Cricklade (UK Parliament constituency)

Wiltshire, North or Cricklade Division
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Seats	one
Replaced by	Swindon and partly Chippenham

Cricklade
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1295–1885
Seats	two

Cricklade was a parliamentary constituency named after the town of Cricklade in Wiltshire.

From 1295 until the general election of 1885, Cricklade was a parliamentary borough, returning two members of parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously to the House of Commons of England and House of Commons of Great Britain.

Initially this consisted of only the town of Cricklade, but from 1782 the vote was extended to the surrounding countryside as a punishment for the borough's corruption. The extended area came to include the village of Swindon, which later grew into a large town with the coming of the railways in the 19th century.

From the 1885 general election the borough was abolished, but the name was transferred to a county division of Wiltshire covering much the same area, and electing a single MP. This constituency was abolished for the 1918 general election: Cricklade joined the Chippenham constituency and a new Swindon constituency was created.

Boundaries

1832–1885: The hundreds of Highworth, Cricklade, Staple, Kingsbridge and Malmesbury, except the parliamentary borough of Malmesbury. ^[1]

1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Cricklade and Swindon.

Members of Parliament

1295-1640

• Constituency created 1295

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	John Andrew	Andrew Jones [2]
1388 (Feb)		Thomas Weston [2]
1388 (Sep)
1390 (Jan)	?John Crouch	?William Plomer [2]
1399	Robert Andrew	John Ferrour [2]
1413 (May)	Thomas Cricklade	Robert Newman [2]
1421 (Dec)	[Thomas] Cricklade	Geoffrey Cowbridge [2]
1442	John Long
1427	John Bailey [3]
1510	Sir Andrew Windsor
1529	Robert Curzon	William Rede [4]
1547	John Winchcombe alias Smallwood	John Walshe [4]
1553 (Mar)	?
1553 (Oct)	Thomas Parker	William Badger  ? [4]
1554 (Apr)	William Hampshire	John Tunks [4]
1554 (Nov)	Thomas Parker	John Rede [4]
1555	Sir Nicholas Poyntz	George Huntley [4]
1558	William Hampshire	John Marmion [4]
1559	Sir Walter Denys	John Astley [5]
1562–3	Nicholas St John	Anthony Throckmorton [5]
1571	Sir Nicholas Arnold	Giles Brydges [5]
1572	William Brydges	John Higford [5]
1584	Rowland Leigh	Richard Smith [5]
1586	John Higford	Richard Delabere [5]
1588–9	George Snigge	Thomas Smith [5]
1593	Henry Noel	John Pleydell [5]
1597	Sir George Gifford	Grey Brydges [5] [6]
1601		Robert Master [5]
1604–1611	Sir John Hungerford	Sir Henry Poole
1614	Sir Thomas Monson	Sir John Eyre
1621–1622	Sir Thomas Howard	Sir Carew Reynell
1624	Sir William Howard	Sir Neville Poole
1625		Edward Dowse
1626		Sir Robert Hyde
1628	Robert Jenner	Sir Edward Hungerford [7]
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

1640-1885

Year	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
April 1640		?
November 1640		Robert Jenner	Parliamentarian		Thomas Hodges	Parliamentarian
December 1648	Jenner excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant			Hodges not recorded as having sat after Pride's Purge
1653	Cricklade was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		Edward Poole			John Hawkins
May 1659	Cricklade was unrepresented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Hungerford Dunch			Nevil Maskelyne
1661		Sir George Hungerford			John Ernle
1679		Hungerford Dunch			Edmund Webb
1680		John Pleydell
1681		William Lenthall
1685		Charles Fox
1689					Thomas Freke
1690					Edmund Webb
1698					Edward Pleydell
1699		Sir Stephen Fox
1701					Edmund Dunch	Whig
1702		Thomas Richmond Webb			Samuel Barker
1705		Edmund Dunch	Whig
1708					James Vernon the younger	Whig
1710					Samuel Robinson
1713		Sir Thomas Reade			William Gore [8]
1714					Samuel Robinson
1715					Jacob Sawbridge [9]
1721					Hon. Matthew Ducie Moreton
1722					Thomas Gore
1727					Christopher Tilson
1734					William Gore
1739					Charles Gore
1741					Welbore Ellis
1747		William Rawlinson Earle			Lieutenant-Colonel John Gore
1754					Thomas Gore
1761		Arnold Nesbitt
1768		Hon. George Damer			Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Robert Fletcher
1774		William Earle			Arnold Nesbitt
1775		Samuel Peach [10]
1776		John Dewar
1779					John Macpherson [11]
1780		Paul Benfield
1782					Hon. George St John
1784 [12]		Charles Coxe	Whig [13]		Robert Adamson	Whig [13]
1785		John Walker-Heneage	Tory [13]		Robert Nicholas	Tory [13]
1790					Thomas Estcourt
1794		Henry Herbert
1806					Thomas Goddard
1811		William Herbert
1812		Joseph Pitt			Thomas Calley	Whig [13]
1818					Robert Gordon	Whig [13] [14]
1831		Thomas Calley	Whig [13]
1835		John Neeld	Conservative [13]
1837					Ambrose Goddard	Conservative [13]
1841					Hon. Henry Howard	Whig [13] [15] [16]
1847					Ambrose Goddard	Conservative [17]
1859		Anthony Ashley-Cooper	Liberal
1865		Sir Daniel Gooch	Conservative
1868					Hon. Frederick Cadogan	Liberal
1874					Ambrose Goddard	Conservative
1880					Nevil Story Maskelyne	Liberal
1885	Borough abolished - replaced by county constituency returning one member

