Bridport | |
---|---|
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
1295–1885 | |
Seats | two (1295-1868); one (1868-1885) |
Replaced by | West Dorset |
Bridport was a parliamentary borough in Dorset, England, which elected two Members of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1868, and then one member from 1868 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.
Bridport was continuously represented in Parliament from the first. The medieval borough consisted of the parish of Bridport, a small port and market town, where the main economic interests were sailcloth and rope-making, as well as some fishing. (For some time in the 16th century, the town had a monopoly of making all cordage for the navy.) By 1831, the population of the borough was 4,242, and the town contained 678 houses.
The right to vote was at one period reserved to the town corporation (consisting of two bailiffs and 13 "capital burgesses"), but from 1628 it was exercised by all inhabitant householders paying scot and lot. This was a relatively liberal franchise for the period but nevertheless meant that only a fraction of the townsmen could vote: in 1806, the general election at which Bridport had the highest turnout in the last few years before the Reform Act, a total of 260 residents voted.
Bridport never reached the status of a pocket borough with an openly recognised "patron": the voters retained their freedom of choice and generally expected to extort a price for their votes, so much so that Oldfield recorded of one election in the early 19th century that "several candidates left them at the last election, in consequence of their demanding payment beforehand". Nevertheless, at various periods the borough came under the influence of local grandees and would usually return at least one of their nominees as MPs: the Russells (Dukes of Bedford) in the Elizabethan period and the Sturts in the latter half of the 18th century could normally rely on choosing one member. In 1572 the then Earl of Bedford made use of this influence to have his oldest son elected in defiance of the convention that the heirs of peers could not be members of the House of Commons; the only previous instance had been that of the Earl himself, who had remained an MP when he became heir to the Earldom in 1555. By vote of the House, the young Lord Russell was allowed to keep his seat for Bridport, and the precedent allowed other peers' heirs to sit from that point onwards.
Bridport retained both its seats under the Reform Act, the boundaries being extended to give it the requisite population - parts of the neighbouring parishes of Bradpole, Allington and Waldich, as well as Bridport Harbour, were brought in, increasing the population to about 6,000; in the election of 1832, the first after Reform, the registered electorate was 425. However, the constituency was too small to survive for long. One of its members was removed after the election of 1868 by the Second Reform Act; and the borough was abolished altogether in 1885, the town being incorporated into the Western Dorset county division.
MPs 1295-1640 — MPs 1640-1868 — MPs 1868-1885 — Elections — References — Sources |
![]() |
Year | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1868 | Thomas Alexander Mitchell | Liberal | |
1875 by-election | Pandeli Ralli | Liberal | |
1880 | Charles Warton | Conservative | |
1885 | Constituency abolished |
1830s – 1840s – 1850s – 1860s – 1870s – 1880s – References – Sources |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Henry Warburton | Unopposed | |||
Tory | Sir Horace St Paul, 1st Baronet | Unopposed | |||
Radical hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Henry Warburton | Unopposed | |||
Tory | Sir Horace St Paul, 1st Baronet | Unopposed | |||
Radical hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Henry Warburton | 271 | 40.3 | N/A | |
Whig | John Romilly | 219 | 32.6 | N/A | |
Tory | Richard William Astell | 182 | 27.1 | N/A | |
Turnout | 400 | 94.1 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 425 | ||||
Majority | 52 | 7.7 | N/A | ||
Radical hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Majority | 37 | 5.5 | N/A | ||
Whig gain from Tory | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Henry Warburton | 244 | 37.5 | −2.8 | |
Conservative | Horace Twiss | 207 | 31.8 | +4.7 | |
Whig | John Romilly | 199 | 30.6 | −2.0 | |
Turnout | 394 | 93.8 | −0.3 | ||
Registered electors | 420 | ||||
Majority | 37 | 5.7 | −2.0 | ||
Radical hold | Swing | −2.6 | |||
Majority | 8 | 1.2 | N/A | ||
Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +3.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Henry Warburton | 283 | 38.9 | +20.2 | |
Radical | Swynfen Jervis | 232 | 31.9 | +13.2 | |
Conservative | Henry Baillie | 212 | 29.2 | −2.6 | |
Majority | 20 | 2.7 | −3.0 | ||
Turnout | 445 | 88.1 | −5.7 | ||
Registered electors | 505 | ||||
Radical hold | Swing | +10.8 | |||
Radical gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Henry Warburton | 304 | 36.6 | −2.3 | |
Radical | Thomas Alexander Mitchell | 282 | 34.0 | +2.1 | |
Conservative | Alexander Baillie-Cochrane | 244 | 29.4 | +0.2 | |
Majority | 38 | 4.6 | +1.9 | ||
Turnout | 506 | 90.8 | +2.7 | ||
Registered electors | 557 | ||||
Radical hold | Swing | −1.2 | |||
Radical hold | Swing | +1.0 |
Warburton resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alexander Baillie-Cochrane | Unopposed | |||
Conservative gain from Radical |
Baillie-Cochrane resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds in order to seek re-election as a supporter of free trade.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alexander Baillie-Cochrane | 240 | 50.1 | +20.7 | |
Whig | John Romilly | 239 | 49.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 1 | 0.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 479 | 83.9 | −6.9 | ||
Registered electors | 571 | ||||
Conservative gain from Radical | Swing | N/A |
After scrutiny, Baillie-Cochrane's election was declared void and Romilly was declared elected on 28 April 1846.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alexander Baillie-Cochrane | 276 | 35.6 | +6.2 | |
Radical | Thomas Alexander Mitchell | 267 | 34.4 | −36.2 | |
Whig | Edward Richard Petre [29] [30] | 222 | 28.6 | N/A | |
Conservative | Robert Montgomery Martin [31] | 11 | 1.4 | N/A | |
Turnout | 388 (est) | 58.5 (est) | −32.3 | ||
Registered electors | 663 | ||||
Majority | 9 | 1.2 | N/A | ||
Conservative gain from Radical | Swing | +21.2 | |||
Majority | 45 | 5.8 | +1.2 | ||
Radical hold | Swing | −21.2 |
Martin withdrew his name early into polling. [32]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Thomas Alexander Mitchell | 366 | 45.4 | +28.2 | |
Radical | John Patrick Murrough | 249 | 30.9 | +13.7 | |
Conservative | John Rolt [33] | 191 | 23.7 | −13.3 | |
Majority | 58 | 7.2 | +1.4 | ||
Turnout | 403 (est) | 76.9 (est) | +18.4 | ||
Registered electors | 524 | ||||
Radical hold | Swing | +17.4 | |||
Radical gain from Conservative | Swing | +10.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Thomas Alexander Mitchell | 330 | 45.3 | −0.1 | |
Whig | Kirkman Hodgson | 290 | 39.8 | N/A | |
Conservative | William Unwin Heygate | 109 | 15.0 | −8.7 | |
Turnout | 365 (est) | 76.4 (est) | −0.5 | ||
Registered electors | 478 | ||||
Majority | 40 | 5.5 | −1.7 | ||
Radical hold | Swing | +4.3 | |||
Majority | 181 | 24.8 | N/A | ||
Whig gain from Radical | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Thomas Alexander Mitchell | 334 | 42.1 | −3.2 | |
Liberal | Kirkman Hodgson | 290 | 36.5 | −3.3 | |
Conservative | Henry Hyde Nugent Bankes [34] | 170 | 21.4 | +6.4 | |
Majority | 120 | 15.1 | +9.6 | ||
Turnout | 397 (est) | 79.2 (est) | +2.8 | ||
Registered electors | 501 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −3.2 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | −3.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Thomas Alexander Mitchell | Unopposed | |||
Liberal | Kirkman Hodgson | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 472 | ||||
Liberal hold | |||||
Liberal hold |
The seat was reduced to one member.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Thomas Alexander Mitchell | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 1,027 | ||||
Liberal hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Thomas Alexander Mitchell | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 1,045 | ||||
Liberal hold |
Mitchell's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Pandeli Ralli | 620 | 76.6 | N/A | |
Conservative | Charles Whetham [35] | 189 | 23.4 | New | |
Majority | 431 | 53.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 809 | 80.0 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 1,011 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Charles Warton | 468 | 50.5 | N/A | |
Liberal | Pandeli Ralli | 459 | 49.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 9 | 1.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 927 | 85.4 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 1,085 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |
![]() |
Bridgwater is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a constituency in northern Staffordshire created in 1354 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Adam Jogee of the Labour Party. It was the last to be co-represented by a member of the Conservative Party when it was dual-member, before the 1885 general election which followed the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 coupled with the Reform Act 1884. In 1919 the local MP, Josiah Wedgwood, shifted his allegiance from the Liberal Party — the Lloyd George Coalition Liberals allying with the Conservatives — to the Labour Party and the seat elected the Labour candidate who has stood at each election for the next hundred years, a total of 29 elections in succession. Labour came close to losing the seat in 1969, 1986, 2015 and 2017, and eventually lost the seat in 2019.
Poole is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Neil Duncan-Jordan, a Labour politician.
Warwick was a parliamentary borough consisting of the town of Warwick, within the larger Warwickshire constituency of England. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of England from 1295 to 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and then to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885.
Montgomery was a constituency in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons of Great Britain and later in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one MP, but was abolished in 1918.
Tiverton was a constituency located in Tiverton in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Enfranchised as a parliamentary borough in 1615 and first represented in 1621, it elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the first past the post system of election until 1885. The name was then transferred to a county constituency electing one MP.
Beverley has been the name of a parliamentary constituency in the East Riding of Yorkshire for three periods. From medieval times until 1869 it was a parliamentary borough consisting of a limited electorate of property owners of its early designated borders within the market town of Beverley, which returned (elected) two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the English and Welsh-turned-UK Parliament during that period.
Rye was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Rye in East Sussex. It returned two Members of Parliament to the Parliament of England before 1707, Parliament of Great Britain until 1801 and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until its representation was halved under the Reform Act 1832.
Thirsk was a parliamentary borough in Yorkshire, represented in the English and later British House of Commons in 1295, and again from 1547. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832, and by one member from 1832 to 1885, when the constituency was abolished and absorbed into the new Thirsk and Malton division of the North Riding of Yorkshire.
Marylebone was a parliamentary constituency in Middlesex, England from 1832 to 1885. The parliamentary borough formed part of the built up area of London, and returned two members to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament and was created under the Reform Act 1832. It was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885 which split it into 8 seats.
Haverfordwest was a parliamentary constituency. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
Andover was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1295 to 1307, and again from 1586, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was a parliamentary borough in Hampshire, represented by two Members of Parliament until 1868, and by one member from 1868 to 1885. The name was then transferred to a county constituency electing one MP from 1885 until 1918.
Boston was a parliamentary borough in Lincolnshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1547 until 1885, and then one member from 1885 until 1918, when the constituency was abolished.
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.
Lyme Regis was a parliamentary borough in Dorset, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1868, when the borough was abolished.
Wareham was a parliamentary borough in Dorset, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1302 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.
Shaftesbury was a parliamentary constituency in Dorset. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England, Great Britain and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1295 until 1832 and one member until the constituency was abolished in 1885.
Sandwich was a parliamentary constituency in Kent, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1366 until 1885, when it was disfranchised for corruption.
Sir Lewis Dyve was an English Member of Parliament and a Royalist adherent during the English Civil War. His surname is sometimes also spelt Dive or Dives.