LLOYD, Sir Edward Pryce, 2nd Bt. (1768-1854), of Pengwern, Flints. and Bodfach, Mont.

In 1795 Lloyd, a bilingual Welshman whose family were formerly seated at Pontryffyd, Flintshire, inherited his great-uncle’s estate in that county: this, together with his recent marriage to Miss Mostyn of Mostyn, made him a force to be reckoned with in county politics. Early in 1795 he was considered a contender for the vacant Montgomeryshire seat. A letter from Lord Bulkeley to his father-in-law Sir Roger Mostyn, 15 Aug. 1795, suggested that the former might have engaged to seat Lloyd for Beaumaris, had Mostyn supported Bulkeley in the contest for Caernarvonshire. In 1799 Lloyd ‘affected to canvass for two or three days’ when there was a vacancy for Montgomeryshire, but decided to give Charles Williams Wynn ‘no further trouble’. His brother-in-law was Member for Flintshire, and Lloyd in 1806 contested Flint Boroughs successfully, thanks to a division in the prevailing Williams Wynn interest. He supported the Grenville administration, voting for Brand’s motion after their dismissal, 9 Apr. 1807. At the ensuing general election he was defeated at Flint, but was returned on a vacancy soon afterwards by Bulkeley for his borough of Beaumaris ‘for very strong local reasons’ as ‘one of a very strong link of Welsh connection’.1UCNW, Mostyn mss 7844; Add. 41855, f. 217; Fortescue mss, Bulkeley to Grenville, 22 Nov.; Devon RO, Earl Fortescue mss FC74a, Bulkeley to Fortescue, 12 Nov. 1807. He became a member of Brooks’s Club, 6 June 1808, and continued to vote regularly with the Whigs, who listed him as one of their ‘thick and thin’ supporters in 1810, though he did not speak in debate.

In 1812 he resumed his seat for Flint, which was said to be so much ‘nearest Sir Edward’s heart ... that he would gladly half ruin himself to obtain it’.2Add. 42058, f. 208. He attended less regularly, particularly in 1814, 1815 and 1817, but continued to support Catholic relief, parliamentary reform and retrenchment. In the Parliament of 1818 he was in steady opposition, having signed the requisition to Tierney to lead the Whigs. Lloyd held Flint until 1831 without any difficulty. In that year his brother-in-law and constant hunting companion Sir Thomas Mostyn died. Lloyd succeeded to the estates and was ‘pitch forked’ into the Lords by the Whig government.3‘Nimrod’, Hunting Reminiscences ed. Sparrow, 176. He died 3 Apr. 1854.