637 Richard Fothergill

Constituency : Merthyr  Tydfil 1868-80

Richard  was the  other  Liberal  victor  at  Merthyr. He  came  second  ahead  of  Henry  Bruce  who  had  angered  some of  his  working  class  constituents  by  failing  to  support  the  ballot  and  was  thought  suspect  on  mine  safety.

Richard  was  from  Kendal  and  was  educated  at  Edinburgh  Military  Academy. He  was  manager  and  later  proprietor  of  the  Aberdare  iron-works. He  acquired  two  more  works  near  Merthyr in  the  1860s. He  was  an  Anglican.

Once  in  Parliament  Richard  pushed  for  the  navy  to  use  coal  from  South  Wales. He  spoke  in  favour  of  the  secret  ballot  and  opposed  the  introduction  of  the  metric  system.  He  had  a  realistic  attitude  to  drinking  knowing  how  much  his  employees  loved  beer.

By  1879  Richard  was  experiencing  financial  difficulties  and  after  some  discussion  with  local  worthies  he  decided  to  step  down  in  1880.

He  died  in  1903  aged  80.