Shaftesbury was a parliamentary constituency in Dorset. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England, Great Britain and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1295 until 1832 and one member until the constituency was abolished in 1885.
Shaftesbury | |
---|---|
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
1295–1885 | |
Seats | Two until 1832; one 1832–1885 |
Replaced by | North Dorset |
History
editBoundaries and franchise before 1832
editShaftesbury was one of the towns summoned to send representatives to the Model Parliament of 1295, and thereafter was continuously represented (except during the temporary upheavals of the Commonwealth) until the 19th century. The constituency was a parliamentary borough, which until 1832 consisted of parts of three parishes in the town of Shaftesbury, a market town in Dorset. In the 17th century the Mayor and Corporation attempted to restrict the right to vote to themselves, but after a decision in 1697 the vote was exercised by all inhabitant householders paying scot and lot. Shaftesbury being a prosperous town this included the vast majority of households, and in 1831 when the borough contained only 474 houses, 400 separate properties were rated for scot and lot and 359 people voted in that year's election. The franchise was therefore in practice, for the period, a very liberal one.
Political character in the 18th century
editLike many boroughs, Shaftesbury generally recognised the local landowner as its "patron", with the right to nominate both its MPs, but also expected this influence to be cemented with generous bribery, making electoral control of the substantial electorate an expensive business. In the mid 18th century the joint patrons were Lord Ilchester and The Earl of Shaftesbury, who generally agreed to nominate one member each rather than bringing about a contested election which would allow the voters scope to demand bribes. Ilchester, who as Stephen Fox had sat as the borough's MP for a number of years before being raised to the peerage, described it as "troublesome, expensive and corrupt".
The patrons were free to recoup their expenditure by selling the seats to suitable candidates (at that period perfectly legal) rather than giving them to family or friends, but avoiding an expensive contest meant they could pocket the proceeds rather than seeing them (illegally) passing into the pockets of the voters. Namier quotes from the papers of Prime Minister Newcastle to show that Sir Thomas Clavering paid £2000 for his seat at Shaftesbury in 1754,[1] and that in 1761 Newcastle quoted the same sum as the likely price of a seat for Sir Gilbert Heathcote, but added that no other pocket borough would be any cheaper.
However, the agreement between the patrons to split the seats amicably merely caused the townsmen to encourage independent candidates to stand so as to ensure a contest, and from 1761 onwards there was generally at least one candidate competing against those backed by the patrons. There also developed the practice of extending bribes in the form of "loans", which would not be called in provided the voter voted as instructed.
The corrupt election of 1774
editOver the years a number of election results were overturned because of corrupt or illegal practices by the victors, but that of 1774 was particularly notorious. At that election one candidate, Hans Winthrop Mortimer, stood independently of the established interests in the town and, having been easily defeated, petitioned to have the result overturned and produced copious evidence of corruption. Thomas Rumbold and Francis Sykes were both shown to have bribed at a rate of 20 guineas (£21) a man, the total spent amounting to several thousand pounds; worse, the magistrates of the town were implicated in distributing this largesse. The contemporary historian of abuses in the rotten boroughs, Thomas Oldfield, gave this account of the "very singular and very absurd contrivances" unsuccessfully used in the hope of preventing proof of involvement:
- A person concealed under a ludicrous and fantastical disguise, and called by the name of Punch, was placed in a small apartment, and through a hole in the door delivered to the voters parcels, containing twenty guineas each: upon which they were conducted to another apartment in the same house, where they found another person called Punch's secretary, who required them to sign notes for the value received: these notes were made payable to an imaginary character, to whom was given the name of Glenbucket. Two of the witnesses swore that they had seen Punch through the hole in the door, and that they knew him to be Mr. Matthews, an alderman of the town...
