Malmesbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Malmesbury
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1275–1885
Seatstwo (1295–1832); one (1832–1885)
Replaced byChippenham

Malmesbury was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1275 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.

History

The borough was represented in Parliament from 1275. The constituency originally returned two members, but representation was reduced to one in the Great Reform Act of 1832 until the constituency was finally abolished in 1885.

In the 17th century the constituency was dominated by the Earls of Suffolk, based in the family seat at nearby Charlton Park.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1275–1508

From History of Parliament [1]

Parliament First member Second member
1386 Nicholas Weston Alexander Oxenford
1388 (Feb) John Parker Alexander Oxenford
1388 (Sep)
1390 (Jan) John Parker William Blankpayn
1390 (Nov)
1391
1393 William Blankpayn William Chaloner
1394 Richard Parker William Blankpayn
1395 Nicholas Sambourn Thomas Froud
1397 (Jan) Robert Newman William Blankpayn
1397 (Sep) John Stowell William Blankpayn
1399 Robert Newman Robert Salman
1401
1402 John Tanner Thomas Bonde
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406 Thomas Hyweye John Charlton
1407
1410
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)
1414 (Apr) John Charlton John Randolf
1414 (Nov) Thomas Hyweye John Gore
1415 Thomas Hyweye Richard Stenysham
1416 (Mar) John Gore Thomas Corbyn
1416 (Oct)
1417 William Palmer Thomas Corbyn
1419 William Palmer
1420 William Palmer John Charlton
1421 (May) William Palmer
1421 (Dec) William Palmer John Gore

MPs 1509–1558

(Source: Bindoff (1982))[2]

Parliament First member Second member
Parliament of 1510–23 No names known No names known
Parliament of 1529 Thomas Edgar William Stumpe
Parliament of 1536 Not known Not known
Parliament of 1539 Not known Not known
Parliament of 1542 Not known Not known
Parliament of 1545 Not known Not known
Parliament of 1547 Sir Maurice Denys William Stumpe
Parliament of 1553(Mar) Not known Not known
Parliament of 1553(Oct) John Hedges Matthew King
Parliament of 1554(Apr) John Hedges Matthew King
Parliament of 1554(Nov) Edward Unton John Hedges
Parliament of 1555 Sir James Stumpe Matthew King
Parliament of 1558 Matthew King Griffin Curteys

MPs 1559–1603

Source:History of Parliament [3]

Parliament First member Second member
1559 Lawrence Hyde (died 1590) David Cerney
1562–3 Sir Thomas Ragland Edward Poole
1571 Nicholas Snell Ambrose Button
1572 John Danvers Nicholas Snell, died
and repl. Jan 1562 by Henry Baynton
1584 Sir Henry Knyvet John Stumpe
1586 Sir Henry Knyvet Henry Bayly
1589 Thomas Vavasour Henry Bayly
1593 Sir Henry Knyvet Thomas Lake
1597 Sir Henry Knyvet Thomas Estcourt
1601 Sir William Monson Sidney Montagu

MPs 1604–1640

Parliament First member Second member
Parliament of 1604–1611 Sir Roger Dallison Sir Thomas Dallison
Parliament of 1614–1621 Sir Roger Dallison Sir Neville Poole
Parliament of 1621–1622 Sir Henry Poole Sir Edward Wardour
Parliament of 1624–1625 Sir Edward Wardour Thomas Hatton
Parliament of 1625–1626 Sir Henry Moody, Bt Sir Edward Wardour
Parliament of 1626–1628 Sir Henry Moody, Bt Sir William Croft
Parliament of 1628–1629 Sir Henry Moody, Bt Sir William Croft
1629–1640 No Parliaments convened

MPs 1640–1832

Year First member First party Second member Second party
April 1640 Anthony Hungerford Royalist Sir Neville Poole
November 1640 Sir Neville Poole Parliamentarian
June 1644 Hungerford disabled from sitting – seat vacant
1645 Sir John Danvers
December 1648 Poole excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant
1653 Malmesbury was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659 Sir Henry Lee Thomas Higgons
May 1659 Malmesbury was not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660 Robert Danvers Sir Francis Lee, Bt
1661 Lawrence Washington
1662 Philip Howard
1668 Sir Edward Poole
1673 Thomas Estcourt
February 1679 Sir William Estcourt, Bt Sir James Long, Bt
1685 Sir Thomas Estcourt John Fitzherbert
1689 Thomas Tollemache Charles Godfrey
1690 Goodwin Wharton Sir James Long, Bt
1692 George Booth
1695 Craven Howard
1696 Sir Thomas Skipwith, Bt
1698 Michael Wicks Edward Pauncefort
January 1701 Samuel Shepheard
November 1701 Sir Charles Hedges
1702 Thomas Boucher
1705 Thomas Farrington Henry Mordaunt
1710 Joseph Addison Whig
1713 Sir John Rushout, Bt
1719 by-election Fleetwood Dormer
March 1722[4] The Viscount Hillsborough
December 1722 Giles Earle John Fermor
1723 by-election Charles Stewart
1727 William Rawlinson Earle
1747 John Lee James Douglas
1751 by-election Lord Edward Digby
1754 Lord George Bentinck Brice Fisher
1759 by-election Thomas Conolly
1761 The Earl Tylney
1768 The Earl of Donegall Hon. Thomas Howard
1774 Hon. Charles James Fox Whig William Strahan Tory
September 1780 Viscount Lewisham Viscount Fairford
November 1780 by-election John Calvert
1784 The Viscount Melbourne Viscount Maitland
February 1790 by-election Paul Benfield
June 1790 Benjamin Bond-Hopkins
1792 by-election Sir James Sanderson[5]
1794 by-election Francis Glanville
May 1796 Samuel Smith[6] Peter Thellusson
November 1796 by-election Philip Metcalfe
1802 Claude Scott Sir Samuel Scott, Bt
1806 Robert Ladbroke Nicholas Ridley-Colborne
1807 Sir George Bowyer, Bt Tory[7] Philip Gell Tory[7]
1810 by-election Abel Smith Tory[7]
1812 William Hicks-Beach Tory[7] Sir Charles Saxton, Bt[8] Tory[7]
1813 by-election Peter Patten Tory[7]
1817 by-election Sir William Abdy, Bt
1818 (Sir) Charles Forbes[9] Tory[7] Kirkman Finlay Tory[7]
1820 by-election William Leake
1826 John Forbes Tory[7]
1832 Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1832–1885

