd and the extensive Irish estates of the Bagenals, which must have transformed his circumstances. He was made a baronet in 1730, perhaps in a bid to re-attach his flexible political alleigance to the Whigs. Plas Newydd at this time was an ancient and remote manor house with little to commend it as a residence. It may, however, have been handed over to his eldest son, later Sir Nicholas Bayly (1709-82), 2nd bt., in the 1730s, when Nicholas became MP for Anglesey. In the 1740s Sir Nicholas was part of the circle of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and it was probably through introductions made at the Prince's court that he became sufficiently familiar with the new Gothick Revival style to make charming designs for the improvement of Plas Newydd that were executed in 1751-55. At his death, Plas Newydd and the baronetcy passed to his eldest son, Henry (1744-1812), who had already succeeded a cousin as 9th Baron Paget, and and taken the surname Paget. With the title had come the Beaudesert estate in Staffordshire, and there were to be further riches, for in 1780 he came into an extensive estate in Dorset and Somerset, based on Stalbridge Park, under the will of John Walter (d. 1753), who seems to have been no relation and whose motives for making the bequest are unknown. In 1784 Lord Paget was made 1st Earl of Uxbridge, and his son, the 2nd Earl, was further promoted to be Marquess of Anglesey. The Marquesses continued to hold Plas Newydd until it was given to the National Trust in 1974, but a full account of Henry and his descendants is reserved for a future post on the Paget family.

The third son of Sir Edward Bayly, 1st bt., was Lambart Bayly (c.1712-47), who was bred to the law and became a barrister in Dublin. He died young, leaving a widow and two young sons, who both entered the church. The younger, the Very Rev. John Bayly (1747-1831), held a succession of valuable offices in the Church of Ireland, and ended up as Dean of Lismore. His elder brother, the Rev. Edward Bayly (1743-1825), was rector of Arklow (Co. Wicklow) for a quarter of a century, but after his rectory was burned down during the 1798 rebellion, he moved away and resigned the rectory in favour of his son, Rev. Henry Lambart Bayly (1774-1827). Both men married well, and in 1819 Henry inherited the Ballyarthur estate in the famously beautiful vale of Avoca (Co. Wicklow) from his uncle, the Rev. James Symes, and continued the work of landscaping the property. Ballyarthur has remained the property of his descendants down to the present day; a relatively rare example of such continuity in the Republic through the troubles of the early 20th century and the harsh economic climate of the mid 20th century. 

Plas Newydd, Llanedwen, Anglesey

The present plain late 18th century exterior conceals a house with medieval origins and a complex history. According to Rowlands Mona Antiqua (1710), the first house on the site was built for Robert Griffith of Penrhyn in the early 16th century, but it may well have been rather earlier since a stone doorway in the cellar has been dated to c.1470. It was one of at least five houses on the Menai Strait which included both a great hall and a chapel. The hall was at right angles to, and south of, the chapel which projected to the west and divided the hall courtyard from the kitchen court. Of this house all that survives today are the end walls of the hall and a spiral staircase descending to the cellars, where the stone doorway mentioned above probably led into an undercroft. There are, in fact, two levels of cellars, the lower of which is connected by a passage to the hillside below the house: this was no doubt the route by which goods arriving by water were brought into the house.

Plas Newydd: watercolour by Moses Griffith, 1776, showing the east front of the pasteboard Gothick castle built by Sir Nicholas Bayly in 1751-55.
On the right, part of the earlier house can be seen, including the gable end of the medieval/Tudor chapel.

In the late 16th and early 17th century, the Plas Newydd estate passed twice through the female line to come into the possession of the Bayly family, and the house may have been modernised and enlarged by the Rt. Rev. Lewis Bayly (d. 1631), who was bishop of Bangor. By 1639 it was back in the hands of Bagenals, who held it until 1712, when it was bequeathed to Sir Edward Bayly (c.1662-1741), 1st bt. He may have handed it over to his son, later Sir Nicholas Bayly (1709-84), 2nd bt., who began the process of remodelling the house by building a new range back to back with the old house, so as to create a double pile. Work may have begun as early as 1745, when workmen were paid for bringing 18,000 slates to the site, but the main period of construction was in 1751-55. Sir Nicholas was an enthusiast for the newly fashionable Gothick style, and evidently acted as his own designer. Although his new rooms were classical in plan, with a central bow on the saloon, externally the house was disguised as a castle with pointed windows, quatrefoils, battlements and towers, all executed in the most charming pasteboard style. In his letters to his agent he refers repeatedly to 'the deck' on top of the round tower as if it was a naval lookout, while the accounts for later alterations in the 1780s often refer to the octagon tower as 'Mount Rascal', a name with a strong suggestion of the folly about it.

Plas Newydd: a watercolour of the east front in 1833 by Lady Catherine Jenkinson, showing it as altered in the 1780s. Image: Royal Collections Trust.

When Sir Nicholas died in 1784 the estate passed to his eldest son, Henry (1744-1812), who in 1769 had succeeded to the Paget of Beaudesert barony and to the Staffordshire estates of that family, As Henry Paget, he was made Earl of Uxbridge in the year of his father's death. Rich from coal in Staffordshire, copper from Anglesey, and an estate of 100,000 acres, he was largely responsible for transforming Plas Newydd into the house that exists today.  His work was carried out in three phases. In the first phase, of 1783-86, his architect was the local builder-architect, John Cooper of Beaumaris (Anglesey), with additional advice from a neighbour, Col. William Peacock of Plas Llanfair. Cooper extended Sir Nicholas Bayly's east front to create a symmetrical thirteen-bay, three-storey front, and refaced it in Moelfre limestone. Bayly's Gothick decoration was largely removed, although the house remained in Gothick vein, with two pinnacles, battlements, hoodmoulds over the sash windows, and two four-centered garden doors.

Lord Uxbridge's second phase, of 1793-99, involved remodelling the west front and refitting the interior of the house. This time the works were directed by James Wyatt, who he had employed at Beaudesert in 1771-72 but who was now at the height of his career and hopelessly over-committed. Wyatt brought in Joseph Potter of Lichfield, who also worked as his assistant at Lichfield and Hereford Cathedrals, but who emerged as a fully-fledged independent architect in the 1790s. At Plas Newydd they worked so closely together that their respective contributions are hard to disentangle. Wyatt signs surviving drawings for the classical refitting of the mid 18th century saloon and ante rooms, and Potter those for the more striking Gothick hall and dining room, while those for the classical staircase hall are in a third and as yet unidentified hand. But even where Potter signs the drawings, the spirit and some of the details are so close to other commissions by Wyatt that his must be the guiding hand. As time passed, Potter was probably trusted to do more and more of the work, which no doubt explains why his name appears on the later drawings and why early 19th century guidebooks credited Potter rather than the more famous Wyatt with the whole remodelling.

Plas Newydd: engraving of the west front in 1802, showing the remodelling by Wyatt and Potter.
In the background can be seen Potter's new stables of 1797.

