Sir Roger Kynaston


Sir Roger Kynaston of Myddle and Hordley was a Knight of the Realm and Anglo-Welsh nobleman. He was a member of the Kynaston family, of North Shropshire and the Welsh Marches.

Early life

Kynaston was the son of Griffin Kynaston, who was the Seneschal of Ellesmere, Shropshire and Margaret Jane Hoord, daughter of John Hoord of Hordley. He was the direct descendant of Gruffydd Fychan ap Iorwerth, the first to hold the surname "Kynaston" and therefore of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, the last Prince of Powys, of the House of Mathrafal.

Marriages and children

In 1450 on his marriage to his first wife, Elizabeth Cobham, he gained the seat of Myddle Castle, Shropshire, as a dowry. He and Elizabeth had one son, Thomas Kynaston, who married Maria Corbett. Thomas became High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1508.
After the death of his first wife he married, in 1465, Elizabeth Grey, daughter of Henry Grey, 2nd Earl of Tankerville and Antigone Plantagenet, granddaughter of Henry IV of England. They had the following children:
  • Jana Kynaston
  • Margaret Kynaston, who later married Richard Hanmer
  • Humphrey Kynaston, who later became infamous as Wild Humphrey Kynaston, the highwayman, who operated in the area to the North West of Shrewsbury.
  • Lancelot Kynaston
  • Maria Kynaston, who married Hywel ap Jenkin
  • Emma Kynaston, who married John Eyton, of Rhiwabon
Elizabeth Grey was the granddaughter of Eleanor Cobham, Elizabeth's sister, and Humphrey of Gloucester, the youngest son of Henry IV.

Military career

In 1454, Kynaston was the Constable of Denbigh Castle. He fought in the Battle of Blore Heath on 23 September 1459, killing the Lancastrian commander Lord Audley. . He was High Sheriff of Shropshire in both 1461 and 1470. He was knighted in the field in 1471 after the Battle of Tewkesbury. In 1484, he was appointed for life as Escheator and High Sheriff of Merionethshire and made Constable of Harlech Castle.
Guto'r Glyn, the Bard of Valle Crucis Abbey wrote a "cywydd" in Kynaston's honour entitled "Syr Rosier Cinast o’r Cnewin".

Heraldry

Kynaston founded the line of Kynaston of Hordley. His Coat of Arms was:
Quarterly of six:

Plas Kynaston

Roger gave his name to the estate of Plas Kynaston, lands which he also owned in Cefn Mawr, North Wales.
Dennis Davies writes in "The History of Plas Kynaston":