The borough constituency (until 1885)
Until the Great Reform Act of 1832, the constituency consisted solely of the market town of Cockermouth in Cumberland. It first returned members to the Model Parliament of 1295, but its franchise then seems to have lapsed until 1641, when the Long Parliament passed a resolution (15 February 1641) to restore its ancient privileges.
The right of election in Cockermouth was vested in the burgage tenants of the borough, of whom there were about 300 in 1832. Cockermouth was considered a pocket borough, with the vast majority of the voters being under the influence of the Lowther family.
At the time of the 1831 census, the borough included just over 1,000 houses and had a population of 4,536. The Reform Act expanded the boundaries to bring in the neighbouring parishes of Eaglesfield, Brigham, Papcastle and Bridekirk, and part of Dovenby, increasing the population to 6,022 and encompassing 1,325 houses. This made the borough big enough to retain both its members. However, in the next wave of reform, introduced at the 1868 general election, one of Cockermouth's two seats was withdrawn, and in 1885 the borough was abolished altogether, although the name was transferred to the surrounding county constituency.
The county constituency (1885-1918)
The Cockermouth constituency created in 1885, strictly speaking The Cockermouth Division of Cumberland, was a compact division stretching westwards from Cockermouth to the sea, and including the much larger town of Workington. There was a significant Irish vote, and the Conservative victory in 1885 and subsequent Liberal gain of the seat in 1886 have been attributed to Parnell's shift of support from the one party to the other.
The constituency was divided between the new Workington and Penrith and Cockermouth divisions of Cumberland from 1918.
Members of Parliament
Cockermouth re-enfranchised by Parliament in Nov 1640
MPs 1885–1918
Cockermouth Division of Cumberland
Elections
Elections in the 1870s
Fletcher's suicide caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1880s
Wilfrid Lawson
Elections in the 1900s
Frederick Guest
Elections in the 1910s
Lawson
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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
References
- ↑ Fenwick was later elected for Northumberland, which he chose to represent, and ceased to sit for Cockermouth
- ↑ The election to replace Fenwick was disputed, and the Returning Officer made a double return, i.e. reported both candidates - Sir Thomas Sandford, Bt and Francis Allen - as elected, leaving Parliament to decide. The dispute was still unresolved when Sandford was declared disabled from sitting because of his Royalist sympathies in January 1644; Allen was admitted to sit in 1645.
- ↑ In a by-election in 1717, Seymour was defeated by Sir Wilfrid Lawson by 90 votes to 84, but Lawson was underage, and on petition Seymour was declared elected
- ↑ Wyndham was also elected for Taunton, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Cockermouth
- ↑ Created Earl of Thomond (in the peerage of Ireland), 1756
- ↑ Johnstone was re-elected at the general election of 1774, but was also elected for Appleby, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Cockermouth in this parliament
- ↑ Norton was also elected for Carlisle, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Cockermouth
- 1 2 Churton, Edward (1836). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836. pp. vii, 3.
- ↑ Kingsley, Nick (14 July 2013). "(55) Aglionby of Nunnery and Drawdykes Castle". Landed families of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ↑ Ward, J. T. (1967). "The Making of a Whig". Sir James Graham. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-349-00079-1. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ↑ "Cockermouth". Morning Post. 14 December 1832. p. 2. Retrieved 3 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ Hawkins, Angus (2015). "Notions of Representation". Victorian Political Culture: 'Habits of Heart & Mind'. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-19-872848-1.
- ↑ The Illustrated London News, Volume 6. Elm House. 1845. p. 184. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ↑ Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. pp. 134, 186. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ↑ Cragg, David (2016). "Chapter 8 — Joseph Cragg (1803–1878) and Hannah Grave (1803–1878)". Cragg Family Origins: Great Britain 1770–1859. David Cragg. p. 98. ISBN 9780994519207. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ↑ Coohill, Joseph, ed. (17 October 2011). "Free Trade Agendas: The Construction of an Article of Faith, 1837–50". Texts & Studies 5: Ideas of the Liberal Party: Perceptions, Agendas and Liberal Politics in the House of Commons, 1832–52. 30 (s2): 170–203. doi:10.1111/j.1750-0206.2011.00262.x. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ↑ "Cockermouth". Carlisle Patriot. 12 August 1854. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 3 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1855). Dod's Parliamentary Companion. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 279.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
- ↑ "Cockermouth". Carlisle Patriot. 18 September 1868. p. 8. Retrieved 4 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "The General Election". The Morning Post. 5 February 1874. p. 2. Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "Cockermouth Election". South Wales Daily News. 17 April 1879. Retrieved 6 October 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "Cockermouth Election". Rhyl Record and Advertiser. 19 April 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "The General Election". Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper. 4 Apr 1880. p. 7. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ The Liberal Year Book, 1907
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ The Liberal Year Book, 1907
- ↑ "Yesterday's Nominations". London Evening Standard. 8 Jul 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ The Liberal Year Book, 1907
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ The Liberal Year Book, 1907
- ↑ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ The Liberal Year Book, 1907
- ↑ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ The Liberal Year Book, 1907
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ↑ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1918
- 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)
- F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
- Michael Kinnear, "The British Voter" (London: Batsford, 1968)
- J Holladay Philbin, "Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales" (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
- Henry Stooks Smith, "The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847" (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
- Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol II" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991)
- "The Constitutional Yearbook, 1913" (London: National Unionist Association, 1913)
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 5)