Whereas the works of the 1750s and 1780s had concerned the east front of the house, externally those of the 1790s focused on the west side. Lord Uxbridge decided to replace the medieval hall with a taller and much deeper dining room, and brought the front wall forward to align with the wings to either side. This formed a new Gothic centre for the west front and was embattled and lit by three tall pointed windows with wooden tracery on each of the two floors. At either end slim octagonal angle turrets separated the centre from three-bay wings and there were matching corner turrets. Since the room behind the centre was to be a dining room not an entrance hall, a central porch was not appropriate, and two shallow porches with canted sides and delicate Gothick vaulting were provided to either side: the right one leading to a new Gothick entrance hall and the left one (since removed) leading into the staircase hall.

Plas Newydd: the ceiling of the entrance hall, designed by Joseph Potter with input from James Wyatt.

The Gothick hall has elaborate plaster vaults incorporating three small oval traceried domes, the middle one of which was formerly glazed. As first built, there were four canopied niches on the side walls, removed to create more hanging space in the mid 20th century when the Paget family pictures from Beaudesert were moved here. The end bay has a very pretty triple-arched timber screen supporting a gallery with clustered shafts, traceried spandrels and a gallery balustrade of cusped lozenges that prefigures a similar feature of 1811 at Ashridge (Herts). Potter, who was by original trade a joiner, no doubt made the screen in his workshop in Lichfield. Double Gothic doors divide the hall from the Music Room (formerly the dining room) behind the centre of the west front. Here the vault, constructed in 1796-98, echoes those which Wyatt designed in 1792 for Magdalen College Chapel, Oxford (since removed) and in 1795 for the Great Room at Auckland Castle. But Potter signed the drawings and supplied the timber shafts, ribs, bosses and chimneypieces from his workshop. Sadly, the crocketed ogee doorcases were removed in the 1930s, when stone-coloured paint was applied to the Gothic interiors and in the staircase hall.

Plas Newydd: the staircase hall

Plas Newydd: the saloon, as remodelled by James Wyatt in 1793-97.

In contrast to the two great medieval rooms on the west front, Wyatt's neo-classicism prevails in the rooms behind the east front. The friezes of draped roundels in the Ante Room, the Octagon Room, the Breakfast Room and the former Billiard Room are to his design, while the saloon has an elaborated garland frieze. Adamesque doorcases were removed from the saloon in the 1930s. Westmacott supplied the chimneypieces here and in the Octagon Room, while Potter supplied the mahogany doors: no less than five matching sets of double doors in the breakfast room. West of the breakfast room is the staircase hall, a classical space with twin fluted scagliola columns on the landing and in the window embrasure opposite. The broad cantilevered stone staircase has elegant iron and brass anthemion balusters, made and installed by Potter in 1798.

The third phase of Lord Uxbridge's works was undertaken in 1805-09, and consisted largely of the replacement of the old service buildings north of the house with a new service wing, running north from the main part of the house to a small three-sided court. At the end of this range nearest to the house a new chapel was built to replace the medieval one which was presumably taken down in 1793 when the alterations to the west front began. The new chapel was fitted up in 1806-07 with an elaborate plaster fan vault created by Francis Bernasconi. Potter signs the drawing for it, but Wyatt must have been involved since the arrangement of the chapel repeats that of Wyatt's chapel at Auckland Palace with the altar on the long wall and the stalls opposite. 

Plas Newydd: Potter's Gothick chapel repurposed as the Gaiety Theatre in the 1890s. Image: National Trust.

Little more was done to the house in the 19th century, but in the 1890s the high camp and theatrically obsessed 5th Marquess of Anglesey converted the chapel into the 'Gaiety Theatre' in which he could put on elaborate and richly costumed performances for his house guests. The 6th Marquess, who had very different priorities, made far more radical changes. He began work in 1922-31 with Owen Carey Little as his architect, restoring and updating the house, remodelling the old service wing to provide new guest bedrooms with bathrooms attached, and roofing over the service court to provide a new staff recreation room. 

Plas Newydd: the east front today, as altered by Goodhart-Rendel in the 1930s.

Plas Newydd: the capriccio painting of 1936-37 by Rex Whistler in the dining room. Image: The National Trust.

After a short pause, H.S. Goodhart-Rendel was brought in to make external changes, replacing the battlements with plain parapets and substituting pepper pot turrets for the original spikier ones. He also replaced the originally uniform sash windows with different forms on each floor. The service range to the north was given an extra storey, raising it to the same height as the main building, and this involved the destruction of the chapel/theatre which was replaced by a new library and dining room. The dining room was decorated in 1936-37 by the artist Rex Whistler - a friend of the family - with a spectacular architectural seascape full of fascinating details and in-jokes, on a canvas 58 feet long that occupies the whole of one long wall. The end walls were decorated with trompe l'oeil vistas of receding arcades which seem to extend the quayside in the main picture, and even the ceiling has grisaille panels with classical motifs. The ensemble is widely recognised as Whistler's greatest work, and goes a long way to compensate for the other changes by the 6th Marquess which so much damaged the aesthetic interest of the house.

The situation of Plas Newydd on the Menai Straits has often been noted as one of its chief glories, but the setting of the house owes its present character largely to the intervention of landscape gardeners. Work on improving the setting was presumably begun in the 1750s by Sir Nicholas Bayly, whose letters indicate that he envisaged his towers as the bridge of a ship. The natural hillside below the house had already been transformed into a smooth sloping lawn before Humphry Repton prepared a Red Book  1798-99 describing his ideas for improvements. He criticised 'over-hasty clearances' of woodland which had already taken place, and proposed screening the house from the playfully Gothick new stables, designed by Potter in 1797, improving the approach, and thickening the existing woodland. He re-routed the drive to bring it out at the extreme north-west corner of the grounds, where the Grand Lodge, with a Gothic gate screen, was built by Potter in 1805. Originally more decorative was the Gothick Druid's Lodge, built as the gamekeeper's house in the park, or possibly as the agent's house, in the early 19th century. It was unfortunately remodelled in the Arts & Crafts style when it became the estate laundry in 1914.

Plas Newydd: Druid's Lodge in its original early 19th century form. Image: Guy Peppiatt Fine Art.

After the Second World War, the 7th Marquess of Anglesey found the house impossibly large, and the north wing was rented out to provide teaching facilities and accommodation for the naval cadets of HMS Conway. After the school closed in 1974, he handed over the house and estate to the National Trust, which has opened it to the public since 1976.

Descent: Edward Griffith; to daughter, Eleanor (d. 1573), wife of Sir Nicholas Bagenal (c.1510-91); to son, Sir Henry Bagenal (1556-98); to daughter Anne (d. 1633), wife of Rt. Rev. Lewis Bayly (c.1575-1631); to son, Nicholas Bayly (c.1620-89) from it passed by uncertain means to Arthur Bagenal (d. 1639); to son, Nicholas Bagenal (d. 1712); to cousin, Sir Edward Bayly (d. 1741), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Nicholas Bayly (1709-82), 2nd bt.; to son, Henry Bayly (later Paget) (1744-1812), 9th Baron Paget and later 1st Earl of Uxbridge; to son, Henry William Paget (1768-1854), 2nd Earl of Uxbridge and later 1st Marquess of Anglesey; to son, Henry Paget (1797-1869), 2nd Marquess of Anglesey; to son, Henry William George Paget (1822-80), 3rd Marquess of Anglesey; to half-brother, Henry Paget (1835-98), 4th Marquess of Anglesey; to son, Henry Cyril Paget (1875-1905), 5th Marquess of Anglesey; to cousin, Charles Henry Alexander Paget (1885-1947), 6th Marquess of Anglesey; to son, George Charles Henry Victor Paget (1922-2013), 7th Marquess of Anglesey, who gave it in 1974 to The National Trust.

