Colonel Abel Henry Smith (6 December 1862 – 10 November 1930) was a British Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician and an English landowner of the Smith banking family.

Smith was the son of Abel Smith (1829–1898), from whom he inherited the large estate of Woodhall Park, near Watton-at-Stone

Watton-at-Stone

Watton-at-Stone is a village in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated midway between the towns of Stevenage and Hertford in the valley of the River Beane. The 2001 census showed a population of 2,272, living in 921 households...

 in Hertfordshire. Over a dozen of his ancestors had sat in the House of Commons over the preceding century.

At the 1892 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1892

The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...

, he was elected as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Christchurch

Christchurch (UK Parliament constituency)

Christchurch is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Centred on the town of Christchurch in Dorset, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

. He was re-elected in 1895

United Kingdom general election, 1895

The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...

, but at the 1900 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1900

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

 he stood instead in the Hertford constituency

Hertford (UK Parliament constituency)

Hertford was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire, which elected Members of Parliament from 1298 until 1974. It was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1298 to 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of...

 which had been represented by his father until his death in 1898. He won the 1900 election, and held the seat until he stood down at the general election in January 1910.

After his death in 1930, the contents of the family's stately home were dispersed, and the building rented out.

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