Bussy Mansell (22 November 1623 – 25 May 1699) was a Welsh

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at various times between 1653 and 1699. He was a zealous Parliamentarian during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Origins

Mansell was the son of Arthur Mansell of

Briton Ferry Briton Ferry () is a town and Community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The Welsh name may indicate that the church, ''llan'', is protected from the wind, ''awel''. Alternatively, ''Sawel'' may be a deri ...

by his wife Janet Price, daughter of William Price of Britton Ferry. He was the grandson of

Sir Thomas Mansell, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Mansell, 1st Baronet (1556 – 20 December 1631) was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1614. Mansell was the eldest son of Sir Edward Mansall of Margam ...

, MP. He had an income of £1,100 per annum and was patron of three livings in 1645.W R Williams ''The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales''
/ref> The

Mansel family The Mansel family (, ), also known throughout history as Mansell and Maunsell (), is a British nobility, British noble family. History Origin The Mansels came to England during the Norman Conquest and were established in Wales by the t ...

-- the senior line of which was seated at

Margam Abbey Margam Abbey () was a Cistercian monastery, located in the village of Margam, a suburb of modern Port Talbot in Wales. History The abbey was founded in 1147 as a daughter house of Clairvaux by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and was dedicated to ...

in Glamorgan (see Mansel Baronets and

Baron Mansel Baron Mansel, of Margam in the County of Glamorgan, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 1 January 1712 for Sir Thomas Mansel, 5th Baronet, previously Member of Parliament for Cardiff and Glamorganshire. His ancestor ...

) -- played a major role in the early settling of the

Gower Peninsula The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards th ...

. Their

canting arms Canting arms are heraldry, heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. The expression derives from the latin ''cantare'' (to sing). French heralds used the term (), ...

were: ''Argent, a chevron between three maunches sable''.Three small sleeves, or maunches, the diminutive form of which in French is ''maunchelle''

Career

Mansell was made Commander-in-Chief of the Parliamentary forces in

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, under Lord Fairfax, on 17 November 1645. Also in 1645, he was

High Sheriff of Glamorgan This page is a list of High Sheriffs of Glamorgan. Sheriffs of Glamorgan served under and were answerable to the independent Lords of Glamorgan until that lordship was merged into the crown. This is in contrast to sheriffs of the English shires w ...

and was made one of the County Committee of Glamorgan. He was added to the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

on 25 June 1651. Mansell was one of the six Members appointed by Cromwell and his officers to represent Wales in the

Barebone's Parliament Barebone's Parliament, also known as the Little Parliament, the Nominated Assembly and the Parliament of Saints, came into being on 4 July 1653, and was the last attempt of the English Commonwealth to find a stable political form before the inst ...

from 4 July to 12 December 1653 On 27 June 1653 -- together with Colonel James Phillips -- he was assigned by the Council of State the official lodgings lately occupied by Sir Harry Vane. He was appointed a Militia Commissioner for South Wales on 14 March 1654 and a Justice of the Peace for Glamorgan in 1655. He was an Assessment Commissioner for raising money there for the State in 1656, and a Commissioner under the Act for ejecting insufficient Ministers and Schoolmasters. He was made a Commissioner for providing for the safety of the Protector on 4 May 1658. On 13 July 1659 he was commissioned to command the Militia Troop in counties Pembroke, Carmarthen and Cardigan and on 30 July following he was appointed to command the whole militia forces in South Wales, horse and foot, "to lead them against the enemy if need be." This was as a result of Sir George Booth's "Cheshire Rising". On 19 September 1659 Mansel wrote to Samuel Moyer, Chairman of the London Committee of Compounding "By the care of our small force in South Wales, it was so kept from insurrection that there will be little work for Sequestration Commissioners. Yet some will be found, for divers delinquents now on hand have estates there and discoveries may be made, of some that went from these parts to the enemy in Chester." In 1660 Mansell was elected Member of Parliament for

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in the Convention Parliament. He was High Sheriff of Glamorgan again in 1677. He was elected MP for

in 1679 until January 1681. He was elected MP for Cardiff again from 16 to 28 March 1681. In 1689 he was elected MP for Glamorgan again and sat until his death in 1699.

Marriage and progeny

Mansell married Catherine Perry, daughter of Sir Hugh Perry, Alderman of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

and widow of Sir Edward Stradling, 3rd Baronet of

St Donat's Castle St Donat's Castle (), St Donats, Wales, is a medieval castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, about to the west of Cardiff, and about to the west of Llantwit Major. Positioned on cliffs overlooking the Bristol Channel, the site has been occupied s ...

, Glamorgan. He left progeny including: *Thomas Mansel (1646–1684), eldest son and heir, whose white marble mural monument survives in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

(in the north aisle of the nave), displaying the arms of Mansel: ''Argent, a chevron between three maunches sable a crescent for

difference Difference commonly refers to: * Difference (philosophy), the set of properties by which items are distinguished * Difference (mathematics), the result of a subtraction Difference, The Difference, Differences or Differently may also refer to: Mu ...

'', with the arms of Games, inscribed in Latin to the effect:See
/ref> ::''"Near this place lie, in certain hopes of a resurrection, the ashes of Thomas Mansell, eldest son of Bussy Mansell, Esquire of Briton Ferry in Glamorganshire. He took to wife Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Richard Games, Esquire, of Penderin in Brecknockshire, by whom he had one son Thomas, and two daughters Mary and Elizabeth. He died 13 December 1684 aged 38"'' :Thomas left a son Thomas Mansel (d.1706), MP for Cardiff, who was buried beside his father and bequeathed his estates to his kinsman Baron Mansell of

Margam Margam is a suburb and community (Wales), community of Port Talbot in the Wales, Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being l ...

. Several other members of the Mansel family are buried in Westminster Abbey, for reason unknown.

Death and burial

Mansell died at the age of 75, and was buried at Briton Ferry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansell, Bussy 1623 births 1699 deaths Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales High sheriffs of Glamorgan Roundheads Politicians from Cardiff English MPs 1653 (Barebones) English MPs 1660 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 Bussy