William Watkin Edward Wynne (23 December 1801 – 9 June 1880) was a Welsh Conservative Party politician and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an 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 artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

Life

Wynne was born on 23 December 1801 in

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

, Wales, and educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

. He married Mary Slaney, daughter of Robert Aglionby Slaney MP, and had a son named William Robert Maurice Wynne. He was

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for

Merioneth Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is an anglicisation of the Welsh placename ''Mei ...

from 1852 to 1865. He also served as High Sheriff of Merionethshire in 1867 and became constable of Harlech Castle in 1874. He was a director of the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway, formed in 1857. He inherited a collection of manuscripts in 1859, known as the Hengwrt collection, from his kinsman

Sir Robert Vaughan, 2nd Baronet Sir Robert Williames Vaughan, 2nd Baronet (29 March 1768 – 22 April 1843), was a Welsh landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons for 40 years from 1792 to 1836. Nannau house In 1800, Vaughan embarked on a life long journ ...

. The collection had been assembled by the 17th-century antiquarian Robert Vaughan and it contained an early version of the ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse (poetry), verse, as part of a fictional storytellin ...

'', mystery plays in Cornish and many early Welsh manuscripts, including twelve manuscripts of the Welsh laws of

Hywel Dda Hywel ap Cadell, commonly known as Hywel Dda, which translates to Howel the Good in English, was a Welsh king who ruled the southern Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllw ...

. Wynne catalogued the manuscripts, publishing the result in ''Archaeologia Cambrensis'' between 1869 and 1871, and allowed scholars to examine and copy them. Wynne had considerable knowledge about the history and genealogy of north Wales, assisting other writers and contributing articles on

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

to ''Archaeologia Cambrensis'' and elsewhere. He also wrote a history of Harlech Castle in 1878. He died on 9 June 1880.

References

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Books and Journals

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wynne, William Watkin Edward 1801 births 1880 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 Welsh antiquarians Members of the Cambrian Archaeological Association High sheriffs of Merionethshire People educated at Westminster School, London 19th-century Welsh historians