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Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire
Former county constituency; for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	Wigtownshire
1708–1918
Seats	One
Created from	Wigtownshire
Replaced by	Galloway

Wigtownshire, was a Scottish constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was represented by one Member of Parliament.

Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Wigtownshire which had previously been represented by two Shire Commissioners. The first British general election in Wigtownshire was in 1708. In 1707–08, members of the 1702–1707 Parliament of Scotland were co-opted to serve in the 1st Parliament of Great Britain. See Scottish representatives to the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, for further details.

Boundaries

Wigtownshire was a Scottish shire (later known as a county). The constituency included the whole shire, except that between 1708 and 1885 the burghs of Stranraer, New Galloway, Whithorn and Wigtown, formed part of the Wigtown Burghs constituency.

History

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was abolished in 1918.^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] In 1918 the Wigtownshire area was combined with Kirkcudbrightshire to form the Galloway constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Notes
	1708, 17 June	John Stewart (c 1670–1748)
	1710, 10 November	Patrick Vanse		Unseated on petition
	1711, 3 March	John Stewart (c 1670–1748)		Seated on petition
	1727, 21 September	William Dalrymple
	1741, 15 May	James Stewart (c 1699–1768)
	1747, 31 July	John Stewart (?-c 1769)
	1754, 2 May	James Stewart
	1761, 23 April	John Hamilton		Resigned
	1762, 18 March	James Murray		Of Cally and Broughton
	1768, 22 April	Keith Stewart		Appointed Receiver of Land Taxation for Scotland
	1784, 17 September	Andrew McDouall		Returned at a by-election
	1796, 17 June	William Stewart
	1802, 27 July	Andrew McDouall		Resigned
	1805, 15 April	William Maxwell	Tory^[6]	Returned at a by-election
	1812, 28 October	Sir William Stewart		Resigned
	1816, 2 August	James Hunter-Blair		Returned at a by-election; resigned
	1822, 30 July	Sir William Maxwell	Tory^[6]	Returned at a by-election
	1830, 17 August	Sir Andrew Agnew, 7th Baronet	Whig^[7]^[8]
	1837, 5 August	James Blair	Conservative^[7]^[8]
	1841, 15 July	John Dalrymple Viscount Dalrymple (from 1853)	Whig^[7]^[8]^[9]	Resigned; the 10th Earl of Stair from 1864
	1856, 9 February	Sir Andrew Agnew, 8th Baronet	Whig^[8]	Returned at a by-election; joined the Liberal Party
	1859	Sir Andrew Agnew, 8th Baronet	Liberal^[8]
	1868, 21 November	Alan Stewart, Lord Garlies	Conservative^[8]	Succeeded as the 10th Earl of Galloway
	1873, 24 February	Robert Vans-Agnew	Conservative^[8]	Returned at a by-election
	1880, 10 April	Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet^[8]	Conservative
	1906, 23 January	John Dalrymple, Viscount Dalrymple	Conservative	Succeeded as the 12th Earl of Stair
	1915, 12 February	Hon. Hew Hamilton Dalrymple	Conservative	Returned at a by-election
1918		constituency abolished

Pre-1832 election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Wigtownshire ^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Andrew Agnew	Unopposed
Registered electors			70
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1831: Wigtownshire ^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Andrew Agnew	17	51.5
	Whig	Hugh Hathorn	16	48.5
Majority			1	3.0
Turnout			33	47.1
Registered electors			70
	Whig hold

Election results 1832-1868

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Wigtownshire ^[7]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Andrew Agnew	Unopposed
Registered electors			845
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Wigtownshire ^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Andrew Agnew	340	54.3
	Conservative	James Blair	228	36.4
	Radical	John Douglas	58	9.3
Majority			112	17.9
Turnout			626	71.5
Registered electors			875
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Wigtownshire ^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Blair	362	53.6	+17.2
	Whig	Alexander Murray	314	46.4	−7.9
Majority			48	7.2	N/A
Turnout			676	80.7	+9.2
Registered electors			838
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+12.6

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Dalrymple	403	50.4	+4.0
	Conservative	James Blair	397	49.6	−4.0
Majority			6	0.8	N/A
Turnout			800	77.0	−3.7
Registered electors			1,039
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.0

General election 1847: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	John Dalrymple	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,095
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	John Dalrymple	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,272
	Whig hold

Dalrymple resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead, causing a by-election.

