LLOYD, Sir Charles (c.1662-1723), of Maesyfelin, nr. Lampeter, Card. and Ludlow, Salop.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715, ed. D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley, 2002
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Family and Education

b. c.1662, 2nd illegit. s. of Sir Francis Lloyd (d. c.1669), gent. of privy chamber 1628, 1660 and comptroller of the household to Charles I, of Maesyfelin and Forest Hill, Oxon., by Bridget, da. of Richard Leigh, mercer, of Carmarthen.  educ. Jesus, Oxf. matric. 28 Nov. 1679, aged 17.  m. (1) Jane (d. 1689), da. and h. of Morgan Lloyd of Green Grove, Card., 2da.; (2) by 1706, Frances (d. 1753), da. of Thomas Cornwallis of Abermarlais, Carm., sis. of Francis Cornwallis† of Abermarlais, 3s. (1 d.v.p.) 5da. (2 d.v.p.).  suc. bro. c.1678; kntd. 24 Nov. 1693; cr. Bt. 1 Apr. 1708.1

Offices Held

Sheriff, Card. Jan. 1688, Nov. 1688–9, Carm. 1715–16.

Biography

Charles Lloyd and his elder brother Lucius were made heirs to Maesyfelin by their father’s will, and after Lucius committed suicide the property passed to Charles. Little has been discovered of his early life, or of his politics, though his father had been a Royalist cavalry commander and had twice stood for Parliament unsuccessfully, for Cardigan Boroughs in 1661 and 1663. Lloyd himself was briefly pricked as sheriff of Cardiganshire in January 1688 and a month later his name was added to the county lieutenancy. It is not clear what response he made to the questions about the repeal of the Test Act and Penal Laws, and what if any significance should be attached to his nomination as sheriff again in November 1688, or to his knighthood in 1693 and baronetcy in 1708, although it is conceivable that the timing of the two latter honours indicates Whig connexions. When he was returned for Cardigan Boroughs in 1698 he was described as a supporter of the Country party and was forecast as likely to vote against a standing army. He was an inactive Member, however, and on 30 Mar. 1699 was granted a leave of absence. He did not stand again, the Whig Sir Charles Lloyd who was defeated at Bishop’s Castle in 1710 and Montgomery Boroughs in 1722 being a namesake, the 3rd Bt., of Moelygarth, Montgomeryshire. Lloyd died on 28 Dec. 1723, aged 61, and was buried at Lampeter. The baronetcy survived only until 1750, becoming extinct with the death of his second son, Sir Lucius Christianus Lloyd, 3rd Bt. He in turn left the estate to his wife’s family, the Lloyds of Peterwell, Cardiganshire, who demolished Maesyfelin and made use of some of its materials to improve their own seat.2

Ref Volumes: 1690-1715

Author: D. W. Hayton

Notes

  • 1. Williams, Parl. Hist. Wales, 39; Arch. Camb. ser. 3, vi. 275–6; W. Wales Hist. Recs. i. 10–11; Add. 24121, f. 43; CSP Dom. 1678, p. 198; Cal. Treas. Bks. viii. 1380–1; N. Carlisle, Gent. Privy Chamber, 131, 165.
  • 2. Cal. Treas. Bks. viii. 1380–1; W. Wales Hist. Recs. 10–11; Meyrick, Card. 274; CSP Dom. 1687–9, p. 152; VCH Salop, iii. 118, 300, 302; Bull. Bd. of Celtic Studies, xx. 299; Arch. Camb. 275–6; Genealogical Mag. v. 123–4.