Ailwyn Fellowes, 1st Baron Ailwyn

Ailwyn Edward Fellowes, 1st Baron Ailwyn, KCVO, KBE, PC (10 November 1855 – 23 September 1924) was a British peer, Member of Parliament and farmer.

Fellowes was born at Haverland Hall in Norwich, England, the son of Edward Fellowes (later Baron de Ramsey) and attended Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He trained as a barrister, but never qualified, turning instead to agriculture and politics. He inherited a large estate at Honingham in Norfolk from his aunt in 1887 and devoted muchy of his time to running and improving it.

On 9 February 1886, he married the Honourable Agatha Eleanor Augusta Jolliffe, a daughter of the 2nd Baron Hylton, at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, London and they had four children:

*Ronald Townshend Fellowes, 2nd Baron Ailwyn (7 December 1886 – 30 August 1936)
*Eric William Edward Fellowes, 3rd Baron Ailwyn (24 November 1887 – 23 March 1976)
*Capt. Hon. Hedworth George Ailwyn Fellowes (10 July 1891 – 12 May 1917), killed in the First World War.
*Carol Arthur Fellowes, 4th Baron Ailwyn (23 November 1896 – 27 September 1988)

He unsuccessfully contested Mid Norfolk in 1885 and North Norfolk in 1886 but won Ramsey in a by-election following his brother's succession to the peerage and served as Conservative MP from 1887 to 1906. He was a Junior Lord of the Treasury from 1900 to 1905 and was briefly President of the Board of Agriculture from March to December 1905.

After his political career, Fellowes was Chairman of the Agricultural Wages Board and Deputy Director of Food Production from 1917 to 1919 and some time a director of the London and North Eastern Railway, Norwich Union, the National Provident Association and Deputy Chairman of the Great Eastern Railway. He was chairman of Norfolk County Council from 1920, having been an alderman for many years.

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1911, after serving as Deputy President of the Royal Agricultural Show to the King. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1917. He was created Baron Ailwyn in the 1921 Birthday Honours. [LondonGazette |issue=32346 |date=4 June 1921 |startpage=4529 |endpage= |supp=yes] He died in 1924, aged 68 at Honingham Hall and was buried in the grounds of the local church.

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, "The Times", 24 September 1924