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The Family of Sir Robert Vyner
by John Michael Wright, oil on canvas, 1673
Sir Robert Vyner came from the illustrious Vyner family of Newby Hall, North Yorkshire. At the
time Oliver Cromwell was not renowned for his love of the royal family. Indeed, so disillusioned
was he by the failings of a dynasty he held responsible for national decline, that he had many
of the Crown Jewels destroyed when he finally defeated the Royalists in battle in the middle of
the 17th Century.
Said to have been offered the Crown himself, he turned it down but, despite the best efforts of
the Parliamentarians, the monarchy was never forgotten. Eventually, Charles II was to return
from exile to reclaim the throne and new regalia was required befitting a king...
Enter Sir Robert Vyner, jeweller and ancestor of the Compton family, of Newby Hall, near Ripon,
North Yorkshire. Sir Robert created numerous jewels for the monache. Even the coronation
had to wait while he replaced the St Edward's Crown - rumoured to now include some of the
precious metals from the more modest regalia Cromwell used for state occasions - the Sword of
Temporal Justice, and a Coronation Ring.
The convivial Sir Robert Vyner, during his mayoralty in 1675, was honoured with the presence
of his sovereign, Charles II. His majesty was for retiring after staying the usual time, but Sire
Robert, filled with good liquor and loyalty, laid hold of the king, and swore, “Sir, you shall take t’
other bottle.” The good-natured monarch looked kindly at him over the shoulder, and, with a
smile and graceful air, repeated this line of the old song,
“He that’s drunk is as great as a king,”
Later Sir Robert Vyner, became banker to Charles II and Mayor of London who erected in 1672
a statue of Charles II near Mansion House (residence of the mayors of London) which faces the
Bank of England and situated at the corner of Lombard Street and Wallbrook.
Unfortunately Robert Vyner lent extensively to the government and by the time the above
portrait was painted he was already in financial difficulties because these loans had not been
repaid. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1674, but was declared bankrupt in 1684. He died
broken-hearted at the death of his only son but not before giving up much of his land, including
Bidston Hill.
When the old Mansion House was demolished in 1728 the statue was given to the Vyner family
and is now at Newby Hall. Sir Robert's town mansion in Lombard Street became the first Post
Office, known as the Mail Coach Office. The Vyners were goldsmiths who petitioned the king to
trade with the East India Company and Winters of Clapham may been connected by marriage
according to Letters of Administration.
Vyner family of Newby owned:
List of seats and / or estates:
Wrest Park, Bedfordshire
Bidston, Cheshire
Birkenhead, Cheshire
Moreton, Cheshire
Upton, Cheshire
Wallasey, Cheshire
Northleach, Gloucestershire
Cannes, France
Stanton, Gloucestershire
Bardney, Lincolnshire
Gautby, Lincolnshire
Sotby, Lincolnshire
Strubby, Lincolnshire
London
Swakeleys, Middlesex
Coombe Hurst, Surrey
Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey
Acklam with Barthorpe, Yorkshire
Askrigg, Yorkshire
Baldersby, Yorkshire
Clifton, Yorkshire
Dishforth, Yorkshire
Fairfield, Yorkshire
Huntington, Yorkshire
Leppington, Yorkshire
Newby Hall, Yorkshire
Newby with Mulwith, Yorkshire
Newby Park, Yorkshire
Rainton cum Newby, Yorkshire
Rawcliffe, Yorkshire
Swanland, Yorkshire
Swinefleet, Yorkshire
Worton, Yorkshire
Torloisk, Argyllshire
Carslogie, Fife
Kirkness, Kinross-shire
time Oliver Cromwell was not renowned for his love of the royal family. Indeed, so disillusioned
was he by the failings of a dynasty he held responsible for national decline, that he had many
of the Crown Jewels destroyed when he finally defeated the Royalists in battle in the middle of
the 17th Century.
Said to have been offered the Crown himself, he turned it down but, despite the best efforts of
the Parliamentarians, the monarchy was never forgotten. Eventually, Charles II was to return
from exile to reclaim the throne and new regalia was required befitting a king...
Enter Sir Robert Vyner, jeweller and ancestor of the Compton family, of Newby Hall, near Ripon,
North Yorkshire. Sir Robert created numerous jewels for the monache. Even the coronation
had to wait while he replaced the St Edward's Crown - rumoured to now include some of the
precious metals from the more modest regalia Cromwell used for state occasions - the Sword of
Temporal Justice, and a Coronation Ring.
The convivial Sir Robert Vyner, during his mayoralty in 1675, was honoured with the presence
of his sovereign, Charles II. His majesty was for retiring after staying the usual time, but Sire
Robert, filled with good liquor and loyalty, laid hold of the king, and swore, “Sir, you shall take t’
other bottle.” The good-natured monarch looked kindly at him over the shoulder, and, with a
smile and graceful air, repeated this line of the old song,
“He that’s drunk is as great as a king,”
Later Sir Robert Vyner, became banker to Charles II and Mayor of London who erected in 1672
a statue of Charles II near Mansion House (residence of the mayors of London) which faces the
Bank of England and situated at the corner of Lombard Street and Wallbrook.