By-election, 9 February 1856: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Andrew Agnew	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1857: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Andrew Agnew	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,357
	Whig hold

General election 1859: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Andrew Agnew	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,464
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Andrew Agnew	484	51.5	*N/A*
	Conservative	Alan Stewart	456	48.5	New
Majority			28	3.0	N/A
Turnout			940	86.5	N/A
Registered electors			1,087
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Election results 1868-1880

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Stewart	719	52.4	+3.9
	Liberal	Andrew Agnew	652	47.6	−3.9
Majority			67	4.8	N/A
Turnout			1,371	90.4	+3.9
Registered electors			1,517
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.9

Elections in the 1870s

Stewart succeeded to the peerage, becoming Earl of Galloway.

By-election, 24 Feb 1873: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Vans-Agnew	713	52.1	−0.3
	Liberal	John Dalrymple	656	47.9	+0.3
Majority			57	4.2	−0.6
Turnout			1,369	88.4	−2.0
Registered electors			1,549
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.3

General election 1874: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Robert Vans-Agnew	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,553
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Wigtownshire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Maxwell	768	51.5	*N/A*
	Liberal	John Dalrymple	722	48.5	New
Majority			46	3.0	N/A
Turnout			1,490	89.9	N/A
Registered electors			1,657
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Election results 1885-1918

Decades:

1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Wigtownshire ^[11]^[12]^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Maxwell	2,704	50.7	−0.8
	Liberal	Hew Hamilton Dalrymple	2,625	49.3	+0.8
Majority			79	1.4	−1.6
Turnout			5,329	88.8	−1.1
Registered electors			6,004
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.8

General election 1886: Wigtownshire ^[11]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Maxwell	2,920	62.9	+12.2
	Liberal	John Phillips Coldstream	1,719	37.1	−12.2
Majority			1,201	25.8	+24.4
Turnout			4,639	77.3	−11.5
Registered electors			6,004
	Conservative hold		Swing	+12.2

In July 1886, Sir Herbert Maxwell accepted office as a Junior Lord of the Treasury, causing a by-election.

By-election, 12 Aug 1886: Wigtownshire ^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Maxwell	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Wigtownshire ^[11]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Maxwell	2,895	63.4	+0.5
	Liberal	John Phillips Coldstream	1,670	36.6	−0.5
Majority			1,225	26.8	+1.0
Turnout			4,565	81.3	+4.0
Registered electors			5,613
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5

General election 1895: Wigtownshire ^[11]^[12]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Maxwell	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Wigtownshire ^[11]^[12]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Maxwell	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1906: Wigtownshire ^[11]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Dalrymple	2,866	57.4	*N/A*
	Liberal	Walter Waring	2,127	42.6	New
Majority			739	14.8	N/A
Turnout			4,993	87.6	N/A
Registered electors			5,698
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Wigtownshire ^[11]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Dalrymple	2,777	56.5	−0.9
	Liberal	Ian Macpherson	2,142	43.5	+0.9
Majority			635	13.0	−1.8
Turnout			4,919	86.6	−1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.9

General election December 1910: Wigtownshire ^[11]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Dalrymple	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Unionist:
Liberal:

At the 1915 Wigtownshire by-election, Hew Hamilton Dalrymple (Conservative) was returned unopposed on 12 February 1915.

References

^ "Wigtownshire". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ "Wigtownshire". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ "Wigtownshire". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ "Wigtownshire". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ "Wigtownshire". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b Fisher, David R. "MAXWELL, Sir William, 5th bt. (1779-1838), of Monreith, Wauphill, Wigtown". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 213. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 607. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^ "London Evening Standard". 20 July 1841. p. 4. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Fisher, David R. "Wigtownshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 563. ISBN 9781349022984.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f The Liberal Year Book, 1907
^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
^ ^a ^b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
^ ^a ^b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916

Sources

British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
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))
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 4)