Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet (31 July 1673 – 5 May 1739), of Mostyn Hall,

Holywell Holywell may refer to: * Holywell, Flintshire, Wales * Holywell, Swords, Ireland * Holywell, Bedfordshire, England * Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England * Holywell, Cornwall, England * Holywell, Dorset, England * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Susse ...

, Flintshire, was a Welsh

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

for 25 years from 1701 to 1735.

Early life

Mostyn was born on 31 July 1673, in

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, north Wales. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Mostyn, 2nd Baronet, of

Mostyn Mostyn is a village and community in Flintshire, Wales, and electoral ward lying on the estuary of the River Dee, located near the town of Holywell. It has a privately owned port that has in the past had a colliery and ironworks and was invo ...

, and his wife Bridget Savage, daughter and heiress of Darcy Savage of Leighton,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. He

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

on 10 February 1690, aged 15. On the death of his father in 1692, he inherited his

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and estates. Although the estates were extensive and with a good income, his extravagance and love of

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

led him into financial difficulties and he needed to make a good marriage. He married Lady Essex Finch, the daughter of

Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, PC (2 July 16471 January 1730) was an English Tory statesman who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Origins He was born on 2 July 1647, the son of Heneage Finch, 1st Ea ...

(with £7,000) on 20 July 1703.

Career

Mostyn was appointed

Sheriff of Caernarvonshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire (or Carnarvonshire). The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in a county but over the centuries most of the responsibi ...

for 1701. He was a Tory and a supported his father in law

before and after his marriage. At the second general election of 1701 he stood for Parliament at two seats. He was defeated in a contest at

, but was returned unopposed as

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

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. In August 1702, he was returned unopposed for

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

and also elected MP for Cheshire, which he chose to represent. He was appointed

Constable of Flint Castle Flint Castle ( cy, Castell y Fflint) in Flint, Flintshire, was the first of a series of castles built during King Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales. The site was chosen for its strategic position in North East Wales. The castle was only on ...

in 1702. He voted for tacking on the

Occasional Conformity Bill The Occasional Conformity Act (10 Anne c. 6), also known as the Occasional Conformity Act 1711 or the Toleration Act 1711, was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which passed on 20 December 1711. Previous Occasional C ...

to the Land-tax Bill in 1705 and this may have led to the loss of his seat and office of Constable. At the 1705 general election he was defeated in the poll at Cheshire but could fall back on the seat at Flint Boroughs where he was returned unopposed. He was returned unopposed for Flintshire in 1708 and 1710 and in 1711, he was appointed paymaster of the marines. He voted against the articles of commerce in 1713. At the 1713 general election, he was returned at Flint Boroughs. He was one of the four tellers of the exchequer from 30 December 1714 until 22 June 1716. He was also Custos Rotulorum of Flintshire from 1714 to 1717. Mostyn was appointed Constable of Flint Castle again in 1715 and held the post until he passed it on to his son in 1728. At the 1715 general election, he was returned unopposed for Flintshire. He voted against the

Peerage Bill {{short description, Proposed British law of 1719 The Peerage Bill was a 1719 measure proposed by the British Whig government led by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland which would have largely halted the ...

in 1719. He was returned unopposed again for Flintshire in 1722 and 1727. In 1727, he was re-appointed Custos Rotulorum of Flintshire and retained the post until his death in 1739. He voted against Walpole's

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Customs officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

in 1733, and having opposed the Septennial Bill, supported the motion for its repeal in 1734. He retired from Parliament at the 1734 general election. In consideration of his services and the expenses he incurred as paymaster of the marines, he was allowed a sum of £300 for eight years. There is also among the 'Treasury Papers' a dormant warrant in favour of Mostyn as controller of the fines for the counties of Chester, Flint, and Carnarvon, dated 31 July 1704.

Death and legacy

Mostyn died on 5 May 1739, at his seat in Carnarvonshire and was buried at Llanrhos, Caernarvonshire. By his wife, who died of smallpox on 23 May 1721, he had six sons and six daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, with the death of whose grandson Thomas in 1831 the baronetcy became extinct. Three of his other sons were unmarried:

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

was a Canon of Windsor,

Savage Mostyn Savage Mostyn ( – 16 September 1757) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. He embarked on a political career, and was a Member of Parliament, Comptroller of the Nav ...

was a vice-admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, and John Mostyn was an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and a Member of Parliament. His daughter Essex Mostyn (died 7 December 1764) married Robert Ker, second Duke of Roxburghe, and had issue.

References

;Attribution

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mostyn, Roger 3rd Bt 1673 births 1739 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of England Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 High Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707