Walter Chetwynd FRS (1 May 1633 – 21 March 1693), of

Ingestre Hall Ingestre Hall is a Grade II* 17th-century Jacobean mansion situated at Ingestre, near Stafford, Staffordshire, England. Formerly the seat of the Earls Talbot and then the Earls of Shrewsbury, the hall is now owned by Sandwell Metropolitan Bor ...

, Staffordshire was an English antiquary and politician.

Life

He was the only child of Walter Chetwynd (1598–1669), the eldest son of Walter Chetwynd (died 1638), who built Ingestre Hall. He was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in 1657, but returned his native Staffordshire and occupied various local offices. In 1674, he was elected 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 o ...

for Stafford when the sitting member died, but lost his seat in the second election of 1679. During the Popish Plot, he supported

Titus Oates Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705) was an English priest who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II. Early life Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland. His father Samuel (1610� ...

, but in 1682, he was providing information on the Staffordshire activities of the

Duke of Monmouth Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

. He regained Stafford in 1685 even though he had been appointed

Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities ass ...

for that year. His attitude the Glorious Revolution was cautious, reporting the passage through Staffordshire of troops hostile to James II and did not sit in the Convention Parliament, but was elected for Staffordshire in 1690, greeting William III on his arrival at Lichfield in 1690. Chetwynd was also significant as a historian of his native county, building on the work of

Sampson Erdeswicke Sampson Erdeswicke (born c. 1535x1540; died 1603) was an English antiquary and chorographer. Background Sampson's father, Hugh Erdeswicke claimed descent from Richard de Vernon, Baron of Shipbrook in the reign of William the Conqueror. The fami ...

. He began work on this subject in the 1660s and worked on it for the rest of his life. In doing this, he was following on the work of

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coles ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

. His writing of "A Short Account of Staffordshire" began in 1679, but by 1688, he had only covered

Pirehill Hundred Pirehill is a hundred in the county of Staffordshire, England. The Hundred is located in the north-west and toward the upper centre of Staffordshire. It is about 28 miles in length, north to south, and around 8 to 20 miles in breadth. It is bound ...

in the northwest of the county. This remained unpublished until the early 20th century, when William Salt Archaeological Society published it in two of their volumes in 1909 and 1914. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in 1678, but took little part in its activities. He probably knew Christopher Wren, who was probably the architect of his new church at

Ingestre Ingestre is a village and civil parish in the Stafford district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 194. It is four miles to the north-east of the county town of Stafford. Ing ...

, started in 1673 and completed in 1676.R. Plot, ''Natural History of Stafforshire'' (1686), 298-300. His interests were widespread, including

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

, literature, theology, mathematics, but above all antiquities and natural history. Thus he gave hospitality and help to

Robert Plot Robert Plot (13 December 1640 – 30 April 1696) was an English naturalist, first Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, and the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. Early life and education Born in Borden, Kent to parents Robe ...

while he wrote his ''Natural History of Staffordshire'' from 1679. He was a hospitable and convivial man. He died in London in 1693 of smallpox and was buried at Ingestre.

Family

On 14 Sept. 1668, he married Anne, eldest daughter of Sir Edward Bagot, 2nd Baronet, of

Blithfield Blithfield is a civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It includes the settlements of Admaston, Staffordshire, Admaston (a small hamlet in Staffordshire), Newton, Staffordshire, Newton along with Blithfield ...

, Staffordshire, leaving an only daughter, Frances, who died in her infancy. The Ingestre estate passed to his cousin Walter Chetwynd who was created Viscount Chetwynd.

Notes

References

* *M. W. Greenslade, ‘Chetwynd, Walter (1633–1693)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', (Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008

accessed 16 November 2008 *M. W. Greenslade, ''The Staffordshire historians'', (Staffordshire Record Society, 4th ser., 11, 1982), chaps. 4–5. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chetwynd, Walter 1633 births 1691 deaths People from the Borough of Stafford High Sheriffs of Staffordshire English antiquarians Fellows of the Royal Society 17th-century antiquarians Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Stafford English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1690–1695