Sir Edmund Anthony Harley Lechmere, 3rd Baronet (8 December 1826 – 18 December 1894) was a British Conservative Party 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 ...

between 1866 and 1895. He was a pioneer of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

Family

Lechmere was the son of Sir Edmund Hungerford Lechmere, 2nd Baronet of

Hanley Castle Hanley Castle is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, between the towns of Malvern and Upton upon Severn and a short distance from the River Severn. It lies in the administrative area of Malvern Hills District, and is part of ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

and his wife Maria Clara Murray, daughter of Hon. David Murray, brother of

Alexander Murray, 7th Lord Elibank Alexander Murray, 7th Lord Elibank (24 April 1747 – 24 September 1820) was a Scottish peer. Background Elibank was the son of Reverend Gideon Murray, younger son of Alexander Murray, 4th Lord Elibank. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Gen ...

. He was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. In 1852 he inherited the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on the death of his father. He was a senior partner in the Worcester Old Bank. In 1862 he was

High Sheriff of Worcestershire This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire. The High Sheriff, Sheriff is the oldest Secularity, secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but ove ...

.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
/ref> Through his second son, Anthony Hungerford Lechmere (1868-1954), Edmund was the father-in-law of Cecily Mary Bridges (1884-1964) whose first husband, William George Lupton (1871-1911) of The Green Estate, Bromyard was, like Edmund, "a strong Conservative and took a keen interest in local (

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

) politics" and

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. Like his father, Anthony Hungerford Lechmere enjoyed (

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

) hunting. Anthony and Cecily were the parents of Sir Reginald Anthony Hungerford Lechmere, 7th Baronet (1920-2010), a grandson of Sir Edmund Lechmere, 3rd Baronet.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
/ref> Lechmere married Louisa Katherine Haigh (1837–1904), only daughter and heiress of John or Joseph Haigh of Whitwell Hall at York, on 30 September 1858. Lady Lechmere's father was the son of a wealthy textile merchant with origins in

Golcar Golcar (pronounced ) is a village on a hillside crest above the Colne Valley in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, west of Huddersfield, and just north of the River Colne and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. The 2021 populatio ...

. He was born at Spring Grove, Huddersfield in 180

(See her

for Haigh's will.)

Politics and interests

In March 1866 Lechmere was elected at a by-election as one of the two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament (MPs) for

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

, but when the borough's representation was reduced to one seat at the 1868 general election, he was defeated by the

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 ...

candidate William Edwin Price. He contested Tewkesbury again in

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

, without success, but in July 1876 he was elected at a by-election as MP for Western Worcestershire. After the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

, he was elected at the 1885 general election as MP for

Bewdley Bewdley ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley, and is west of Kidderminster, north of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham. It ...

. He held the seat until the 1892 general election, when he was elected as MP for

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

. He held that seat until his death. Lechmere gave an annual prize for history at the

Oxford Military College Oxford Military College was an all-male private boarding school and military academy in Cowley, Oxford, England, from 1876 to 1896. The military college opened on 7 September 1876. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was the patron of the Oxfo ...

in Cowley from 1876 to 1896. Lechmere and his wife were among the founders of

Venerable Order of St John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

. They had travelled several times to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and were involved in the establishment of The St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital. In 1905, London's

Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News The ''Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'' was a British weekly magazine founded in 1874 and published in London. In 1945 it changed its name to the ''Sport and Country'', and in 1957 to the ''Farm and Country'', before closing in 1970. His ...

highlighted the exploits experienced and many trophies Sir Edmund and Lady Lechmere had won whilst

game hunting Trophy hunting is a form of hunting for sport in which parts of the hunted wild animals are kept and displayed as trophies. The animal being targeted, known as the "game", is typically a mature male specimen from a popular species of collectable ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lechmere, Edmund, 3rd Baronet 1826 births 1894 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford High sheriffs of Worcestershire 3

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...