Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Hertfordshire
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
County	Hertfordshire
1290–1885
Seats	1290–1832: Two 1832–1885: Three
Replaced by	Hertford St Albans Hitchin Watford

Hertfordshire was a

.

Elections were held using the

History

The constituency consisted of the historic county of Hertfordshire. (Although Hertfordshire contained two boroughs, Hertford and St Albans, each of which elected two MPs in its own right, these were not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election.)

As in other

property within the county valued at £2 or more per year for the purposes of land tax; it was not necessary for the freeholder to occupy his land, nor even in later years to be resident in the county at all.

Except during the period of the

's Protectorate, however, there was a general redistribution of seats and Hertfordshire elected five members, while each of the boroughs had their representation reduced to a single MP. The traditional arrangements were restored from 1659.

General character of the constituency before the Reform Act

At the time of the

) provided more than 100 votes each though none provided more than 160.

Elections were held at a single polling place, Hertford, and voters from the rest of the county had to travel to the county town to exercise their franchise; but in a physically small county like Hertfordshire, with good roads, this was less prohibitively expensive than in some others. (It was normal for voters to expect the candidates for whom they voted to meet their expenses in travelling to the poll, making the cost of a contested election substantial in many counties. Even in Hertfordshire, it was reported that accommodation and entertainment for the voters at the county meeting in September 1774 cost the candidates £4,000; and that was merely a meeting to discuss the candidates and see if consensus could be reached without the need for a contest – the cost of the poll the following month, that in the end could not be averted, was on top of this.)

Contested elections were relatively frequent (there were contests at 13 of the 28 general elections between 1701 and 1831), and were often vigorously fought – the voters valued their independence, and at least from the middle of the 18th century no landed interests had much influence over them, although fifty years earlier the local gentry reckoned to return one of the two MPs without opposition.

The by-election of 1805

Peter Jupp includes in his collection of documents relating to elections round the turn of the 19th century a contemporary account of the Hertfordshire by-election, written by one of the candidates, William Baker, which gives a vivid picture of electioneering in the county at this period. The election was a straight fight between Baker and Hon. Thomas Brand to fill the vacancy left by the death of Hon. Peniston Lamb; Baker had been the county's MP until three years previously, and was backed by Pitt and his government, while Brand had particular support among the religious dissenters.

Baker's campaign took the form of a personal canvass of the voters, by visiting every town and village of any size in the county, if possible on market day: Hertford on the 26th; Ware on the 28th; then Watton; Stevenage; Hitchin and Baldock on the same day; and so through the whole of Hertfordshire in two weeks, over snow-bound roads with even the high road between St Albans and Berkhamsted barely passable in places. He travelled mostly on horseback, his carriage "attending me as it could at intervals by the great roads, and meeting me at the places where I was to sleep". In most of the county he had already pledges of solid support (he records that at Stevenage he had "nothing to do but go round... and thank the voters for their promises already made in my favour to their Rector"), and where possible in each place he was met by the local magnates who joined him in his canvassing to demonstrate their support.

The informality of the election itself seems strange today. After the candidates had made their final speeches at Hertford, the Sheriff took a show of hands and could have ended the proceedings there and then, had the candidates been content; but, Brand demanding the poll that was his right everybody proceeded to the hustings. Voting thus began around one in the afternoon. The poll was continued on the second day, the arrangement being that voting would be from eight o'clock until three, but ended as soon as Brand admitted defeat, some half-an-hour before the agreed deadline. By this time Baker had 1,556 votes and Brand only 1,076, and plainly he felt he had too few supporters unpolled to have any hope of making up the deficit.

The election ended in typically rumbustious fashion. Baker having been declared the victor, his supporters celebrated by chairing their candidate round the town, but

"Wilshere's coachman... had the insolence to drive his master's carriage full speed through the crowd at the time of chairing, to the risk of the lives of hundreds. Providentially, however, no person was materially injured. Brand made an apology to me afterwards by letter for the outrage, and Wilshere, though not at my desire, has since turned the servant away..."
- Letter of William Baker to his son, 22 February 1805, in Hertfordshire County Records Office, quoted by Jupp, op cit

After the Reform Act

In 1832, the

.) The extension of the franchise to tenants-at-will, copyholders and leaseholders increased the electorate a little, but the 4,245 electors registered in 1832 was not much higher than the 4,000 qualified voters who have been estimated for 1754. However, the electorate grew by almost half over the next thirty years, and the extension of the franchise in 1868 increased the electorate still further, to more than 9,000.