1885-1918

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Nevil Story Maskelyne	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1892	John Husband	Liberal
	1895	Alfred Hopkinson	Liberal Unionist
	1898	Lord Edmond FitzMaurice	Liberal
	1906	John Massie
	Jan. 1910	Thomas Calley	Liberal Unionist
	Dec. 1910	Richard Cornthwaite Lambert	Liberal
1918		constituency abolished: see Swindon

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Cricklade (2 seats) ^{[13] [18]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Joseph Pitt	Unopposed
	Whig	Robert Gordon	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 1,200
	Tory hold
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Cricklade (2 seats) ^{[13] [18]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Gordon	669	36.3	N/A
	Whig	Thomas Calley	639	34.7	N/A
	Whig	Philip Pleydell-Bouverie	533	29.0	N/A
Majority			106	5.7	N/A
Turnout			1,138	c. 94.8	N/A
Registered electors			c. 1,200
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

Gordon was appointed a Commissioner for the Affairs of India, causing a by-election.

By-election, 16 June 1832: Cricklade ^{[13] [18]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Gordon	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Cricklade (2 seats) ^{[13] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Gordon	Unopposed
	Whig	Thomas Calley	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,546
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Cricklade (2 seats) ^{[13] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Gordon	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Neeld	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,640
	Whig hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1837: Cricklade (2 seats) ^{[13] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Neeld	833	36.4	New
	Conservative	Ambrose Goddard (born 1779)	734	32.1	New
	Whig	Henry Thomas Howard	720	31.5	N/A
Majority			14	0.6	N/A
Turnout			1,389	82.3	N/A
Registered electors			1,687
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Cricklade (2 seats) ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Henry Thomas Howard	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Neeld	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,663
	Whig gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Cricklade (2 seats) ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Neeld	Unopposed
	Conservative	Ambrose Goddard	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,659
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Cricklade (2 seats) ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ambrose Goddard	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Neeld	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,647
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Cricklade (2 seats) ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Neeld	778	35.7	N/A
	Conservative	Ambrose Goddard	770	35.3	N/A
	Whig	Charles James Monk [20] [21]	633	29.0	New
Majority			137	6.3	N/A
Turnout			1,407 (est)	83.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			1,682
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Cricklade (2 seats) ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ambrose Goddard	745	33.9	−1.4
	Liberal	Anthony Ashley-Cooper	743	33.8	+4.8
	Conservative	John Neeld	712	32.4	−3.3
Turnout			1,472 (est)	87.0 (est)	+3.3
Registered electors			1,692
Majority			2	0.1	−6.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.9
Majority			31	1.4	N/A
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.8

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Cricklade (2 seats) ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ambrose Goddard	978	37.2	+3.3
	Conservative	Daniel Gooch	879	33.4	+1.0
	Liberal	William Eliot	772	29.4	−4.4
Majority			107	4.0	+3.9
Turnout			1,701 (est)	83.8 (est)	−3.2
Registered electors			2,029
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.8
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+1.6

General election 1868: Cricklade (2 seats) ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick William Cadogan	2,844	38.9	+9.5
	Conservative	Daniel Gooch	2,452	33.6	+0.2
	Conservative	Ambrose Goddard	2,009	27.5	−9.7
Majority			835	11.4	N/A
Turnout			5,075 (est)	87.1 (est)	+3.3
Registered electors			5,825
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.3

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Cricklade (2 seats) ^{[19] [22]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Daniel Gooch	2,624	29.0	−4.6
	Conservative	Ambrose Goddard	2,231	24.6	−2.9
	Liberal	Frederick William Cadogan	2,092	23.1	+3.6
	Liberal	Henry Tucker [23]	1,578	17.4	−2.1
	Lib-Lab	William Morris [24]	497	5.5	N/A
	Independent Liberal	John Arkell [25]	40	0.4	New
Majority			139	1.5	N/A
Turnout			4,800 (est)	75.9 (est)	−11.2
Registered electors			6,325
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.1
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	−0.4

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Cricklade (2 seats) ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Nevil Story Maskelyne	4,350	50.9	+10.4
	Conservative	Daniel Gooch	2,441	28.6	−0.4
	Conservative	Algernon Neeld [26]	1,748	20.5	−4.1
Majority			2,602	30.4	N/A
Turnout			6,791 (est)	90.9 (est)	+15.0
Registered electors			7,473
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1885: Cricklade ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Nevil Story Maskelyne	4,541	62.1	+11.2
	Conservative	William Stone	2,770	37.9	−11.2
Majority			1,771	24.2	-6.2
Turnout			7,311	81.0	−9.9 (est)
Registered electors			9,031
	Liberal hold		Swing	+11.2