Ballyarthur, Avoca, Co. Wicklow

Ballyarthur House: entrance front. Image: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

A five-bay rendered house of two storeys above a basement, said to have been built as a hunting lodge in about 1680, although none of the external details seems to be so early. On the entrance front, the central three bays are broken forward slightly under a pediment, and this, together with the tripartite windows which appear rather randomly around the house, are evidence of changes in the early 19th century, while the battlemented porch and the chunkily battlemented parapet which runs around three sides of the house and continues over the pediment on the entrance front without a break might be rather later. Internally much of the original detailing is said to survive. At the rear a short service wing projects, which is also battlemented.

Ballyarthur House: the view from the Octagon House on the demesne over the vale of Avoca, 1835.

The house is set within a large wooded demesne occupying a bend in the River Avoca, which was landscaped with some care in the early 19th century. Although the house was considered 'ill-placed, being considerably above the trough of the river', the grounds were celebrated for the picturesque views they offered over the river, and are mentioned by many of the picturesque tourists who came this way.  An 'octagon moss-house' was built to command the best view, and a plate of this prospect appeared in Picturesque sketches of some of the finest landscape and coast scenery of Ireland, vol. 1 (1835). Earlier travellers thought the approach to the house by the local roads 'very shocking' and inconsistent with the charms of the estate, but in 1814-15 a new picturesque drive was laid out to the north to provide a more elegant approach with easy gradients. In July 1815, William Smith 'went out of the demesne through an elegant new entrance which Mr Symes is building at Newbridge', which must refer to the Gothic gateway and lodge that survives today. They represent an advanced design for so early a date and Kimmitt Dean is probably right to suggest that they were designed by Sir Richard & William Vitruvius Morrison, who were then working at the neighbouring Shelton Abbey estate.

Descent: Owen Jones sold 1683 to Peter Craddock; sold 1699 to Richard Mitchelburne (d. c.1719); to niece, Elizabeth, wife of Rev. Michael Symes (d. 1750); to son Richard Symes (d. 1780); to son, Brig-Gen. Richard Mitchelburne Symes (d. 1794); to brother, Rev. James Symes (d. 1819); to nephew, Rev. Henry Lambart Bayly (1774-1827); to son, Edward Symes Bayly (1807-84); to son, Edward Richard Bayly (1845-1907); to son, Edward Archibald Theodore Bayly (1877-1959); to son, Edward Archibald Richard Bayly (1922-2017); to son, Edward Alexander Christian Bayly (b. 1967).

Wardenstown, Killucan, Co. Westmeath

An estate map of c.1804 marks a 'castlefield' east of the walled garden, so it seems likely that there was a fortified house here in the 17th century. The present five-bay rendered house was built about 1810, presumably for the tenant, George Webb, who leased the estate from 1806,  but it may incorporate some of the fabric of a previous house of c.1740. 

Wardenstown House: entrance front in 2017.

The main block now has two storeys, built over a basement at the rear, with modern single-storey over basement extensions on that side. However, the house was originally of three storeys and was reduced in height rather ineptly in the 20th century following a fire. The ground floor has six-over-six pane sash windows, but on the first floor the windows are awkwardly six-over-three panes, which coupled with the very low-pitched roof gives the house a rather squashed appearance. There is a fine central segmental-headed doorcase on the west front flanked by sidelights with leaded spider's web fanlight over, but unfortunately the original double doors have been replaced. At the rear is an extensive complex of single and two-storey rendered rubble stone outbuildings with slate roofs, as well as a further later courtyard of outbuildings built about 1850.

Descent: Col. William Berry (d. 1718); Richard Berry (d. 1725); to daughter, Mary (d. 1761), wife of Humphrey Butler (c.1700-68), 2nd Viscount and later 1st Earl of Lanesborough; to son, Brinsley Butler (1728-79), 2nd Earl of Lanesborough; to son, Richard Herbert Butler (1759-1806), 3rd Earl of Lanesborough, after whose death it was leased 1806 to George Webb (1756-1839) and later his son, Thomas Montgomerie Webb (1792-1860); sold about 1850 to Capt. Crofton Thomas Croisdale Vandeleur (c.1807-76); to son, Crofton Thomas Burton Vandeleur (1842-81); to widow, Hon. Maletta Vandeleur (d. 1910) and then to his cousin, Crofton Talbot Bayly (later Bayly-Vandeleur) (1881-1927); to widow, Ruth Sidney Bayly-Vandeleur (1887-1975), who sold c.1960...Maj. & Mrs. Robert Lucas-Clements (fl. 1992); sold 2005... for sale in 2017.

Bayly family of Plas Newydd, baronets

Rt. Rev. Lewis Bayly (c.1575-1631)

Bayly, Rt. Rev. Lewis (c.1575-1631). Parentage uncertain, but his father may have been the Rev. Thomas Bayly, curate of Carmarthen. Little is known about his education, but he acquired significant learning in the Bible and in classical languages. At some point he entered the household of the Jones family of Abermarlais (Carmarthens), and it may have been through them that he secured his first preferment. There is no evidence that he was a university graduate before being ordained, but he was later a mature student at Exeter College, Oxford (BD 1611; DD 1613) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1615). He was appointed vicar of Shipston-on-Stour (Warks), 1597-1600 and then vicar of Evesham (Worcs), 1600-16. While at Evesham, he became headmaster of the grammar school and assisted in procuring a royal charter of incorporation for the town. He became a renowned preacher, and it was his ability in this field which led to his appointment as a chaplain to Prince Henry in about 1604. Alongside his royal duties he turned his Evesham sermons into one of the classics of protestant devotional literature, The Practise of Pietie (1612), written from the standpoint of a conformist Calvinist, which went through many editions and was translated into several foreign languages. Following his appointment as a royal chaplain he collected many other preferments, although he continued to reside principally at Evesham: these included the benefices of Llanedy (Carmarthens), 1605, Weaverham (Ches.), 1607 and St Matthew, Friday Street, London, 1612-16; the Treasurership of St Paul's Cathedral, 1610-16, the Archdeaconries of St Albans, and Anglesey, 1616; a Canonry at Lichfield 1614-20 and the Mastership of St John's Hospital, Lichfield, 1614-26. After the death of Prince Henry in 1612 he became a chaplain to King James I, and was then further promoted to be bishop of Bangor 1616-31. As Bangor was a poor diocese he was permitted to hold the rectories of Llanbeulan, Llanddeusant, and Trefdraeth (all Anglesey) and Llanfihangel Itraith (Merioneths) in commendam from 1624. Although Bayly gained a high profile and royal favour, his later career was several times disturbed by his strong opinions and quarrelsome nature. In 1612 he was reprimanded by the privy council for bringing accusations of popery against its members, including the earl of Northampton, and for disputing with the king on the sabbath. In north Wales, his episcopate proved controversial and he had several quarrels with powerful local figures, including Sir John Wynn of Gwydir and John Griffith of Cefnamwlch. In 1621 Bayly was committed to the Fleet for a spell of imprisonment, as a result of his expressed opposition to the Book of Sports. Finally, in 1626, Sir Eubule Thelwall, MP for Denbighshire, accused him in parliament of embezzlement, sexual misdemeanours, and of appointing inappropriate, unqualified or non Welsh-speaking candidates to benefices, including his own sons. Bayly strongly defended himself against the many accusations, and maintained that he had appointed learned preachers and encouraged preaching, supervised his clergy, catechized, given hospitality beyond his means, and spent £600 repairing the cathedral. In 1629 he supported the printing of a Latin–Welsh/Welsh–Latin dictionary which appeared in 1632. He married 1st, by 1595, Judith, daughter of Thomas Appleton of Little Waldingfield (Suffk), and 2nd, Ann (d. 1633), daughter of Sir Henry Bagenal (1556-98), and had issue:

