Edmund Boulnois (17 June 1838 – 7 May 1911) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
businessman and
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
politician.
Edmund was the son of William Boulnois of
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...
, the proprietor of the ''Baker Street Bazaar'',
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. He was educated at
King Edward's School, Bury St. Edmunds and
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...
. He graduated with a BA degree in 1862, going on to gain an MA in 1868.
In 1863 he married Catherine Bennett of
Great Marlow
Great Marlow is a civil parish within Wycombe district in the English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the hamlets of Bovingdon Green, Burroughs Grove, Chisbridge Cro ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
.
[
He succeeded his father as owner of the ''Bazaar'' and was also chairman of the ]West Middlesex Waterworks Company
The West Middlesex Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England. The company was established in 1806 with works at Hammersmith and became part of the publicly owned Metropolitan Water Board in 190 ...
, a director of the London Life Association and of the Westminster Electric Supply Corporation.
Boulnois was elected to the Marylebone Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.
England and Wales
Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...
, of which he became the chairman. In 1880 he was appointed a justice of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...
for Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
. A member of the Conservative Party, at the 1886 general election he acted as election agent
An election agent in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some other similar political systems such as elections in India, is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is ...
for Frederick Seager Hunt
Sir Frederick Seager Hunt, 1st Baronet (27 April 1838 – 21 January 1904) was a British Conservative Party politician, and a prominent distiller.
Background and education
Hunt was born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, the second son of James Edward H ...
, member of parliament for Marylebone West.
The Local Government Act 1888
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
created a new London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
, with the first elections held in January 1889. Boulnois was chosen by the Marylebone Constitutional Union to contest the electoral division of Marylebone West. He was elected as a member of the Conservative-backed Moderate Party
The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
, which formed the opposition group on the council.
In July 1889 the sitting Conservative member of parliament for Marylebone East, Lord Charles Beresford
Admiral Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford, (10 February 1846 – 6 September 1919), styled Lord Charles Beresford between 1859 and 1916, was a British admiral and Member of Parliament.
Beresford was the second son of J ...
, resigned his seat on becoming captain of . Boulnois was chosen by the party to contest the resulting byelection. He held the seat with a majority of 493 votes, defeating the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
candidate, Granville George Leveson-Gower
Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, (11 May 181531 March 1891), styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family. He is best remembered for his service as Secretary ...
. Boulnois held the seat until the 1906 general election, when he retired from parliament.
When the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone
The Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone was a metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. It was based directly on the previously existing civil parish of St Marylebone, which was incorporated into the Metropolitan Board ...
was created in 1900, Boulnois was chosen as the borough's first mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
. He served two consecutive terms as mayor.
He visited Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in early 1901, and again in late 1902 for the opening of the Aswan Dam
The Aswan Dam, or more specifically since the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. Its significance largely eclipsed the previous Aswan L ...
.
Boulnois maintained two residences: a town house in London's Portman Square
Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal garden ...
and "Scotland", Farnham Royal
Farnham Royal is a village and civil parish within Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the south of the county, immediately north of Slough (with which it is contiguous), and around 22 miles west of Charing Cross, Central London. Within the parish ...
, Buckinghamshire. He died at his Buckinghamshire home in May 1911, aged 72.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulnois, Edmund
1838 births
1911 deaths
People from Marylebone
Members of London County Council
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1886–1892
UK MPs 1892–1895
UK MPs 1895–1900
UK MPs 1900–1906
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Members of St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough Council
Mayors of places in Greater London
People educated at King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds