Herbert Lewis
Encyclopedia
Sir John Herbert Lewis GBE
, PC
(27 December 1858 - 10 November 1933) was a British Liberal
politician.
, Lewis was one of five sons of Enoch Lewis and Elizabeth Roberts. He was educated at McGill University
and Exeter College, Oxford
.
. He was MP for Flint Boroughs
1892-1906, Flintshire
1906-1918 and the first Member of Parliament for the University of Wales
, 1918-1922. In 1894, he resigned the Liberal Whip in the so-called 'Welsh Revolt', joining David Alfred Thomas
, David Lloyd George
and Frank Edwards. In a letter to T. E. Ellis
, Lewis wrote to his friend, then Chief Whip: 'I will never again fight a constituency as an official Liberal.' Although he later recanted, this episode was illustrative of Herbert Lewis' moral seriousness. With Lloyd George, Lewis was an enthusiastic supporter of Cymru Fydd
, a nationalist movement within Welsh Liberalism. Along with Lloyd George and David Alfred Thomas, he opposed the Boer War
at the 1900 General Election.
Lewis was a Lord of the Treasury
, 1905-1908; Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board
, 1909-1915; and Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education
, 1915-1922. He was offered a peerage
on his retirement from Parliament in 1922, but declined the honour. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)
in the 1922 Dissolution Honours List.
Lewis was made a Privy Counsellor
in 1912, a freeman
of the towns of Flint
and Aberystwyth
, Constable of Flint Castle
, honorary LL.D of the University of Wales
in 1918. He was awarded the gold medal of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
in 1927.
Lewis was a keen supporter of the National Library of Wales
, located in Aberystwyth
. In 1909 he became a Vice President of the Library. In 1925, while walking in the hills above the town prior to a meeting of the Library's council, Lewis suffered a fall down a quarry which left him paralyzed for the rest of his life. Although elected President of the Library in 1926, this was a largely honorific appointment.
An active lay member of the Calvinistic Methodist Connexion, Lewis was elected Moderator of the denomination in 1925, although he declined the post. He was an interested correspondent in the trial for heresy
of Tom Nefyn Williams. Among his other correspondents in religious matters was the Welsh Revivalist Evan Roberts
.
and in 1897 to Ruth, daughter of W. S. Caine, MP. By his second marriage he had a son and a daughter. He resided at Plas Penucha, Caerwys
, Flintshire
. Lewis died at his home, Plas Penucha in 1933.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(27 December 1858 - 10 November 1933) was a British Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician.
Background and education
Born at Mostyn Quay, FlintshireFlintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
, Lewis was one of five sons of Enoch Lewis and Elizabeth Roberts. He was educated at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
.
Political career
Lewis was the first Chairman of Flintshire County CouncilFlintshire County Council
Flintshire County Council is the governing body of the principal area of Flintshire , one of the administrative subdivisions of Wales.-Political makeup:...
. He was MP for Flint Boroughs
Flint Boroughs (UK Parliament constituency)
Flint Boroughs was a parliamentary constituency in north-east Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1918 general election.-Boundaries:From its first known general...
1892-1906, Flintshire
Flintshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Flintshire was a parliamentary constituency in North-East Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election.- Boundaries :...
1906-1918 and the first Member of Parliament for the University of Wales
University of Wales (UK Parliament constituency)
University of Wales was a university constituency electing one member to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1918 to 1950. It returned one Member of Parliament , elected under the first-past-the-post voting system....
, 1918-1922. In 1894, he resigned the Liberal Whip in the so-called 'Welsh Revolt', joining David Alfred Thomas
David Alfred Thomas
David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda PC , sometimes known as D. A. Thomas, was a Welsh industrialist and Liberal politician...
, David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
and Frank Edwards. In a letter to T. E. Ellis
T. E. Ellis
Thomas Edward Ellis , usually known as T. E. Ellis, was a Welsh politician who was the leader of Cymru Fydd, a movement aimed at gaining home rule for Wales.-Life:...
