Carmarthen (1542–1918 UK Parliament constituency)

Carmarthen
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Preserved county	Carmarthenshire
Major settlements	Carmarthen, Llanelli
1832–1918
Seats	One
Created from	Carmarthen and Carmarthenshire (part)
Replaced by	Carmarthen and Llanelli
1542–1832
Seats	One
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

Carmarthen was a borough constituency of the House of Commons in the English Parliament and later the UK Parliament. It existed between 1542 until 1832 representing the town of Carmarthen, Wales. In 1832 it was expanded and named Carmarthen Boroughs from 1832 until 1918. A county-wide constituency of Carmarthenshire also existed between 1542 and 1885.

In 1918 Carmarthen Boroughs was abolished and a new county-wide division with the name Carmarthen was established.

History

Carmarthenshire boundaries 1885–1918

Until 1832, Carmarthen was a borough constituency consisting of the town of Carmarthen.

Between 1832 and 1918 Carmarthen was a district of boroughs constituency, consisting of Carmarthen itself and Llanelli, and was sometimes called "The Carmarthen Boroughs". A county-wide constituency also existed, called Carmarthenshire, until 1885 (at which point it was split into East and West).

In 1918, the Carmarthen borough constituency was abolished, but the name was transferred to the new county-wide division of Carmarthen.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1542–1640

Parliament	Member
1542	Gruffydd Williams [1]
1545	Gruffydd Williams [1]
1547	Thomas Phaer [1]
1553 (Mar)	William Parry [1]
1553 (Oct)	Gruffydd Hygons [1]
1554 (Apr)	William Aubrey [1] [2]
1554 (Nov)	John Parry [1]
1555	William Wightman [1]
1558	John Vaughan [1]
1559	John Parry [3]
1563	John Morgan [3]
1571	?John Vaughan [3]
1572	Thomas Wigmore [3]
1584	John Puckering, sat for Bedford replaced 1584 by Edward Donne Lee [3]
1586	Edward Donne Lee [3]
1588	Gelly Meyrick [3]
1593	Sir Thomas Baskerville [3]
1597	Henry Vaughan [3]
1601	Walter Rice [3]
1604–1611	Sir Walter Rice
1614	William Thomas
1621	Henry Vaughan
1624	Henry Vaughan
1626	Henry Vaughan
1628	Henry Vaughan
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

1640–1832

Election		Member [4]	Party
	1640 (Apr)	Francis Lloyd	Royalist
	1640 (Nov)	Francis Lloyd	Royalist
February 1644		Lloyd disabled from sitting – seat vacant
	1646	William Davies
December 1648		Davies not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge
1653		Carmarthen was not represented in the Barebones Parliament or the First or Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
	January 1659	David Morgan
May 1659		Not represented in the restored Rump
	April 1660	Arthur Annesley
	1661	Hon. John Vaughan
	1679	Altham Vaughan
	1685	Richard Vaughan
	1725	James Phillips
	1727	Arthur Bevan
	1741	Sir John Philipps
	1747	Thomas Mathews
	1751	Griffith Philipps
	1761	The Earl Verney
	1768	Griffith Philipps
	1774	John Adams
	1780	George Philipps
	1784	John George Philipps
	May 1796	Magens Dorrien Magens [5]
	November 1796	John George Philipps
	1803	Sir William Paxton
	1806	Vice-Admiral George Campbell	Whig [6]
	1813	John Campbell	Whig [6]
	1821	John Jones	Tory [6]

1832–1918: Carmarthen Boroughs

Election		Member [4]	Party
	1832	Hon. William Yelverton	Whig [6]
	1835	David Lewis	Conservative [6]
	1837	David Morris	Whig [6] [7] [8]
	1859		Liberal
	1864	William Morris	Liberal
	1868	(Sir) John Cowell-Stepney [9]	Liberal
	1874	Charles William Nevill	Conservative
	1876	(Sir) Arthur Cowell-Stepney [10]	Liberal
	1878 by-election	Benjamin Thomas Williams	Liberal
	1882 by-election	John Jones Jenkins	Liberal
	1886	Sir Arthur Cowell-Stepney	Liberal
	1892	Evan Rowland Jones	Liberal
	1895	Sir John Jones Jenkins	Liberal Unionist
	1900	Alfred Davies	Liberal
	1906	W. Llewelyn Williams	Liberal

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Carmarthen Boroughs ^{[6] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	John Jones	Unopposed
	Tory hold

At the 1830 general election, rioting broke out during polling, at which point John Jones and his Whig rival, John George Philipps, had secured three votes apiece. The vote was abandoned and a by-election was called four months later in December.

