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Dorset
Dorset
Former county constituency; for the House of Commons
	Context of 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the larger area with thick blue stripes.
County	Dorset
1290–1885
Seats	1290–1832: Two; 1832–1885: Three
Replaced by	North Dorset, South Dorset, East Dorset, West Dorset

Dorset was a county constituency covering Dorset in southern England, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs), traditionally known as knights of the shire, to the House of Commons of England from 1290 until 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1832.

The Great Reform Act increased its representation to three MPs with effect from the 1832 general election, and under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the constituency was abolished for the 1885 election, and replaced by four single-member divisions: North Dorset, South Dorset, East Dorset and West Dorset.

When elections were contested, the bloc vote system was used, but contests were rare. Even after the 1832 Reforms, only three of the nineteen elections before 1885 were contested; in the others, the nominated candidates were returned without a vote.^[1]

Members of Parliament

Before 1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1371	Sir John Hamely^[2]
1376	Sir John Hamely^[2]	Sir Thomas Blount
1377 (Jan)	Sir John Hamely^[2]
1386	Sir Stephen Derby	John Frome^[3]
1388 (Feb)	Sir Robert Turberville	John Frome^[3]
1388 (Sep)	Sir Humphrey Stafford	Sir John Moigne^[3]
1390 (Jan)	Sir Humphrey Stafford	John Frome^[3]
1390 (Nov)	Sir Stephen Derby	Theobald Wykeham^[3]
1391	Sir Humphrey Stafford	Sir John Hamely^[3]
1393	Sir Humphrey Stafford	Sir John Moigne^[3]
1394	Sir Stephen Derby	John Perle^[3]
1395	Sir Humphrey Stafford	Theobald Wykeham^[3]
1397 (Jan)	Sir Humphrey Stafford	Sir John Moigne^[3]
1397 (Sep)	John Bathe	William Martin^[3]
1399	Sir Humphrey Stafford	John Frome^[3]
1401	Sir Humphrey Stafford	John Frome^[3]
1402	Sir William Cheyne	John Bathe^[3]
1404 (Jan)	Sir Humphrey Stafford	John Frome^[3]
1404 (Oct)	Sir John Devereux	John Frampton^[3]
1406	Sir Humphrey Stafford	Sir Ivo Fitzwaryn^[3]
1407	Sir Humphrey Stafford	Sir Ivo Fitzwaryn^[3]
1410	Sir Humphrey Stafford	William Stourton^[3]
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	Thomas Brooke	William Stourton^[3]
1414 (Apr)	Sir Humphrey Stafford II	William Filoll^[3]
1414 (Nov)	Sir Humphrey Stafford II	John Chideock^[3]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417	Sir Humphrey Stafford II	Robert More^[3]
1419	Sir Humphrey Stafford II	Ralph Bush^[3]
1420	Sir Humphrey Stafford II	William Carent^[3]
1421 (May)	Sir Humphrey Stafford II	Robert Lovell^[3]
1421 (Dec)	Sir John Horsey	John Roger^[3]
1426	William Carent^[4]
1427	William Carent^[4]
1431	John Hody
1439	William Browning (born 1400)^[5]
1450	William Browning (born 1400)^[5]
1455	William Browning (born 1400)^[5]
1510–1523	No names known
1529	Sir Giles Strangways I	John Horsey
1536	?
1539	Sir Giles Strangways I	Sir John Horsey
1542	?
1545	Sir Thomas Arundell	Sir John Rogers
1547	Sir Thomas Arundell	Sir John Rogers
1553 (Mar)	?
1553 (Oct)	Sir John Horsey	Sir Giles Strangeways
Parliament of 1554	John Lewson	Sir Giles Strangeways
Parliament of 1554-1555	Sir Henry Ashley	Richard Phelips
Parliament of 1555	Sir John Rogers	Sir Giles Strangeways
Parliament of 1558	Sir Oliver Laurence
Parliament of 1559	Sir John Rogers
Parliament of 1563-1567	Sir Henry Ashley	Thomas Howard
Parliament of 1571	John Horsey	Sir William Paulet
Parliament of 1572-1581	Richard Rogers	John Strode
Parliament of 1584-1585	George Trenchard	John Fitzjames
Parliament of 1586-1587	Ralph Horsey	Andrew Rogers
Parliament of 1588-1589	Sir John Wolley	Andrew Rogers
Parliament of 1593	Thomas Hussey	Arthur Gorges
Parliament of 1597-1598	Sir Ralph Horsey	Sir Walter Raleigh
Parliament of 1601	George Trenchard	Sir Edmund Uvedall
Parliament of 1604-1611	Sir Thomas Freke	John Williams
Addled Parliament (1614)	Sir Mervyn Audley	Sir John Strangways
Parliament of 1621-1622	Sir Thomas Trenchard
Happy Parliament (1624-1625)	Sir George Horsey
Useless Parliament (1625)	Sir Walter Erle	Sir Nathaniel Napier
Parliament of 1625-1626	Sir George Morton	Sir Thomas Freke
Parliament of 1628-1629	Sir George Hussey	Sir John Strangways
No Parliament summoned 1629-1640

MPs 1640–1832

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640		Lord Digby	Royalist		Richard Rogers	Royalist
November 1640		Lord Digby	Royalist
1641		John Browne	Parliamentarian
September 1642				Rogers disabled from sitting - seat vacant
1645					Sir Thomas Trenchard
December 1648				Trenchard did not sit after Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653		William Sydenham			John Bingham
Dorset had six seats in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1654	William Sydenham, John Bingham, Sir Walter Earle, John Fitzjames, John Trenchard, Henry Henley
1656	William Sydenham, John Bingham, Robert Coker, John Fitzjames, John Trenchard, James Dewey
Dorset reverted to two seats in the Third Protectorate Parliament
January 1659		Sir Walter Earle			John Bingham
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		John Fitzjames			Robert Coker
Apr 1661		John Strode			Giles Strangways
1675					Lord Digby
1677					Thomas Browne
1679		Thomas Strangways I			Thomas Freke
1701					Thomas Trenchard
1702					Thomas Chafin
1711					Richard Bingham
1713		George Chafin			Thomas Strangways II
Jan 1727					George Pitt
Sep 1727					Edmund Morton Pleydell
1747					George Pitt	Tory later Independent
1754		Humphrey Sturt			George Pitt	Tory later Independent
1774		Humphrey Sturt			Hon. George Pitt
1784		Francis John Browne			Hon. George Pitt
1790		Francis John Browne			William Morton Pitt	Tory^[6]
1806		Edward Berkeley Portman I	Whig^[6]
1823		Edward Portman II	Whig^[6]
1826					Henry Bankes	Tory^[6]
May. 1831					John Calcraft	Whig^[6]
Sep. 1831					Lord Ashley	Tory^[6]
1832	Representation increased to 3 members

MPs 1832–1885

Election		First member	First party^[1]	Second member	Second party^[1]	Third member	Third party^[1]
1832		Lord Ashley	Tory^[6]	William John Bankes	Tory^[6]	Hon. William Ponsonby	Whig^[6]^[7]
1834			Conservative^[6]	William John Bankes	Conservative^[6]
1835				Henry Sturt	Conservative^[6]
1837						Hon. John Fox-Strangways	Whig^[8]^[9]^[10]^[6]
1841						George Bankes	Conservative^[6]
1846 by-election		Henry Ker Seymer	Conservative	John Floyer	Conservative	George Bankes	Conservative^[6]
1856 by-election				John Floyer	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Conservative
1857				Hon. Henry Portman	Whig^[11]
1859					Liberal
1864 by-election		John Floyer	Conservative
1876 by-election		John Floyer	Conservative			Hon. Edward Digby	Conservative
1885	Constituency divided among North, South, East, and West Dorset.

