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. He thus became the owner of large landholdings, and involved himself in developing
agriculture in the region. In 1912 he helped found the
Lancashire Federation of Rural Friendly Societies enabling farm workers to take advantage of the
National Insurance Act 1911. A member of the Lancashire Farmers Association (elected
President, 1920), Blundell served as county representative on the
National Farmers Union. Commissioned into the
Lancashire Hussars Yeomanry, Blundell served during
First World War being promoted
Captain and
mentioned in despatches. He was later appointed a
Justice of the Peace and
Deputy Lieutenant for
Lancashire. In 1918 he married Theresa Ward (1891–1979), daughter of
Wilfrid Ward, editor of the
Dublin Review. The couple had two surviving children, Nicholas Blundell (1925–1949) and Hester Whitlock-Blundell (1928–2000). ==Politics==