(1.1) Rev. John Bayly (1595/6–1633), born about the end of 1595 or beginning of 1596; educated at Exeter College, Oxford (BA 1615; MA 1617; BD and DD 1630); ordained by his father, 1617; Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, 1612-19; appointed by his father to several benefices in Anglesey and Denbighshire; precentor of Bangor Cathedral, 1620; Guardian of Christ's Hospital, Ruthyn; a chaplain to King Charles I; he married and had issue one daughter; died in the summer of 1633;

(1.2) Mary Bayly (fl. 1631); married, 30 July 1622 at St Margaret, Westminster, Rev. William Hill, rector of Trefdraeth (Anglesey); living in 1631;

(1.3) Rev. Theodore Bayly (b. 1598), baptised at Shipston-on-Stour (Warks), 15 January 1598/9; rector of Llanllyfni (Anglesey), -1631; married and had issue; living in 1631;

(1.4) Theophilus Bayly (b. 1602), baptised at All Saints, Evesham, 28 November 1602; possibly the man of this name living in London in 1640;

(1.5) Rev. Thomas Bayly (1607-c.1657), baptised at All Saints, Evesham, 20 March 1607; educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge (matriculated 1627; BA 1628; MA 1631) and then transferred to Oxford (DD 1644); ordained deacon, 1629, and priest, 1630; vicar of Llanwynno, and Llandinam, 1630; rector of Llaniestyn, 1631; rector of Llandyrnog by 1632; rector of Holgate, (Shrops), 1634; sub-dean of Wells, 1638; during the Civil War he became an officer in the Royalist army under the Marquess of Worcester and he was present at the siege of Raglan Castle (where he is said to have largely framed the articles of surrender); after the execution of King Charles I, he published Certamen religiosum (1649) and The Royal Charter Granted unto Kings by God Himself (1649) and was imprisoned by the Commonwealth regime; after being released in 1650 he went abroad and toured in Flanders and France, an experience which evidently caused him to convert to Roman Catholicism by 1654, when he published An End to Controversy between the Roman Catholique and the Protestant Religions Justified; in 1655 he went to Rome, according to some accounts to act as Cromwell's ambassador there, although this seems unlikely; he was unmarried and without issue, and is thought to have died in Italy, perhaps at Ferrara, in about 1657;

(2.1) Nicholas Bayly (c.1620-89) (q.v.);

(2.2) Ellinor Bayly (fl. 1631).

He may have leased Plas Newydd from his second wife's mother, but after his death it reverted to Arthur Bagenal in circumstances that are obscure.

He died 26 October 1631 and was buried in Bangor Cathedral on the south side of the communion rails, but without a monument; his will was proved in the PCC 2 May 1632. His first wife died on 26 March 1608. His widow died in 1633.

Bayly, Nicholas (c.1620-89). Only son of Rt. Rev. Lewis Bayly (c.1575-1631) and his second wife Ann, daughter of Sir Henry Bagenal, kt., born about 1620. During the Civil War and Commonwealth he was an enthusiastic Royalist and had a commission from Charles I to raise a regiment in Ireland; his property was sequestrated. For his participation in Col. Penruddock's Uprising of 1655, he was pursued by Oliver Cromwell into Wales, where he narrowly escaped capture by a troop of horse. He was the first man to bring news of General Monk's entry into London to King Charles II at Brussels in 1659. After the Restoration, he was an officer in the army (Capt., 1661; Maj. 1662; retired 1678); Governor of Inishboffin and deputy Governor of Isle of Aran, 1666; MP for Newry in the Irish Parliament, 1661-66; and a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King Charles II. In 1673 he had a grant, in consideration of his service to the king, of fee-farm rents in Northumberland worth £271 a year, in lieu of previous grants from which he had received no benefit. He married, January 1658/9 at St Benet, Paul's Wharf, London, Dorothy alias Ann* Hall (d. 1714), and had issue:

(1) Ann Bayly (b. 1660), baptised at St Clement Danes, London, 19 March 1659/60;

(2) Sir Edward Bayly (c.1662-1741), 1st bt. (q.v.);

(3) Bagnold Bayly (b. 1664), baptised at St Clement Danes, London, 20 January 1664/5; died young before 1681.

He and his wife were granted a lease of the manor of Henwick in Hallow (Worcs) by Martha Hall but surrended it to the Bishop of Worcester in 1665. 

He is said to have died in 1689. His widow was buried at St Michael, Dublin, 5 March 1713/4.

* Her name is usually given in contemporary sources as Dorothy but at the baptism of her daughter her name was given as Ann (perhaps as a simple error).

Bayly, Sir Edward (c.1662-1741), 1st bt. Only surviving son of Nicholas Bayly (c.1620-89) and his wife Dorothy Hall, born about 1662 (his father said he was 'about 20' in a petition to the king in 1681). Commissioned as an ensign in Viscount Mountjoy's Regiment of Foot, 1685.  Whig MP for Newry in the Irish Parliament, 1704-14, although he had joined the Tories by 1713; Burgess of Carlingford (Co. Down), 1714; High Sheriff of Co. Down, 1730. He was created a baronet, 4 July 1730. He married, 1708 (licence 28 August), probably at St Mary, Dublin, Dorothea (d. 1745), fifth daughter of Hon. Oliver Lambart of Painstown (Co. Meath), granddaughter of Charles Lambart, 1st Earl of Cavan, and sister and co-heir of Anthony Lambart (d. 1734), and had issue:

(1) Sir Nicholas Bayly (1709-82), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(2) Very Rev. Edward Bayly (c.1710-85), born about 1710; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1726; BA 1730; MA 1734; hon. DD 1768); Treasurer of Down and rector of Kilkeel and Kilmegan, 1735-85; Chancellor of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, 1766-72; Archdeacon of Dublin, 1772-85; Dean of Ardfert, 1766-85; he published a number of sermons, 1758-70 and A plain and affectionate address, (1780);  married, 13 February 1738/9, Catherine, daughter of Capt. James Price of Hollymount (Co. Down) and widow of John Savage of Portaferry, and had issue one daughter; died 11 June 1785 and was buried in St Peter, Dublin, where he is commemorated by a monument;

(3) Bagenal Bayly (b. c.1711), born about 1711; died young and was buried at Dublin;

(4) Lambart Bayly (c.1712-47) [for whom see below, Bayly family of Ballyarthur];

(5) Capt. Charles Bayly (fl. 1788); an officer in the Royal Marines (Capt., 1749; retired after 1760); married, 4 June 1756 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), Anne, daughter of Richard Graves (otherwise Greaves) of Moseley Hall (Worcs), but had no issue; living in 1788;

(6) Dorothy Bayly (d. 1786); married, 25 May 1747 at Llanedwen (Anglesey), as his second wife, Robert Davies (d. 1763) of Gwysaney (Flints) and Llanerch (Denbighs), but had no issue; lived latterly in St Stephen's Green, Dublin; buried at St Peter, Dublin; will proved 31 July 1786;

(7) Arabella Bayly (d. 1755); died unmarried and was buried at St Peter, Dublin, 21 May 1755;

(8) Anna Lucinda Bayly (1721-89), baptised at St. Oswald, Chester, 2 November 1721; died unmarried; will proved in Dublin, 19 March 1789.

