Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Sneyd (11 February 1752 – 23 June 1829), of

Keele Hall Keele Hall is a 19th-century mansion house at Keele, Staffordshire, England, now standing on the campus of Keele University and serving as the university conference centre. It is a Grade II* listed building. History Early history The manor of Ke ...

was an English politician who served in the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

and as

High 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 as ...

Early life

Sneyd was born on 11 February 1752 in an old Staffordshire parliamentary family. He was a son of the former Barbara Bagot and Ralph Sneyd of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. His younger brother, the Rev. Ralph Sneyd married Penelope Moore (a daughter of the Hon. Sir John Moore and granddaughter of Henry, Earl of Drogheda) His paternal grandfather was

Ralph Sneyd Ralph Sneyd may refer to: * Ralph Sneyd (MP for Stafford) (1564–1643), English politician and Royalist army officer of the English Civil War * Ralph Sneyd (MP for Staffordshire) (1692–1733), English politician * Ralph Sneyd (landowner) (1 ...

, MP for

. His maternal grandfather was Sir Walter Bagot, 5th Baronet and Lady Barbara Legge (daughter of William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth). He was educated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, 1769.

Career

He was admitted to

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1771 and held a commission in the Staffordshire Militia, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and being appointed Lt-Col Commandant of the Northern Regiment, Staffordshire Local Militia on 1 March 1809. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

for

Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Castle Rising is located along the course of the River Babingley, separating the village from the lost village of Babingley. The village is located north-east ...

beginning in 1784. His return was arranged by his uncle Richard Bagot (1733–1813), whose wife, Frances Howard (a daughter of William Howard, Viscount Andover and granddaughter of Henry Howard, 11th Earl of Suffolk, who controlled one seat in the borough). Sneyd voted with the Opposition on Pitt’s Irish propositions, 13 May 1785, but with Administration on the Regency, 1788-9. He is not known to have spoken in the House, nor did he stand again in 1790. Upon his father's death on 10 February 1793, he succeeded to Keele Hall. From 1814 to 1815, he was the

Personal life

On 9 May 1786, Sneyd was married to his cousin, the Hon. Louisa Bagot (1764–1834), a daughter of William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot and the former Elizabeth St John (the eldest daughter of John St John, 2nd Viscount St John and sister of

Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, 3rd Viscount St John (21 December 1732 – 5 May 1787), was a British peer and landowner. His father was John St John, 2nd Viscount St John, half-brother of Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke ( ...

and Gen. Henry St John). Together, they were the parents of two sons and six daughters, including: * Ralph Sneyd (1793–1870), who died unmarried. * Harriet Sneyd (1796–1867), an artist. * Frances Sneyd (1798–1884), who married William Arundell Bouverie, the Archdeacon of Norfolk who was a son of Bartholomew Bouverie and grandson of

William Bouverie, 1st Earl of Radnor William Bouverie, 1st Earl of Radnor FRS DL (26 February 1725 – 28 January 1776) was a British peer, styled Hon. William Bouverie from 1747 until 1761. Early life He was the eldest son of Jacob Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone and Mary Cla ...

, in 1831. Frances was

maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...

to Queen Adelaide. * Charlotte Augusta Sneyd (1800–1882), also an artist. * Elizabeth Sneyd (1806–1869) * Rev. Walter Sneyd (1809–1888), a bibliophile and antiquarian. He married his cousin, Henrietta Elizabeth Sneyd (1829–1913), a daughter of Richard Malone Sneyd of Cherryvale. He died 23 June 1829. His widow died in 1834.

Legacy

His eldest son Ralph inherited Keele Hall and rebuilt it, as it is today, to the design of

Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on Middle Ages, medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations, such as those of the ...

at a cost of about 80,000 pounds. On his death, the estate passed to his younger brother Walter. His son, Ralph Sneyd (1863–1949), took little interest in the Sneyd estate since his appointment as a Colonel of the Staffordshire Yeomanry during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He died childless in 1949, and his successor, Maj. Henry Ralph Mowbray Howard-Sneyd (the son of Ralph's elder sister Louisa Georgina (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Sneyd) Howard and Robert Mowbray Howard MP, a son of Henry Howard of

Greystoke Castle Greystoke Castle is in the village of Greystoke, Cumbria, Greystoke west of Penrith, Cumbria, Penrith in the county of Cumbria in northern England. (). It is owned by the Howard family and is a private residence including a castle and family est ...

) died the following year, which reduced the family fortune by three quarters due to the doubling of death duties going to the Exchequer. The remaining, unsold, parts of the estate were broken up by his heirs.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

Sneyd Family Papers
at Keele University Archives and Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Sneyd, Walter 1752 births 1829 deaths People from Keele British MPs 1784–1790 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Staffordshire Militia officers 18th-century British Army personnel 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from Staffordshire