Conyers Darcy, 2nd Earl of Holderness (1622 – 13 December 1692) was an English politician 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 ...

from 1660 to 1679 and later became a peer.

Life

Darcy was the eldest son of Conyers Darcy, 8th Lord Darcy of Knayth and 5th Lord Conyers and his wife Grace Rokeby, daughter of Thomas Rokeby of Skiers. He was a student of

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

in 1637 and of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1640.History of Parliament Online - Darcy, Hon. Conyers
/ref> In 1660, Darcy was elected Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge in the Convention Parliament. He was elected MP for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

in 1661 for the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

. From the 1660s until December 1681, when he handed over to his own son, Darcy was

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the Richmondshire Regiment, North Riding Militia.Major Robert Bell Turton, ''The History of the North York Militia, now known as the Fourth Battalion Alexandra Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment)'', Leeds: Whitehead, 1907/Stockton-on-Tees: Patrick & Shotton, 1973, ISBN 0-903169-07-X, p. 27. In November 1680 he was elevated to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his fathe ...

, sitting as Baron Conyers. On his father's elevation to an earldom in 1682, he acquired the courtesy title Lord Darcy de Knayth. He succeeded as 2nd Earl of Holderness, 9th Baron Darcy de Knayth and 6th Baron Conyers on his father's death on 14 June 1689.

Family

Darcy married four times; firstly to Lady Catherine Fane, daughter of Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland. His second marriage took place on 8 February 1650 to Lady Frances Howard (c. 1627–1670), daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire. He married thirdly, in 1676, Lady Frances Seymour, daughter of

William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, (158824 October 1660) was an English nobleman and Royalist commander in the English Civil War. Origins Seymour was the son of Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (who predeceased his own father) by his wife ...

. His fourth and final marriage was on 8 January 1685 to The Hon. Elizabeth Frescheville (1635–1690), daughter of John Frescheville, 1st Baron Frescheville. Darcy's eldest son and

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

was John Darcy, Lord Conyers (c. 1659–1689) who was by his second marriage to Frances Howard. John Darcy married Bridget, daughter of

Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton (21 December 159413 October 1668) was a Royalist MP in 1625 and 1640. Biography In 1624 he was elected Knight of the Shire (MP) for Nottinghamshire (UK Parliament constituency), Nottinghamshire and re-elected in ...

. However, this son John predeceased his father, and so, upon the death of Lord Holderness in 1692, the earldom passed to Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness (1681–1722), John's second but oldest surviving son.

Styles

* Mr Conyers Darcy (1622–1641) * The Hon. Conyers Darcy (1641–1682) * The Lord Conyers (1680–82) * Lord Darcy de Knayth (1682–1689) * The Earl of Holderness (1689–1692)

References

, - 1622 births 1692 deaths 17th-century English nobility English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 Earls of Holderness Alumni of University College, Oxford Members of Gray's Inn 9 Barons Conyers North York Militia officers {{England-earl-stub