Who was Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, 3rd Baronet?

He was a Denbighshire MP from 1716 to 1749, a prominent Jacobite sympathiser, and the head of the Williams Wynn family at Wynnstay, near Ruabon, known locally as 'the Great Sir Watkin'.

Was Sir Watkin involved in the 1745 Jacobite rising?

He was one of the most influential Jacobite sympathisers in Parliament and was implicated in connection with the 1745 rising, though never formally convicted.

Where is Sir Watkin commemorated?

A large monument by the sculptor Michael Rysbrack, commissioned by his widow, stands in a purpose-built chapel at St Mary's Church, Ruabon, completed in 1755.

Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, 3rd Baronet

Inheriting Wynnstay

Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet, was born in 1692, the eldest son of Sir William Williams, 2nd Baronet, of Llanforda near Oswestry. His mother, Jane Thelwall, descended from the antiquary Sir John Wynn of Gwydir, and it was through that connection that Sir Watkin inherited Wynnstay, near Ruabon, and the wider Wynn estates in 1719, on the death of Sir John Wynn, alongside his father's own estates when his father died in 1740.

Denbighshire's Long-Serving MP

Educated at Jesus College, Oxford, Sir Watkin sat as Member of Parliament for Denbighshire from 1716 until his death in 1749, with only a brief interruption in 1741–42. A committed Tory, he became one of the most prominent opponents of the Whig prime minister Sir Robert Walpole, and was known across North Wales simply as “the Great Sir Watkin” for his wealth and political weight.

Jacobite Sympathies

Sir Watkin was among the most influential Jacobite sympathisers sitting in the 18th-century House of Commons, and was implicated, though never formally convicted, in connection with the Jacobite rising of 1745 — the last serious attempt to restore the exiled Stuart dynasty to the British throne. His political prominence and vast landholdings made him a natural focus for Jacobite hopes in North Wales, even without direct involvement in the fighting itself.

Wealth and Legacy

By the time of his death, in a hunting accident in 1749, the Wynnstay estates stretched across at least five Welsh counties and into Shropshire, with an estimated rental income of around £20,000 a year — a vast sum for the period. His widow, Dame Frances, commissioned a monument from the celebrated sculptor Michael Rysbrack; it proved too large for the existing chancel of St Mary's Church, so a new south-east chapel was built specially to house it, completed in 1755.

Practical Information

The Rysbrack monument to Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, 3rd Baronet, remains inside St Mary's Church, Ruabon, viewable whenever the church is open to visitors; check locally for current opening times. There is no charge to view it. Wynnstay Hall itself, his family seat, is private property today and not open to the public.