Sir Francis Edwards, 1st Baronet (28 April 1852 – 10 May 1927), commonly known as Frank Edwards, was a British

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. Sir Francis, the fourth son of Edward Edwards of

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community (Wales), community, situated on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Val ...

, was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

(graduated 1875). He was married in 1880 to Catherine, daughter of David Davis of

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

; the couple had one daughter. He was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for

Radnorshire Radnorshire () was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974, later becoming a Districts of Wales, district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populat ...

in 1892. Edwards was a determined Liberal and a supporter of the

Disestablishment The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular s ...

of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

, of which he was a member. In 1894, Edwards joined with

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

, David Alfred Thomas, and

Herbert Lewis Herbert Lewis may refer to: * Herbert Lewis (politician) (1858–1933), Welsh politician * Herbert L. Lewis (1898-1971), American journalist and newspaper editor * Herbert Clyde Lewis (1909–1950), American novelist * Herbert S. Lewis (born 1934), ...

in resigning the Liberal Whip in protest at the delay of the Government of

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

in introducing a Welsh Disestablishment measure. He was a relative of A. G. Edwards,

Bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy county borough, Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The ...

and first

Archbishop of Wales The post of Archbishop of Wales () was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England and disestablished. The four historic Welsh dioceses had previously formed part of the Province of Canterbury, and so came ...

. Defeated in 1895, Edwards was to play no part in the struggle to unite Welsh Liberalism under the auspices of

Cymru Fydd The Cymru Fydd (The Wales to Come; ) movement was founded in 1886 by some of the London and Liverpool Welsh. Some of its main leaders included David Lloyd George (later Prime Minister), J. E. Lloyd, O. M. Edwards, T. E. Ellis (leader, MP for ...

. Edwards appears to have been viewed as under the 'baleful' influence of David Alfred Thomas by

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

and

. In 1898, he was High Sheriff of the county. In 1900, Edwards fought Radnorshire on a platform of opposition to the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

and returned to parliament. He was created

baronet 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 ...

of Knighton in the County of Radnor on 25 July 1907. Edwards published a volume of Welsh poetry entitled 'Translations from the Welsh' in 1913. He did not stand in 1918, the Radnorshire Constituency having been amalgamated with

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

. He served as Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for

Election results

References

* National Library of Wales: Lloyd George Papers * National Library of Wales: Herbert Lewis Papers * Dr Gerard Charmley: Frank Edwards (1852-1927) : 'the debonair and popular member for Radnorshire', Transactions of the Radnorshire Society, vols. 82–3. * ''

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

''. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Francis 1852 births 1927 deaths People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Deputy lieutenants of Radnorshire High sheriffs of Radnorshire Welsh justices of the peace