He inherited the Plas Newydd and Mount Bagenal (Co. Louth) estates from his cousin Nicholas Bagenal in 1712. He lived latterly at Tenny Park (Wicklow).

He died 28 September 1741 and was buried at Delgany (Co. Wicklow); his will was proved in 1742. His widow died 16 August 1745 and was also buried at Delgany.

Sir Nicholas Bayly (1709-82), 2nd bt. 

Bayly, Sir Nicholas (1709-82), 2nd bt. Eldest son of Sir Edward Bayly (c.1662-1741), 1st bt. and his wife Dorothy, fifth daughter of Hon. Oliver Lambart, born 1709. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1726). MP for Anglesey, 1734-41, 1747-61 and 1770-74. Initially elected with cross-party support, he was defeated by a Tory in 1741 but was returned unopposed in 1747. He was a close supporter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his membership of the Prince's circle probably explains his taste for the Gothick in architecture. He is said to have lost the 1761 election because he had forfeited the goodwill of the county, having 'debauched the sister of a gentleman in the county, whom he made one of his daughters invite as her companion at his seat in the county, when his lady and his other children were in London'. Custos Rotulorum, 1759-82 and Lord Lieutenant, 1761-82, of Anglesey. He married 1st, 19 April 1737 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Caroline (1718-66), daughter and heiress of Brig-Gen. Thomas Paget, Governor of Minorca, and 2nd, 18 August 1775 at St Stephen Walbrook, London, Anne Hunter (c.1739-1818), and had issue:

(1.1) Mary Bayly (1738-92), born 5 January and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 3 February 1737/8; married, 3 July 1766 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Stephen Metcalfe (d. 1790), and had issue one surviving son; died in London, 10 January 1792;

(1.2) Dorothea Bayly (1739-64), baptised at Randalls, Leatherhead (Surrey), 15 March 1738/9; married, 12 July 1759 in Edinburgh, Rt. Hon. George Forbes (1740-80), later 5th Earl of Granard (who m2, 22 April 1766 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), Georgina Augusta (1749-1820), daughter of Lt-Col. Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley, and had further issue), and had issue one son; died 19 February and was buried at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 23 February 1764;

(1.3) Caroline Bayly (1741-86), baptised at Llanedwen, 5 April 1741; died unmarried, July 1786;

(1.4) Edward Bayly (c.1742-53), born about 1742; died young, 30 June 1753;

(1.5) Sir Henry Bayly (later Paget) (1744-1812), 3rd bt., born 18 June and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., London, 16 July 1744; succeeded his cousin as 9th Baron Paget, 1769 and took the surname of Paget in lieu of Bayly by royal licence, 1770; further created 1st Earl of Uxbridge, 1784; married, 11 April 1787, Jane (d. 1817), eldest daughter of Very Rev. Arthur Champagne, Dean of Clonmacnoise, and had issue seven sons and five daughters; died 13 March 1812. [A full account of Sir Henry is reserved for a future post on the Paget family];

(1.6) Nicholas Bayly (1747-1812), baptised at Llanedwen (Anglesey), 1 June 1747; an officer in the 1st Foot Guards (Ensign, 1762; Lt. and Capt., 1770; Capt. and Lt-Col., 1777; retired, 1780) and subsequently Colonel of the West Middlesex Militia; MP for Anglesey, 1784-90; fell out with his elder brother in a dispute over property in about 1791 which left him impoverished and scarcely able to maintain his family, but was reconciled in about 1810; married, 14 April 1776 at St Giles in the Fields, London, Frances (1747-1815), daughter of Rev. John Nettlefold of Cranbrook (Kent), and had surviving issue four sons and five daughters; died at Weymouth (Dorset), 7 June 1812, and was buried at Paddington (Middx); will proved in the PCC, 15 August 1812;

(1.7) Thomas Sherard Bayly (1748-52), baptised at Llanedwen (Anglesey), 5 January 1748/9; died young and was buried at Llanedwen, 27 February 1752;

(1.8) Louisa Augusta Bayly (1750-1836), born 4 December 1750; married, 6 April 1790* at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Capt. Thomas Poplett (c.1751-1809), an officer in the African Corps and later the Middlesex militia, but had no issue; died at Hampton Court Green and was buried at Hampton (Middx), 19 September 1836; will proved in the PCC, 1 November 1836;

(1.9) Brownlow Bayly (b. & d. 1752?); said to have been born and died in infancy in 1752;

(1.10) Paget Bayly (1753-1804), born 25 June and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 23 July 1753; educated at Royal Navy Academy, 1766-69; an officer in the Royal Navy (Lt., 1773; Cdr., 1782; Capt., 1789; retired 1797); married, 25 August 1791 at St Margaret, Westminster (Middx), Martha Colepepper and had issue one son (who died young) and two daughters; died 15 November 1804; administration of his goods (with will annexed) granted 18 June 1805;

(1.11) Gertrude Bayly (d. 1761); died young at Bristol, and was buried at St Augustine-the-Less, Bristol, 28 August 1761;

(2.1) Gen. Lewis Bayly (later Bayly Wallis) (1775-1848), an officer in the army (Cornet, 1791; Capt., 1793; Maj., 1794; Lt-Col., 1796; retired from active service, 1798; Col., 1805; Maj-Gen., 1810; Lt-Gen. 1819 and Gen., 1837); MP for Ilchester, 1799-1802; on 17 September 1800 he assumed the name and arms of his guardian, Albany Wallis (d. 1800) of London, solicitor, who had made him his heir; High Sheriff of Cardiganshire, 1806-07; married, 3 June 1802 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, Frances (1772-1819), daughter of the artist Benjamin Wilson (1721-88) and widow of Lt-Col. Thomas Blacket Bosville (d. 1793) of Gunthwaite (Yorks), and had issue one daughter; died aboard his yacht at Rottingdean (Sussex), 10 August 1848; will proved in the PCC, 5 September 1848.

He and his wife were given the manor of Randalls, Leatherhead, as a wedding present by her father, and they retained it until 1753, when they sold it to the Earl of Tyrconnel. Sir Nicholas inherited Plas Newydd from his father in 1741 and remodelled it in 1751-55.

He died at his house in Bond St., London, 9 December 1782, and was buried at Llanedwen, where he and his first wife are commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 15 January 1783. His first wife died 7 February 1766 and was buried at Llanedwen; administration of her goods was granted 22 August 1766. His widow died 18 May 1818; administration of her goods was granted November 1819.

