Flint Boroughs

In my lifetime we've had a selection of MPs in Flintshire but all were either Conservative of Labour toeing the party dogma ... Eirene White (L), Barry Jones (L), Keith Raffan (C), David Hanson (L) and latterly Rob Roberts (C).  I even gave it a go three times myself, being pretty miffed that no one seemed to be listening to what people were actually saying in the area, but all to no avail.  The system is pretty loaded if you aren't in the 'jobs for the girls or boys club.'  I suppose I did effect change in the end as the votes cast for me enabled a change of MP, although not the one I might have wished for.

So what's the history of MPs in Flintshire? Well, it was as murky then as it is now, only in a different way.  Flint Boroughs was a parliamentary constituency, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1918 general election.

From the Tudor period onwards the Members of Parliament for this area,  Flint Boroughs,  were a succession of country gents who were all related in one way or another. Full List Here.

Here's an example of the way things were...

The Conway’s of the Soughton Hall Estate and Davies’ of Gwysaney were at the core of this. A son-in-law of the Conway’s, Edward Morgan II (1576-1640) was MP of Flint Borough’s from 1597-1601. He was 21 when he became MP! Morgan lived at Golden Grove (Llanasa) and Wepre Hall. He was directly descended from Ednyfed Fychan, seneschal to Llywelyn the Great. As such he was directly related to the Tudors themselves. 

Morgan was a lawyer by trade and a student of the Inner Temple in London. He was also High Sheriff of Flintshire from 1620-21

He travelled widely in Europe and Ireland, acquiring a competent knowledge of French and Italian, but a promising career was cut short when, on 21st April 1610, he killed John Egerton of Egerton, Cheshire, in a duel at Highgate in London. The two had been neighbours in North Wales for a time and Morgan was engaged in a legal battle with Egerton which had lasted for four years. Morgan had challenged the Egertons to meet him ‘in any place of Christendom’, describing Sir John as ‘a filthy black knight’ and his whole family as ‘vipers.’ Morgan was a man of temper and had already tried to stab Egerton and his son at a church service in Llanasa in 1608. Apparently an argument had ensued when Morgan refused to return a hawk belonging to the Egertons which had landed on his property. Morgan had abused the falconer with ‘reproachful speeches.’ John Egerton had issued his own challenge to a duel, only to be forbidden from taking the field by his father. On 19th April 1610 the two met again and the challenge to a duel was re-issued by Egerton. He lost the duel on the 21st April. Morgan was committed to Newgate prison after killing Egerton but later bribed his way out.

A very corrupt system for hundreds of years… is it much better now I ask?

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