Evan Matthew Richards (17 November 1821 – 21 August 1880) was a Welsh Liberal politician who represented

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

from 1868 until his defeat at the general election of 1874.

Early life and career

Richards was born in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

on 17 November 1821, the son of Richard and Catherine Richards (formerly Thomas). On 11 July 1844 he was married in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

to Maria Sloane, a native of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. They had six sons and one daughter between 1845 and 1862. The eldest children were born in Birmingham but during the 1850s the family returned to Swansea. Richards commissioned a large house in Ffynone Road in Swansea which he named

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

; it was completed in 1863.

Political career

1868 election

Richards was elected to represent Cardiganshire at the 1868 general election, a contest noted for allegations of landlord coercion. His success in defeating John Vaughan, the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate was alluded to the influence of the Pryse family of

Gogerddan Gogerddan (also spelled Gogarthen) was an estate near to Trefeurig and the most important in what was then the county of Cardiganshire, Wales. Owned since at least the fifteenth century by the Pryse family, the main house, called Plas Gogerdda ...

, leading landowners in the county. He also distanced himself from the

Liberation Society The Liberation Society was an organisation in Victorian England that campaigned for disestablishment of the Church of England. It was founded in 1844 by Edward Miall as the British Anti-State Church Association and was renamed in 1853 as the Soc ...

which had sponsored the candidacy of

Henry Richard Henry Richard (3 April 1812 – 20 August 1888) was a Congregational minister and Wales, Welsh Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament between 1868–1888. Richard was an advocate of peace and international arbitration, ...

in 1865.

The 1874 general election

When a general election was called at short notice in early 1874, Richards initially expected an unopposed return, but

Thomas Edward Lloyd Thomas Edward Lloyd (12 April 1820 – 23 September 1909) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was Conservative MP for Cardiganshire from 1874 to 1880. Lloyd belonged to one of the ancient families of Cardiganshire who came into pos ...

of Coedmore emerged at the last moment as a Conservative candidate, Lloyd was not a prominent landowner and his estate only comprised 450 acres. However, his father, Thomas Lloyd, a previous high sheriff of the county, was regarded as a Liberal rather than a Conservative. Also, Lloyd had also not been involved in conflict with his tenantry, and his candidacy would not, therefore, attract the same degree of opposition as would face one of the more prominent landowners. Lloyd's candidacy was kept a closely guarded secret until nomination day, although his leaflets and campaign literature had been printed. The Liberal leaders in the county were unaware that they would be opposed until Lloyd's address, in which he described himself as a Liberal-Conservative, was published the morning of the nomination day. In later years, there were allegations of irregularities, and that a ballot box had been tampered with when kept overnight at

Aberaeron Aberaeron (), previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. Located on the coast between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, its resident population was 1,274 in the 2021 census. The name of the town i ...

. Richards was defeated by 245 votes. The result was greeted with consternation and surprise in the Liberal ranks.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Evan Mathew 1821 births 1880 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Members of Parliament for Cardiganshire Politicians from Swansea UK MPs 1868–1874