Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet, (26 January 1837 – 28 October 1915), commonly known as Sir Fowell Buxton, was the

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-general of Aust ...

from 29 October 1895 until 29 March 1899. He was the grandson of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a British MP and social reformer, and the son of Sir Edward North Buxton, also an MP. He attended

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

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 ...

. He raised the part-time 3rd (Truman, Hanbury, Buxton) Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps mainly from employees of the family's Black Eagle Brewery in

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

and was commissioned as its

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

commandant on 4 May 1860.Ray Westlake, ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3, p. 239. The unit became part of the 1st Administrative Battalion, Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps (later 2nd Tower Hamlets Rifles), in which he was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 24 July 1863 and lieutenant-colonel on 23 January 1863. Sir Fowell retired from the command on 23 November 1883 and became the unit's Honorary Colonel on 9 February 1884. He married Lady Victoria Noel, daughter of Charles Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough, and Lady Frances Jocelyn, daughter of Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden on 12 June 1862. Of their 13 children, ten survived infancy, including Sir Thomas Buxton, 4th Baronet, Noel Edward Noel-Buxton, 1st Baron Noel-Buxton,

Charles Roden Buxton Charles Roden Buxton (27 November 1875 – 16 December 1942) was an English philanthropist and radical British Liberal Party politician who later joined the Labour Party. He survived an assassination attempt during a mission to the Balkans in ...

, and Rt. Rev. Harold Jocelyn Buxton,

Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe The Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, commonly known as the Bishop in Europe, is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese in Europe in the Province of Canterbury. Overview The diocese provides the ministry of Anglican chaplains, not only ...

. Lady Buxton was crippled by a spinal condition in 1869. Sir Fowell was elected as Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

at the 1865 general election, but was defeated at the 1868 election. After his defeat, he stood again for

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

unsuccessfully on several other occasions: in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

at the 1874 general election, in Western Essex at the 1880 general election and at the by-elections in Northern Norfolk in 1876 and 1879. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Norfolk The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Norfolk was originally the principal law enforcement officer in Norfolk and presided at the assizes and other im ...

in 1876. When Buxton was appointed governor, the

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier i ...

Charles Kingston Charles Cameron Kingston (22 October 1850 – 11 May 1908) was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was a radical liberal Premier of South Australia, occupying this office with the support of Labor, which in the House of Assembly ...

was angry that the South Australian government had not been involved in the decision about who should be the new governor, so made life as hard as possible for Buxton and his family. The governor's allowance was reduced and customs duty was charged on their household items (including his wife's invalid carriage). Buxton took up the job anyway, and later was described as the most genial, sociable and common-sense governor, due to his gentle and unassuming friendliness. He visited gaols and hospitals, and showed genuine interest in Aboriginal culture during his time as governor. He eventually returned to England due to the ill-health of his wife. A memorial to Sir Fowell and his wife Victoria was erected in St Thomas' Church in

Upshire Upshire is a village in the civil parish of Waltham Abbey in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. The centre of the village is on Horseshoe Hill (a minor road), on which is The Horseshoe public house, and the church of St Thomas, a Grade ...

in Essex in 1917, designed by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, Order of the British Empire, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scotland, Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, f ...

.Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer

Notes

References

Buxton Progenitor

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Buxton, Fowell 1837 births 1915 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Governors of South Australia Governors of the Colony of South Australia Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 London Regiment officers Fowell Deputy lieutenants of Essex Deputy lieutenants of Norfolk High sheriffs of Norfolk British social reformers British colonial governors and administrators in Oceania