Bristol | |
---|---|
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
1295–1885 | |
Seats | two |
Replaced by | Bristol East Bristol North Bristol South Bristol West |
Bristol was a two-member constituency, used to elect members to the House of Commons in the Parliaments of England (to 1707), Great Britain (1707–1800), and the United Kingdom (from 1801). The constituency existed until Bristol was divided into single member constituencies in 1885.
The historic port city of Bristol is located in what is now the South West Region of England. It straddles the border between the historic geographical counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset. It was usually accounted as a Gloucestershire borough in the later part of the 19th and the 20th centuries.
The parliamentary borough of Bristol was represented in Parliament from the 13th century, as one of the most important population centres in the Kingdom. Namier and Brooke comment that in 1754 the city was the second largest in the Kingdom and had the third largest electorate for an urban seat.
From the 1885 United Kingdom general election the city was divided into four single member seats. These were Bristol East, Bristol North, Bristol South and Bristol West.
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The use of Roman numerals in the list below denotes different politicians of the same name, not that the individuals concerned would have used the Roman numerals as part of their name.
Non Partisan denotes that the politician concerned is not known to have been associated with a party (not necessarily that he was not). Whilst Whig and Tory societies in the city continued to nominate candidates in the last half of the 18th century, the electoral labels used in Bristol had very little to do with what the MPs did in national politics.
Notes:-
During the existence of this constituency, Bristol was a city with the status of being a county of itself. That meant that the city was not subject to the administration of the officials of the geographic counties in which it was situated. In electoral terms it meant that the voters for the parliamentary borough included those qualified on the same 40 shilling freeholder franchise as that for a county constituency. Other electors qualified as freemen of the borough. These were the ancient right franchises, applicable to Bristol, preserved by the Reform Act 1832, which also introduced a broader occupation franchise for all borough constituencies.
Bristol was a fairly partisan constituency in the eighteenth century with two rival clubs - the Union Club for the Whigs and the Steadfast Society for the Tories. [12]
The bloc vote electoral system was used in two seat elections and first past the post for single member by-elections. Each voter had up to as many votes as there were seats to be filled. Votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration, in public, at the hustings (until the secret ballot was introduced in 1872).
Namier and Brooke, in The House of Commons 1754-1790, estimated the electorate of Bristol to number about 5,000. [13] When registration of electors was introduced in 1832 the city had 10,315 names on the electoral register.
Note on percentage change calculations: Where there was only one candidate of a party in successive elections, for the same number of seats, change is calculated on the party percentage vote. Where there was more than one candidate, in one or both successive elections for the same number of seats, then change is calculated on the individual percentage vote.
Note on sources: The information for the election results given below is taken from Sedgwick 1715–1754, Namier and Brooke 1754–1790, Stooks Smith 1790-1832 and from Craig thereafter. Where Stooks Smith gives additional information or differs from the other sources this is indicated in a note after the result.
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1710s – 1720s – 1730s – 1740s – 1750s – 1760s – 1770s – 1780s – 1790s – 1800s – 1810s – 1820s – 1830s – 1840s – 1850s – 1860s – 1870s – 1880s |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | William Daines | 1,936 | 24.87 | N/A | |
Whig | Joseph Earle | 1,879 | 24.14 | N/A | |
Tory | Philip Freke | 1,991 | 25.58 | N/A | |
Tory | Thomas Edwards | 1,978 | 25.41 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Joseph Earle | 2,141 | 37.22 | +13.08 | |
Whig | Abraham Elton | 1,869 | 32.49 | N/A | |
Tory | William Hart | 1,743 | 30.30 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Scrope | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Whig | Abraham Elton | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Abraham Elton | 2,428 | 38.15 | N/A | |
Tory | Thomas Coster | 2,071 | 32.54 | N/A | |
Whig | John Scrope | 1,866 | 29.32 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Edward Southwell | 2,651 | 54.61 | N/A | |
Non Partisan | Henry Combe | 2,203 | 45.39 | N/A | |
Majority | 448 | 9.23 | N/A | ||
Whig gain from Tory | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Abraham Elton | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Whig | Edward Southwell | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Robert Hoblyn | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Tory gain from Whig | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Edward Southwell | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Tory | Robert Hoblyn | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Robert Nugent | 2,592 | 37.04 | N/A | |
Tory | Richard Beckford | 2,245 | 32.09 | N/A | |
Tory | John Philipps | 2,160 | 30.87 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Jarrit Smith | 2,418 | 50.75 | N/A | |
Whig | John Spencer | 2,347 | 49.25 | N/A | |
Majority | 71 | 1.49 | N/A | ||
Tory hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Robert Nugent | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Whig hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Robert Nugent | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Tory | Jarrit Smith | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Robert Nugent | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Whig hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Robert Nugent | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Tory | Matthew Brickdale | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Robert Nugent | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Whig hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Henry Cruger | 3,565 | 39.56 | N/A | |
Whig | Edmund Burke | 2,707 | 30.04 | N/A | |
Tory | Matthew Brickdale | 2,456 | 27.26 | N/A | |
Whig | Robert Nugent | 283 | 3.14 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Matthew Brickdale | 2,771 | 37.62 | +10.36 | |
Tory | Henry Lippincott | 2,518 | 34.18 | N/A | |
Whig | Henry Cruger | 1,271 | 17.25 | −22.31 | |
Whig | Samuel Peach | 788 | 10.70 | N/A | |
Whig | Edmund Burke | 18 | 0.24 | −29.80 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | George Daubeny | 3,143 | 53.15 | N/A | |
Whig | Henry Cruger | 2,771 | 46.85 | N/A | |
Majority | 372 | 6.29 | N/A | ||
Tory hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Matthew Brickdale | 3,458 | 35.05 | −2.57 | |
Whig | Henry Cruger | 3,052 | 30.93 | +13.68 | |
Tory | George Daubeny | 2,984 | 30.24 | N/A | |
Whig | Samuel Peach | 373 | 3.73 | −6.97 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Henry Somerset | 544 | 49.54 | N/A | |
Whig | John Baker-Holroyd | 537 | 48.91 | N/A | |
Non Partisan | -. Lewis | 12 | 1.09 | N/A | |
Non Partisan | William Cunningham | 5 | 0.46 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Charles Bragge | 364 | 44.83 | −4.71 | |
Whig | John Baker-Holroyd | 340 | 41.87 | −7.04 | |
Whig | Benjamin Hobhouse | 108 | 13.30 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Charles Bragge | Co-opted | N/A | N/A | |
Whig | John Baker-Holroyd | Co-opted | N/A | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Charles Bragge | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Tory hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Charles Bragge | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Whig | Evan Baillie | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Charles Bragge | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Tory hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Charles Bathurst | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Whig | Evan Baillie | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Charles Bathurst | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Whig | Evan Baillie | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Richard Hart Davis | 1,907 | 89.03 | N/A | |
Radical | Henry Hunt | 235 | 10.97 | N/A | |
Radical | William Cobbett | 0 | 0.00 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,672 | 78.06 | N/A | ||
Tory hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Richard Hart Davis | 2,910 | 39.24 | N/A | |
Whig | Edward Protheroe | 2,435 | 32.84 | N/A | |
Whig | Samuel Romilly | 1,615 | 21.78 | N/A | |
Radical | Henry Hunt | 455 | 6.14 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Richard Hart Davis | 3,377 | 46.13 | +6.89 | |
Whig | Edward Protheroe | 2,259 | 30.86 | −1.98 | |
Whig | Hugh Duncan Baillie | 1,684 | 23.01 | +23.01 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Henry Bright | 2,975 | 50.45 | +50.45 | |
Tory | Richard Hart Davis | 2,795 | 47.40 | +1.27 | |
Whig | Hugh Duncan Baillie | 127 | 2.15 | −20.86 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Richard Hart Davis | 3,887 | 48.14 | +0.74 | |
Whig | Henry Bright | 2,314 | 28.66 | −21.79 | |
Whig | Edward Protheroe | 1,874 | 23.21 | +23.21 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Richard Hart Davis | 5,012 | 44.6 | ||
Whig | James Evan Baillie | 3,378 | 30.1 | ||
Whig | Edward Davis Protheroe | 2,842 | 25.3 | ||
Radical | James Acland | 8 | 0.0 | ||
Turnout | 6,311 | ||||
Majority | 1,634 | 14.5 | |||
Tory hold | Swing | ||||
Majority | 3,370 | 30.1 | |||
Whig hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | James Evan Baillie | Unopposed | |||
Whig | Edward Davis Protheroe | Unopposed | |||
Whig hold | |||||
Whig gain from Tory |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Richard Vyvyan | 3,697 | 29.3 | New | |
Whig | James Evan Baillie | 3,159 | 25.0 | N/A | |
Whig | Edward Davis Protheroe | 3,030 | 24.0 | N/A | |
Whig | John Williams | 2,741 | 21.7 | N/A | |
Majority | 538 | 5.3 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 6,631 | 64.3 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 10,315 | ||||
Tory gain from Whig | Swing | N/A | |||
Whig hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Philip John Miles | 3,709 | 32.7 | +18.1 | |
Conservative | Richard Vyvyan | 3,313 | 29.2 | +14.6 | |
Whig | James Evan Baillie | 2,518 | 22.2 | −48.5 | |
Radical | John Hobhouse [15] | 1,808 | 15.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,191 | 10.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 5,879 | 58.2 | −6.1 | ||
Registered electors | 10,100 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +21.2 | |||
Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +19.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Philip William Skinner Miles | 3,839 | 37.6 | +4.9 | |
Radical | Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley | 3,212 | 31.5 | +15.6 | |
Conservative | William Fripp | 3,156 | 30.9 | +1.7 | |
Turnout | 6,375 | 63.8 | +5.6 | ||
Registered electors | 9,992 | ||||
Majority | 627 | 6.1 | −0.9 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −1.5 | |||
Majority | 56 | 0.6 | N/A | ||
Radical gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Philip William Skinner Miles | 4,193 | 36.1 | −1.5 | |
Radical | Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley | 3,739 | 32.2 | +0.7 | |
Conservative | William Fripp | 3,684 | 31.7 | +0.8 | |
Turnout | 5,808 (est) | 52.1 (est) | −11.7 | ||
Registered electors | 11,150 | ||||
Majority | 454 | 3.9 | −2.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.9 | |||
Majority | 55 | 0.5 | −0.1 | ||
Radical hold | Swing | +0.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley | 4,381 | 45.5 | +29.4 | |
Conservative | Philip William Skinner Miles | 2,595 | 27.0 | −9.1 | |
Conservative | William Fripp | 2,476 | 25.7 | −6.0 | |
Radical | Apsley Pellatt | 171 | 1.8 | −14.3 | |
Turnout | 6,913 | 62.7 | +10.6 | ||
Registered electors | 11,032 | ||||
Majority | 1,786 | 18.5 | +18.0 | ||
Radical hold | Swing | +18.5 | |||
Majority | 2,424 | 25.2 | +21.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −8.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley | 4,681 | 36.4 | −10.9 | |
Whig | Henry Gore-Langton | 4,531 | 35.3 | N/A | |
Conservative | Foster Alleyne McGeachy | 3,632 | 28.3 | −24.4 | |
Turnout | 6,422 (est) | 51.2 (est) | −11.5 | ||
Registered electors | 12,548 | ||||
Majority | 150 | 1.1 | −17.4 | ||
Radical hold | Swing | +6.8 | |||
Majority | 899 | 7.0 | N/A | ||
Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley | Unopposed | |||
Whig | Henry Gore-Langton | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 12,612 | ||||
Radical hold | |||||
Whig hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley | 4,432 | 34.3 | N/A | |
Liberal | Henry Gore-Langton | 4,285 | 33.2 | N/A | |
Conservative | Frederick William Slade [16] | 4,205 | 32.5 | New | |
Majority | 80 | 0.7 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 6,461 (est) | 50.0 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 12,929 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley | 5,296 | 35.8 | +1.5 | |
Liberal | Morton Peto | 5,228 | 35.3 | +2.1 | |
Conservative | Thomas Fremantle | 4,269 | 28.9 | −3.6 | |
Majority | 959 | 6.5 | +5.8 | ||
Turnout | 9,531 (est) | 84.3 (est) | +34.3 | ||
Registered electors | 11,303 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +1.7 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | +2.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Miles | 5,173 | 51.0 | +22.1 | |
Liberal | Samuel Morley | 4,977 | 49.0 | −22.1 | |
Majority | 196 | 2.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 10,150 | 89.8 | +5.5 | ||
Registered electors | 11,303 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +22.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley | 8,759 | 36.2 | +0.4 | |
Liberal | Samuel Morley | 8,714 | 36.1 | +0.8 | |
Conservative | John Miles | 6,694 | 27.7 | −1.2 | |
Majority | 2,020 | 8.4 | +1.9 | ||
Turnout | 15,431 (est) | 72.9 (est) | −11.4 | ||
Registered electors | 21,153 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +0.5 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | +0.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Elisha Smith Robinson | 7,882 | 52.7 | −19.6 | |
Conservative | Sholto Vere Hare [17] | 7,062 | 47.3 | +19.6 | |
Majority | 820 | 5.4 | −3.0 | ||
Turnout | 14,944 | 70.6 | −2.3 | ||
Registered electors | 21,153 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −19.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Kirkman Hodgson | 7,816 | 51.9 | −20.4 | |
Conservative | Sholto Vere Hare [17] | 7,238 | 48.1 | +20.4 | |
Majority | 578 | 3.8 | −4.6 | ||
Turnout | 15,054 | 71.2 | −1.7 | ||
Registered electors | 21,153 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −20.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Kirkman Hodgson | 8,888 | 26.3 | −9.9 | |
Liberal | Samuel Morley | 8,732 | 25.8 | −10.3 | |
Conservative | Sholto Vere Hare [17] | 8,552 | 25.3 | +11.4 | |
Conservative | George Henry Chambers [18] | 7,626 | 22.6 | +8.7 | |
Majority | 180 | 0.5 | −7.9 | ||
Turnout | 16,899 (est) | 73.9 (est) | +1.0 | ||
Registered electors | 22,867 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −9.4 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | −9.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Lewis Fry | 9,342 | 54.5 | +2.4 | |
Conservative | Ivor Guest | 7,795 | 45.5 | −2.4 | |
Majority | 1,547 | 9.0 | +8.5 | ||
Turnout | 17,137 | 69.0 | −4.9 | ||
Registered electors | 24,851 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Samuel Morley | 10,704 | 31.2 | +5.4 | |
Liberal | Lewis Fry | 10,070 | 29.4 | +3.1 | |
Conservative | Ivor Guest | 9,395 | 27.4 | +2.1 | |
Liberal | Elisha Smith Robinson | 4,100 | 12.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 675 | 2.0 | +1.5 | ||
Turnout | 17,135 (est) | 73.8 (est) | −0.1 | ||
Registered electors | 23,229 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +2.2 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | +1.0 |
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