General election 1886: Cricklade ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Nevil Story Maskelyne	3,401	53.7	+15.8
	Liberal	Benjamin Francis Conn Costelloe	1,683	26.6	-35.5
	Independent Liberal	Sir John Bennett	1,247	19.7	New
Majority			1,718	27.1	N/A
Turnout			6,331	70.1	-10.9
Registered electors			9,031
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+25.7

• Costelloe contested previous general election as Conservative

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Cricklade ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Husband	4,569	56.1	+29.5
	Liberal Unionist	Nevil Story Maskelyne	3,571	43.9	-9.8
Majority			998	12.2	N/A
Turnout			8,140	77.1	+7.0
Registered electors			10,561
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+19.7

Alfred Hopkinson

General election 1895: Cricklade ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Alfred Hopkinson	4,679	50.5	+6.6
	Liberal	Edmond Petty-Fitzmaurice	4,580	49.5	−6.6
Majority			99	1.0	N/A
Turnout			9,259	84.2	+7.1
Registered electors			10,994
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.6

Viscount Emlyn

1898 Cricklade by-election ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edmond Petty-Fitzmaurice	5,624	52.3	+2.8
	Conservative	Frederick Campbell	5,135	47.7	-2.8
Majority			489	4.6	N/A
Turnout			10,759	90.3	+6.1
Registered electors			11,911
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+2.8

Elections in the 1900s

Arnold Ward

General election 1900: Cricklade ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edmond Petty-Fitzmaurice	5,754	53.9	+4.4
	Conservative	Ernest St Clair Pemberton	4,920	46.1	−4.4
Majority			834	7.8	N/A
Turnout			10,674	85.8	+1.6
Registered electors			12,441
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+4.4

John Massie

General election 1906: Cricklade ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Massie	7,294	56.1	+2.2
	Conservative	Arnold Ward	5,716	43.9	-2.2
Majority			1,578	12.2	+4.4
Turnout			13,010	90.4	+4.6
Registered electors			14,390
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.2

Elections in the 1910s

Thomas Calley

General election January 1910: Cricklade ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Thomas Calley	7,389	52.2	+8.3
	Liberal	John Massie	6,754	47.8	-8.3
Majority			635	4.4	N/A
Turnout			14,143	93.0	+2.6
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+8.3

R.C. Lambert

General election December 1910: Cricklade ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Cornthwaite Lambert	6,937	50.5	+2.7
	Liberal Unionist	Thomas Calley	6,809	49.5	-2.7
Majority			128	1.0	N/A
Turnout			13,746	90.4	-2.6
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+2.7

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: Richard Cornthwaite Lambert
• Unionist:

Notes

1. "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. XLV: An Act to amend the Representation of the People in England and Wales". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 154–206. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
2. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
3. "BAILEY, John (d.1436), of Cricklade, Wilts. - History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
4. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
5. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
6. "Brydges, Grey"  . Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
7. Wroughton, John. "Hungerford, Sir Edward". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14173.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
8. Gore was also elected for Colchester, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Cricklade
9. Sawbridge was expelled from the House for his role in the South Sea Bubble
10. A by-election was held in December 1774 after the death of William Earle, but the result was disputed and the Returning Officer made a double return, naming both Samuel Peach and John Dewar. The Commons declared the election void, and a second election was held; Peach was initially declared elected but on petition the result was reversed and Dewar took his seat.
11. On petition, Macpherson's election in 1779 was declared void and a new writ issued, but he was re-elected in the by-election. At the general election of 1780 he was again elected and his opponent again entered a petition. On investigation the Committee reported that "instances of the most notorious bribery had occurred"; the House voted that neither Macpherson nor his opponent Samuel Petrie were duly elected, and shortly afterwards passed an Act to extend the right of voting in Cricklade to the surrounding hundreds.
12. On petition the result of the election of 1784 was reversed, Coxe and Adamson being declared not duly elected and Heneage and Nicholas being seated in their place
13. 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. pp. 110–112.
14. Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 101.
15. "Elections Decided" . Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 10 July 1841. p. 6. Retrieved 1 November 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
16. "General Election" . Western Times. 3 July 1841. p. 3. Retrieved 1 November 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
17. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Limited. 1847. p.  172.
18. Farrell, Stephen. "Cricklade". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
19. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN   978-1-349-02349-3.
20. "Cricklade Election" . Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette. 2 April 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 6 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
21. "New Swindon" . Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 21 March 1857. p. 8. Retrieved 6 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
22. "Cricklade Election" . Wiltshire Independent. 12 February 1874. p. 2. Retrieved 29 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
23. "Cricklade" . Huddersfield Chronicle. 28 January 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 29 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
24. "The Labourers' Union" . Gloucester Journal . 10 January 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 29 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
25. "The election expenses of the candidates for the borough and hundreds of Cricklade" . Western Gazette . 17 April 1874. p. 6. Retrieved 29 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
26. "Cricklade Borough" . Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 23 June 1883. p. 8. Retrieved 25 November 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
27. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)

References

• 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)
• F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
• Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)