Abolition

The borough of St Albans was disenfranchised for corruption in 1852 and the borough of Hertford was reduced to single-member representation by the 1867 Reform Act. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the borough of Hertford ceased to exist, and the county of Hertfordshire was divided into four new single-member constituencies: the Mid or St Albans division of Hertfordshire, the Eastern or Hertford division, the Northern or Hitchin division and the Western or Watford division.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1290–1640

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

Parliament	First member	Second member
1294	Roger Bryan
1296	Roger Bryan
1306	Ranulph de Monte Canisto
1312, 1337, 1349	Sir Phillip de Peletot[2]
1377 (Jan)	Sir Walter Lee[3]
1379	Sir Walter Lee[3]
1380 (Jan)	Sir Walter Lee[3]
1380 (Nov)	Sir Walter Lee[3]
1381	Sir Walter Lee[3]
1384	Sir Edward Benstede
1385	Sir Walter Lee[3]
1386	Sir Walter Lee	Thomas Lee[4]
1388 (February)	Sir Walter Lee	Sir Robert Turk[4]
1388 (September)	Sir Walter Lee	Sir Robert Turk[4]
1390 (January)	Sir Walter Lee	Sir John Thornbury[4]
1390 (November)	Sir Walter Lee	John Ruggewyn[4]
1391	John Norbury	Sir John Thornbury[4]
1393	Sir Robert Turk	John Ruggewyn[4]
1394	Richard de la Pantry	John Ruggewyn[4]
1395	Sir Thomas Morewell	John Ruggewyn[4]
1397 (January)	Sir Edward Benstede	John Ruggewyn[4]
1397 (September)	Sir Edward Benstede	John Ruggewyn[4]
1399	Sir Edward Benstede	John Ludwick[4]
1401	Sir Thomas de la Barre	Robert Newport[4]
1402	Sir Edward Benstede	Sir Robert Corbet[4]
1404 (January)	Sir John Poultney	Sir Robert Corbet[4]
1404 (October)	Sir John Poultney	William Parker[4]
1406	Sir John Poultney	John Goldington[4]
1407	William Parker	Sir Thomas de la Barre[4]
1410
1411	Sir Thomas de la Barre	Robert Newport[4]
1413 (February)
1413 (May)	John Hotoft	John Leventhorpe[4]
1414 (April)	John Hotoft	William Flete{[4]
1414 (November)	John Hotoft	William Flete[4]
1415
1416 (March)	John Hotoft	John Leventhorpe[4]
1416 (October)
1417	Sir Philip Thornbury	John Hotoft[4]
1419	John Fray	John Hotoft[4]
1420	John Fray	John Barley[4]
1421 (May)	Robert Louthe	William Rokesburgh[4]
1421 (December)	Sir Philip Thornbury	John Kirby[4]
1422	John Leventhorpe	John Hotoft
1427	Sir John Tyrell
1435	Thomas Broket
1439	Sir John Cressy
1447	John Troutbeck
1449	Sir Robert Wingfield
October 1450	Sir William Oldhall
March 1453	John Say	Bartholemew Halley
April 1453	John Say	Bartholemew Halley
February 1454	John Say	Bartholemew Halley
1463	Sir John Say
1467	Sir John Say
1472	Sir John Say
January 1478	Sir John Say	John Sturgeon
1491	Sir William Say
1495	Sir William Say
1510–1523	No names known[5]
1529	Henry Barley	Philip Butler[5]
1536
1539	Sir Henry Parker	Sir Philip Butler[5]
1542	Sir Ralph Sadler	Edward Brocket or John Brocket, snr[5]
1545	Sir Richard Lee	John Cock[5]
1547	Sir John Cock	Sir Ralph Rowlett[5]
1553 (Mar)	Sir Ralph Sadler	John Cock[5]
1553 (Oct)	Sir John Butler	Sir John Brocket, snr[5]
1554 (Apr)	John Cock	Francis Southwell[5]
1554 (Nov)	John Cock	Edward Brocket[5]
1555	Sir John Brocket, snr	John Cock[5]
1558	John Foster	John Purvey[5]
1559 (Jan)	Sir Thomas Parry	Sir Ralph Sadler[6]
1562–3	Sir Ralph Sadler	Henry Capell[6]
1571	Sir Ralph Sadler	Sir George Carey[6]
1572 (Apr)	Sir Ralph Sadler	Sir John Brocket, jnr [6]
1584 (Nov)	Sir Ralph Sadler	Sir Henry Cocke[6]
1586 (Oct)	Sir Ralph Sadler	Sir Henry Cocke[6]
1588 (Oct)	Robert Cecil	Sir Philip Butler[6]
1593	Sir Robert Cecil	Sir Henry Cocke[6]
1597 (Sep)	Sir Robert Cecil	Rowland Lytton[6]
1601 (Oct)	Sir Robert Cecil	Sir Henry Cary[6]
1604	Sir Henry Cary	Rowland Lytton
1614	Sir Henry Carey	Ralph Coningsby
1621	Sir Henry Cary[7]	Sir Charles Morrison, 1st Baronet
1624	Sir Charles Morrison, 1st Baronet	Sir William Lytton
1625	John Boteler	Sir John Boteler
1626		Sir Thomas Dacres
1628	Sir William Lytton	Sir Thomas Dacres
1629–1640	No Parliament summoned

