Lewis Fry (16 April 1832 – 10 September 1921) was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, lawyer, philanthropist and a Liberal and later Liberal and Unionist politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in three spells between 1878 and 1900.

Early life

Fry was the son of Joseph Fry (1795–1879) and his wife Mary Anne Swaine (1797–1886)Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881, page 88
/ref> and was a member of the Fry family known for their chocolate business. He was articled to a Quaker Solicitor, Joseph Bevan Braithwaite, who had also trained his elder brother,

Edward Fry Sir Edward Fry, (4 November 1827 – 19 October 1918) was an English Lord Justice of Appeal (1883–1892) and an arbitrator on the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Biography Joseph Fry (1795–1879) and Mary Ann Swaine were his parents. He ...

. He was admitted in 1854 and practiced in Bristol until he entered Parliament.''The Times'', 12 September 1921, pg.10, Col. A: "Death of Mr. Lewis Fry".

Parliamentary service

Fry was Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

between 1878 and 1885, and a Liberal and Unionist for Bristol North between 1885–1892 and 1895–1900. He was sworn a member of the Privy Council after the accession of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

on 24 January 1901 and was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

shortly thereafter. He was Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Town Holdings, 1886–1892 and author of two reports of same.

Other public service

Fry served on Bristol Town Council from 1866 to 1884. When

School Boards A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

were introduced, Lewis Fry was elected the first Chair of the Bristol School Board. He drew up an influential scheme for religious education in elementary schools. He supported a number of Bristol public institutions: the School of Science and Art, the Museum and Library and the Evening Classes Association and the local branch of the Charities Organization Society. He was on the council of

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

and was President of the High School for Girls. He served on the council of the Law Society. He was also the president of the

Anchor Society The Anchor Society CIO is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation based in Bristol, England which supports older people in need in the Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath region (BS, BA and GL Postcodes). Its work primarily centres around grants to ...

in Bristol in 1868. Fry is considered to be an important figure in the creation and early development of the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. He was the first chairman of the council of the University of Bristol. An annual public lecture at the university is his memorial. One of his chief pleasures was his interest in art, and was himself an amateur painter.

Marriage and family

On 29 September 1858, he married Elizabeth Pease Gibson, the only daughter of the banker Francis Gibson of

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

, Essex. They had two sons and three daughters. She died in 1870. Their children are: *Lewis George (b.3 July 1860) *Elizabeth Wyatt (b.31 July 1861), married in 1902 to Eugene Hugo Mallett, youngest son of Sir Louis Mallet. *Francis Gibson (b.25 May 1863) *Millicent Mary (b. 20 August 1866) *Anna Theodora (b.24 August 1870)

Death

He lived at

Goldney Hall Goldney Hall is a self-catered hall of residence in the University of Bristol. It is one of three in the Clifton area of Bristol, England. The hall occupies part of the grounds of Goldney House, built in the 18th century and remodelled in th ...

in Clifton. It is now a Hall of Residence of the university. He died shortly after celebrating his 89th birthday. The Lewis Fry Memorial Lecture was established in 1924 by his surviving children. The endowment provides for an annual lecture to be given by a scholar of distinction on subjects connected with the Fine Arts, History, Literature, Music, Drama, Philosophy, Theology or Education.University of Bristol information on Public Lectures: Lewis Fry Memorial Lecture.
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, Lewis 1832 births 1921 deaths British Quakers Deputy lieutenants of Gloucestershire Lewis Fry Gibson family (Saffron Walden) Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1895–1900