Election Member Party
1832 Charles Howard Whig[7][10]
1841 Hon. James Howard Whig[7][11][12][13]
1852 Thomas Luce Whig
1859 Henry Howard Liberal
1868 Walter Powell[14] Conservative
1882 by-election Charles William Miles Conservative
1885 Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Malmesbury[15][16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Forbes Unopposed
Tory John Forbes (1801-1840) Unopposed
Registered electors 13
Tory hold
Tory hold
General election 1831: Malmesbury[15][16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Forbes 13 50.0
Tory John Forbes (1801-1840) 13 50.0
Whig George Julius Poulett Scrope 0 0.0
Majority 13 50.0
Turnout 13 100.0
Registered electors 13
Tory hold
Tory hold
General election 1832: Malmesbury[15][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig James Howard Unopposed
Registered electors 291
Whig gain from Tory
General election 1835: Malmesbury[15][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig James Howard Unopposed
Registered electors 292
Whig hold
General election 1837: Malmesbury[15][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig James Howard 112 54.1
Conservative Isaac Salter 95 45.9
Majority 17 8.2
Turnout 207 79.6
Registered electors 260
Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig James Howard 125 54.3 +0.2
Conservative Lancelot Archer Burton[17] 105 45.7 −0.2
Majority 20 8.6 +0.4
Turnout 230 73.0 −6.6
Registered electors 315
Whig hold Swing +0.2
General election 1847: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig James Howard Unopposed
Registered electors 320
Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Thomas Luce 137 51.7 N/A
Conservative Peter Audley Lovell[18] 128 48.3 New
Majority 9 3.4 N/A
Turnout 265 85.8 N/A
Registered electors 309
Whig hold
General election 1857: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Thomas Luce Unopposed
Registered electors 315
Whig hold
General election 1859: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Howard Unopposed
Registered electors 343
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Howard 157 53.6 N/A
Conservative John Gilbert Talbot[19] 136 46.4 New
Majority 21 7.2 N/A
Turnout 293 89.1 N/A
Registered electors 329
Liberal hold
General election 1868: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Powell 337 51.8 +5.4
Liberal Henry Howard 314 48.2 −5.4
Majority 23 3.6 N/A
Turnout 651 82.9 −6.2
Registered electors 785
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +5.4

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Powell Unopposed
Registered electors 1,053
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Powell 602 66.0 N/A
Liberal Arthur Kitching 310 34.0 New
Majority 292 32.0 N/A
Turnout 912 84.5 N/A
Registered electors 1,079
Conservative hold Swing

Powell was declared dead after he disappeared when a hydrogen balloon he was travelling in was blown out into the English Channel and never seen again.

By-election, 7 Mar 1882: Malmesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles William Miles 491 53.0 −13.0
Liberal Charles Richard Luce[20] 435 47.0 +13.0
Majority 56 6.0 −26.0
Turnout 926 86.9 +2.4
Registered electors 1,066
Conservative hold Swing −13.0

References

  • Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
  • F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
  • J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 1)

Notes

  1. ^ "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  2. ^ Bindoff S.T. (ed.) The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1509–1558, London, 1982, pp.91–92
  3. ^ "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  4. ^ On petition, the result of the election of 1722 was overturned, Rushout and Hillsborough being declared not to have been duly elected
  5. ^ Created a baronet, December 1794
  6. ^ Smith was also elected for Leicester, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Malmesbury
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 114–117. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Saxton was also elected for Cashel, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Malmesbury
  9. ^ Created a baronet, November 1823
  10. ^ Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 129. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Election Talk". The Spectator. 12 June 1841. p. 8. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  12. ^ The Gardeners' Chronicle, Volume 1. 1841. p. 386. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Elections Decided". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 10 July 1841. p. 6. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ^ Disappeared on a balloon flight
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  16. ^ a b Farrell, Stephen. "Malmesbury". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Malmesbury, June 30". Evening Mail. 2 July 1841. p. 3. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ^ "Malmesbury Election". Hampshire Advertiser. 10 July 1852. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. ^ "Malmesbury Election". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. Gloucestershire. 16 September 1865. p. 5. Retrieved 2 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. ^ "Retirement of Mr Miller". Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser. 4 March 1882. p. 8. Retrieved 20 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.