Bridgnorth | |
---|---|
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Shropshire |
Major settlements | Bridgnorth |
1295–1885 | |
Seats | 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).
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]
By the eighteenth century Bridgnorth had one of the widest franchises in England, consisting of "the burgesses and freement within and without the borough". [2] There were more than a thousand voters in the contested elections of 1727, 1734 and 1741 [3] although in 1920 it was noted as 700. [2] Between 1661 and 1870 at least one of the MPs for Bridgnorth came from the Whitmore family. [3]
MPs 1295-1640 — MPs 1640-1868 — MPs 1868-1885 — Elections — See also — Notes and references — Sources |
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1868 | Henry Whitmore | Conservative | |
1870 by-election | William Henry Foster | Liberal | |
1880 | Conservative | ||
1885 | Constituency abolished under the Redistribution of Seats Act |
1830s – 1840s – 1850s – 1860s – 1870s – 1880s – See also – Notes and references – Sources |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Thomas Whitmore | 721 | 41.0 | ||
Whig | William Wolryche-Whitmore | 669 | 38.0 | ||
Tory | Richard Arkwright | 369 | 21.0 | ||
Turnout | 986 | 1,759 | |||
Majority | 52 | 3.0 | |||
Tory hold | Swing | ||||
Majority | 300 | 17.0 | |||
Whig hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | William Wolryche-Whitmore | Unopposed | |||
Whig | James Foster | Unopposed | |||
Whig hold | |||||
Whig gain from Tory |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Robert Pigot | Unopposed | |||
Tory | Thomas Charlton Whitmore | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 746 | ||||
Tory gain from Whig | |||||
Tory gain from Whig |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Charlton Whitmore | 490 | 38.7 | N/A | |
Conservative | Robert Pigot | 423 | 33.4 | N/A | |
Whig | Henry Hanbury-Tracy | 353 | 27.9 | New | |
Majority | 70 | 5.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 698 | 88.2 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 791 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Charlton Whitmore | 429 | 36.8 | −1.9 | |
Whig | Henry Hanbury-Tracy | 371 | 31.8 | +3.9 | |
Conservative | Robert Pigot | 367 | 31.4 | −2.0 | |
Turnout | 727 | 92.0 | +3.8 | ||
Registered electors | 790 | ||||
Majority | 58 | 5.0 | −0.5 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −1.9 | |||
Majority | 4 | 0.4 | N/A | ||
Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | +3.9 | |||
Hanbury-Tracy resigned, by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, after a petition was lodged against his election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Pigot | Unopposed | |||
Conservative gain from Whig |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Charlton Whitmore | 496 | 39.3 | +2.5 | |
Conservative | Robert Pigot | 475 | 37.6 | +6.2 | |
Whig | Frederick John Howard [18] | 225 | 17.8 | +1.9 | |
Whig | Nicholas Throckmorton [19] | 66 | 5.2 | −10.7 | |
Majority | 250 | 19.8 | +14.8 | ||
Turnout | 703 | 86.8 | −5.2 | ||
Registered electors | 810 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.5 | |||
Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +5.3 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Charlton Whitmore | 611 | 44.7 | +8.4 | |
Conservative | Robert Pigot | 388 | 28.4 | −9.2 | |
Radical | John Easthope [20] | 368 | 26.9 | +3.9 | |
Majority | 20 | 1.5 | −18.3 | ||
Turnout | 684 (est) | 81.6 (est) | −5.2 | ||
Registered electors | 838 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.2 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | −5.6 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Henry Whitmore | 443 | 40.8 | −3.9 | |
Conservative | Robert Pigot | 360 | 33.1 | +4.7 | |
Whig | Frederick William Cadogan [21] | 283 | 26.1 | −0.8 | |
Majority | 77 | 7.0 | +5.5 | ||
Turnout | 685 (est) | 95.5 (est) | +13.9 | ||
Registered electors | 717 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | −1.8 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.6 | |||
Pigot's election was declared void on petition due to bribery, causing a by-election. [22]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Pritchard | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold | |||||
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.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Henry Whitmore | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Henry Whitmore | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | John Pritchard | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 708 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Pritchard | 299 | 34.1 | N/A | |
Liberal | John Dalberg-Acton | 289 | 33.0 | New | |
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.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Henry Whitmore | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold | |||||
The seat was reduced to one member for the 1868 election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Henry Whitmore | 548 | 52.4 | −14.6 | |
Liberal | John Dalberg-Acton | 497 | 47.6 | +14.6 | |
Majority | 51 | 4.8 | +3.7 | ||
Turnout | 1,045 | 81.7 | −13.2 | ||
Registered electors | 1,279 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | −14.6 | |||
Whitmore resigned, causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Henry Foster | Unopposed | |||
Liberal gain from Conservative |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Henry Foster | 701 | 71.8 | +24.2 | |
Conservative | George Barbour [23] | 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 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Henry Foster | 641 | 66.6 | +38.4 | |
Liberal | Edward Reid Vyvyan [24] | 321 | 33.4 | −38.4 | |
Majority | 320 | 33.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 962 | 78.6 | +1.6 | ||
Registered electors | 1,224 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +38.4 | |||
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