The Commons Committee accepted the evidence before them, and not only declared Sykes and Rumbold not duly elected and Mortimer duly elected to one of the seats in their place, but ordered that Sykes, Rumbold, and a long list of other inhabitants of the town should be prosecuted by the Attorney General for bribery and perjury. A bill was also brought in to permanently deprive the guilty parties of their votes; however this was never passed, the prosecution never took place, and the Commons was eventually persuaded to reverse its condemnations of Sykes and Rumbold so that both were able to stand for the borough at the next general election. They did not escape penalty entirely, however, as Mortimer brought a civil suit for bribery against Sykes at Dorchester Assizes, and was awarded £11,000 in damages – which he used to buy houses in the town, increasing his own influence at future elections.
Bankruptcy and evictions
editThe combination of corruption at the election itself and the need to fight petitions against the result afterwards made Shaftesbury too expensive to be useful to Ilchester, and he sold most of his property in the town to Sykes, while the Earl of Shaftesbury, having failed to get his candidate elected in 1776, seems to have withdrawn from any active involvement. Meanwhile, Mortimer continued his acquisition of property in the town until he owned the majority of houses in the borough, but spent so much on this and on fighting elections that he ran through his substantial fortune and ended in a debtors' prison.
The majority interest in the borough then passed to the nabob Paul Benfield, who bought up Mortimer's properties cheaply when they were auctioned off to benefit his creditors. However, after twice being elected in expensive contests, Benfield too was bankrupted. Shaftesbury then passed through a number of hands until, on the eve of the Reform Act, the principal interest was that of Earl Grosvenor. His accession seems to have eliminated Shaftesbury's endemic bribery and converted it to a more secure pocket borough: when Edward Harbord was offered the seat in 1820 in token of Grosvenor's admiration for his stand over Peterloo, he described it as "a place where no questions are asked as to political principles, and no money required". However, Grosvenor opted for coercion rather than persuasion to enforce his will, and at the tumultuous election of 1830 threatened to evict any of his tenants who did not back his candidates. This won the day, although the anti-Grosvenor candidate promised to compensate any of his supporters who might be evicted, and the election ended in a riot. Grosvenor's agents then proceeded to issue notice to quit to the recalcitrant tenants, fuelling an even-more-vigorous (but still unsuccessful) opposition to his candidates at the 1831 election, even though both of his nominees were pro-Reform.
Effects of the Reform Act
editIn 1831, the population of the borough was 2,742, but the Reform Act of the following year extended the boundaries to include the whole of three town parishes and ten other adjoining parishes, covering an area several miles across and bringing the population up to 8,518. This was a bigger population than the revised borough of Poole, across the county, which kept both its MPs. Nevertheless, the Act provided that Shaftesbury lost one of its two MPs. The electorate of the new constituency was 634, and the reformed franchise being more restrictive than that which had previously operated, it was only the provision that preserved the rights of existing voters for life that prevented the new electorate from being as small as the old one. Indeed, as these voters died off or moved away the electorate fell still further, and only 461 men were registered to vote by 1865.
The constituency was unaltered in the boundary changes of 1868, but was too small to survive the next reform, and was abolished with effect from the 1885 general election. Shaftesbury itself and most of the borough were placed in the new Dorset North county constituency, though the parish of Donhead St Mary was in Wiltshire and was therefore incorporated into the Wilton constituency.
