Apart from his career in national politics he was Mayor of Cardiff from 1895 to 1896 in which role he hosted a royal visit from the Prince and Princess of Wales and their daughters, Princesses Victoria and Maud. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1905 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 1918, as well as an Officer of the French Legion of Honour and was at one time Chairman of the Union of Conservative Associations.