Sir Edmund Lechmere
Bt
"St John of Jerusalem". Caricature by T published in Vanity Fair in 1883.
Member of Parliament
for Tewkesbury
In office
1866–1868
Preceded byJohn Reginald Yorke and William Edward Dowdeswell
Succeeded byWilliam Edwin Price
Member of Parliament
for West Worcestershire
In office
1876–1885
Preceded byFredrick Knight and William Edward Dowdeswell
Member of Parliament
for Bewdley
In office
1885–1892
Preceded byEnoch Baldwin
Succeeded byAlfred Baldwin
Member of Parliament
for Evesham
In office
1892–1895
Preceded bySir Richard Temple, Bt
Succeeded byCharles Wigram Long
The St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital first annual report 1883

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 between 1866 and 1895. He was a pioneer of the Red Cross.[1]

Lechmere was the son of Sir Edmund Hungerford Lechmere, 2nd Baronet of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire and his wife Maria Clara Murray, daughter of Hon. David Murray, brother of Alexander Murray, 7th Lord Elibank.[2] He was educated at Charterhouse School and Christ Church, Oxford. In 1852 he inherited the baronetcy on the death of his father. He was a senior partner in the Worcester Old Bank. In 1862 he was High Sheriff of Worcestershire.[3] Through his son, Anthony Hungerford Lechmere (1868-1954), he was the father-in-law of Cecily Mary Bridges (1884-1964) whose first husband was William George Lupton (1871 - 1911) of Leeds. Cecily and her second husband - Anthony Hungerford Lechmere - were the parents of Sir Reginald Anthony Hungerford Lechmere, 7th Baronet (1920-2010).[3]

In March 1866 Lechmere was elected at a by-election as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for Tewkesbury,[4] but when the borough's representation was reduced to one seat at the 1868 general election, he was defeated by the Liberal Party candidate William Edwin Price.[4] He contested Tewkesbury again in 1874, without success,[4] but in July 1876 he was elected at a by-election as MP for Western Worcestershire.[5] After the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, he was elected at the 1885 general election as MP for Bewdley.[6] He held the seat until the 1892 general election,[7] when he was elected as MP for Evesham.[8] He held that seat until his death.[9]

Lechmere gave an annual prize for history at the Oxford Military College in Cowley and Oxford Oxfordshire from 1876 to 1896.

Lechmere and his wife were among the founders of Venerable Order of St John. They had travelled several times to Jerusalem and were involved in the establishment of The St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital.[10]

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.[3] Her father, the son of a wealthy textile merchant with origins in Golcar, was born at Spring Grove, Huddersfield in 1805. (See here for Haigh's will.)

References

  1. ↑ National Portrait Gallery
  2. ↑ The Peerage of the British Empire as at Present Existing, 12th ed., Edmund Lodge, 1843, pg 210
  3. 1 2 3 Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
  4. 1 2 3 Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 303–304. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
  5. ↑ Craig, Election results 1832–1885, page 487
  6. ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 419. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  7. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)
  8. ↑ Craig, Election results 1885–1918, page 422
  9. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 2)
  10. ↑ "VADS The National Inventory of Continental European Paintings". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
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