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Dorset^[6]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Edward Portman	Unopposed
	Tory	Henry Bankes	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 3,500
	Whig hold
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Dorset^[6]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Edward Portman	1,699	39.3
	Whig	John Calcraft	1,452	33.6
	Tory	Henry Bankes	1,170	27.1
Majority			282	6.5
Turnout			c. 2,161	c. 54.0
Registered electors			c. 4,000
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Tory

Calcraft's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 30 September 1831: Dorset^[6]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Anthony Ashley-Cooper	1,847	50.5	+23.4
	Whig	William Ponsonby	1,811	49.5	−23.4
Majority			36	1.0	N/A
Turnout			3,658	c. 91.5	c. +37.5
Registered electors			c. 4,000
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	+23.4

General election 1832: Dorset^[13]^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Anthony Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
	Tory	William John Bankes	Unopposed
	Whig	William Ponsonby	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,632
	Tory win (new seat)
	Tory gain from Whig
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Dorset^[13]^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Anthony Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
	Whig	William Ponsonby	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,679
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Dorset^[13]^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Anthony Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
	Whig	John Fox-Strangways	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,263
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Anthony Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
	Conservative	George Bankes	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,870
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Ashley-Cooper and Sturt both resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds causing a by-election.

By-election, 19 February 1846: Dorset^[13]
	Candidate	Votes
Conservative	John Floyer	Unopposed
Conservative	Henry Ker Seymer	Unopposed
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

General election 1847: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	George Bankes	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Floyer	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Ker Seymer	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,275
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

Bankes was appointed Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 9 March 1852: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bankes	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1852: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	George Bankes	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Floyer	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Ker Seymer	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,690
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Bankes' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 26 July 1856: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Henry Portman	2,430	27.1	*New*
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	2,197	24.5	*N/A*
	Conservative	Henry Ker Seymer	2,177	24.3	*N/A*
	Conservative	John Floyer	2,159	24.1	N/A
Majority			233	2.6	N/A
Turnout			4,608 (est)	82.0 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			6,203
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Ker Seymer	Unopposed
	Liberal	Henry Portman	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,639
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

Seymer resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 27 February 1864: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Floyer	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1865: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Floyer	Unopposed
	Liberal	Henry Portman	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,203
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Floyer	Unopposed
	Liberal	Henry Portman	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,443
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Floyer	Unopposed
	Liberal	Henry Portman	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,293
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Sturt was elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Alington.

By-election, 5 Feb 1876: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Digby	3,060	62.1	*N/A*
	Tenant Farmer	Robert Fowler^[14]	1,866	37.9	New
Majority			1,194	24.2	N/A
Turnout			4,926	69.0	N/A
Registered electors			7,142
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Edward Digby	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Floyer	Unopposed
	Liberal	Henry Portman	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,522
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 376–377. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c "HAMELY (HAMYLYN), Sir John (aft.1324-1399), of Wimborne St. Giles, Dorset". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa "History of Parliament". Retrieved 9 September 2011.
^ ^a ^b "CARENT, William (d.1476), of Toomer in Henstridge, Som". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c "BROWNING, John (C.1369-1416), of Melbury Sampford, Dorset and Leigh near Deerhurst, Glos. | History of Parliament Online".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 81–82. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
^ Churton, Edward (1836). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836. p. 144.
^ Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. pp. 222, 228. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^ Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1837). The parliamentary guide, a concise biography of the members of both houses of parliament. p. 220. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^ Crosby, George (1838). Crosby's General Political Reference Book: containing the historical origin of the British parliament; an authentic result of all the contested elections in Great Britain and Ireland, for nearly a century ... and an alphabetical list of the representatives for each party in the House of Commons, etc. George Crosby. p. 112. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^ "Dorset Chronicle". 19 March 1857. p. 9. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c Farrell, Stephen. "Dorset". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 380–381. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^ "Representation of the County". Western Gazette. 21 January 1876. pp. 6–8. Retrieved 29 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

References

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) [1]
F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
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)
Heywood Townshend, Historical Collections:: or, An exact Account of the Proceedings of the Four last Parliaments of Q. Elizabeth (1680) [2]
British History Online - 'List of members nominated for Parliament of 1653', Diary of Thomas Burton esq, volume 4: March - April 1659 (1828),
Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. p. 1.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 2)