Sir Henry Edwards (1820 – 4 February 1897) was a British Liberal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis from 1867 until 1885, when Weymouth and Melcombe Regis ceased to be a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Early life

Born in London, Edwards was the eldest son of John Edwards of Somerton Court, Somerset, and Elizabeth Brayley.

Charity

He made generous gifts to the town – ten cottage homes known as Edwards Avenue and 'Edwardsville' in Rodwell Avenue, and also properties in James Street, all designed for elderly inhabitants of the borough. Sir Henry also provided an annual dinner for the elderly of Weymouth (known as the Edwards Dinner Gift). The properties are all today operated under the name Edwards Homes and run by Weymouth Town Charities who run the Sir Henry Edwards and the Sir Samuel Mico Charities.Weymouth Town Charities
/ref>

Death

Edwards died at his home at 53

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent ...

, London, after several months of illness. At the time of his death, he was lauded as the most generous benefactor in the history of Weymouth.

Commemoration

Edwards generosity in Weymouth is celebrated by a statue in Alexandra Gardens on the esplanade, facing north east across Weymouth Bay and the beach. The book ''The Rival Queens'', written in 1880 by prominent Weymouth resident Joseph Drew, was dedicated to him.

References

External links

*
Weymouth Town Charities:
Sir Henry Edwards, with sketches and photographs 1820 births 1897 deaths Knights Bachelor Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub