Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

Warwickshire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
County Warwickshire
1293–1832
Replaced by North Warwickshire and South Warwickshire

Warwickshire was a parliamentary constituency in Warwickshire in England. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), traditionally known as knights of the shire, to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.

Contents

History

Boundaries and franchise

The constituency, which seems first to have returned members to Parliament in 1293, consisted of the historic county of Warwickshire, excluding the city of Coventry which had the status of a county in its itself after 1451. (Although Warwickshire also contained the borough of Warwick and part of the borough of Tamworth, each of which elected two MPs in its own right for part of the period when Warwickshire was a constituency, these were not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election. This was not the case, though, for Coventry.)

As in other county constituencies the franchise between 1430 and 1832 was defined by the Forty Shilling Freeholder Act, which gave the right to vote to every man who possessed freehold 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 Commonwealth, Warwickshire has two MPs elected by the bloc vote method, under which each voter had two votes. (In the First and Second Parliaments of Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate, there was a general redistribution of seats and Warwickshire elected four members; the traditional arrangements were restored from 1659.)

Character

In the Middle Ages Warwickshire was mainly an agricultural county, but the realisation of the value of its mineral wealth, and eventually the coming of the Industrial Revolution, transformed its character. By the time of the Great Reform Act in 1832, Warwickshire had a population of approximately 337,000, of which 142,000 were in Birmingham and its suburbs; since Birmingham had been of little importance in medieval times it was not a borough, and was represented in Parliament only through Warwickshire's county members. The franchise being based on land ownership, the urban areas commanded a much smaller proportion of the votes than of the population: at the election in 1820 when Warwickshire recorded its highest turnout, only 399 of the 3,122 votes were cast in Birmingham, and a little under 300 in total from the other main towns (Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon and Nuneaton).

Nevertheless, this gave the industrial and manufacturing interests some leverage, which they found necessary since the interests of the rest of the county were sometimes much at odds with their own. As a group of Birmingham manufacturers explained in 1780 letter to the Earl of Dartmouth (one of the most influential of the locally connected noblemen):

The various commercial regulations, so frequently made by the Legislature, affect the trade and manufacturers of this place very much and render it an object of great importance to its inhabitants that gentlemen may, if possible, be chosen for the county who are connected with the people, and not entirely uninformed of the particulars in which their interests consist.

- Letter published in the 13th Report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission, quoted by Porritt

In practice contested elections were rare: the general elections of 1705 and 1774 were the only ones of the 29 between 1701 and 1832 and which Warwickshire's two MPs were not elected unopposed. Elections were held at a single polling place, Warwick, and voters from the rest of the county had to travel to the county town to exercise their franchise; candidates were expected to meet the expenses of their supporters in travelling to the poll, making the cost of a contested election substantial. Potential candidates therefore preferred to canvass support beforehand and usually not insisting on a vote being taken unless they were confident of winning; at most elections, amicable negotiation had settled the outcome well in advance.

The representation was generally in the hands of the leading gentry of the county – notably the Mordaunts of Walton, who held one of the two seats for 82 of the 122 years between 1698 and 1820. But increasingly during the 18th century, it became necessary to defer to the preferences of the Birmingham freeholders in choosing between the available candidates. The 1774 election developed into a hard-fought contest when agreement could not be reached over who should replace Sir Charles Mordaunt, who had retired after forty years as the county's MP. After a poll that lasted 11 days, it was the nominee of the Birmingham interests, Sir Charles Holte of Aston, who emerged triumphant over Mordaunt's son. When Holte in his turn retired after one Parliament, the candidate chosen to replace him by the meeting of Birmingham freeholders was accepted by the county meeting without opposition, the other hopefuls being left to squabble over the one remaining seat.

Nevertheless, the choice remained one between the various gentry of the county, and by the early 19th century Birmingham had become one of the most vocal centres of agitation for parliamentary reform. This resulted in violent disruption of the 1830 Warwickshire election, even though the two candidates were unopposed. A mob from the Birmingham Union, 300 or 400 strong and accompanied by a band, invaded the hustings at Warwick and demanded assurances from the candidates that they would support reform. Peel regarded this "daring attempt to overawe the nomination of representatives at Warwick" as one of the most serious in a generally tumultuous election; yet it seems to have failed to intimidate the candidates, since one was already a reformer and the other refused to give any pledge of support.

Abolition

The constituency was abolished in 1832 by the Great Reform Act, which divided the county into two new divisions, North Warwickshire and South Warwickshire, as well as establishing Birmingham as a borough electing MPs in its own right.

Members of Parliament

1290–1640

ParliamentFirst memberSecond member
1320 Sir Robert Burdet
1325 Sir Robert Burdet
1327 Sir Robert Burdet
1377 Henry de Ardern
1380 Henry de Ardern
1386 George Castell Sir John Peyto [1]
1388 (Feb) Sir William Bagot Guy Spyne [1]
1388 (Sep) Sir William Bagot Guy Spyne [1]
1390 (Jan) Sir William Bagot Guy Spyne [1]
1390 (Nov) Sir William Bagot Guy Spyne [1]
1391 Sir William Bagot Guy Spyne [1]
1393 Sir William Bagot John Catesby [1]
1394 Sir William Bagot Sir Thomas Burdet [1]
1395 Sir William Bagot William Spernore [1]
1397 (Jan) Sir William Bagot Sir Thomas Clinton [1]
1397 (Sep) Sir William Bagot Thomas Crewe [1]
1399 Sir William Lucy Sir Alfred Trussell [1]
1401 Sir Thomas Burdet Sir Alfred Trussell [1]
1402 Sir William Bagot Sir Alfred Trussell [1]
1404 (Jan) Robert Hugford Roger Smart [1]
1404 (Oct) Thomas Crewe Thomas Raleigh [1]
1406 Sir Thomas Burdet Sir Thomas Lucy [1]
1407 Sir Alfred Trussell Henry Sutton [1]
1410 Sir William Mountfort [1]
1411 Sir Thomas Lucy Thomas Erdington [1]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May) William Birmingham John Mallory [1]
1414 (Apr) Robert Castell Thomas Stafford [1]
1414 (Nov) John Harewell John Knightley [1]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417
1419 Sir Thomas Burdet John Mallory [1]
1420 Sir John Cokayne William Peyto [1]
1421 (May) William Holt John Mallory [1]
1421 (Dec) Sir John Cokayne John Chetwynd [1]
1422 Sir William Mountfort [2] Robert Castell [3]
1423 Sir William Mountfort [2]
1427 Sir William Mountfort [2]
1429 Sir William Mountfort [2]
1437 Sir William Mountfort [2]
1445 Sir William Mountfort Sir Thomas Malory
1450 Sir William Mountfort [2]
1463 Sir Simon Mountford < [4]
1485 Sir Simon Mountford William Hugford [4]
1491 Sir Simon Mountford [4]
1510–1523No names known [5]
1529 Sir George Throckmorton Sir Edward Ferrers [5]
1536
1539 Richard Catesby John Greville [5]
1542
1545 Sir Fulke Greville Sir Marmaduke Constable [5]
1547 Sir Fulke Greville Robert Burdett, died
and replaced Jan 1552 by Sir Marmaduke Constable [5]
1553 (Mar) Sir Richard Catesby Robert Throckmorton [5]
1553 (Oct) Robert Throckmorton Thomas Marrow [5]
1554 (Apr) (Sir) William Wigston Sir Fulke Greville [5]
1554 (Nov) Sir Fulke Greville Sir William Wigston [5]
1555Sir Robert Throckmorton Sir William Wigston [5]
1558 Sir Ambrose Cave Thomas Throckmorton [5]
1558–1559 Sir Ambrose Cave Thomas Lucy [6]
1562–1563 Sir Ambrose Cave Clement Throckmorton [6]
1571 Sir Thomas Lucy John Huband [6]
1572 (Apr) Sir William Devereux, died
and replaced Nov 1584 by George Digby 		Clement Throckmorton, died
and replaced Mar 1575 by John Huband [6]
1584 (Nov) Sir Thomas Lucy George Digby [6]
1586 (Oct) Sir John Harington Fulke Greville [6]
1588 (Oct) Fulke Greville Richard Verney [6]
1593 Fulke Greville Edward Greville [6]
1597 (Oct) Fulke Greville William Combe [6]
1601 Fulke Greville Sir Robert Digby [6]
1604 Sir Edward Greville Sir Richard Verney
1614 Sir Thomas Lucy Sir Richard Verney
1621 Sir Thomas Lucy Sir Fulke Greville ennobled 1621
and replaced by Sir Francis Leigh
1624 Sir Thomas Lucy Sir Clement Throckmorton
1625 Sir Thomas Lucy Sir Clement Throckmorton
1626 Sir Thomas Lucy Sir Clement Throckmorton
1628 Sir Thomas Lucy Sir Thomas Leigh, 2nd Baronet
1629–1640No Parliaments summoned

