Welsh Journals

brought Lewis a profit of more than £ 1000 a year per boat. When the Post Masters General complained that the Post Office was losing money regularly by using Lewis's boats for postal services, Lord North replied 'Mr Lewis is a very honest, worthy man, and an excellent M.P. I think the king's affairs in Parliament may suffer unless such good and steady friends as Mr Lewis have from Government all the countenance and favour that justice and the public service with permit.' Lewis for his near 30 years as the Borough's M.P., with a New Radnor country house and estate where he spent at least part of each year. engaged in many local public activities and especially in the work of the Radnorshire Turnpike Trust in improving and realigning the county's then very poor roads, for which purpose it met regularly in Presteigne's Shire Hall. In the Trust's first Order Book for the years 1767-1801 the name Edward Lewis, esq. appears frequently in minutes relating to road works and the erection of toll gates to meet the costs involved. The first turnpike road to be built, and referred to as 'The Great Road', ran across the county from Presteigne to Rhayader via New Radnor and Penybont, so having to take in its course parts of the high Radnor Forest. One of the very early entries in the Order Book, dated 4 August 1767. listed those Trustees, all of whom were local landed gentry of some wealth, who had subscribed sums of money to the credit of the tolls at a rate of £ 4 and later £ 5 per cent per annum. The largest such subscriptions were of £ 500 each under the names of Edward Lewis, Downton and Thomas Lewis. Harpton! Usually, one or a small group of Trustees was made responsible for the upkeep of the roads near their homes with the help of 'surveyors'. the erection of toll-gates at agreed intervals and for the periodical despatch of the tolls collected to the Trust's treasurer. An account of moneys borrowed on the credit of the Trust as at 1 October 1782 showed that Edward Lewis had in 1767 loaned £ 500 at 4%, and between 1777 and 1779 a further £ 750 at 5%. and a further £ 60 in 1779. An interesting entry of 4 November 1785 is, 'A Security for a sum of £ 60 to Edward Lewis, esq. dated 27 March 1779 was assigned on 28 June 1784 to Major General H. Stephens of London and Thomas Lewis of London in trust for Mrs Marianne Lewis, wife of Edward Lewis. The above security was on 30 September 1785 assigned by the said Major General Stephens and Thomas Lewis to her son, Percival Lewis, esq. for the sum of £ 60 plus interest at 5%. Signed: Edward Lewis. 4 November 1785.' The above mentioned Thomas Lewis was very possibly a cousin of Edward Lewis, while Major General Stephens had in c.1760 married Henry Loubier's younger daughter Marie, with a marriage settlement of £ 10,000; this made him a brother-in-law of Edward Lewis of Downton. A deed in the Harpton Court Collection housed in the National Library of Wales and dated July 1779 refers to the Revd Thomas Davies and David Williams, a maltster, both of the town and parish of New Radnor, late stewards of the Friendly Society of Gentlemen, Farmers, Tradesmen, etc. of the town and neighbourhood of New Radnor. Surely, Edward Lewis, esqr., whose Downton House was but a mile from New Radnor. would have been a generous supporter of such a Friendly Society, which was also known as the Benefit Society of Radnor, since apart from being the parish's largest landowner, he was also its Borough M.P.