Boroughbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
| Boroughbridge | |
|---|---|
| Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
| 1553–1832 | |
| Seats | Two |
Boroughbridge was a
The constituency consisted of the market town of Boroughbridge in the parish of Aldborough (which was also a borough with two MPs of its own). By 1831 it contained only 154 houses, and had a population of 947.
Boroughbridge was a burgage borough, meaning that the right to vote was vested in the tenants of certain specified properties, of which there seem to have been about 65 by the time the borough was abolished. Since these properties could be freely bought and sold, the effective power of election rested with whoever owned the majority of the burgages (who, if necessary, could simply assign the tenancies to reliable placemen shortly before an election). For more than a century before the Reform Act, Boroughbridge was owned by the Dukes of Newcastle, who controlled around fifteen seats across the country; however, in the 1790s, they sold one of the seats for £4,000 to the banker Thomas Coutts, who used it to put his son-in-law, Francis Burdett, into Parliament.
Members of Parliament
- Constituency created (1553)
1553–1640
1640–1832
- Constituency abolished (1832)
Elections
Source: The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
Elections in the 1800s
- At the Edward Berkeley Portman and John Scottwere elected unopposed.
- At the 1806 and 1807 general elections, William Henry Clinton and Henry Dawkins were elected unopposed.
- At the Boroughbridge by-election, 1808, Henry Clintonwas elected unopposed.
Elections in the 1810s
- At the Henry Clintonwere elected unopposed.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tory | Marmaduke Lawson | 37 | 39.8 | N/A | |
| Tory | George Mundy | 33 | 35.5 | N/A | |
| Tory | Thomas Murdoch | 25 | 24.7 | N/A | |
| Majority | 8 | 8.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 93 | N/A | |||
In the Boroughbridge by-election, 1819, Marmaduke Lawson was elected unopposed.
Elections in the 1820s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tory | Richard Spooner | 38 | 28.6 | N/A | |
| Tory | Marmaduke Lawson | 38 | 28.6 | N/A | |
| Tory | George Mundy | 28 | 21.0 | N/A | |
| Tory | Henry Dawkins (1788–1864) | 28 | 21.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 10 | 7.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 133 | N/A | |||
| Tory hold | Swing | ||||
- Mundy and Dawkins were seated on petition.
- At the 1826 United Kingdom general election, George Mundy and Henry Dawkins were elected unopposed.
Elections in the 1830s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tory | Charles Wetherell | 38 | 32.8 | ||
| Tory | Matthias Attwood | 38 | 32.8 | ||
| Tory | Andrew Lawson | 20 | 17.2 | ||
| Tory | William Alexander Mackinnon | 20 | 17.2 | ||
| Majority | 18 | 15.6 | |||
| Turnout | c. 58 | c. 89.2 | |||
| Registered electors | c. 65 | ||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tory | Charles Wetherell | Unopposed | |||
| Tory | Matthias Attwood | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | c. 65 | ||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Tory hold | |||||
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "History of Parliament". Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ Created a baronet as Sir Robert Long in 1662
- ^ Vane was returned as MP at the election of 1689, but on petition he was unseated and Stapylton declared to have been elected in his place
- ^ Darcy was also elected for Richmond, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Boroughbridge
- ^ Watson was re-elected in 1754, but had also been elected for Kent, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Boroughbridge
- Bury St Edmunds, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Boroughbridge
- ^ Mellish was also elected for Pontefract, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Boroughbridge
- ^ Succeeded to a baronetcy as Sir Francis Burdett in 1797
- ^ a b Casey, Martin. "MUNDY, George (1777-1861), of Shipley Hall, Derbys. and 9 Cork Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ Spooner and Lawson were initially declared re-elected at the 1820 general election, but they were unseated and Mundy and Dawkins were returned on petition
- ^ Casey, Martin. "DAWKINS, Henry (1788-1864), of Over Norton, Oxon. and 58 Green Street, Grosvenor Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ Fisher, David R. "WETHERELL, Charles (?1770-1846), of 5 Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn and 7 Whitehall Place, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ Jenkins, Terry. "ATTWOOD, Matthias (1779-1851), of 27 Gracechurch Street, London and Dulwich Hill House, Surr". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ a b Casey, Martin. "Boroughbridge". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
References
- Robert Beatson, "A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament" (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
- Michael Brock, The Great Reform Act (London: Hutchinson, 1973)
- D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
- Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [2]
- J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
- J Holladay Philbin, "Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales" (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
- Henry Stooks Smith, "The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847" (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
- Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol II" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991)
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)