* Many printed and online sources give the year as 1789 but the original register gives 1790 quite clearly.

Bayly family of Ballyarthur

Bayly, Lambart (c.1712-47). Third son of Sir Edward Bayly (1684-1741), 1st bt. and his wife Dorothy, fifth daughter of Hon. Oliver Lambart, born about 1712. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, 1732; Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1734) and Kings Inns, Dublin (called 1741). Barrister-at-law in Dublin. He married, January 1743, Elizabeth (c.1719-97), daughter of John Rotton, and had issue:

(1) Rev. Edward Bayly (1743-1825) (q.v.);

(2) Very Rev. John Bayly (1747-1831), born 28 July 1747; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1763; BA 1768; MA 1772; DD 1828); ordained deacon, 1769, and priest, 1770; curate of St Peter, Dublin, 1776; vicar choral of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 1779-1828 and of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, 1787;  Chancellor's Vicar of St Patrick's Cathedral, 1787-1813;  vicar of Kinneigh, 1798-1820; Treasurer of Kildare, 1799-1831; chaplain to his cousin, Henry Paget (1768-1854), 1st Marquess of Anglesey; Dean of Killaloe, 1808-28; Dean of Chapel Royal, Dublin, 1828-29; Dean of Lismore, 1828-31; married, 22 September 1772, Mary, daughter of Charles William Wall of Coolnamuck (Co. Waterford), and had issue one son and one daughter; died 24 June 1831 and was buried at St Peter, Dublin.

He lived in Dublin.

He died 7 December 1747 and was buried at St Peter, Dublin; his will was proved in Dublin, 4 February 1747/8. His widow died in Dublin, March 1797; her will was proved in Dublin, 1797.

Bayly, Rev. Edward (1743-1825). Elder son of Lambart Bayly (c.1712-47) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Rotton, born 10 October and baptised at St Peter, Dublin, 4 November 1743. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1759; BA 1764; MA 1767). Ordained deacon, 1767 and priest, 1768. Curate of St Peter, Dublin, 1767-75; Rector and Vicar of Arklow (Co. Wicklow), 1775-99 (his rectory being burnt down before the Battle of Arklow, 1798); Headmaster of Carysfort Royal School (Co. Wicklow), 1784-1801; Impropriate Curate of Kiltegan, 1801-04; Rector of Grange Sylvae, 1804-16 and Vicar of Killuring (Co. Wexford), 1816-20. He married 1st, 5/6 March 1773, Elizabeth (d. 1781), daughter of Richard Symes of Ballyarthur (Co. Wicklow), and 2nd, 6 August 1783 at St Bride, Dublin, Mildred (c.1765-1831), daughter of Joshua Davis, and had issue:

(1.1) Rev. Henry Lambart Bayly (1774-1827) (q.v.);

(2.1) Anna Lucinda Bayly (c.1787-1873), born about 1787; married, about May 1820, Bartholomew Warburton (1785-1860) of Birrview (Co. Offaly) and Crinkhill Lodge, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 8 January 1873 and was buried at Stillorgan (Co. Dublin);

(2.2) Rev. Edward Bayly (1789-1858), born 13 March 1789; educated at Chester School and Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1803; BA 1811; MA 1832); curate, 1813-20; rector of Horetown (Co. Wexford), 1820-47; vicar choral of diocese of Lismore, 1828-47; rector of Donaghmore (Co. Leix), 1847-58; married, 3 January 1827, Ellen Josephine (d. 1871), daughter of Rev. Joseph Miller, and had issue one son; died 2 May 1858;

(2.3) Henry Albert Bayly; died without issue;

(2.4) Elizabeth Jane Bayly (fl. 1851); married, 1813, Lt-Col. Joseph Marcus Annesley Skerrett (d. 1844) of 55th Foot, and had issue; living in Merrion Sq., Dublin, in 1851.

He died at Crinkhill Lodge (Co. Offaly), the seat of his son-in-law, 21 December 1825. His first wife died 5 January 1781. His second wife died 14 May 1831.

Bayly, Rev. Henry Lambart (1774-1827). Eldest son of Rev. Edward Bayly (1743-1825) and his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Symes of Ballyarthur (Co. Wicklow), born 26 November 1774. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1792; BA 1797). Ordained deacon and priest, 1799. Rector and vicar of Arklow (Co. Wicklow), 1799-1827; headmaster of Carysfort Royal School (Co. Wicklow) in succession to his father until 1806. He contributed the 'Survey of Arklow parish' to W.S. Mason's Parochial Survey of Ireland, vol. 2 (1817). He married, 29 August 1802 at Castle Macadam (Co. Wicklow), Selina (c.1784-1852), daughter of Sir Charles Levinge, 5th bt., of Knockdrin Castle (Co. Westmeath), and had issue including:

(1) Elizabeth Frances Bayly (1803-80); married, 24 November 1830 at Castle Macadam, Rev. William Josiah Aylmer (1802-83), rector of Donadea (Co. Kildare), third son of Sir Fenton Aylmer, 7th bt., and had issue five sons and two daughters; emigrated to New Zealand with her husband and family, 1851; died 24 October 1880, and was buried at Akaroa Cemetery, Canterbury (New Zealand);

(2) Anna Selina Bayly (1805-59), baptised at Lamberton, Arklow (Co. Wicklow); married, 29 April 1830 at Leamington Spa (Warks), William Walter Congreve (1804-64) of Congreve (Staffs) and Burton Hall (Ches.), and had issue five sons and one daughter; died at Nice (France), 26 March 1859;

(3) Lt-Col. Edward Symes Bayly (1807-84) (q.v.);

(4) Henry Lambert Bayly (1808-1905), born 9 December 1808; an officer in the East India Company's maritime service; in the Irish Constabulary, 1840-49; Chief Constable of Northamptonshire, 1849-75, and of the Soke of Peterborough, 1857-75; married, 9 December 1851 at St Peter, Dublin, Margaret (1819-99), daughter of Rev. Thomas Acton, rector of Dunganstown (Co. Wicklow), and had issue one daughter; died aged 96 at Ryde (IoW), 13 November 1905; will proved 15 February 1906 (estate £7,943);

(5) Rev. Charles James Bayly (1812-69), born 9 September 1812*; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1830; BA 1834); ordained deacon, 1837; perpetual curate of Collinstown, 1843-46; rector of Portnashangan and Portloman, 1846-57; vicar of Tissaran, 1857, Kilcleagh, 1857-62 and Trim (Co. Meath), 1862-69; died unmarried, 11 July and was buried at Trim, 16 July 1869; administration of goods granted to his eldest brother, 23 October 1869;

(6) Caroline Sarah Bayly (1813-1901), born 23 January 1813; died unmarried at Ryde (IoW), 11 January 1901; will proved 20 February 1901 (estate £2,927);

(7) Richard William Bayly (1817-97), born 11 November 1817; died unmarried, 4 January and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin, 6 January 1897; will proved in Dublin, 22 January 1897 (estate £3,820);

(8) George Augustus Bayly (1819-60), of Clyda (Co. Cork), born 26 May 1819; married, 9 January 1851 at Lucan (Co. Dublin), Emily Frances (1821-1900), only daughter of Sir Nicholas Conway Colthurst, 4th bt., of Ardrum (Co. Cork), but had no issue; died 3 May, and was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin, 5 May 1860; his will was proved 29 November 1860;

(9) Elizabeth Mary Bayly (1823-44), born 1823; died unmarried, 24 February 1844 and was buried at Monkstown (Co. Dublin).

