Sir Francis Edwards, 1st Baronet

Frank Edwards, circa 1905.

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

Sir Francis was the fourth son of Edward Edwards of Llangollen. Educated at Shrewsbury School and Jesus College, Oxford (graduated 1875). Married in 1880 to Catherine, daughter of David Davis of Aberdare. The marriage had issue, one daughter.

He was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Radnorshire in 1892. Edwards was a determined Liberal and a supporter of the Disestablishment of the Church in Wales, of which he was a member. In 1894, Edwards joined with David Lloyd George, David Alfred Thomas and Herbert Lewis in resigning the Liberal Whip in protest at the delay of the Government of Lord Rosebery in introducing a Welsh Disestablishment measure. He was a relative of Alfred George Edwards, Bishop of St. Asaph, and first Archbishop of Wales.

Defeated in 1895, Edwards was to play no part in the struggle to unite Welsh Liberalism under the auspices of Cymru Fydd. Edwards appears to have been viewed as under the ‘baleful’ influence of David Alfred Thomas by Lloyd George and Herbert Lewis. In 1898, he was High Sheriff of the County. In 1900, Edwards fought Radnorshire on a platform of opposition to the Boer War and returned to parliament.

He was created baronet of Knighton in the County of Radnor on 25 July 1907.

Francis 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.

Edwards served as Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Radnorshire.

Election results

General Election 1900 Radnorshire Electorate 5,219

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Edwards	2,082	52.1	+
	Conservative	Charles Leyshon Dillwyn-Venables-Llewellyn	1,916	47.9	–
Majority			166	4.2
Turnout			3998	76.6
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+

General Election 1906 Radnorshire Electorate 5,466

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Edwards	2,187	52.1	+0.0
	Conservative	Charles Leyshon Dillwyn-Venables-Llewellyn	2,013	47.9	−0.0
Majority			174	4.2	0.0
Turnout			4,200	76.8	+0.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.0

General Election January 1910 Radnorshire Electorate 5,971

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Leyshon Dillwyn-Venables-Llewellyn	2,222	50.2	+2.3
	Liberal	Sir Francis Edwards	2,208	49.8	−2.3
Majority			14	0.4	4.6
Turnout			4,430	74.2	−2.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.3

General Election December 1910 Radnorshire Electorate 5,971

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sir Francis Edwards	2,224	50.5	+0.7
	Conservative	Charles Leyshon Dillwyn-Venables-Llewellyn	2,182	49.5	−0.7
Majority			42	1.0	1.4
Turnout			4,406	73.8	−0.4
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+0.7

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.
• Leigh Rayment's list of baronets
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs