List of English by-elections (1701–1707)

Last updated September 28, 2024

This is a list of parliamentary by-elections in England held between 1701 and 1707, with the names of the previous incumbent and the victor in the by-election.

In the absence of a comprehensive and reliable source, for party and factional alignments in this period, no attempt is made to define them in this article. The House of Commons: 1690-1715 provides some guidance to the complex and shifting political relationships, but it is significant that the compilers of that work make no attempt to produce a definitive list of each members allegiances.

Dates

During this period England counted its legal year as beginning on 25 March. For the purposes of this list the year is considered to have started on 1 January.

By-elections

The c/u column denotes whether the by-election was a contested poll or an unopposed return. If the winner was re-elected, at the next general election and any intermediate by-elections, this is indicated by an * following the c or u. In a few cases the winner was elected at the next general election but had not been re-elected in a by-election after the one noted. In those cases no * symbol is used.

4th Parliament of William III (1701)

Date	Constituency	c/u	Former Incumbent	Winner	Cause
19 February 1701	Amersham	u*	Sir John Garrard	John Drake	Death
21 February 1701	Hertford	c*	Thomas Filmer	Richard Goulston	Death
21 February 1701	Northampton	c*	William Thursby	Thomas Andrew	Death
25 February 1701	Droitwich	u	Thomas Foley	Philip Foley	Death
3 March 1701	Newport (I.o.W.)	u	The Lord Cutts	Henry Greenhill	Chose to sit for Cambridgeshire
4 March 1701	Steyning	c	Sir John Fagg	Sir Robert Fagg	Death
4 March 1701	Truro	u	Hugh Fortescue	Sir John Hawles	Chose to sit for Tregony
5 March 1701	Wareham	u	Thomas Erle	Sir Edward Ernle	Chose to sit for Portsmouth
7 March 1701	Bere Alston	u*	Sir Rowland Gwynne	William Cowper	Chose to sit for Breconshire
10 March 1701	Amersham	u	The Viscount Newhaven	Sir Samuel Garrard	Chose to sit for Buckinghamshire
17 March 1701	Taunton	c*	Henry Seymour Portman	Sir Francis Warre	Chose to sit for Wells
18 March 1701	Bramber	u*	Thomas Stringer	Francis Seymour Conway	Chose to sit for Clitheroe
19 March 1701	St Albans	c*	Joshua Lomax	John Gape	Void Election
19 March 1701	Thetford	u*	Joseph Williamson	Thomas Hanmer	Chose to sit for Rochester
20 March 1701	City of London	c	Gilbert Heathcote	Sir John Fleet	Expulsion
21 March 1701	Bossiney	u	Francis Robartes	Thomas Watson Wentworth	Chose to sit for Tregony
21 March 1701	Oxford University	c*	Sir Christopher Musgrave	William Bromley	Chose to sit for Westmorland
22 March 1701	Saltash	u*	Alexander Pendarves	Thomas Carew	Chose to sit for Penryn
2 April 1701	St Germans	u	John Speccot	Daniel Eliot	Chose to sit for Cornwall
7 April 1701	Sandwich	c	Sir Henry Furnese	John Michel	Expulsion
16 April 1701	Steyning	c*	Sir Robert Fagg	Charles Goring	By-election voided 10 April 1701
18 April 1701	Lostwithiel	c*	John Buller	George Booth	Death
29 April 1701	Merionethshire	u*	Hugh Nanney	Richard Vaughan	Death
30 April 1701	Castle Rising	u	Thomas Howard	Robert Cecil	Death
31 May 1701	Morpeth	u	William Howard	Sir Richard Sandford	Chose to sit for Northumberland
25 June 1701	Cornwall	u	Hugh Boscawen	Richard Edgcumbe	Death
9 July 1701	Salisbury	u*	Thomas Mompesson	Charles Fox	Death

5th Parliament of William III (1701–1702)

Date	Constituency	c/u	Former Incumbent	Winner	Cause
27 January 1702	Exeter	u*	Sir Bartholomew Shower	John Snell	Death
27 January 1702	Portsmouth	u	Thomas Erle	John Gibson	Chose to sit for Wareham
27 January 1702	Seaford	u	Sir William Thomas	Thomas Chowne	Chose to sit for Sussex
2 February 1702	Castle Rising	u	The Earl of Ranelagh	Marquess of Hartington	Chose to sit for West Looe
2 February 1702	Flint Boroughs	u	Sir Thomas Hanmer	Sir John Conway	Chose to sit for Thetford
3 February 1702	Northallerton	u	Robert Dormer	Daniel Lascelles	Chose to sit for Buckinghamshire
4 February 1702	Dorchester	u*	Thomas Trenchard	Sir Nathaniel Napier	Chose to sit for Dorset
4 February 1702	East Looe	u	Francis Godolphin	George Courtenay	Chose to sit for Helston
4 February 1702	Plymouth	u*	Henry Trelawny	John Woolcombe	Death
5 February 1702	Milborne Port	c*	Henry Thynne	John Hunt	Chose to sit for Tamworth
5 February 1702	Saltash	u*	James Buller	Benjamin Buller	Chose to sit for Cornwall
5 February 1702	Weymouth and Melcombe Regis	c*	Maurice Ashley	Anthony Henley	Chose to sit for Wiltshire
9 February 1702	Berwick-upon-Tweed	u*	Francis Blake	Jonathan Hutchinson	Chose to sit for Northumberland
12 February 1702	Truro	u	William Scawen	Robert Cotton	Chose to sit for Grampound
19 February 1702	Cockermouth	c*	Goodwin Wharton	Thomas Lamplugh	Chose to sit for Buckinghamshire
7 March 1702	Newport (I.o.W.)	u	The Lord Cutts	James Stanhope	Chose to sit for Cambridgeshire
23 March 1702	Calne	u*	Sir Charles Hedges	Henry Chivers	Election voided due to a Double Return
23 March 1702	Calne	u*	Edward Bayntun	Henry Chivers	Election voided due to a Double Return
13 April 1702	Higham Ferrers	u*	Thomas Ekins	Thomas Pemberton	Death

1st Parliament of Anne (1702–1705)

Date	Constituency	c/u	Former Incumbent	Winner	Cause
14 November 1702	Devizes	u	Sir Francis Child	John Child	Chose to sit for City of London
21 November 1702	Malmesbury	u	Sir Charles Hedges	Thomas Boucher	Chose to sit for Calne
23 November 1702	Hedon	u*	Sir Charles Duncombe	Anthony Duncombe	Chose to sit for Downton
23 November 1702	Northallerton	u*	Sir William Hustler	Robert Dormer	Chose to sit for Ripon
24 November 1702	Lewes	u	Thomas Pelham	Sir Nicholas Pelham	Chose to sit for Sussex
24 November 1702	Wareham	u	George Pitt	Sir Josiah Child	Chose to sit for Hampshire
25 November 1702	Marlborough	c	John Jeffreys	Edward Jeffreys	Chose to sit for Breconshire
25 November 1702	Southwark	c*	Charles Cox	Charles Cox	Void Election
25 November 1702	Southwark	c*	John Cholmley	John Cholmley	Void Election
26 November 1702	Truro	u	Thomas Powys	Philip Meadowes	Chose to sit for Ludlow
27 November 1702	Totnes	u	Sir Christopher Musgrave	William Seymour	Chose to sit for Westmorland
28 November 1702	Tiverton	u*	Lord Spencer	Robert Burridge	Succeeded to a peerage
1 December 1702	Bletchingley	c	John Evelyn	Sir Robert Clayton	Death
2 December 1702	Bodmin	u*	John Grubham Howe	Russell Robartes	Chose to sit for Gloucestershire
2 December 1702	Flint Boroughs	u	Sir Roger Mostyn	Thomas Mostyn	Chose to sit for Cheshire
3 December 1702	West Looe	u	Sidney Godolphin	Richard Hele	Chose to sit for Helston
14 December 1702	Colchester	u*	Isaac Rebow	Isaac Rebow	Void Election
14 December 1702	Tamworth	c*	Henry Thynne	Joseph Girdler	Chose to sit for Weymouth
21 December 1702	Aylesbury	c	Sir John Pakington	Simon Harcourt	Chose to sit for Worcestershire
26 December 1702	Stafford	u*	John Chetwynd	Walter Chetwynd	Death
29 December 1702	Gloucester	c*	John Grubham Howe	John Hanbury	Chose to sit for Gloucestershire
31 December 1702	Newton	u	John Grubham Howe	Thomas Legh	Chose to sit for Gloucestershire
31 December 1702	Portsmouth	u*	Thomas Erle	William Gifford	Chose to sit for Wareham
11 January 1703	Lancashire	u	James Stanley	Richard Assheton	Succeeded to a peerage
25 January 1703	Saltash	u	Benjamin Buller	John Rolle	Death
8 February 1703	Sudbury	c	Joseph Haskin Stiles	Joseph Haskin Stiles	Void Election
8 February 1703	Sudbury	c	Joseph Haskin Stiles	George Dashwood	By-election results reversed on petition 6 December 1703
10 February 1703	Lincolnshire	u	Charles Dymoke	Lewis Dymoke	Death
3 March 1703	Devizes	u	John Child	Francis Merewether	Death
31 March 1703	West Looe	u	Richard Hele	Henry Poley	Chose to sit for Plympton Erle
31 March 1703	West Looe	u	The Earl of Ranelagh	Charles Seymour	Expelled
22 November 1703	Bury St Edmunds	c*	John Hervey	Sir Robert Davers	Elevated to the peerage
22 November 1703	Higham Ferrers	u*	Thomas Pemberton	Thomas Watson Wentworth	Death
22 November 1703	Oxford University	c*	Heneage Finch	Sir William Whitelock	Elevated to the peerage
24 November 1703	Newcastle-under-Lyme	c*	John Leveson Gower	John Crewe Offley	Elevated to the peerage
26 November 1703	Bramber	c	Francis Seymour Conway	John Middleton	Elevated to the peerage
26 November 1703	Tavistock	c*	Lord Robert Russell	James Bulteel	Death
29 November 1703	Beaumaris	u	Robert Bulkeley	Coningsby Williams	Death
30 November 1703	Callington	u*	John Acland	Sir William Coryton	Death
7 December 1703	Newton	u*	Thomas Legh	John Ward	Death
8 December 1703	Cornwall	u*	John Granville	Sir Richard Vyvyan	Elevated to the peerage
22 December 1703	Norwich	c(*)	Robert Davy	Thomas Palgrave	Death
13 January 1704	Petersfield	u*	Richard Markes	Leonard Bilson	Death
17 January 1704	Camelford	u*	Henry Manaton	William Pole	Chose to sit for Tavistock
1 February 1704	Bramber	c	John Middleton	Samuel Sambrooke	Void Election
22 February 1704	Wareham	u	Sir Josiah Child	Sir Edward Ernle	Death
29 March 1704	Nottinghamshire	u	Gervase Eyre	John Thornhagh	Death
18 April 1704	Lancashire	u	Richard Bold	Richard Fleetwood	Death
2 November 1704	Northampton	c*	Bartholomew Tate	Francis Arundell	Death
3 November 1704	Maidstone	c	Sir Robert Marsham	Heneage Finch	Void Election
3 November 1704	Maidstone	c*	Sir Thomas Roberts	Thomas Bliss	Void Election
4 November 1704	New Romney	u*	Sir Benjamin Bathurst	Walter Whitfield	Death
7 November 1704	Hindon	c	George Morley	Thomas Jervoise	Void Election
8 November 1704	Buckinghamshire	c*	Goodwin Wharton	Sir Richard Temple	Death
8 November 1704	Newcastle-under-Lyme	c	John Crewe Offley	John Crewe Offley	By-Election voided 1 February 1704
22 November 1704	Haslemere	u	Lewis Oglethorpe	Thomas Heath	Death
24 November 1704	Aylesbury	c	James Herbert	Sir Henry Parker	Death
30 November 1704	Anglesey	u*	The Viscount Bulkeley	The Viscount Bulkeley	Death
30 November 1704	Westmorland	u	Sir Christopher Musgrave	William Fleming	Death

