Edward Alfred Alexander Baldwin, 4th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 January 1938 – 16 June 2021) was a British educator,

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

, and

Crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

.List of retired members of the House of Lords
/ref>

Early life and education

Baldwin was born on 3 January 1938. He was the only child of

Arthur Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley Arthur Windham Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (22 March 1904 – 5 July 1976) was a British businessman, RAF officer, and author. His books included a combative defence of the posthumous reputation of his father, Stanley Baldwin, the f ...

and the former Joan Elspeth Tomes (1901–1980). His paternal grandparents were

Lucy Baldwin Lucy Baldwin, Countess Baldwin of Bewdley (; 19 June 1869 – 17 June 1945) was an English writer and activist for maternal health. From 1892 until her death in 1945, she was the wife of Stanley Baldwin, three-time Prime Minister of the United ...

and

Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime minister ...

, three-time

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

. His maternal grandparents were Harriot (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Hancock) Tomes and

Charles Alexander Tomes Charles Alexander Tomes (October 25, 1854 – July 28, 1933) was an American merchant in the Far East in the employment of Shewan, Tomes & Co. Early life C. A. Tomes was born on October 25, 1854, in New York City. He was the eldest son of Eleano ...

, an American-born merchant in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

with Shewan, Tomes & Co. Baldwin was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he studied modern languages and law.

Career

Before entering Trinity College, Baldwin served from 1956 until 1958 as a second lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps. Between 1970 and 1987, he served in a variety of education positions, initially as a school teacher (teaching German and French) and latterly as Area Education Officer for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

from 1980 to 1987. On the death of his father in 1976, Baldwin became a member of the

and was one of the ninety elected

s who remained after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

. From 1990 to 1998, he was Chairman of the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board. While in the House of Lords, he was Joint Chairman of Parliamentary Group for Alternative and Complementary Medicine from 1992 to 2002. Baldwin was also a member of the Select Committee of Inquiry into Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2000. From 2005 to 2010, he was Joint Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group Against Fluoridation. In addition, Baldwin was Secretary of the Associate Parliamentary Food and Health Forum. Baldwin sat as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

until retiring under the

House of Lords Reform Act 2014 The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was a private member's bill. It received royal assent on 14 May 2014. The Act allows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign – actions previous ...

in May 2018. Baldwin spent much time trying to clear the name of his grandfather, Stanley Baldwin, whose character, motivation and actions as prime minister were questioned after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was particularly unhappy with the film ''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ther ...

'' due to its factual distortions and portrayal of his grandfather as a dithering fool who misunderstood Hitler's intentions.

Personal life and death

In 1970, Baldwin married Sarah MacMurray, the eldest daughter of Evan James of Upwood Park in Abingdon,

County of Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the sout ...

. They lived at Manor Farm House in

Upper Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village in the Oxford district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. His ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and were the parents of three sons: * Benedict Alexander Stanley Baldwin, 5th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (born 28 December 1973) * Hon. James Conrad Baldwin (born 13 March 1976) * Hon. Mark Thomas Maitland Baldwin (born 24 July 1980) Sarah died in 2001. In 2015, Baldwin married sculptor Lydia Segrave, the widow of economist Ian Little. Baldwin was a member of the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

. He lived in

Cumnor Hill Cumnor Hill is a hill in the civil parish of Cumnor, to the west of (but not within) the city of Oxford, in the English county of Oxfordshire. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire. It is also the name of the ribbon development between th ...

, near

. Lord Baldwin died on 16 June 2021, aged 83. He was succeeded in the earldom and viscountcy by his eldest son, Benedict.

Works

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin of Bewdley, Edward Baldwin, 4th Earl 1938 births 2021 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Earls Baldwin of Bewdley Crossbench hereditary peers Christ's Hospital staff English people of American descent Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999 Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...