MANSEL, Bussy (1623-99), of Briton Ferry, Glam.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715, ed. D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley, 2002
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

1653
Mar. 1679 - Jan. 1681
1689 - 5 May 1699

Family and Education

b. 22 Nov. 1623, 2nd s. of Arthur Mansel of Margam, Glam. by Jane, da. and h. of William Price of Briton Ferry.  m. (1) 17 Apr. 1646, Catherine, da. and coh. of Hugh Perry alias Hunter, Mercer, of London, wid. of Sir Edward Stradling, 3rd Bt., of St. Donat’s Castle, Glam., 1s. d.v.p. 1da. d.v.p.; (2) bef. 1678, Anne, s.psuc. bro. 1631.1

Offices Held

Col.-gen. S. Wales (Royalist) 1645; c.-in-c. Glam. (Parliamentarian) 1645–6; sheriff, Glam. Apr.–Nov. 1646, 1677–8, dep. custos rot. 1649; commr. for militia, S. Wales 1655, 1659, sequestration, S. Wales 1649, propagation of the gospel 1650–3, scandalous ministers, S. Wales 1654, security 1656.2

Member, high ct. of justice 1651.3

Biography

Mansel, a political survivor whose parliamentary service had begun with Barebone’s, had been satirized in a lampoon of 1687 as

          Hospitable Bush, who cares not a rush
          What hurries, so himself be secure,
          With his friends and his glass,
          Now and then a private lass,
          Can all these adventures endure.

Nevertheless he had voted in the Convention in favour of the disabling clause of the corporations bill, and was regarded as a staunch Whig in 1690 when re-elected unopposed as knight of the shire. Moreover, the charitable works of his last years reputedly included the provision of financial assistance towards the building of two Independent chapels locally. Lord Carmarthen (Sir Thomas Osborne†) listed him as a Whig in March 1690, and a year later Robert Harley* classified him as an adherent of the Country opposition. His parliamentary activity is difficult to distinguish from that of his cousin Thomas Mansel I*, but he was certainly in town for the 1691–2 session, when his correspondence reveals him as supporting the treason trials and accounts bills. In February 1693 either he or his cousin raised a question of privilege concerning the impressment of a servant, a complaint which opened the way for a debate on the grievance of ‘pressing for land service . . . under colour of pressing seamen’. The following year, however, came the first of several annual grants of leave of absence, which presumably indicate that age and infirmity were taking their toll. In this case (31 Mar. 1694) health grounds were cited specifically; in the succeeding three years (12 Mar. 1695, 20 Mar. 1696 and 13 Mar. 1697) they were not. In January 1696 Mansel was forecast as likely to support the Court in the divisions of the 31st upon the proposed council of trade, and the following month he promptly signed the Association. In an analysis of the old and new Parliaments in about September 1698 he was marked as a follower of the Court. On 7 Mar. 1699 he was one of 12 Members cited by the clerk for non-attendance, but who were subsequently excused. Mansel died on 5 May 1699, his burial at Briton Ferry occurring on the 25th, and was succeeded by his grandson Thomas Mansell II*.4

Ref Volumes: 1690-1715

Author: D. W. Hayton

Notes

  • 1. E. P. Statham, Fam. of Mansell, ii. 33–34, 52; W. W. Mansell, Maunsell Fam. 88, 90; DWB, 612; Morgannwg, xx. 11, 16.
  • 2. DWB, 612; HMC 6th Rep. 88, 113; CSP Dom. 1655, p. 79.
  • 3. CSP Dom. 1651, p. 267.
  • 4. NLW Jnl. xxi. 171; Glam. Co. Hist. iv. 484–5; Morgannwg, 28; Luttrell Diary, 397; Cat. Penrice and Margam Mss, ser. 2, p. 15; DWB, 612.