Sir Francis Sharp Powell, 1st Baronet (29 June 1827 – 24 December 1911) was an English

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician who sat in the

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between 1863 and 1910. Powell was the son of the Rev. Benjamin Powell of

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

and his wife Anne Wade, daughter of the Rev. T. Wade. He was educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

He was called to the bar at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1853, and practised on the Northern Circuit. He was a J.P. for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and the West Riding of Yorkshire. In the 1857 general election Powell was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

, but was not re-elected in 1859. Later in that Parliament, he was elected at a by-election for

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but lost the seat in the 1868 general election. He was re-elected in

1865 Events January * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Fisher – Unio ...

, and held the seat until his defeat at the 1868 general election He was next elected MP for Northern Division of West Riding, Yorkshire in 1872 but lost the seat in the 1874 general election. He was elected as MP for

at a by-election in January 1881, but was unseated on account of corrupt practices at the election. He stood again for Wigan in the 1885 general election and was elected. He held the seat until the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Sanitation and was created a

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 Horton Old Hall in 1892. Powell was a benefactor to Wigan and Sedbergh Schools and was chairman of the governors of Sedbergh for over 35 years. Powell was elected a member of the council of

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Selwyn (bishop of Lichfield), Georg ...

, in June 1902, and received the freedom of the city of

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

on 24 October 1902, ''″for eminent service rendered to the city during his career″''. He was

President of the Royal Statistical Society The president of the Royal Statistical Society is the head of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), elected biennially by the Fellows of the Society. The time-period between elections has varied in the past. The president oversees the running of t ...

from 1904 to 1905. Powell died at Horton Old Hall, Yorkshire at the age of 84 and a statue of him stands in Mesnes Park in the centre of the town of Wigan. Powell married Anne Gregson of Toxteth Park, Liverpool in 1858. He had no heir to inherit the baronetcy which became extinct on his death.

Statue

Ernest Gillick's statue of Sir Francis Powell stands in Mesnes Park, Wigan. Erected in his home town in 1910, the statue is made from bronze, which after turning green in colour due to lack of treatment, was restored in 2012. The statue shows Powell sat in his office chair, deep in thought. It also shows his right leg crossing in front of his left, which makes his right shoe protrude out further than the statue's base. It has long been a long-standing superstition that the

rubbing Rubbing is moving an object in contact with another object. Rub, RUB, rubs or rubbing may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Rub'' (album), by Peaches, 2015 * Rubbing (art), a method of recording and reproducing the texture of a surface ...

of Powell's protruding shoe will bring a person good luck. Local belief in this tale is so strong that the shoe of the statue was never allowed to turn green due to the constant rubbing by locals and tourists.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Francis 1827 births 1911 deaths People educated at Sedbergh School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Wigan Members of the Inner Temple