Sir Henry Edwards, 1st Baronet

Sir Henry Edwards, 1st Baronet CB (20 July 1812 – 23 April 1886) was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1847 and 1869.
Edwards was born at Pye Nest in Halifax, Yorkshire and was the son of Henry Lees Edwards and Lea Priestley. He was J.P. and Deputy Lieutenant for the West Riding of Yorkshire and reached the rank of Colonel in the 2nd West Yorkshire Regiment Yeomanry Cavalry.
In 1847 Edwards was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Halifax and held the seat until 1852. In 1857 he was elected MP for Beverley and was re-elected in subsequent elections. He was created a baronet of Pye Nest on 3 August 1866. After the 1868 general election the election was declared void on 11 Mar 1869. No writ was issued to replace the members and the constituency was disenfranchised by an Act which received Royal assent on 4 July 1870. Edwards was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1872. In 1875 he was appointed by the Freemasons as Provincial Grand Master of West Yorkshire.
Edwards died in 1886 at Pye Nest at the age of 73.
Edwards married Maria Churchill Coster, daughter of Thomas Coster, on 19 April 1838. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Henry.