Charles was the son of John Jenkinson Lanyon and Catherine Anne Mortimer and was baptised at Eastbourne in 1813. He was articled to Jacob Owen of the Irish Board of Works in Dublin to learn engineering. He secretly married his daughter Elizabeth Helen Owen. He was appointed county surveyor for Kildare and then asked for a transfer to Antrim. He was responsible for many of the important buildings and infrastructure in Northern Ireland. He was elected Mayor of Belfast and Conservative MP for the city.
They had ten children:
- Catherine Anne 1816-1872 married Sir Owen Randal Slacke – two children
- John Mortimer 1839-1900 he was also an engineer and architect married Hannah Hyde – two children, he died in Tenerife
- Charles 1840-1877 – unmarried
- William Owen 1842-1887
- Owen 1845-1845 died in infancy
- Louis Mortimer 1846-1900 married Laura Phillips – three sons
- Mary Owen 1848- married FW Hollams – three children
- Herbert Owen 1850-1900 married Amelia Hind – three sons
- Elizabeth Helen 1853-1936 married Henry James Cameron – two children
- Florence Louisa 1856-1892 married Patrick Savage Young, she died at Valparaiso in Chile
Charles died at The Abbey, White Abbey, Antrim in 1889.
The Lanyons 