Wellwood Herries Maxwell (15 October 1817 - 13 August 1900) was a Scottish Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1874.

Maxwell was the son of John Herries Maxwell of Munches in Buittle

Buittle

Buittle is an ecclesiastical and former civil parish in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in the South West of Scotland.-History:The name is ancient, as it is derived from the Northumbrian term boðl, settlement or Hamlet. Northumbrian expansion into what was the kingdoms of Rheged and Strathclyde in...

. He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy

Edinburgh Academy

The Edinburgh Academy is an independent school which was opened in 1824. The original building, in Henderson Row on the northern fringe of the New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, is now part of the Senior School...

, at the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

, and at Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...

. In 1839 he was called to the bar in Scotland. He was a director of the Glasgow and South Western Railway

Glasgow and South Western Railway

The Glasgow and South Western Railway , one of the pre-grouping railway companies, served a triangular area of south-west Scotland, between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle...

. He was a Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 and J.P.

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 for the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and Convener of the Commissioners of Supply of Kirkcudbright.

Maxwell was elected 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,...

 for Kirkcudbright at a by-election on 30 January 1868. He held the seat until 1874.

Maxwell married in 1844 Jane Home Jardine, daughter of Sir William Jardine, Bt. His son William Jardine Herries Maxwell

William Jardine Herries Maxwell

William Jardine Herries Maxwell was a Liberal Unionist politician in Scotland.Maxwell was the son of Wellwood Herries Maxwell of Munches in Buittle and his wife Jane Home Jardine....

was MP for Dumfrieshire.

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