Members of Parliament
edit1295–1629
editYear of reign | Year | Location | MP1 | MP2 |
Edward 1 from | 1272 | |||
25 | 1296 | Westminster | John Cockaine | Hugh Gappe |
26 | 1297 | York | Roger le Teynturer | Wm. Langecock |
28 | 1299 | London | Walter Snowden/Senden | John Vigorous |
30 | 1301 | London | Wm. Sesewood | Thos. Sharewood |
33 | 1304 | London | Laurence Pynge jun. | John de Wilton |
34 | 1305 | London | Wm. Aunkehill | John de Wilton |
35 | 1306 | Carlilse | Walter Sanden | Hamond le Lange |
Edward 2 from | 1307 | |||
1 | 1307 | York | Robert de Monte Alto | Richard Normayne |
5 | 1311 | London | Walter Sanden | Hamond le Lange |
6 | 1312 | Westminster | Walter Sanden | Thos. Steerman/Shareham |
7 | 1313 | Westminster | John Hatche | John le Read |
8 | 1314 | Westminster | Walter Sanden/de Soudon | John Figerous/Vigorous |
15 | 1321 | York | John le Mal/Hull | John le Ston |
16 | 1322 | Westminster | Richard Kinemere/Kymer | John Cockayne/Cockaine |
19 | 1325 | Westminster | Roge Luff jun | Wm. Vigorous/Virugore |
Edward 3 from | 1327 | |||
1 | 1327 | York | Richard Palmer | John de Hull |
1 | 1327 | Westminster | Thos. Berewyk | |
2 | 1328 | North | Richard le Palmere | Richard de Kynemere |
4 | 1330 | Winchester | Richard de Kynemour | Wm. Vigorous |
6 | 1332 | Westminster | John Anketill | John Bray |
7 | 1333 | Westminster | Robt. Anctill | Walter Sondon |
9 | 1335 | Westminster | Peter Mankerneys | Walter Sondon |
9 | 1335 | York | John Anketill | John le Draper |
10 | 1336 | Nottingham | John Anketill | Wm. Sondon |
11 | 1337 | Westminster | John Sutton | |
11 | 1337 | Westminster | Wm. Anketill | Thos. Platell & John Seled |
12 | 1338 | Westminster | Thos. Platell | Wm. Anketill |
14 | 1340 | Westminster | John Steerman | Thos. Platell |
15 | 1341 | Westminster | John de Wyke | |
15 | 1341 | Westminster | Robt. Axtrll | John Steerman |
17 | 1343 | Westminster | Wm. le Mew | Thos. Platell |
20 | 1346 | Westminster | Thos. de Trent | John de Wyke |
21 | 1347 | Westminster | John de Wyke | John Steerman |
22 | 1348 | Westminster | Roger de Manyngford | Wm. Hackevill |
22 | 1348 | Westminster | John de Wyke | Walter de Thornhull |
24 | 1350 | Westminster | John Luff | John Piggon |
28 | 1354 | Westminster | John Piggon | John Luff |
29 | 1355 | Westminster | Robt. Fovent | John Sharnthorne |
31 | 1357 | Westminster | Walter Perie | Edwd. Barnabe |
32 | 1358 | Westminster | John Piggon | John Luff |
33 | 1359 | Westminster | John Wilton | Lawrence Pynge |
34 | 1360 | Westminster | Edmund. Barnabe | Thos. Aleron/Alton |
34 | 1360 | Westminster | John Piggon | Edmund. Barnabe |
36 | 1362 | Westminster | Wm. Smallbergh | John Moryn |
37 | 1363 | Westminster | Walter Henley | Alan Caunsted |
43 | 1369 | Westminster | Walter Henley | Edwd. Barnabe |
45 | 1371 | Winchester | Walter Henley | |
47 | 1373 | Westminster | Wm. Anketill | John Luff |
Richard 2 from | 1377 | |||
1 | 1377 | Westminster | Walter Haule | Thos. Bache |
2 | 1378 | Westminster | Walter Haule | Thos. Bache |
3 | 1379 | Westminster | Walter Haulegh | Thos. Cammell |
5 | 1381 | Westminster | Walter Haulegh | Thos. Cammell |
6 | 1382 | Westminster | Walter Haulegh | Thos. Seaward |
- Constituency created (1295)
1640–1832
edit1832–1885
editYear | Member | Party | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1832 | John Sayer Poulter | Whig[14][18][19] | ||||
1838[20] | George Mathew | Conservative[14] | ||||
1841 | Lord Howard of Effingham | Whig[14][21][22] | ||||
1845 | Richard Brinsley Sheridan | Whig[23][24][25][26] | ||||
1852 | Hon. Henry Portman | Whig[27] | ||||
1857 | George Glyn | Whig | ||||
1859 | Liberal | |||||
1873 | Vere Benett-Stanford | Conservative | ||||
1880 | Hon. Sidney Glyn | Liberal | ||||
1885 | Constituency abolished |
Election results
editElections in the 1830s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Edward Penrhyn | 169 | 38.9 | ||
Tory | William Stratford Dugdale | 145 | 33.3 | ||
Radical | Sir Francis Charles Knowles, 3rd Baronet | 121 | 27.8 | ||
Turnout | 270 | c. 77.1 | |||
Registered electors | c. 350 | ||||
Majority | 24 | 5.6 | |||
Whig hold | |||||
Majority | 24 | 5.5 | |||
Tory gain from Whig |
Dugdale resigned, causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | William Leader Maberly | Unopposed | |||
Whig gain from Tory |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Edward Penrhyn | 171 | 28.7 | +9.3 | |
Whig | William Leader Maberly | 168 | 28.2 | +8.8 | |
Radical | Sir Francis Charles Knowles, 3rd Baronet | 133 | 22.4 | −5.4 | |