He inherited Ballyarthur House from his uncle, Rev. James Symes, in 1819.

He died 25 July 1827 and was buried at Kilbride, Arklow (Co. Wicklow); his will was proved in Dublin, 1827. His widow died 18 July, and was buried at Portnashangan (Co. Westmeath), 22 July 1852.

* Some sources give the year as 1811.

Bayly, Lt-Col. Edward Symes (1807-84). Elder son of Rev. Henry Lambart Bayly (1774-1827) and his wife Selina, daughter of Sir Charles Levinge, 5th bt., born 9 April 1807. JP, DL and Vice-Lieutenant for Co. Wicklow; High Sheriff of Co. Wicklow, 1837. An officer in the 34th Regiment (Ensign, 1825; Lt., 1826; Capt., 1829; retired 1833) and later commanding officer of the Wicklow Rifles (Lt-Col.). Chairman of the Arklow Central Poor Relief Committee, 1845-46. He married (by special licence), 20 June 1835 at the Countess of Llandaff's house in Merrion Square, Dublin, Catherine (d. 1898), daughter of Hon. Maurice Fitzgerald, Knight of Kerry, and had issue:

(1) Maria Elizabeth Frances Gertrude Bayly (1836-53), born 1836; died unmarried, 20 April 1853 and was buried at Boulogne (France);

(2) Gertrude Caroline Bayly (1837-69); married 1st, 15 September 1858 at Castle Macadam, John Talbot (1818-59) of Mount Talbot (Roscommon), second son of Rev. John Talbot-Crosbie, and had issue one son; married 2nd, 18 August 1864 at St George, Dublin, Capt. the Hon. Francis George Crofton (1838-1900) (who m2, 7 February 1878, Emily Augusta, eldest daughter of Lt-Col. Montgomerie Caulfield of Weston Park, Leixlip (Co. Dublin)), fourth son of Lord Edward Crofton, and had issue one daughter; died at Bridge of Allen (Stirlings), 19 August 1869;

(3) Selina Emily Bayly (c.1840-1921), born at Frankfurt (Germany) about 1840; died unmarried at Lynduff Cottage, Woodenbridge (Co. Wicklow), 20 July 1921; will proved at Dublin, 19 September 1921 (estate £3,726);

(4) Frances Catherine Bayly (1842-96), born at Geneva, 4 January 1842; married, 14 March 1890 at St Peter, Dublin, as his second wife, Henry Hall Lloyd, youngest son of Thomas Lloyd of Beechmount (Co. Limerick), but had no issue; died at Donover, Moynalty (Co. Meath), 17 January and was buried there, 20 January 1896;

(5) Henry Nicholas Bayly (1843-68), born 2 October 1843; educated at Royal Military College, Sandhurst; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1861; Lt., 1864); died unmarried, 16 March 1868 and was buried at Senafe (Eritrea);

(6) Edward Richard Bayly (1845-1907) (q.v.);

(7) Maurice Spring Rice Bayly (1850-1900) [for whom see Bayly family of Wardenstown below];

(8) Julia Bayly (1852-53), born 26 December 1852 and baptised at Boulogne (France); died young and was buried in Boulogne.

He inherited Ballyarthur House from his father in 1827.

He died 26 November 1884 and was buried at Castle Macadam (Co. Wicklow); will proved in Dublin, 8 January 1855 (effects £4,741). His widow died 26 January 1898 and was buried at Castle Macadam, 29 January 1898; administration of her goods was granted to her son Edward, 11 February 1898 (effects £313).

Bayly, Col. Edward Richard (1845-1907). Elder surviving son of Col. Edward Symes Bayly (1807-84) and his wife Catherine, daughter of Maurice Fitzgerald, Knight of Kerry, born 20 June 1845 and baptised at Castle Macadam (Co. Wicklow). An officer in the 3rd Foot (Ensign, 1863; retired 1866) and later in the Wicklow Rifles (Capt., 1869; Maj., 1875; Lt-Col., 1880 and Hon Col., 1886; retired 1892). An Assistant Land Commissioner for Ireland. JP and DL for Co. Wicklow. He married, 10 August 1875 at Glyndwrdy (Merioneths), Adelaide Alicia (1840-1930), daughter of Col. Charles John Tottenham of Tottenham Green and Woodstock (Co. Wicklow), and had issue (with one further child who died in infancy):

(1) Edward Archibald Theodore Bayly (1877-1959) (q.v.);

(2) Maj. Charles John Bayly (1878-1955), born 8 September and baptised at Castle Macadam (Co. Wicklow), 2 October 1878; educated at Radley; an officer in the 3rd (militia) Battn, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (2nd Lt, 1898; Lt., 1899; Capt., 1904; Maj. by 1917), who served in First World War; married, 21 February 1915, Deborah, daughter of James Callinan Holland of Bridge House, Dungarvan (Co. Waterford), but had no issue; died 10 December 1955;

(3) Adela Maude Bayly (1880-1963), born 27 January and baptised at Castle Macadam, 14 March 1880; married, 10 April 1916, Lt-Col. Arthur Lovell Hadow (1877-1968) of Kemsing (Kent), younger son of Rev. John Lovell Gwatkin Hadow, and had issue two sons; died 20 June 1963; will proved 22 August 1963 (estate £13,002);

(4) Kathleen Isabel Bayly (1882-1951), born 6 March and baptised at Bray (Co. Wicklow), 6 April 1882; married, 18 July 1949, Gerald Noel Fitzrichard Barry of Birr (Co. Offaly), engineer, but had no issue; died 2 November 1951; administration granted in Dublin, 8 April 1952 (estate in Ireland, £4,486) and in London, 19 May 1952 (estate in England, £8,725).

He inherited Ballyarthur House from his father in 1884.

He died 11 October 1907; his will was proved in Dublin, 11 December 1907 (estate £14,933). His widow died 24 November 1930; her will was proved 8 April 1931 (estate £261).

Bayly, Maj. Edward Archibald Theodore (1877-1959). Elder son of Edward Richard Bayly (1845-1907) and his wife Adelaide Alicia, daughter of Col. Charles Tottenham of Woodstock, born 19 June and baptised at Wicklow, 14 July 1877. Educated at Radley and University College, Oxford. An officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers (2nd Lt., 1899; Lt., 1902; Capt., 1907; Maj. 1915), who served in the Boer War (severely wounded) and First World War (mentioned in despatches and attached to Egyptian Army). Governor of Western Desert Province, Frontier Administration of Egypt, 1924-30. He was awarded the DSO, 1917, the Order of the Nile (3rd class) and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy. He married, 11 April 1921 at the British Consulate in Alexandria (Egypt), Ileene Caroline Ethel Otway (1896-1960), only daughter of Maj. Arthur Augustus Hamlet Inglefield of Old Church House, Beckington (Som.) and had issue:

(1) Edward Archibald Richard Bayly (1922-2017) (q.v.);

(2) Adelaide Elizabeth Mary Bayly (1923-2008), born in Alexandria (Egypt), September 1923; married, 2 August 1955, Patrick Mullen (1920-2009?) of Kilqueeney, Avoca (Co. Wicklow), son of John Mullen of Abbeyshrule (Co. Longford), and had issue one son and one daughter; died 8 October 2008;

(3) Rosabelle Ileene Zahra Bayly (1931-2018), born 14 April 1931; married, 9 October 1957, W/Cdr. Donald Brian Robinson (1927-2016) of Green Acres, nr Chepstow (Monm.), elder son of Maj. Dudley Clare Robinson MC of Newcastle (Co. Down), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 13 September 2018; will proved 5 April 2019.