, Lewis wrote to his friend, then Chief Whip: 'I will never again fight a constituency as an official Liberal.' Although he later recanted, this episode was illustrative of Herbert Lewis' moral seriousness. With Lloyd George, Lewis was an enthusiastic supporter of Cymru Fydd
Cymru Fydd
The Cymru Fydd movement was founded in 1886 by some of the London Welsh, including J. E. Lloyd, O. M. Edwards, T. E. Ellis , Beriah Gwynfe Evans and Alfred Thomas. Initially it was a purely London-based society, later expanding to cities in England with a large Welsh population...
, a nationalist movement within Welsh Liberalism. Along with Lloyd George and David Alfred Thomas, he opposed the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
at the 1900 General Election.
Lewis was a Lord of the Treasury
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...
, 1905-1908; Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board
Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board was, from 1871 – 1919, a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom subordinate to the President of the Local Government Board...
, 1909-1915; and Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education was a junior ministerial office in the United Kingdom Government. In 1899 the Board of Education Act abolished the Committee of the Privy Council which had been responsible for education matters and instituted a new Board from 1 April 1900. The...
, 1915-1922. He was offered a peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
on his retirement from Parliament in 1922, but declined the honour. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the 1922 Dissolution Honours List.
Lewis was made a Privy Counsellor
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
in 1912, a freeman
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of the towns of Flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, Constable of Flint Castle
Flint Castle
Flint Castle located in Flint, Flintshire, was the first of a series of castles built during King Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales.The site was chosen for its strategic position in North East Wales...
, honorary LL.D of the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
in 1918. He was awarded the gold medal of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion was founded in 1751 as a literary society devoted to the preservation of the Welsh language. It was founded by two brothers, Lewis Morris and Richard Morris, natives of Anglesey...
in 1927.
Lewis was a keen supporter of the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
, located in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
. In 1909 he became a Vice President of the Library. In 1925, while walking in the hills above the town prior to a meeting of the Library's council, Lewis suffered a fall down a quarry which left him paralyzed for the rest of his life. Although elected President of the Library in 1926, this was a largely honorific appointment.
An active lay member of the Calvinistic Methodist Connexion, Lewis was elected Moderator of the denomination in 1925, although he declined the post. He was an interested correspondent in the trial for heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
of Tom Nefyn Williams. Among his other correspondents in religious matters was the Welsh Revivalist Evan Roberts
Evan Roberts (minister)
Evan John Roberts , was a leading figure of the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival who suffered many setbacks in his later life.His obituary in The Western Mail summed up his career thus:- Early life :...
.
Personal life
Sir John Herbert Lewis was married twice, first in 1886 to Adelaide (d.1895), daughter of Charles Hughes, publisher, WrexhamWrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
and in 1897 to Ruth, daughter of W. S. Caine, MP. By his second marriage he had a son and a daughter. He resided at Plas Penucha, Caerwys
Caerwys
Caerwys is a town in Flintshire, Wales. It is situated just under two miles from the A55 North Wales Expressway and one mile from the A541 Mold-Denbigh road. At the 2001 Census, the population of Caerwys civil parish was 1,315, with a total ward population of 2,496.Caerwys is mentioned in the...
, Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
. Lewis died at his home, Plas Penucha in 1933.
Further reading
- Lloyd George's Flintshire Loyalist, The Political Achievement of John Herbert Lewis: by K O Morgan in Journal of Liberal History Issue 57, Winter 2007-08
Sources
- National Library of WalesNational Library of WalesThe National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
: Sir John Herbert Lewis Papers. - National Library of Wales: Lloyd George Papers.
- National Library of Wales: T. E. Ellis Papers.
- Dictionary of Welsh BiographyDictionary of Welsh BiographyThe Dictionary of Welsh Biography is a dictionary of biographies of Welsh men and women who have made a unique contribution to Welsh life over seventeen centuries...
.