Cyril Wyche

Sir Cyril Wyche FRS ( – 28 December 1707) was an English lawyer and politician. He served two terms in the Dublin Castle administration as Chief Secretary for Ireland and was a Lord Justice of Ireland from 1693 to 1695. He was the fifth President of the Royal Society, and represented several constituencies in both the House of Commons of England and the Irish House of Commons.

Early life He was born in Constantinople, then part of the Ottoman Empire, where his father, Sir Peter Wyche, was the English Ambassador. He was baptised by and named after Patriarch Cyril Lucaris, who became his godfather. Upon becoming secretary he was appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland. In 1684 he was elected a fellow of the Dublin Philosophical Society. Throughout this period he remained Ormonde's secretary for Irish affairs, but without a salary. Wyche complained to Ormonde that "I am the only man I think almost that ever was in my station without any salary from the crown", but the duke refused him a pension.

1685 to 1705 Wyche lost his secretarial office with Ormonde's retirement on the accession of James II in 1685. That year he was elected as the MP for Saltash. Despite his shock at the new king's ostentatious attendance at Roman Catholic mass, he continued to be a court supporter in parliamentary proceedings. Nonetheless, in 1688 he welcomed the Glorious Revolution and in 1690 he was appointed a gentleman of the Privy Chamber by William III.

In 1692 he again became involved in Irish affairs with his appointment as secretary to Viscount Sydney. Wyche was elected to the Irish House of Commons as the MP for Dublin University in 1692 Irish parliament. In 1693 he played a leading role in the revival of the Dublin Society, serving as the society's president in that year. That year he was appointed one of three Lords Justices of Ireland following the removal of Sydney as lord lieutenant. Wyche, however, disagreed with his fellow Lord Justice, Lord Capell of Tewkesbury, over the correct policy for Ireland in relation to money bills. Capell, who had the backing of the Whig Junto in England, ensured that Wyche was removed from office in May 1695.

Returning to England, Wyche was rumoured to be under consideration for appointment as ambassador to Constantinople, but the appointment never materialised. He remained out of crown employment until June 1700, when he was made chairman of the trustees for the Irish forfeitures, and returned to Ireland until 1703. In 1702 he was elected to represent Preston, but was not re-elected in 1705.

Personal life He married three times; firstly in 1663, Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of Sir Thomas Jermyn of Rushbrooke, Suffolk, with whom he had two sons (one of whom predeceased him) and two daughters; secondly in 1684 Susanna, the daughter of Sir Edward Norreys of Weston on the Green, Oxfordshire and the widow of Sir Herbert Perrott of Wellington; and thirdly in 1692 Mary, the daughter of George Evelyn of Wotton, Surrey. Mary was the niece of John Evelyn, the diarist.

Around 1690 he purchased Hockwold Hall (then called The Poynings) at Hockwold cum Wilton, Norfolk. He died there on 28 December 1707 and a monument to him can be found in St Peter's Church, Hockwold. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Jermyn Wyche, whose inheritance was valued at over £100,000.