Edward North Buxton (1 September 1840 – 9 January 1924) was a British conservationist and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1885 to 1886. He was also an alpine climber, with significant first or second ascents in the 1860s, including the Aiguille de Bionnassay, Piz Palu and the first traverse of

Lyskamm Lyskamm (, formerly ''Lyskamm'', literally "crest of the Lys"), also known as Silberbast (literally "silver bast"), is a mountain () in the Pennine Alps lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It consists of a five-kilometre-long ridge ...

Biography

Buxton was the third son of

Sir Edward North Buxton, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward North Buxton, 2nd Baronet (16 September 1812 – 11 June 1858) was a British Liberal Party politician. He was the son of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton and his wife, Hannah Gurney (1783–1872). He married Catherine Gurney (1814–1911), da ...

(1812–1858), and his wife, Catherine Gurney. Both father and son were called "Edward North Buxton" and both became Members of Parliament. Buxton was educated at

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 ...

. He was a partner in the London brewing firm of Truman, Hanbury, & Co. and a J.P. and a Deputy Lieutenant for

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. He was commissioned as

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the part-time 7th (Mile End) Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps on 19 August 1862. The unit formed part of the

1st Administrative Battalion, Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps The 17th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Poplar and Stepney Rifles), was a unit of Britain's Territorial Force formed in 1908 from Volunteer corps dating back to 1859. It saw considerable service on the Western Front, at Salon ...

, commanded by his uncle

Charles Buxton Charles Buxton (18 November 1822 – 10 August 1871) was an English brewer, philanthropist, writer and member of Parliament. Personal life and architectural legacy Buxton was born on 18 November 1822 in Cromer, Norfolk, the third son of Sir T ...

, MP, and elder brother

Sir Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet, (26 January 1837 – 28 October 1915), commonly known as Sir Fowell Buxton, was the Governor of South Australia from 29 October 1895 until 29 March 1899. He was the grandson of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a ...

.Ray Westlake, ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3, p. 239. Buxton stood for parliament unsuccessfully at South Essex in 1880. In 1885, he was elected MP for the Walthamstow constituency as a Liberal: he made six contributions during his year as an MP. Buxton was an advocate of the provision of open, accessible land, particularly near cities. He and his brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

played a major part in saving

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the Lond ...

and Hainault Forests for public use, contributing to the passing of the

Epping Forest Act 1878 During the middle of the nineteenth century, a number of initiatives were started to protect the rights of the public to use open spaces and for the areas to be conserved for their specific environmental features. Some notable people of the tim ...

. He was a

verderer Verderers are forestry officials in England who deal with common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of the Crown. The office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of the King. Verderers ...

Hatfield Forest Hatfield Forest is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Essex, England, east of Bishop's Stortford. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is owned and managed by the National Trust. A med ...

, which he purchased for the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

from his deathbed. He was a founding member of the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire, now

Fauna and Flora International Fauna & Flora is an international nature conservation charity and non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom. Founded as the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire, the society created some of the first ga ...

. In 1862, Buxton married Emily Digby, the daughter of the Rev. the Hon. Kenelm Henry Digby, Rector of

Tittleshall Tittleshall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.Ordnance Survey (1999). ''OS Explorer Map 238 - East Dereham & Aylsham''. . Location The village and parish of Tittleshall has an area of 1376 hectares or . The parish ...

and Hon. Canon of Norwich, and sister of

Sir Kenelm Digby Sir Kenelm Digby (11 July 1603 – 11 June 1665) was an English courtier and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed natural philosopher, astrologer and known as a leading Roman Catholic intellectual and Blackloist. For his versatility, he is ...

. Buxton died at the age of 83. His home,

Leytonstone Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...

House, carries a blue plaque. He is also commemorated by an inscription in the council chamber of

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...

Sportsman

Buxton was also a notable amateur lawn tennis player between 1879 and 1883. He won two singles titles at the Woodford Parish Championship in 1880 and 1881. He was also a semi finalist at the

Essex Championships The Essex Championships also known as the Essex County Lawn Tennis Championships or Essex Grass Court Championships was a combined men's and women's grass court tennis tournament established in 1881 at Brentwood, Essex. In 1946 it was moved to the ...

in 1881. Buxton also competed two times at th
1879 Wimbledon Championships
and the

1880 Wimbledon Championships The 1880 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from 5 July until 15 July. It was the 4th staging ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buxton, Edward North 1840 births 1924 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 English conservationists Younger sons of baronets Members of the London School Board

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 ...

British male tennis players 19th-century English sportsmen 19th-century English politicians English mountain climbers 19th-century male tennis players