Sir Henry Edwards, 1st Baronet (20 July 1812 – 23 April 1886) was an English
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
politician who sat in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
in two periods between 1847 and 1869.
Edwards was born at Pye Nest in Halifax, Yorkshire, and was the son of Henry Lees Edwards and Lea Priestley.
He was
J.P. and
Deputy Lieutenant for the West Riding of Yorkshire and reached the rank of Colonel in the 2nd West Yorkshire Regiment Yeomanry Cavalry.
In 1847 Edwards was elected
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
Halifax and held the seat until 1852. In 1857 he was elected MP for
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...
and was re-elected in subsequent elections. He was created 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 ...
of Pye Nest on 3 August 1866. After the
1868 general election the election was declared void on 11 Mar 1869. No writ was issued to replace the members and the constituency was disenfranchised by an Act which received Royal assent on 4 July 1870. Edwards was
High Sheriff of Yorkshire
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere ...
in 1872. In 1875, he was appointed by the Freemasons as
Provincial Grand Master
Provincial Grand Master (abbreviated PGM or PrGM), sometimes called District Grand Master or Metropolitan Grand Master, is a fraternal office held by the head of a Provincial Grand Lodge, who is directly appointed by the organisation's Grand Master ...
of West Yorkshire.
Edwards died in 1886 at Pye Nest at the age of 73.
Edwards married Maria Churchill Coster, daughter of Thomas Coster, on 19 April 1838. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Henry.
[Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 1276]
References
External links
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1812 births
1886 deaths
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1868–1874
UK MPs 1847–1852
UK MPs 1857–1859
UK MPs 1859–1865
UK MPs 1865–1868
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Companions of the Order of the Bath
High Sheriffs of Yorkshire
Deputy Lieutenants of the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Yorkshire Yeomanry officers
Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England
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