Bridgnorth (UK Parliament constituency)

Bridgnorth
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
County Shropshire
Major settlements Bridgnorth
1295–1885
Number of members 1295–1868:Two
1868–1885: One
Replaced by Ludlow

Bridgnorth was a parliamentary borough in Shropshire which was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1295 until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until its abolition in 1885.

It was represented by two burgesses until 1868, when it was reduced to one Member of Parliament (MP).

Boundaries

According to the 1881 census, the borough of Bridgnorth comprised the parishes of Quatford, part of Quatt, St. Leonard and St Mary (in Bridgnorth town), Astley Abbotts, Eardingdon, Oldbury, Romsley and Tasley. This was smaller than the municipal borough, which only contained the first four.[1]

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
ParliamentFirst memberSecond member
1388 (Feb)John FarnalesWilliam Palmer I [2]
1388 (Sep)William Palmer IWilliam Goldsmith [2]
1390 (Jan)William Palmer IJohn Farnales [2]
1390 (Nov)
1391William Palmer IThomas Horde [2]
1393William Palmer IJohn Farnales [2]
1394William Palmer IJohn Farnales [2]
1395William Palmer IJohn Farnales [2]
1397 (Jan)William Palmer IJohn Blockley [2]
1397 (Sep)
1399William Palmer IThomas Horde [2]
1402Hugh HarnageJohn Bruyn [2]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406Hugh HarnageWalter Green [2]
1407Walter GreenJohn Cook [2]
1410... Lange [2]
1411Thomas HoptonHugh Stanford [2]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)Hugh StanfordThomas Green [2]
1414 (Apr)Richard ParlourThomas Odyes [2]
1414 (Nov)Richard HordeRichard Parlour [2]
1415
1416 (Mar)Richard HordeRichard Parlour [2]
1416 (Oct)
1417Richard HordeRichard Parlour [2]
1419Richard HordeRichard Parlour [2]
1420Richard HordeWilliam Stapeley [2]
1421 (May)Thomas GreenRobert Aylesbury [2]
1421 (Dec)Thomas GreenRichard Parlour [2]
1425John Bruyn [3]
1510-1523No names known[4]
1529Humphrey GoldstonGeorge Hayward [4]
1536?
1539?
1542Edward HallWilliam Grey [4]
1545Edward HallHenry Blount [4]
1547Roger SmithJohn Pulley [4]
1553 (Mar)Ambrose GilberdRoger Smith [4]
1553 (Oct)Sir George BlountJerome Horde [4]
1554 (Apr)Jerome HordeWilliam Acton [4]
1554 (Nov)John HordeJerome Horde [4]
1555Jerome HordeWilliam Acton [4]
1558John BrokeThomas Bromley [4]
1559Sir George BlountRichard Prince[5]
1562/3John BrokeEdward Cordell [5]
1571Henry TownshendThomas Otley [5]
1572Henry TownshendThomas Seckford, died
and replaced in 1580 by Edmund Molyneux [5]
1584Jerome CorbetWalter Lee [5]
1586Edward BromleyJohn Lutwich [5]
1588Edward BromleyJohn Lutwich [5]
1593Edward BromleyJohn Lutwich [5]
1597Edward BromleyJohn Lutwich [5]
1601Thomas HordeEdward Bromley [5]
1604Sir Lewis LewknorEdward Bromley,
replaced by Francis Lacon
1614John PierseRichard Singe
1621-1622Sir John HaywardWilliam Whitmore
1624Sir William WhitmoreGeorge Smith
1625Sir William WhitmoreGeorge Vernon
1626Sir Richard SheltonGeorge Vernon
1628-1629Sir Richard SheltonSir George Paule
1629–1640No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1868

ElectedFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party
April 1640 Edward ActonRoyalist (Sir) Thomas Whitmore
November 1640 (Sir) Thomas Whitmore [6]Royalist
February 1644 Acton and Whitmore disabled to sit - both seats vacant
1646 Robert Clive Robert Charlton
December 1648 Clive and Charlton not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge
1653 Bridgnorth was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654 William Crown Bridgnorth had only one seat in the First and
Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656 Edmund Waring
January 1659 Edmund Waring John Humphrys
May 1659 Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660 Sir Walter Acton John Bennet
1661 Sir William Whitmore, Bt
1663 Sir Thomas Whitmore
1685 Roger Pope
1689 Sir Edward Acton, BtTory
1694 Roger Pope
1702 Sir Humphrey Brigges, Bt
1705 William Whitmore
1710 Whitmore Acton Richard CresswellTory
1713 William Whitmore John Weaver
1725 St John Charlton
1734 Thomas Whitmore Grey James Grove
1741 William Whitmore
1747 Arthur Weaver
1754 Hon. John Grey William Whitmore [7]
1768 The Lord Pigot
1771 Thomas Whitmore
1778 Hugh Pigot [8]Whig
1784 Isaac Hawkins Browne
1795 John Whitmore
1806 Thomas Whitmore
1812 Hon. Charles Jenkinson
1818 Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt Jones
1820 William Wolryche-Whitmore
1831 James Foster
1832 Robert PigotTory Thomas Charlton WhitmoreTory
1834 Conservative Conservative
1837 Henry Hanbury-TracyLiberal
1838 by-election Sir Robert PigotConservative
1852 Henry WhitmoreConservative
1853 by-election[9] John PritchardConservative
1865[10] Sir John Dalberg-Acton, BtLiberal
'1866[10] Henry WhitmoreConservative
1868 Representation reduced to one Member

MPs 1868–1885

ElectionMemberParty
1868 Henry WhitmoreConservative
1870 by-election William Henry FosterLiberal
1880 Conservative
1885 Constituency abolished under the Redistribution of Seats Act

Election results

Elections in the 1850s

General Election 1852: Bridgnorth (2 seats)[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Whitmore 443 40.8
Conservative Robert Pigot 360 33.1
Whig Frederick William Cadogan[12] 283 26.1
Majority 77 7.1
Turnout 685 (est) 95.5 (est)
Registered electors 717
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Pigot's election was declared void on petition due to bribery, causing a by-election.[13]

By-election, 22 March 1853: Bridgnorth[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative John Pritchard Unopposed
Conservative hold
General Election 1857: Bridgnorth (2 seats)[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Whitmore Unopposed
Conservative John Pritchard Unopposed
Registered electors 678
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Whitmore was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 3 March 1858: Bridgnorth[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Whitmore Unopposed
Conservative hold
General Election 1859: Bridgnorth (2 seats)[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Whitmore Unopposed
Conservative John Pritchard Unopposed
Registered electors 708
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General Election 1865: Bridgnorth (2 seats)[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative John Pritchard 299 34.1 N/A
Liberal John Dalberg-Acton 289 33.0 N/A
Conservative Henry Whitmore 288 32.9 N/A
Turnout 583 (est) 94.9 (est) N/A
Registered electors 614
Majority 10 1.1 N/A
Conservative hold Swing N/A
Majority 1 0.1 N/A
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A

On 22 March 1866, after scrutiny, Dalberg-Acton was unseated and Whitmore was duly elected in his place.

Whitmore was then appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 21 Jul 1866: Bridgnorth (1 seat)[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Whitmore Unopposed
Conservative hold

The seat was reduced to one member for the 1868 election.

General Election 1868: Bridgnorth[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Whitmore 548 52.4 −14.6
Liberal John Dalberg-Acton 497 47.6 +14.6
Majority 51 4.9 +3.8
Turnout 1,045 81.7 −13.2
Registered electors 1,279
Conservative hold Swing −14.6

Elections in the 1870s

Whitmore resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 16 Feb 1870: Bridgnorth[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Henry Foster Unopposed
Liberal gain from Conservative
General Election 1874: Bridgnorth[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Henry Foster 701 71.8 +24.2
Conservative George Barbour[14] 275 28.2 −24.2
Majority 426 43.6 N/A
Turnout 976 77.0 −4.7
Registered electors 1,267
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +24.2

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1880: Bridgnorth[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative William Henry Foster 641 66.6 +38.4
Liberal Edward Reid Vyvyan[15] 321 33.4 −38.4
Majority 320 33.3 N/A
Turnout 962 78.6 +1.6
Registered electors 1,224
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +38.4
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Sources

  • Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
  • D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
  • Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
  • David Hayton, 'The Country Party in the House of Commons 1698-1699', Parliamentary History, volume 6 (1987), 141-63
  • Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 59–60. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 5)

Notes and references

  1. ↑
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "History of Parliament". History of Parliament trust. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  3. ↑ "BRUYN, John (d.c.1437), of Bridgnorth, Salop". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "History of Parliament". History of Parliament trust. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History of Parliament". History of Parliament trust. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  6. ↑ Created a baronet, June 1641
  7. ↑ Later Lieutenant-General
  8. ↑ Later Admiral
  9. ↑ The re-election of Sir Robert Pigot at the 1852 general election was voided on petition, triggering the 1853 by-election. A petition was also lodged against Henry Whitmore, but was dismissed.
  10. 1 2 The election in 1865 of Sir John Dalberg-Acton, Bt was overturned on petition in 1866, and in 1866 the seat was awarded instead to Henry Whitmore
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book)|format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  12. ↑ "Miscellaneous News". Coventry Herald. 2 July 1852. p. 6. Retrieved 18 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  13. ↑ "The Parliamentary Election Inquiries". Leeds Times. 5 March 1853. p. 8. Retrieved 18 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  14. ↑ "Bridgnorth Election". Eddowes's Journal, and General Advertiser for Shropshire, and the Principality of Wales. 11 February 1874. p. 7. Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  15. ↑ "The General Election". Leicester Chronicle. 3 April 1880. p. 8. Retrieved 18 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).

See also

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