Tory | Dominick Trant | 123 | 20.7 | −12.6 | |
Majority | 25 | 7.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | c. 298 | c. 85.0 | c. +7.9 | ||
Registered electors | c. 350 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | +7.8 | |||
Whig gain from Tory | Swing | +7.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Sayer Poulter | 318 | 60.2 | +32.0 | |
Whig | Edward Penrhyn | 210 | 39.8 | +11.1 | |
Majority | 108 | 20.4 | +12.9 | ||
Turnout | 528 | 83.3 | −1.7 | ||
Registered electors | 634 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | +10.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Sayer Poulter | 237 | 61.6 | +1.4 | |
Conservative | William Best[30] | 148 | 38.4 | New | |
Majority | 89 | 23.2 | +2.8 | ||
Turnout | 385 | 69.5 | −13.8 | ||
Registered electors | 554 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | +1.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Sayer Poulter | 224 | 50.6 | −11.0 | |
Conservative | George Mathew | 219 | 49.4 | +11.0 | |
Majority | 5 | 1.2 | −22.0 | ||
Turnout | 443 | 89.3 | +19.8 | ||
Registered electors | 496 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | −11.0 |
- On petition, Poulter was unseated in favour of Mathew
Elections in the 1840s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Henry Howard | 219 | 52.0 | +1.4 | |
Conservative | George Mathew | 202 | 48.0 | −1.4 | |
Majority | 17 | 4.0 | +2.8 | ||
Turnout | 421 | 84.7 | −4.6 | ||
Registered electors | 497 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | +1.4 |
Howard succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Earl of Effingham, causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Richard Brinsley Sheridan | Unopposed | |||
Whig hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Richard Brinsley Sheridan | 213 | 54.8 | +2.8 | |
Conservative | Richard Bethell | 176 | 45.2 | −2.8 | |
Majority | 37 | 9.6 | +5.6 | ||
Turnout | 389 | 80.4 | −4.3 | ||
Registered electors | 484 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | +2.8 |
Elections in the 1850s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Henry Portman | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 509 | ||||
Whig hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | George Glyn | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 540 | ||||
Whig hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | George Glyn | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 515 | ||||
Liberal hold |
Elections in the 1860s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | George Glyn | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 461 | ||||
Liberal hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | George Glyn | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 1,311 | ||||
Liberal hold |
Elections in the 1870s
editGlyn succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Wolverton and causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Vere Benett-Stanford | 603 | 53.0 | New | |
Liberal | Henry Danby Seymour[31] | 534 | 47.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 69 | 6.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,137 | 86.7 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 1,311 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Vere Benett-Stanford | 591 | 51.3 | N/A | |
Liberal | Henry Danby Seymour[31] | 562 | 48.7 | N/A | |
Majority | 29 | 2.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,153 | 89.7 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 1,286 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |
Elections in the 1880s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Sidney Glyn | 652 | 51.3 | +2.6 | |
Conservative | Vere Benett-Stanford | 618 | 48.7 | −2.6 | |
Majority | 34 | 2.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,270 | 91.5 | +1.8 | ||
Registered electors | 1,388 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.6 |
Notes
edit- ^ Page 429, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition – London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- ^ Hyde was also elected for Wootton Bassett, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Shafesbury
- ^ On petition, the election of 1715, at which Rush and Nicholas had been elected, was declared void. One of their opponent's, Benson, was declared duly elected in their place but the other, Henry Andrews, was found not to be eligible. A by-election was therefore held for the second seat, at which Nicholas was once more elected.
