(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.