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
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 ...
between 1707 and 1758.
Early life

Darcy was the second surviving son of
Hon. John Darcy, MP, and his wife Bridget Sutton, daughter of
Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexington. He was the younger brother of
Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness. He was probably educated at
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
in 1698 and matriculated
fellow-commoner
A commoner is a student at certain universities in the British Isles who historically pays for his own tuition and commons, typically contrasted with scholars and exhibitioners, who were given financial emoluments towards their fees.
Cambridge
...
from
King's College, Cambridge
King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...
in 1703. He joined the army and was cornet and major in the
1st Life Guards from 1706 to 1715.
Career
Darcy was returned as
Member of Parliament 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 ...
at a by-election on 3 December 1707, but was defeated at the
1708 general election. He refused to stand at the
1710 general election. In 1710 he became gentleman of horse and in 1711, avener and clerk martial. From 1712 to 1714, he was one of the commissioners for the office of
Master of the Horse
Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today.
(ancient Rome)
The original Master of the Horse () in the Roman Rep ...
.
[ He was also ]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 disembodied Richmondshire Regiment, North Riding Militia.[J. R. Western, ''The English Militia in the Eighteenth Century: The Story of a Political Issue 1660–1802'', London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965, p. 147.]
At the 1715 general election, Darcy was returned as Member of Parliament for Newark. He was appointed commissioner for the office of Master of the Horse again in 1715. He went into opposition with Walpole in 1717, and voted against the Government on several occasions, so he lost all his official posts. When the WHigs subsequently came together again, he was appointed Master of the Household
The Master of the Household is the operational head (see Chief operating officer) of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. The role has charge of the domestic staff, from the Royal Kitchens, the pages and footm ...
in 1720. At the 1722 general election he was returned at Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge ( ) is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh, which c ...
and at Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
and chose to sit at Richmond. In 1725, he was invested as a Founder Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
. In 1727, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire
The post of Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire was created in 1660, at the Restoration. It was abolished on 31 March 1974, and replaced with the office of Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire. From 1782 until 1974, all Lords Lieutenan ...
holding the post until 1740. He was initially defeated at the poll at the 1727 general election, but was seated on petition on 14 March 1728. He was promoted to the post of Comptroller of the Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of ...
and was sworn a Privy Counsellor
The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...
in 1730. He was returned for Richmond again at the general elections of 1734
Events
January– March
* January 8 – Salzburgers, Lutherans who were expelled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, Austria, in October 1731, set sail for the British Colony of Georgia in America.
* February 16 – ...
and 1741
Events
January–March
* January 13
** Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township.
** Conventicle Act of 1741 is introduced in Denmark-Norway.
*February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain ...
. At the 1747 he was returned again for Yorkshire and Richmond and this time chose to sit for Yorkshire. He was re-elected for Yorkshire in the 1754 general election. When the Militia
A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
was revived in 1758, his nephew Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding, re-appointed him to the colonelcy of the Richmondshire Battalion, North York Militia, which he had first held 50 years earlier.[
]
Family and legacy
Darcy married Mary Lady Capell, widow of Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex and daughter of Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland in August 1714. He bought Aske Hall near Richmond, North Yorkshire in 1722 and extensively remodelled it. His wife died on 20 August 1726 and on 12 September 1728 he married Elizabeth, twice widowed daughter of John Rotherham of Much Waltham, Essex. Her former husbands were Sir Theophilus Napier, 5th Baronet
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...
, of Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire, and Thomas Howard, 6th Lord Howard of Effingham). He was a founding governor of the Foundling Hospital
The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropy, philanthropic Captain (nautical), sea captain ...
in London, a charity set up to care for foundlings ( abandoned children).
Darcy died without issue on 1 December 1758. Aske Hall was sold in 1763 by Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness to Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet
Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet (22 October 1712 – 21 September 1781) was a British merchant and Whig politician.
Life
He was the son of Thomas Dundas and Bethia Baillie. He made his first fortune as Commissary General: supplying goods to ...
.
References
*
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darcy, Conyers
1680s births
1758 deaths
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
British MPs 1707–1708
British MPs 1708–1710
British MPs 1710–1713
British MPs 1713–1715
British MPs 1715–1722
British MPs 1722–1727
British MPs 1727–1734
British MPs 1734–1741
British MPs 1741–1747
British MPs 1747–1754
British MPs 1754–1761
Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath
Lord-lieutenants of the East Riding of Yorkshire
Lord-lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire
North York Militia officers
Masters of the Household