John Darcy, Lord Conyers (1659 – 6 January 1689) was an English soldier and one of the two members of the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

representing

Richmond, Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located at the point where Swaledale, the upper valley of the River Swale, opens into the Vale of Mowbray. The town's population at the 2011 census was 8,413. The t ...

, briefly in 1681 and again from 1685 to 1687. The eldest son of Conyers Darcy, Lord Darcy de Knayth, and Lady Frances Howard, a daughter of

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire (8 October 1587 – 16 July 1669) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1605 and 1622. He was created Earl of Berkshire in 1626. Life Howard was born in Saffron Walden, Essex, ...

, Darcy was known by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

of Lord Conyers during the later life of his grandfather Conyers Darcy, 1st Earl of Holderness, who died on 14 June 1689 aged ninety. When he was fifteen, Conyers abducted and married Bridget Sutton, the eldest 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 ...

. She was aged only ten. They later had five sons, including

Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness, (24 November 168120 January 1721) was a British politician who served as First Lord of Trade from 1718 to 1719. Life Darcy was the second (but eldest surviving) son of John Darcy, Lord Conyers, (himself t ...

, and

Conyers Darcy Sir Conyers Darcy or Darcey, ( 16851 December 1758), of Aske, near Richmond, Yorkshire, was a British Army officer, courtier and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1707 and 1758. Early life Darcy was the second surviving ...

, and two daughters."Darcy, Hon. John (1659–89) of Hornby Castle" in Basil Duke Henning, ed., ''The House of Commons, 1660-1690: Introductory survey'' (1983)
pp 191–192
/ref> Conyers studied law at

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 ...

. He was first elected to parliament at the election of 1681, serving in the brief Oxford Parliament of 1681. Due to the

Exclusion Bill The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion Bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, S ...

, King Charles II then ruled without parliament until his death in February 1685. In that year, Conyers was elected again to what became known as the

Loyal Parliament The Loyal Parliament was the only Parliament of England of King James II, in theory continuing from May 1685 to July 1687, but in practice sitting during 1685 only. It gained its name because at the outset most of its members were loyal to th ...

, the only one summoned by James II. That sat until 1687, and in its second session Conyers joined the opposition to the king. Between 1681 and 1685, Conyers held a major's commission in the Queen's Life Guards. In December 1681 he also followed his father as

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 The North York Militia, later the North York Rifles, was an auxiliary military force raised in the North Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 the Militia regiments of the riding served ...

. 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, pp. 27–9. In July 1685 he became lieutenant-colonel of the Earl of Shrewsbury's Horse, raised in response to the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion in June 1685 was an attempt to depose James II of England, James II, who in February had succeeded his brother Charles II of England, Charles II as king of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and ...

of 1685. In 1688, Conyers brought about a reconciliation between Lord Danby and the

Earl of Devonshire The title of Earl of Devonshire has been created twice in the Peerage of England, firstly in 1603 for the Blount family and then recreated in 1618 for the Cavendish family, in whose possession the earldom remains. It is not to be confused with, ...

, laying the foundations of that year's rising against the king in the north of England. Unsuspected as a rebel, he was ordered to arrest his fellow-conspirator Lord Lumley, one of the men who had signed the invitation to William of Orange to invade England and instigate the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

. Conyers claimed he could not find Lumley. On 22 November 1688, with some of his militia, he took part in Danby's seizure of the city of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

for William and was expected to join Danby's

Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

in the Convention Parliament. Conyers died of quinsy on 6 January 1689, but four days later at the general election of 1689 he was returned again for Richmond. He was buried 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 ...

. At a subsequent by-election, in February, he was succeeded by his brother Philip Darcy, who had just lost his seat at Newark."Darcy, Hon. Philip (1661–1694)" in Henning (1983)
p. 193
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conyers, John Darcy, Lord 1659 births 1689 deaths 5th Dragoon Guards officers North York Militia officers Burials at Westminster Abbey English MPs 1681 English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 Members of Gray's Inn