William Edwardes, 1st Baron Kensington

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William Edwardes, 1st Baron Kensington (c. 1711-13 December 1801), was a long-standing British Member of Parliament.

Kensington was the son of Francis Edwardes, Member of Parliament for Haverfordwest, and Lady Elizabeth Rich, only daughter and heiress of Robert Rich, 5th Earl of Warwick and 2nd Earl Holland. The Edwardes family owned extensive lands in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire. On the death of his cousin Edward Henry Rich, 7th Earl of Warwick and 4th Earl Holland, in 1721, he inherited through his mother the estates of the Rich family. Kensington was elected to his father's old seat of Haverfordwest in 1747, a seat he held until 1801, with a brief exception between 1784 and 1786. In 1776 he was created Baron Kensington in the Peerage of Ireland. This was a revival of the barony held by the Earls of Warwick and Holland which had become extinct on the death of the eighth and last Earl in 1759.

Lord Kensington died in December 1801 and was succeeded in the barony by his son William, who also succeeded him as Member of Parliament for Haverfordwest.


Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
George Barlow
Member of Parliament for Haverfordwest
1747–1784
Succeeded by
The Lord Milford
Preceded by
The Lord Milford
Member of Parliament for Haverfordwest
1786–1801
Succeeded by
The Lord Kensington
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
New Creation
Baron Kensington Succeeded by
William Edwardes

[edit] References

  • Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
  • Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page