Francis Blundell

Francis Nicholas Blundell (16 October 1880 – 28 October 1936) was a British Army officer, landowner and Conservative politician.

Early life and career

Born at Crosby, his father Colonel Francis Nicholas Blundell (1853–1884) was a scion of the prominent Lancashire Roman Catholic land-owning family. His mother, Mary née Sweetman, of Killiney, County Dublin was an author who wrote a number of novels about country life under the pen name of M. E. Francis.

Blundell was educated at Stonyhurst College and the Oratory School, Birmingham, before going up to Merton College, Oxford (graduating BA in 1904). he inherited the Crosby Hall Estate.

Papal honours An active Catholic, Blundell was regarded as one of the most influential laymen in the country. and served as Chairman of the Catholic Education Council of England and Wales from 1927 until his death.