Lewis ab Owen (by 1522–12 October 1555), of Plas-yn-dre,

Dolgellau Dolgellau () is a town and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the historic county of Merionethshire ( cy, Meirionnydd, Sir Feirionnydd) un ...

Merioneth , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

, was a Welsh politician. He was born the eldest son of Owen ap Hywel ap Llywelyn. He is presumed to have had some legal education as he was appointed Chamberlain and 1st Baron of the Exchequer for North Wales. He served as a J.P. for Merioneth from 1543 until his death and was appointed Sheriff of Merioneth for 1545 and 1554. He was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Merioneth , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

1547, March 1553, April 1554, and November 1554. He was

custos rotulorum ''Custos rotulorum'' (; plural: ''custodes rotulorum''; Latin for "keeper of the rolls", ) is a civic post that is recognised in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) and in Jamaica. England, Wales and Northern Ireland The ''custos rotulorum'' is t ...

for Merioneth from 1553 to his death. After carrying out a vicious campaign to put down the

Red Bandits of Mawddwy The Red Bandits of Mawddwy (Welsh: ''Gwylliaid Cochion Mawddwy'') were a band of red-haired robbers, highwaymen or footpads from the area of Mawddwy in Mid Wales in the 16th century, who became famous in folk literature. History In the 1500s, M ...

(some 80 were executed) during his shrievalty in 1555 he was ambushed and killed on a return journey from

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

. He had married Margaret, the daughter of Robert Puleston; they had eight sons and four daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis ab Owen Year of birth missing 16th-century births 1555 deaths People from Merionethshire Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales 16th-century Welsh politicians High Sheriffs of Merionethshire English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1553 (Edward VI) English MPs 1554 English MPs 1554–1555 People from Dolgellau