Edward George Barnard (1778 – 14 June 1851) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

shipbuilder and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician. He was the son of William and Frances Barnard and baptised on 18 May 1778. He was a member of the Barnard family of shipbuilders who had established themselves at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. He became very wealthy, and in 1824 he purchased

Gosfield Hall Gosfield Hall is a English country houses, country house in Gosfield, near Braintree, Essex, Braintree in Essex, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The house was built in 1545 by Sir John Wentworth, a member of Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal Wo ...

and estate in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

from the Marquess of Buckingham for 150,000

guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

s. He was elected at the 1832 general election as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for the newly enfranchised borough of Greenwich. He was regarded as an "ultra-radical" who was in favour of the abolition of slavery, triennial parliaments, an ending of "

taxes on knowledge Taxes on knowledge was a slogan defining an extended British campaign against duties and taxes on newspapers, their advertising content, and the paper they were printed on. The paper tax was early identified as an issue: "A tax upon Paper, is a ta ...

" and the secret ballot. He held the seat until his death at his family seat in 1851, aged 73. He was buried in the family vault in Gosfield Parish Church on 21 June.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnard, Edward George 1778 births 1851 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 Politics of the Royal Borough of Greenwich