Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Ayrshire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland Ayrshire
1708–1868
Number of members One
Replaced by North Ayrshire
South Ayrshire.
Created from Ayrshire

Ayrshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1868, when it was divided into North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire.

It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.

Boundaries

The Ayrshire constituency represented the county of Ayrshire, minus the parliamentary burghs of Ayr and Irvine, which were components of the Ayr Burghs constituency.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1708 Francis Montgomerie
1710 John Montgomerie
1713
1715
1722
1727 James Campbell Whig
1734
1741 Patrick Crauford
1747
1754 James Mure-Campbell, later Earl of Loudoun
1761 Archibald Montgomerie, later Earl of Eglinton Whig
1768 David Kennedy, later Earl of Cassillis
1774 Sir Adam Fergusson
1780 Hugh Montgomerie, later Earl of Eglinton
1781 Sir Adam Fergusson
1784 Hugh Montgomerie, later Earl of Eglinton
1789 William MacDowall (Ayrshire MP)
1790 Sir Adam Fergusson
1796 Hugh Montgomerie, later Earl of Eglinton
1796 William Fullarton Whig
1801
1802
1803 Sir Hew Dalrymple-Hamilton
1806
1807 David Boyle
1811 Sir Hew Dalrymple-Hamilton
1812
1818 James Montgomerie
1820
1826
1829 William Blair Tory[1]
1830
1831
1832 Richard Alexander Oswald Whig[1]
1835 John Dunlop Whig[1]
1837
1839 Viscount Kelburn, later Earl of Glasgow Conservative[1]
1841
1843 Alexander Haldane Oswald Conservative
1847
1852 James Hunter Blair Conservative
1854 Sir James Fergusson Conservative
1857 Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart Whig[2][3][4]
1859 Liberal
1859 Sir James Fergusson Conservative
1865

Election results

Elections in the 1850s

General Election 1852: Ayrshire[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative James Hunter Blair 1,301 52.0 N/A
Peelite Edward Cardwell[6] 1,200 48.0 N/A
Majority 101 4.0 N/A
Turnout 2,501 65.4 N/A
Registered electors 3,823
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Blair's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 30 December 1854: Ayrshire[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative James Fergusson 1,510 52.2 +0.2
Peelite Alexander Haldane Oswald 1,381 47.8 −0.2
Majority 129 4.5 +0.5
Turnout 2,891 75.6 +10.2
Registered electors 3,823
Conservative hold Swing +0.2
General Election 1857: Ayrshire[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig Patrick Crichton-Stuart 1,663 53.3 +5.3
Conservative James Fergusson 1,458 46.7 −5.3
Majority 205 6.6 N/A
Turnout 3,121 78.5 +13.1
Registered electors 3,976
Whig gain from Conservative Swing +5.3
General Election 1859: Ayrshire[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Patrick Crichton-Stuart Unopposed
Registered electors 3,939
Liberal hold

Crichton-Stuart's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 31 October 1859: Ayrshire[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative James Fergusson 1,687 50.7 N/A
Liberal James Campbell[7] 1,641 49.3 N/A
Majority 46 1.4 N/A
Turnout 3,328 81.7 N/A
Registered electors 4,072
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General Election 1865: Ayrshire[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative James Fergusson Unopposed
Registered electors 4,642
Conservative gain from Liberal

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 196. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  2. ↑ Smith, Henry Stooks (1841). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. pp. 196–197. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Churton, Edward (1836). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836. p. 216. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Election Prospects". Morning Post. 22 June 1841. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book)|format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  6. ↑ "Polls on Wednesday". Greenock Advertiser. 10 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 5 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ "Ayrshire County Election". Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 5 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).

See also

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