Robert Wynn (died 1598), known in his early life as Robert Gwyn, was a member of the Welsh gentry, known for constructing Plas Mawr in Conwy.

Life

Robert came from a prosperous local family, being the 3rd son of

John "Wynn" ap Maredudd John "Wynn" ap Maredudd (died 9 July 1559) was a Welsh Member of Parliament. He was son of Meredydd ap Ieuan ap Robert of Dolwyddelan, then Caernarvonshire. He had twenty six siblings. He is cited by Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet as his ancestor ...

, and entered the service of first Sir

Walter Stonor Sir Walter Stonor (died 1551) was the son of Thomas Stoner of North Stoke, Oxfordshire and Sybilla, the daughter of Sir David Brecknock. He was a Knight of the Body and appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London on 29 September 1546. He had at ...

and then Sir Philip Hoby, both administrators and senior officials to King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. Robert fought and was injured at the Siege of Boulogne in 1544, took part in the King's Scottish campaigns and traveled extensively across Europe. He invested in land across North Wales and married his first wife, Dorothy Griffith, a member of the local gentry, in 1570. Robert now needed a suitable family house and chose Conwy, a prosperous town that was known in the 16th century for its gentile society. He built the house of Plas Mawr there between 1576 and 1585. By the 1570s Robert began to rise in local society, becoming a justice of the peace, the MP for

Caernarvonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

in 1589 and the county sheriff in 1590–91. Dorothy died childless in 1586, and in 1588 he remarried to Dorothy Dymock, with whom he had seven children - Katherine, John, Margaret, Elen, Sydney, Thomas and Mary - in only six years. His income rose considerably, from around £110 a year during the 1570s, to around £220 in the 1590s. According to the

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

John Wynn, Robert Wynn kept a "worthy plentiful house".

Death

Robert died in 1598 and was buried by the altar of the

Church of St Mary & All Saints, Conwy The Church of St Mary & All Saints is the parish church of Conwy, Wales in the United Kingdom. It was originally the Cistercian Aberconwy Abbey, but in 1283 King Edward I of England moved the Abbey to Maenan. The parish registers date back to ...

, of which he was a benefactor. He left a complex will intended to provide support for his wife and enable his daughters and youngest son to be successfully married; his instruction envisaged this being achieved by saving up money from his estates over the coming years, under the direction of the executor, Sir

Roger Mostyn Sir Roger Mostyn (1567 – 18 August 1642) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622. Mostyn was the eldest surviving son of Sir Thomas Mostyn of Mostyn. His father was MP for Flintshire in 1577. He matricula ...

. Arguments followed, resulting in a protracted law case that was not resolved until 1630.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wynn, Robert Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales 1598 deaths Year of birth unknown English MPs 1589 Members of Parliament for Caernarfon