William Henry Foster (9 April 1846 – 9 March 1924) was an English

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 who sat in the House of Commons from 1870 to 1885. He was originally elected as 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 ...

but switched to the Conservatives before the 1880 election. Foster was the son of William Orme Foster of Apley Park,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

and his wife Isabella Grazebrook, daughter of Henry Grazebrook of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. His father had been MP for

South Staffordshire South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of the West Midlands county, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south. It contains notable settlements ...

. Foster was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

(JP) and Deputy Lieutenant for Shropshire and a JP for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, and an Alderman of Shropshire County Council. In February 1870 Foster was elected at a by-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 Bridgnorth. He held the seat until the 1885 general election when it was abolished under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Through his father who was primarily an ironmaster, Foster inherited a range of landed and industrial interests. Through the Apley estates he was Lord of the Shropshire manors of Stockton,

Worfield Worfield is a village and civil parish in Shropshire in the West Midlands, England. It is northwest of London and west of Wolverhampton. It is north of Bridgnorth and southeast of Telford. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Chesterton, i ...

and Claverley, and he owned land in the counties of Shropshire,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

in England and of

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

in Ireland. In the name of

John Bradley & Co John Bradley & Co was a company established in 1800 by John Bradley (ironmaster), John Bradley at Stourbridge in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands area of England. The company developed into a large industrial concern with Metallurgical furn ...

, he owned collieries in

Madeley, Shropshire Madeley is a constituent town and civil parish in Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. The parish had a population of 17,935 at the 2001 census. Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book, having been founded before the 8th century. Histo ...

and Shut End near Dudley, Staffordshire, and an ironworks at Stourbridge, Worcestershire. The Shut End colliery and the ironworks were sold respectively in 1913 and 1919. Foster lived at Spratton Grange, Northampton, until after inheriting the Apley estate in 1899. He was nominated in November 1891 for the post of

High Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibili ...

for 1892, but was not appointed, although he was appointed in 1903. In 1904 he served as treasurer of the Salop Infirmary in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

. In 1874, Foster married Henrietta Grace Mahon, daughter of Henry Sandford Pakenham Mahon of Strokestown House,

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

, Ireland. The couple celebrated their 50th

wedding anniversary 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 an ...

on 7 March 1924, and William died two days later, on 9 March, aged 77, having been ill with bronchitis and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

for over a week.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, William 1846 births 1924 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Deputy Lieutenants of Shropshire