Sir Stephen Glynne's Church Notes

The notebooks of Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, 9th Baronet, reflect their owner's love of ecclesiology and the months of each year he dedicated to visiting and describing parish churches in all parts of Britain. 106 notebooks contain detailed architectural descriptions of churches, their furniture, monuments, etc. In total they describe 5,150 churches in all counties (except Kent as these volumes were lost) in England, Wales, and the Channel Isles, and a small number in Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. Each volume is about 7in. x 9in. and usually contains 85 folios. Entries were generally written on the right-hand pages only, the opposite pages being uses occasionally for later notes, sketches, etc. Many entries are undated, especially those that occurred prior to 1840. An index can be found at the end of each volume. A separate index volume was compiled by Sir Stephen Richard Glynne c.1840, which lists the churches visited in each county in chronological order, and (from 1840) gives the date of the visit. The volumes are particularly valuable where the church has been altered by later restoration

Sir Stephen Glynne, 9th Baronet, was born on the 22nd of September 1807 to Sir Stephen Glynne, 8th Baronet and his wife Mary, daughter of Richard Griffin, 2nd Baron Braybrooke. He was the eldest son and the second of four children, his siblings being Catherine, Henry, and Mary Glynne.

Stephen Glynne inherited the titles and estates of his father in 1815 at the age of 7. Due to his age the finances of the estate were managed by trustees appointed by his father.

He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where he was a contemporary of William Ewart Gladstone. He undertook a grand tour of Europe in the summer of 1826. After education he returned to Hawarden and took control of his own estates. Glynne’s sister Catherine married William Ewart Gladstone in 1839.

Hawarden estate almost fell into bankruptcy in the late 1840s partly owing to the failure of Oak Farm brick and iron works near Stourbridge in Staffordshire, of which Glynne was a part owner. Part of the estate was sold and Hawarden Castle closed in 1848, reopening 4 years later when he arranged to share the home with Catherine and William Gladstone.

Glynne was a Liberal Member of Parliament for Flint Boroughs from 1832 to 1837 but sat as a Conservative for Flintshire from 1837 to 1847. He was also Lord Lieutenant of Flintshire from 1845 to 1871. During the 1841 election he started proceedings against the Chester Chronicle for libel after they published an article referring to rumours spread by Hugh Davies Griffith of Caerhun and John Taylor of Coed Du, Rhydymwyn, that Glynne was gay. The newspaper was forced to publish an apology and Glynne stopped the proceedings after being convinced that his election opponents were responsible for the libel.

Glynne was the first president of the Cambrian Archaeology Society, and from an early age he was interested in ecclesiology. He was a member of the Ecclesiology Society and helped edit the Hand-Book of English Ecclesiology (1847). He devoted months of each year to visiting and creating notebooks describing parish churches in all parts of Britain and Ireland.

Glynne died on the 17th of June 1874 in Shoreditch, London. He was buried in Hawarden Church, where there is a memorial to him by Matthew Noble. As he was unmarried the Glynne baronetcy ended with him. His estate was left to his nephew, William Henry Gladstone, the eldest son of Catherine and William Gladstone.

The volumes are arranged alphabetically by diocese. Within each volume the notes were not entered in any particular order, whether alphabetical or chronological.

Available upon request by appointment

This archive was catalogued in 2023 by Alexandra Foulds

All copyright enquiries should be sent to library@gladlib.org

Sir Stephen Glynne's Church Notes were deposited at Gladstone's Library, then St Deiniol's Library, by the trustees of William Ewart Gladstone's estate. The notebooks had previously been held at Hawarden Castle

No accruals are expected

Other material related to Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, 9th Baronet, can be found in the Glynne-Gladstone Archive