1831 Carmarthen Boroughs by-election ^{[6] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	John Jones	274	57.4
	Whig	John George Philipps	203	42.6
Majority			71	14.8
Turnout			477	c. 66.0
Registered electors			c. 723
	Tory hold

General election 1832: Carmarthen Boroughs ^{[6] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Henry Yelverton	302	50.6	+8.0
	Tory	John Jones	295	49.4	−8.0
Majority			7	1.2	N/A
Turnout			597	87.3	c. +21.3
Registered electors			684
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	+8.0

General election 1835: Carmarthen Boroughs ^{[6] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Lewis	304	53.1	+3.7
	Whig	William Henry Yelverton	268	46.9	−3.7
Majority			36	6.2	N/A
Turnout			572	74.0	−13.3
Registered electors			773
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+3.7

General election 1837: Carmarthen Boroughs ^{[6] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	David Morris	333	53.7	+6.8
	Conservative	David Lewis	287	46.3	−6.8
Majority			46	7.4	N/A
Turnout			620	78.9	+4.9
Registered electors			786
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.8

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	David Morris	Unopposed
Registered electors			938
	Whig hold

General election 1847: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	David Morris	Unopposed
Registered electors			991
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	David Morris	Unopposed
Registered electors			849
	Whig hold

General election 1857: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	David Morris	Unopposed
Registered electors			799
	Whig hold

General election 1859: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Morris	Unopposed
Registered electors			823
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

1864 Carmarthen Boroughs by-election ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Morris	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Liberal hold

General election 1865: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Morris	Unopposed
Registered electors			884
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Cowell-Stepney	1,892	76.1	N/A
	Conservative	Morgan Dalrymple Treherne [13]	595	23.9	N/A
Majority			1,297	52.2	N/A
Turnout			2,487	75.7	N/A
Registered electors			3,286
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles William Nevill	1,654	52.8	+28.9
	Liberal	Arthur Cowell-Stepney	1,481	47.2	−28.9
Majority			173	5.6	N/A
Turnout			3,135	69.8	−5.9
Registered electors			4,494
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+28.9

1876 Carmarthen Boroughs by-election ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Cowell-Stepney	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Liberal gain from Conservative

1878 Carmarthen Boroughs by-election ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Benjamin Thomas Williams	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Benjamin Thomas Williams	1,935	51.5	+4.3
	Independent Liberal	John Jones Jenkins [14]	1,825	48.5	N/A
Majority			110	3.0	N/A
Turnout			3,760	70.0	+0.2
Registered electors			5,369
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

1882 Carmarthen Boroughs by-election ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Jones Jenkins	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Liberal hold

General election 1885: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Jones Jenkins	2,884	69.2	+17.7
	Conservative	John Simmons Tregoning	1,281	30.8	N/A
Majority			1,603	38.4	+35.4
Turnout			4,165	77.1	+7.1
Registered electors			5,399
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1886: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Cowell-Stepney	2,120	52.8	−16.4
	Liberal Unionist	John Jones Jenkins	1,898	47.2	+16.4
Majority			222	5.6	−32.8
Turnout			4,018	74.4	−2.7
Registered electors			5,399
	Liberal hold		Swing	−16.4

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Evan Rowland Jones	2,412	52.4	−0.4
	Liberal Unionist	John Jones Jenkins	2,187	47.6	+0.4
Majority			225	4.8	−0.8
Turnout			4,599	87.0	+12.6
Registered electors			5,289
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.4

General election 1895: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	John Jones Jenkins	2,443	50.5	+2.9
	Liberal	Evan Rowland Jones	2,391	49.5	−2.9
Majority			52	1.0	N/A
Turnout			4,834	90.0	+3.0
Registered electors			5,370
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.9

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alfred Davies	2,837	58.1	+8.6
	Liberal Unionist	John Jones Jenkins	2,047	41.9	−8.6
Majority			790	16.2	N/A
Turnout			4,884	87.9	−2.1
Registered electors			5,557
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+8.6

W.L. Williams

General election 1906: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W. Llewelyn Williams	3,902	68.3	+10.2
	Conservative	Vere Ponsonby	1,808	31.7	−10.2
Majority			2,094	36.6	+20.4
Turnout			5,710	91.2	+3.3
Registered electors			6,258
	Liberal hold		Swing	+10.2

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W. Llewelyn Williams	4,197	68.1	−0.2
	Liberal Unionist	Viscount Tiverton	1,965	31.9	+0.2
Majority			2,232	36.2	−0.4
Turnout			6,162	91.0	−0.2
Registered electors			6,772
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.2

General election December 1910: Carmarthen Boroughs ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W. Llewelyn Williams	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Liberal hold

1912 Carmarthen Boroughs by-election ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W. Llewelyn Williams	3,836	58.6	N/A
	Conservative	Henry Coulson Bond	2,555	39.1	N/A
	Independent Labour	Frank G Vivian	149	2.3	N/A
Majority			1,281	19.5	N/A
Turnout			6,540	89.8	N/A
Registered electors			7,281
	Liberal hold		Swing	-8.3

1915 Carmarthen Boroughs by-election ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W. Llewelyn Williams	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Liberal hold

Notes and references

1. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
2. Watkin, Thomas Glyn (January 2008). "Aubrey, William (c.1529–1595)" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/887 . Retrieved 24 February 2008.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
3. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)
5. On petition, Magens was found not to have been duly elected, and his opponent Phillips was seated in his place
6. Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 184.
7. Churton, Edward (1836). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836. p. 163.
8. "Carmarthen" . Dublin Evening Post. 29 June 1841. p. 3. Retrieved 21 August 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
9. Created a baronet, 1871
10. Succeeded to baronetcy, 1877
11. Escott, Margaret. "Carmarthen". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
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.
13. "The Battle of the Boroughs" . Carmarthen Weekly Reporter . 28 November 1868. p. 4. Retrieved 3 February 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
14. "The nomination for Carmarthen Boroughs". The Illustrated London News . 7 January 1882. p. 15. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
15. British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig)
16. Craig, F. W. S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.

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)
• The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)