- ^ In 1718, Benson was appointed Surveyor-General of His Majesty's Works, an office that required him to vacate his seat and stand for re-election. He won the by-election but, on petition, the result was overturned and des Bouverie declared elected instead.
- ^ On petition, Bennet was declared not to have been duly elected, and his opponent Fox was seated in his place
- ^ Pitt was re-elected in 1747, but had also been elected for Dorset, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Shaftesbury
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k J A Cannon (1964). "Shaftesbury". In Namier, Sir Lewis; Brooke, John (eds.). The House of Commons 1754-1790. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- ^ At the election of 1774, Sykes and Rumbold were initially declared elected, but on petition the result was overturned and their only opponent, Mortimer, was declared elected; the Commons also ordered the prosecution of Sykes and Rumbold for bribery. The second seat was declared vacant and a by-election held.
- ^ Rumbold was initially declared elected, but on petition the result was overturned and his opponent, Mortimer, was seated in his place.
- ^ Created a baronet, June 1781
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 91–92. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
- ^ Bateman-Robson and Gurney were initially returned as elected in the election of 1812, but on petition (Journals of the House of Commons, Volume 68 p 12 1812–1813) their opponents, Wetherell and Kerrison, were declared elected
- ^ Farrell, Stephen. "LEYCESTER, Ralph (1763–1835), of Toft Hall, Cheshire and 65 Portland Place, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ Farrell, Stephen. "DAVENPORT, Edward Davies (1778–1847), of Calveley, Cheshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 186.
- ^ Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 207.
- ^ At the election of 1837, Poulter was initially declared re-elected, but on petition his election was declared void and after scrutiny of the votes his opponent, Mathew, was declared duly elected
- ^ "Shaftesbury". Dublin Evening Post. 29 June 1841. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Devonshire". Dorset County Chronicle. 3 June 1841. pp. 3–4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "London Electoral History — Steps Towards Democracy: 6.2 History of Elections in Westminster, 1749–1852" (PDF). London Electoral History 1700-1850. Newcastle University. p. 11. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ Roberts, Andrew. "Biographies of Honorary (Unpaid) Lunacy Commissioners 1828-1912". THE LUNACY COMMISSION, A STUDY OF ITS ORIGIN, EMERGENCE AND CHARACTER. Middlesex University. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ The Illustrated London News, Volume 6. Illustrated London News & Sketch Limited. 1845. p. 151 – via Google Books.
- ^ "House of Commons, Friday". Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties. 14 March 1845. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Dorset Chronicle". 19 March 1857. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c Farrell, Stephen. "Shaftesbury". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
- ^ "Page 2". The Sun. 10 January 1835 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "An Alleged Election Libel". Edinburgh Evening News. 16 February 1874. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
References
edit- Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
- D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
- Michael Brock, The Great Reform Act (London: Hutchinson, 1973)
- Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [2]
- 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)
- T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
- J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
- Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
- Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847, Volume 1 (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co, 1844) [3]
- 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.
- Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 2)