Thomas Edwards (c. 1673 – c. 1745) of Filkins Hall, Oxfordshire, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

lawyer and 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. ...

from 1713 to 1735. Edwards was the eldest son of Thomas Edwards of Redland and Broad Street, Bristol, and his first wife. His father was an attorney-at-law, and lawyer for

Edward Colston Edward Colston (2 November 1636 – 11 October 1721) was an English merchant, slave trader, philanthropist, and Tory Member of Parliament. Colston followed his father in the family business becoming a sea merchant, initially trading in wine ...

. He matriculated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

on 29 October 1691, at the age of 18 and was admitted at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1693. He was awarded BCL at

Hart Hall Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

, Oxford, and

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1698. He married Mary Hayman, the daughter of Sir William Hayman, merchant and mayor of Bristol, in about 1703. Mary Hayman was also Edward Colston's niece and eventual heir. In about 1704 he moved to Broadwell Parish and acquired Filkins Hall. 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

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

at the 1713 general election after a turbulent contest, but was defeated at the next election in

1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

. He was elected MP for

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

at a by-election on 14 December 1719, and topped the poll there at the 1722 general election. He was made a bencher of his Inn in 1724. He was elected MP for Wells again in 1727, and initially returned at the 1734 general election However, he was unseated on petition on 25 March 1735, due to some irregularities in the poll. Edward died intestate in around June 1743, and left two daughters. Edward's daughters inherited money from Edward Colston through their mother, who was Colston's niece. At her marriage in 1731, the younger daughter Sophia was said to be worth £20,000.

References

1670s births 1740s deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bristol British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Wells {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub