William Bickford-Smith (1827 – 24 February 1899) was an English fuse manufacturer and a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

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 1885 to 1892.

Biography

Smith was the son of George Smith of

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

and his wife Elizabeth Burall Bickford. He was educated at Saltash and Plymouth. His grandfather William Bickford had developed a method of making mining fuses using rope which was safer than previous methods and with Smith's father had established a factory at Tuckingmill,

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

.Tripod - Trevano Gardens
/ref> Smith became a partner in his father's firm of Bickford, Smith, & Co. and lived near the factory at Camborne. There was another factory at St. Helen's Junction, Lancashire, and Smith was also chairman of

Helston Railway The Helston Railway is a heritage railway in Cornwall which aims to rebuild and preserve as much as possible of the former GWR Helston Railway between Nancegollen and Water-Ma-Trout on the outskirts of Helston. It is operated by the Helston ...

. He was also captain in the 15th Cornwall Rifle Volunteers and J.P. for Cornwall. In 1868, he took the additional surname of Bickford, when he inherited the property of his maternal grandfather. Bickford-Smith purchased the Trevarno Estate, at

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map shee ...

, Cornwall in 1874 and set about developing the gardens. In 1882 he funded the construction of the Bickford-Smith Institute and clock tower at

Porthleven Porthleven () is a town, civil parish and fishing port near Helston, Cornwall, England. The most southerly port in Great Britain, it was a harbour of refuge when this part of the Cornish coastline was infamous for wrecks in the days of sail. The ...

which was built as a scientific and literary institute including a lending and reference library. Bickford-Smith was elected at the 1885 general election 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

. In

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

he was re-elected as a Liberal Unionist and held the seat until he stood down at the 1892 general election. Bickford-Smith married Margaret Leaman Venning in 1852. After her death he married Anna Matilda Bond. They were staunch Methodists. He died at the age of 71, in 1899. His son was the barrister and antiquary Roandeau Albert Henry Bickford-Smith. Twin sons were born on 24 December 1881 at Trevarno.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bickford-Smith, William 1827 births 1899 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Truro UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 English Methodists People from Helston

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies