Sir Edmund Hope Verney, 3rd Baronet

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, DL, JP (6 April 1838 – 8 May 1910) was a British naval officer, author and Liberal 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 two periods between 1885 and 1891.

Background and education

Verney was the eldest son of Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet, and his first wife Eliza Hope, daughter of Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope. Verney was educated at

Windlesham House School Windlesham House School is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 4 to 13 on the South Downs, in Pulborough, West Sussex, England. It was founded in 1837 by Charles Robert Malden and was the first boys' preparatory sc ...

and

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and entered the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1851. He succeeded his father as

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1894.

Career

Verney served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

between 1854 and 1855 being afterwards honoured with the

Crimea Medal The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–1856 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of ...

and its Sebastopol clasp and the Turkish Crimean War medal. Following his service during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

between 1857 and 1858, where he was mentioned in despatches and received the Indian Mutiny Medal with the Lucknow clasp, he was promoted to lieutenant. From 1862, he commanded HMS ''Grappler'' and in 1866 he was transferred as a commander to HMS ''Oberon''. Verney was on board HMS ''Growler'' from 1870 and in 1875 he was attached to

Her Majesty's Coastguard His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is the section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within ...

, division Liverpool until 1877, when he was promoted to captain. He retired seven years later. Verney contested unsuccessfully

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the ...

in 1868,

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

in 1874 and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in 1880. He entered the

in 1885, sitting as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

until the following year. He represented the constituency again from 1889 until 1891, when he was expelled after being sentenced to one year of imprisonment after being convicted of procuring a girl under 21 years of age for immoral purposes. Verney was a member of the

Isle of Anglesey County Council The Isle of Anglesey County Council () is the local authority for the Isle of Anglesey, a principal areas of Wales, principal area with county status in Wales. Since 2022 the council has 35 councillors who represent 14 multi-member electoral war ...

as well as the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

and in 1887 was appointed chairman of the Quarter Sessions, Anglesey, a post he held for the next three years. He was a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and was a justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant for

and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. Verney was a supporter of the

Irish Home Rule movement The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to ...

and subscribed to the idea of a

Celtic identity The modern Celts ( , see pronunciation of ''Celt'') are a related group of ethnicities who share similar Celtic languages, cultures and artistic histories, and who live in or descend from one of the regions on the western extremities of Europe ...

, referring to the Irish as the "Celtic brethren" of the Welsh.

Family

On 14 January 1868, he married Margaret Maria Williams, daughter of Sir John Hay Williams, 2nd Baronet and had by her three daughters and a son. Verney died in 1910 and was succeeded in

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

by his son Harry. In June 1858, Verney's father married Frances Parthenope Nightingale after the death of his first wife. She was the sister of

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

, who became Aunt Florence to Verney's children.

Works

*''The Shannon's Brigade in India''; (1862) *''The Last Four Days of the Eurydice''; (1878) *''Village Sketches''; (1879) *''Four Years of Protest in the Transvaal''; (1881) *''The Parish Charities of North Buckinghamshire''; (1887 and 1905) *''War With Crime''; (1889)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verney, Edmund 1838 births 1910 deaths Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Harrow School UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 203

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

British politicians convicted of crimes Members of London County Council Councillors in Wales Progressive Party (London) politicians Deputy lieutenants of Anglesey Deputy lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Expelled members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom People educated at Windlesham House School