Unfortunately Robert Vyner lent extensively to the government and by the time the above
portrait was painted he was already in financial difficulties because these loans had not been
repaid. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1674, but was declared bankrupt in 1684. He died
broken-hearted at the death of his only son but not before giving up much of his land, including
Bidston Hill.
When the old Mansion House was demolished in 1728 the statue was given to the Vyner family
and is now at Newby Hall. Sir Robert's town mansion in Lombard Street became the first Post
Office, known as the Mail Coach Office. The Vyners were goldsmiths who petitioned the king to
trade with the East India Company and Winters of Clapham may been connected by marriage
according to Letters of Administration.
Vyner family of Newby owned:
List of seats and / or estates:
Wrest Park, Bedfordshire
Bidston, Cheshire
Birkenhead, Cheshire
Moreton, Cheshire
Upton, Cheshire
Wallasey, Cheshire
Northleach, Gloucestershire
Cannes, France
Stanton, Gloucestershire
Bardney, Lincolnshire
Gautby, Lincolnshire
Sotby, Lincolnshire
Strubby, Lincolnshire
London
Swakeleys, Middlesex
Coombe Hurst, Surrey
Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey
Acklam with Barthorpe, Yorkshire
Askrigg, Yorkshire
Baldersby, Yorkshire
Clifton, Yorkshire
Dishforth, Yorkshire
Fairfield, Yorkshire
Huntington, Yorkshire
Leppington, Yorkshire
Newby Hall, Yorkshire
Newby with Mulwith, Yorkshire
Newby Park, Yorkshire
Rainton cum Newby, Yorkshire
Rawcliffe, Yorkshire
Swanland, Yorkshire
Swinefleet, Yorkshire
Worton, Yorkshire
Torloisk, Argyllshire
Carslogie, Fife
Kirkness, Kinross-shire
This is the most important of all the crown
jewels. The St. Edward's Crown represents
the accession of the monarch at the
ceremony of the coronation. It is of solid
gold, contains some 440 precious and
semi-precious stones and weighs 2.25 kg. It
was made for King Charles II by Sir Robert
Vyner and may contain remnants of earlier
crowns. It is however uncertain whether or
not these crowns predate the period of
Oliver Cromwell, however it is probable that
the lower half is one of three old crowns held
in Westminster Abbey before the Cromwellian
jewels. The St. Edward's Crown represents
the accession of the monarch at the
ceremony of the coronation. It is of solid
gold, contains some 440 precious and
semi-precious stones and weighs 2.25 kg. It
was made for King Charles II by Sir Robert
Vyner and may contain remnants of earlier
crowns. It is however uncertain whether or
not these crowns predate the period of
Oliver Cromwell, however it is probable that
the lower half is one of three old crowns held
in Westminster Abbey before the Cromwellian
| Above: The St. Edward's Crown made by Sir Robert Vyner of Newby |
Moreton, With Lingham
MORETON, with Lingham, a township, in the
parish of Bidstone, union, and Lower division
of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the
county of Chester, 4 miles (W. by N.) from
Birkenhead; containing 330 inhabitants. It
comprises 1169 acres, of a clayey soil, and is
situated in a dreary flat, close to the shore of
the sea; most of it is below high-water mark,
and the sea is kept out by embankments, at
the expense of the corporation of Liverpool
and the landowners conjointly. Robert Vyner,
Esq., is proprietor of the whole township, with
the exception of about 300 acres belonging to
John Ralph Shaw, Esq., of Arrowe Hall.
From: 'Moreby - Morland', A Topographical
Dictionary of England (1848).
MORETON, with Lingham, a township, in the
parish of Bidstone, union, and Lower division
of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the
county of Chester, 4 miles (W. by N.) from
Birkenhead; containing 330 inhabitants. It
comprises 1169 acres, of a clayey soil, and is
situated in a dreary flat, close to the shore of
the sea; most of it is below high-water mark,
and the sea is kept out by embankments, at
the expense of the corporation of Liverpool
and the landowners conjointly. Robert Vyner,
Esq., is proprietor of the whole township, with
the exception of about 300 acres belonging to
John Ralph Shaw, Esq., of Arrowe Hall.
From: 'Moreby - Morland', A Topographical
Dictionary of England (1848).
| Above: The sitters are Sir Robert (1631--1688) and his wife Mary (née Whitchurch; d. 1674), the wealthy widow of Sir Thomas Hyde, whom he married in 1665; Bridget Hyde (1662--1734), Lady Vyner's daughter by her first marriage; and Charles Vyner (1666--88), their only son |
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