1640–1832

YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party
November 1640 Lord Compton Royalist Edward Combe [7]
December 1640 Sir Richard Shuckburgh Royalist
March 1643Compton inherited the Earldom
of Northampton – seat vacant
January 1644Shuckburgh disabled from sitting – seat vacant
1645 Thomas Boughton Sir John Burgoyne
December 1648Boughton and Burgoyne excluded in Pride's Purge – both seats vacant
1653 John St Nicholas Richard Lucy
Representation increased to four members in First Protectorate Parliament
1654 Richard Lucy, Thomas Willoughby, Sir Richard Temple, William Purefoy
1656 Richard Lucy, (Sir) Roger Burgoyne, Edward Peyto, Joseph Hawkesworth
Representation reverted to two members in Third Protectorate Parliament
January 1659 Richard Lucy Joseph Hawkesworth
May 1659 Warwickshire was not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660 Thomas Archer George Browne
1661 Sir Robert Holte, Bt Sir Henry Puckering, Bt
1679 Sir Edward Boughton, Bt Robert Burdett Tory
1681 Sir Richard Newdigate, Bt Thomas Mariet
1685 Sir Charles Holte, Bt Sir Richard Verney
1689 Sir Richard Newdigate, Bt
1690 William Bromley Andrew Archer
1698 Sir John Mordaunt, Bt Sir Charles Shuckburgh, Bt
1705 Andrew Archer
1710 Lord Compton
1712 Sir William Boughton, Bt
1713 Andrew Archer
1715 William Peyto
1722 Robert Digby Tory
1726 Edward Digby Tory
1734 Sir Charles Mordaunt, Bt
1746 Hon. William Craven
1765 William Throckmorton Bromley
1769 Thomas Skipwith, Bt
1774 Sir Charles Holte, Bt
1780 Sir Robert Lawley, Bt Sir George Shuckburgh, Bt
1793 Sir John Mordaunt, Bt
1802 Dugdale Stratford Dugdale
1804 Charles Mordaunt
1820 Francis Lawley Whig
1831 Sir Grey Skipwith, Bt Whig
1832 Constituency abolished

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 "History of Parliament" . Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 History of Parliament Online
  3. ↑ History of Parliament
  4. 1 2 3 Cavill, P. R. (13 August 2009). The English Parliaments of Henry VII. ISBN   9780191610264.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "History of Parliament" . Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History of Parliament" . Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  7. ↑ The election of Compton and Combe was declared void on 2 December 1640, because the Sheriff had cut short the election; however, Compton was re-elected in the subsequent by-election

Related Research Articles

Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 until 1707, then the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1801 and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1885 when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

Derbyshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Knights of the Shire.

Berkshire was a parliamentary constituency in England, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. The county returned two knights of the shire until 1832 and three between 1832 and 1885.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newton (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1983

Newton was a parliamentary borough in the county of Lancashire, in England. It was represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1559 to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until its abolition in 1832.

Birmingham was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the city of Birmingham, in what is now the West Midlands Metropolitan County, but at the time was Warwickshire.

Ilchester was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832. It was one of the most notoriously corrupt rotten boroughs.

Durham or County Durham was a county constituency in northern England, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1675 until 1832.

Droitwich was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of England in 1295, and again from 1554, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was a parliamentary borough in Worcestershire, represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832, and by one member from 1832 to 1885. The name was then transferred to a county constituency electing one MP from 1885 until 1918.

Plymouth was a parliamentary borough in Devon, which elected two members of parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons in 1298 and again from 1442 until 1918, when the borough was merged with the neighbouring Devonport and the combined area divided into three single-member constituencies.

East Retford was a parliamentary constituency in Nottinghamshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons for the first time in 1316, and continuously from 1571 until 1885, when the constituency was abolished. Although East Retford was technically a parliamentary borough for the whole of its existence, in 1830 its franchise had been widened and its boundaries had been extended to include the whole Wapentake of Bassetlaw as a remedy for corruption among the voters, and from that point onward it resembled a county constituency in most respects.

Downton was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

Okehampton was a parliamentary borough in Devon, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons in 1301 and 1313, then continuously from 1640 to 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

Whitchurch was a parliamentary borough in the English County of Hampshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1586 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

Winchelsea was a parliamentary constituency in Sussex, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1366 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

Norfolk was a County constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290 to 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament. In 1832 the county was divided for parliamentary purposes into two new two member divisions – East Norfolk and West Norfolk.

Lincolnshire was a county constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which returned two Members of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons from 1290 until 1832.

Hampshire was a county constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832.

Kent was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Kent in southeast England. It returned two "knights of the shire" to the House of Commons by the bloc vote system from the year 1290. Members were returned to the Parliament of England until the Union with Scotland created the Parliament of Great Britain in 1708, and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom after the union with Ireland in 1801 until the county was divided by the Reform Act 1832.

Staffordshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832.

Hertfordshire was a county constituency covering the county of Hertfordshire in England. It returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1800 until 1832. The Reform Act 1832 gave the county a third seat with effect from the 1832 general election.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.