Mervyn Archdall (died 1839)

General Mervyn Archdall (27 April 1763 – 26 July 1839) was an Irish officer in the British Army and Member of Parliament for County Fermanagh in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.^[1]

He was the eldest son of Mervyn Archdall (1724?–1813) of Castle Archdall, Enniskillen, Fermanagh, an MP in the Parliament of Ireland for nearly 40 years. He succeeded his father in 1813, inheriting Castle Archdale house.

Archdall joined the British Army as a cornet in the 12th Dragoons and rose through the ranks in that regiment to that of full general on 27 May 1825. He had command of the regiment under Sir Ralph Abercromby during the Egyptian campaign, losing his right arm in an impromptu cavalry charge at Lake Mareotis in 1801. As a major-general he afterwards spent time on the staff in Ireland.^[2]

In 1833, he and wife Jane were passengers in a carriage accident cause by flooding near Castle Saunderson in Cavan.^[3]

He was MP for County Fermanagh in the Parliament of the UK from 1802 to 1834 following his father, who had been a co-opted member in 1801.

He was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Wight for life in 1815. He was also Governor of County Fermanagh (1813–1831), Grand Master of the Orange Order (1818–1822) and a Trustee of the Irish Linen Board.

He had married Jane, the daughter of Gustavus Hume Rochfort, MP and had one son & daughter (both illegitimate). His estate passed to his brother Colonel William Archdall (1768-1857) and thereafter to his nephew Edward Mervyn Archdale, MP. He died in 1839.

References

1. "ARCHDALL, Mervyn (1763-1839), of Castle Archdall, Enniskillen, co. Fermanagh". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
2. The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 12. p. 316.
3. "The Floods". The Morning Chronicle. 16 January 1833. p. 3. Retrieved 20 June 2021.