Motmit: refs
Lyne-Stephens was returned as [[Member of Parliament]] for Barnstaple in 1830. His father had paid over £5000 for his election which was in support of political reform. On 15 November 1830, Stephens was one of a group of right wing Tories who voted against the government and ended the rule of the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]]. Following the political excitement that led to the 1831 Reform Election, Stephens decided not to defend his seat. He concentrated his activities on hunting and shooting. In 1832 he was invited to stand for [[Liskeard (UK Parliament constituency)|Liskeard]] but withdrew his name at the last minute. He moved to [[Melton Mowbray]] which he considered excellent hunting and riding country.
In 1837 Stephens married [[Yolande Duvernay]]. He bought [[Lynford Hall]] near [[Thetford, Norfolk|Thetford]] in 1856, intending to develop its 8 000 acres with mansion house, parkland and lake as a hunting retreat, and commissioned the architect [[William Burn]] to refurbish it. His death in 1860 set off a frenzy of fortune hunters, who went so far as to tamper with their family trees in order to bolster their claims to the estate.<ref>[http://www.edp24.co.uk/Content/HiddenNorfolk/asp/2003/12/031227LynfordHall1.asp Lynford Hall<!– Bot generated title –>]</ref> The fortune had been amassed by William Stephens of [[Cornwall]], an illegitimate child born in 1731. He started a glass factory in Portugal with his brother and members of the related Lyne family. Stephens had influential political connections in Portugal, exempting his business from taxes.<ref>[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Glass-Strange-History-Stephens-Fortune/dp/0954558901 Amazon.co.uk: Glass: The Strange History of the Lyne Stephens Fortune: Jenifer Roberts: Books<!– Bot generated title –>]</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Jenefer Roberts ”Glass:The Strange History of the Lyne Stephens Fortune”
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{{succession box | title=[[Barnstaple (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Barnstaple]]<br /><small>with [[George Tudor]]</small> | before=[[Frederick Hodgson]]<br />[[Henry Alexander (P)|Henry Alexander]] | after= [[Frederick Hodgson]]<br />[[Sir John Chichester, 1st Baronet, of Arlington Court|John Chichester]] | years=1830–1831}}
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[[Category:1801 births]]
[[Category:1860 deaths]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1830-1831]]
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(Via Wikipedia – New pages [en].)