Sir Francis Tress Barry, 1st Baronet, (8 June 1825 – 28 February 1907) was an English businessman who made his fortune from a copper mine in Portugal. Late in his life he became a

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, and sat in the Commons from 1890 to 1906.

Early life

Barry was born on 8 June 1825, the eldest son of Charles Barry (1790–1866), of

Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Ma ...

, Kent, a London ship broker and

wharfinger Wharfinger (pronounced ''wor-fin-jer)'' is an archaic term for a person who is the keeper or owner of a wharf. The wharfinger takes custody of and is responsible for goods delivered to the wharf, typically has an office on the wharf or dock, and ...

, and his wife Harriet, daughter of Robert Ades, of Brede Place, Sussex. The Barry family owned the manor of Hampton Gay from 1544 to its sale in 1682, when the family settled in London and became merchants. Barry was educated in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Camberwell Collegiate School The Camberwell Collegiate School was a private school in Camberwell, London, England. It was located on the eastern side of Camberwell Grove, directly opposite the Grove Chapel. The school was opened in 1835, as an Anglican school under the pa ...

. In 1851 he married Sarah Douglas, the daughter of Arthur Herron, of

Northiam Northiam is a village and civil parish in the Rother district, in East Sussex, England, 13 miles (21 km) north of Hastings in the valley of the River Rother. The A28 road to Canterbury and Hastings passes through it. Governance Northiam ...

in Sussex. The couple had four sons and two daughters, and celebrated their

golden wedding A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date a wedding took place. Couples may take the occasion to celebrate their relationship, either privately or with a larger party. Special celebrations and gifts are often given for particular ann ...

in 1901.

Career

Leaving school at the age of 16, Barry went to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to work in a business in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

. He became the British vice-consul for the

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

province in 1846, and the following year he served as temporary consul for the Biscay,

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

and

Guipúzcoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

provinces. In the 1850s he was offered the post of consul in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, but turned down the job to concentrate in his business interests. He returned to England, where he joined with his brother-in-law James Mason to take a 50-year lease on the Sao Domingos copper mine in Portugal. They switched production technique to opencast mining, and made large profits. In 1863 was awarded the Order of Christ by King

Luís I of Portugal Dom Luís I (31 October 1838, in Lisbon – 19 October 1889, in Cascais), known as The Popular (Portuguese: O Popular) was a member of the ruling House of Braganza,"While remaining patrilineal dynasts of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha accord ...

, was promoted to Commander of that order in 1868, and ennobled as Baron de Barry in 1873. He also received the

Cross of Naval Merit The Cross of Naval Merit ( es, Cruces del Mérito Naval) is a Spanish military award for gallantry or merit in war or peace. Awarded to members of the Spanish Naval Forces, Guardia Civil or civilians. History and Attribution Established on 3 ...

from the

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In 1872 he purchased a country estate: St Leonard's Hill near

Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch. The town is situated west of ...

, which he used to lend to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

during

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

. He also owned

Keiss Castle Keiss Castle is a partially ruined castle in Scotland, which stands on sheer cliffs overlooking Sinclair's Bay less than one mile north of Keiss village centre, Caithness, Highland, Scotland. It is protected as a scheduled monument. The old cast ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, where he served as a Deputy Lieutenant of

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

. In around 1900 he excavated

Nybster Nybster is a scattered rural and crofting township, situated in Caithness and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. It is located along the A9 road, south of Auckengill and south of John o' Groats. It is the location of the Nybster B ...

Broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy. Origin ...

, an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

drystone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction me ...

structure, first excavated by Rev

James Maxwell Joass James Maxwell Joass (1830–1914) was a Scottish minister remembered as a geologist, archaeologist and antiquarian. His multiple excavations often combined his geological and archaeological skills. Life He was born in Tain, Ross-shire on 8 ...

in 1895. The site has been designated a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Politics

On 2 April 1890, Barry was elected at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

as the

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 ...

(MP) for Windsor. He was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1899, and held the seat until he stood down from

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting ele ...

, when his nephew

James Francis Mason James Francis Mason (1861–2 April 1929) was a British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament for Windsor in Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a ...

was elected to succeed him. He was also an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

Berkshire County Council The Council of the Royal County of Berkshire, also known as the Berkshire County Council, was the top-tier local government administrative body for Berkshire from 1889 to 1998. The local authority had responsibilities for education, social servi ...

Death

Barry died on 28 February 1907, at the age of 81, at his home St Leonard's Place. His estate was valued at probate at £640,270.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Francis 1825 births 1907 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Windsor UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom People educated at Camberwell Collegiate School Deputy Lieutenants of Caithness Members of Berkshire County Council Barons of Portugal Commanders of the Order of Christ (Portugal)