MPs 1640–1653

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640		Arthur Capel	Royalist		Sir William Lytton
November 1640					Sir William Lytton	Parliamentarian
August 1641		Sir Thomas Dacres	Parliamentarian
December 1648	Dacres and Lytton excluded in Pride's Purge – both seats vacant
1653		Henry Lawrence			William Reeve

MPs 1654–1658

First Protectorate Parliament: representation increased to 5 members
Year		First member	Second member	Third member	Fourth member	Fifth member
1654		Henry Lawrence	Sir Richard Lucy, Bt	John Wittewrong	The Earl of Salisbury	Thomas Nicholl
1656		Sir John Gore				Rowland Lytton

MPs 1659–1832

Third Protectorate Parliament: representation reverted to 2 members
Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
January 1659		Richard Galston			Rowland Lytton
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Henry Caesar			Rowland Lytton
1661		Sir Richard Franklin			Sir Thomas Fanshawe
1666					Sir Henry Caesar
1668					Viscount Cranborne
1669					William Hale
February 1679		Silius Titus
August 1679		Sir Jonathan Keate			Sir Charles Caesar
1681		William Hale
1685		Ralph Freman			Thomas Halsey
1689		Sir Thomas Blount			Sir Charles Caesar
1690					Ralph Freman
1695					Thomas Halsey
1697		Ralph Freman, junior
1705					Sir John Spencer, Bt
1708					Thomas Halsey
1715					Sir Thomas Sebright, Bt
1727		Charles Caesar	Tory
1734		William Plumer	Whig
1736					Charles Caesar	Tory
1741		Jacob Houblon	Tory		Charles Gore	Tory
1747		Paggen Hale
1755		William Plumer	Whig
1761		Thomas Plumer Byde			Jacob Houblon	Tory
1768		William Plumer			Thomas Halsey
1784					The Viscount Grimston
1790			Whig[8]		William Baker	Whig[8]
1802					Hon. Peniston Lamb	Whig[8]
1805					William Baker	Tory[8]
1807		Hon. Thomas Brand	Whig[8]		Sir John Sebright, Bt	Whig[8]
1819		Hon. William Lamb	Whig[8]
1826		Nicolson Calvert	Whig[8]
1832	Representation increased to three members

MPs 1832–1885

Election		First member	First party		Second member	Second party		Third member	Third party
1832		Sir John Sebright, Bt	Whig[8][9]		Nicolson Calvert	Whig[8][9]		Viscount Grimston	Tory[8]
1834									Conservative[8]
1835		Abel Smith, senior	Conservative[8]		Rowland Alston	Whig[8][10][11]
1841					Hon. Granville Ryder	Conservative[8]
1846 by-election								Thomas Plumer Halsey	Conservative
1847		Sir Henry Meux, Bt	Conservative		Thomas Brand[12]	Whig[13][14]
1852					Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Bt	Conservative
1854 by-election								Abel Smith, junior	Conservative
1857								Christopher William Puller	Whig[15][16]
1859		Abel Smith, junior	Conservative						Liberal
1864 by-election								Henry Surtees	Conservative
1865		Hon. Henry Cowper	Liberal
1866 by-election					Abel Smith, junior	Conservative
1868								Henry Brand	Liberal
1874								Frederick Halsey	Conservative
1885	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Hertfordshire (2 seats)^[8][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Sebright	Unopposed
	Whig	Nicolson Calvert	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 4,000
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Hertfordshire (2 seats)^[8][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Sebright	Unopposed
	Whig	Nicolson Calvert	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 4,000
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[8][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Sebright	2,154	25.7
	Whig	Nicolson Calvert	2,141	25.6
	Tory	James Grimston	2,074	24.8
	Whig	Rowland Alston	2,007	24.0
Turnout			3,845	90.6
Registered electors			4,245
Majority			67	0.8
	Whig hold
	Whig hold
Majority			67	0.8
	Tory win (new seat)