He inherited Ballyarthur House from his father in 1907.

He died 10 December 1959; his will was proved in Dublin, 24 June 1960 (estate in Ireland, £29,305) and in London, 31 August 1960 (estate in England, £2,030). His widow died 17 October 1960; her will was proved in Dublin, 20 June 1960 (estate £10,689).

Bayly, Edward Archibald Richard (1922-2017). Only son of Maj. Edward Archibald Theodore Bayly (1877-1959) and his wife Ileene Caroline Ethel Otway, only daughter of Maj. Arthur Augustus Hamlet Inglefield of Old Church House, Beckington (Som.), born in Alexandria (Egypt), 20 September 1922. Educated at St Columba's College, Trinity College, Dublin and Trinity College, Oxford. He married, 30 May 1964, Rosemarie Evelyn Gisela Steins, only daughter of Paul Heinrich Johann Minckley of Frankfurt (Germany), and had issue*:

(1) Selina Ileene Suzanne Isabelle Bayly (b. 1968), born 24 May 1965; married, 1986 Robert J. Kavanagh of Arklow (Co. Wicklow), and had issue;

(2) (Edward) Alexander Christian Lambart Bayly (b. 1967), born 19 October 1967; inherited Ballyarthur House from his father in 2017;

(3) Catriona Louise Alicia Lucinda (k/a Lucy) Bayly (b. 1977), born 15 March 1977; married, 2007, Alan Ralph, only son of Patrick Ralph of Ravensdale (Co. Louth).

He inherited Ballyarthur House from his father in 1959.

He died aged 95 on 13 December 2017. His wife was living in 2007.

* Some Internet sources mention an additional daughter, Sonja.

Bayly family of Wardenstown

Bayly, Maurice Spring Rice (1850-1900). Younger surviving son of Col. Edward Symes Bayly (1807-84) and his wife Catherine, daughter of Maurice Fitzgerald, Knight of Kerry, born 17 January 1850. A cadet in the Royal Navy from 1865 and later an officer in the Royal Merioneth Militia (Sub-Lt., 1875; resigned 1876). Land agent, chiefly in Wales, but latterly a farmer at Araghty (Co. Roscommon) and in Kent. He married, 19 March 1881 at St Matthew, Dublin, Jeanie Theodore [sic] (1853-1944), daughter of Capt. Horace George Hayes of Dulas Court, Pontrilas (Herefs), and had issue:

(1) Crofton Talbot Bayly (later Bayly-Vandeleur) (1881-1927) (q.v.);

(2) Dorothy Mary Bayly (1884-1969), born 19 May 1884; married, 8 November 1915 at St Marylebone (Middx), Lt-Col. John Espenett Knott CMG DSO (1884-1959), son of Herbert Knott of Sunny Bank, Wilmslow (Ches.), and had issue two sons; died 18 September 1969; will proved 3 April 1970 (estate £24,944);

(3) Henry Edward Bayly (1889-1923), born 1889; served in First World War with Inns of Court Officer Training Corps (Private) but was discharged unfit for further service, 1916; died 8  January and was buried at Tatsfield (Surrey), 12 January 1923; administration of goods granted to his mother, 2 August 1923 (estate £812);

(4) Maurice Fitzgerald Bayly (1889-1918), born 1891 (though he stated 17 February 1889 when joining the Canadian army; worked in Russia and Canada before First World War as a miner; served in First World War as a sapper in the Canadian Engineers and died of gas poisoning, 6 August 1918; buried at Ligny-St. Flochel War Cemetery (France).

He lived latterly at Linsted Farm, Cudham (Kent). His widow lived latterly at Avenbury (Herefs).

He died 9 December 1900; will proved in Dublin, 23 February 1901 (effects in Ireland, £3,960) and in London, 26 March 1901 (estate in England, £750). His widow died 4 April 1944; her will was proved 20 December 1944 (estate £1,062).

Bayly (later Bayly-Vandeleur), Crofton Talbot (1881-1927). Eldest son of Maurice Spring Rice Bayly (1850-1900) and his wife Jeanie Theodora, daughter of Capt. Horace George Hayes, born 27 October and baptised at Bettws (Glam.), 28 December 1881. He took the additional surname of Vandeleur on 26 April 1911 on succeeding his kinsman's widow at Wardenstown. An officer in the North Somerset Yeomanry (2nd Lt.), 1915-16 (severely wounded). Auctioneer. He married, 24 November 1915 at St Jude, South Kensington (Middx), Ruth Sidney (1887-1975), elder daughter of Abel John Layard of Turley House, Winsley (Som.), and had issue:

(1) Nesta Bayly-Vandeleur (1917-2010), born 28 July 1917; married, 16 April 1958, Neville Moore (1917-2012), engineer, of Ulverscroft Grange, Markfield (Leics), youngest son of Harry Herbert Moore of Ulverscroft Grange, but had no issue; moved in 1980 to a small newly-built house called Vessington Lodge, Athboy (Co. Meath); died 31 October 2010;

(2) Joan Bayly-Vandeleur (1918-99), born 27 September 1918; died unmarried, 6 February and was buried at Killucan, 9 February 1999.

He inherited Wardenstown House in 1911 on the expiry of the life interest of his kinsman's widow. His widow sold it in about 1960.

He died in a shooting accident while fowling at Wardenstown, 26 October 1927; his will was proved 7 June 1928 (estate in England, £239; estate in Ireland £6,966). His widow died 27 October 1975.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1912, p. 36; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for Rt. Rev. Lewis Bayly (c.1575-1631).

Location of archives

Bayly family of Ballyarthur: deeds and papers, 1657-19th cent. [Private collection: contact National Library of Ireland for further information].

Bayly family of Plas Newydd, baronets: estate and family papers, 18th cent. [Staffordshire Record Office, D603, D(W)1734, D4793]; deeds, estate and family papers, 17th-18th cents [Bangor University Archives and Special Collections, Plas Newydd MSS]; deeds, legal, estate and family papers concerning property in Co. Down, Co. Louth and Co. Galway [Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, D619]. Further family papers, 17th-18th cents are held privately: enquiries to Bangor University Archives and Special Collections].

Coat of arms

Bayly of Plas Newydd: Azure, nine estoiles, three, three, two and one, argent.

Bayly of Ballyarthur: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, gules, a chevron vair between three martlets or; 2nd, barry of four, ermine and or, a lion rampant azure; 3rd, argent, crusily azure, three talbots' heads erased sable, langued gules.

Can you help?

• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from descendants of the family who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 19 August and updated 20 August 2021.