Francis Arkwright (politician)
Francis Arkwright (17 March 1846 – 1 March 1915) belonged to the British gentry. His first wife died after giving birth to a daughter, and he remarried. Arkwright represented East Derbyshire in the British House of Commons from 1874 to 1880.
The Honourable Francis Arkwright | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New Zealand Legislative Council | |
| In office 13 December 1895 – 12 December 1902 | |
| In office 13 December 1902 – 23 July 1906 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 March 1846 |
| Died | 1 March 1915 (aged 68) |
| Spouse(s) | Louisa Elizabeth Jane Milbank (m. 1868, d. 1873) Evelyn Addington Wells (m. 1875) |
| Relations | Richard Arkwright (great-grandfather) Sir William Fitzherbert, 1st Baronet (great-grandfather) George Grey, 6th Earl of Stamford (first wife's grandfather) Arthur Duncombe (uncle) |
| Residence(s) | Overton Hall, Derbyshire Coton House Overton, New Zealand |
| Occupation | politician |
In 1882, the Arkwright family emigrated to New Zealand, where he commissioned a large country house on the Rangitikei River. Arkwright was a leading Freemason. He unsuccessfully stood for the Rangitikei electorate on two occasions; in the 1887 election and in the 1890 election. In 1895, he was appointed to the New Zealand Legislative Council. The family returned to live in England in 1906 and Arkwright died in 1915 at Bournemouth.
Arkwright owned several notable houses in both England and New Zealand. Of these, Overton in Marton is the most notable and is registered as Category I with Heritage New Zealand.