General election 1835: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[8][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Rowland Alston	Unopposed
	Conservative	James Grimston	Unopposed
	Conservative	Abel Smith, Sr.	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,520
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1837: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[8][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Rowland Alston	Unopposed
	Conservative	James Grimston	Unopposed
	Conservative	Abel Smith, Sr.	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,137
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[18][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Grimston	2,585	27.5	N/A
	Conservative	Granville Ryder	2,552	27.2	N/A
	Conservative	Abel Smith, Sr.	2,525	26.9	N/A
	Whig	Rowland Alston	1,732	18.4	N/A
Majority			793	8.5	N/A
Turnout			3,845	71.1	N/A
Registered electors			5,409
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

Grimston succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Earl of Verulam and causing a by-election.

By-election, 8 January 1846: Hertfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Plumer Halsey	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Plumer Halsey	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Meux	Unopposed
	Whig	Thomas Brand	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,591
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Whig gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Plumer Halsey	2,225	17.9	N/A
	Conservative	Henry Meux	2,219	17.8	N/A
	Conservative	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	2,190	17.6	N/A
	Whig	Thomas Trevor	2,043	16.4	N/A
	Whig	Christopher William Puller	1,890	15.2	N/A
	Whig	George Jacob Bosanquet [19]	1,868	15.0	N/A
Majority			147	1.2	N/A
Turnout			4,145 (est)	71.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			5,779
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

Halsey's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 24 May 1854: Hertfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Abel Smith jnr.	2,205	50.6	−2.7
	Whig	Christopher William Puller	2,151	49.4	+2.8
Majority			54	1.2	0.0
Turnout			4,356	75.7	+4.0
Registered electors			5,752
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.8

General election 1857: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Meux	Unopposed
	Conservative	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	Unopposed
	Whig	Christopher William Puller	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,061
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Whig gain from Conservative

Bulwer-Lytton was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 8 June 1858: Hertfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Abel Smith jnr.	Unopposed
	Conservative	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	Unopposed
	Liberal	Christopher William Giles-Puller	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,190
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

Puller's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 14 March 1864: Hertfordshire (1 seat)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Surtees	2,274	52.9	N/A
	Liberal	Henry Cowper	2,026	47.1	N/A
Majority			248	5.8	N/A
Turnout			4,300	74.9	N/A
Registered electors			5,742
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

General election 1865: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Cowper	2,537	25.5	N/A
	Conservative	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	2,485	25.0	N/A
	Conservative	Henry Surtees	2,478	24.9	N/A
	Conservative	Abel Smith	2,447	24.6	N/A
Majority			52	0.5	N/A
Turnout			5,007 (est)	80.4 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			6,228
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Bulwer-Lytton was elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Lytton and causing a by-election.

By-election, 23 July 1866: Hertfordshire (1 seat)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Abel Smith	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Cowper	3,693	26.2	+13.4
	Liberal	Henry Brand	3,625	25.8	+13.0
	Conservative	Abel Smith	3,396	24.1	−0.5
	Conservative	Henry Surtees	3,356	23.9	−1.0
Majority			229	1.7	+1.2
Turnout			7,035 (est)	74.7 (est)	−5.7
Registered electors			9,423
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.6
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.9

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Halsey	4,499	30.1	+6.2
	Conservative	Abel Smith	4,498	30.1	+6.0
	Liberal	Henry Cowper	2,974	19.9	−6.3
	Liberal	Henry Brand	2,964	19.8	−6.0
Majority			1,524	10.2	N/A
Turnout			7,468 (est)	76.1 (est)	+1.4
Registered electors			9,809
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.1
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.2

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Hertfordshire (3 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Cowper	Unopposed
	Conservative	Frederick Halsey	Unopposed
	Conservative	Abel Smith	Unopposed
Registered electors			10,050
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

References

Notes

• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• John Cannon, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [1]
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• Peter Jupp, British and Irish Elections 1784–1831 (Newton Abbott: David & Charles, 1973)
• Lewis Namier & John Brooke, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754–1790 (London: HMSO, 1964)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Reform 1640–1832 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Robert Walcott, English Politics in the Early Eighteenth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956)
• British History Online – Parliamentary papers
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)