2nd Parliament of Anne (1705–1707)

Date	Constituency	c/u	Former Incumbent	Winner	Cause
26 November 1705	Brackley	u	John Sidney	Harry Mordaunt	Succeeded to a peerage
26 November 1705	Chichester	u	William Elson	Thomas Onslow	Death
26 November 1705	Chippenham	c	Walter White	Viscount Mordaunt	Death
26 November 1705	Reading	u	Tanfield Vachell	Sir William Rich	Death
27 November 1705	Marlborough	c*	Edward Ashe	Earl of Hertford	Chose to sit for Heytesbury
28 November 1705	Warwickshire	u*	Sir Charles Shuckburgh	Andrew Archer	Death
29 November 1705	Castle Rising	u*	Sir Robert Clayton	William Feilding	Chose to sit for City of London
30 November 1705	Truro	u	Hugh Boscawen	Peregrine Bertie	Chose to sit for Cornwall
1 December 1705	Bere Alston	u*	William Cowper	Spencer Cowper	Appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
1 December 1705	Bury St Edmunds	u*	Sir Robert Davers	Aubrey Porter	Chose to sit for Suffolk
3 December 1705	Buckingham	c	Sir Richard Temple	Browne Willis	Chose to sit for Buckinghamshire
3 December 1705	Northallerton	c*	Robert Dormer	Roger Gale	Chose to sit for Buckinghamshire
4 December 1705	St Germans	u*	Samuel Rolle	Edward Eliot	Chose to sit for Callington
6 December 1705	Richmond	u	Wharton Dunch	William Walsh	Death
7 December 1705	Great Bedwyn	u*	Sir George Byng	Lord Bruce	Chose to sit for Plymouth
7 December 1705	Lymington	u	Thomas Dore	Marquess of Winchester	Death
15 December 1705	Colchester	c*	Edward Bullock	Sir Thomas Webster	Death
2 January 1706	Newcastle-upon-Tyne	u*	Sir William Blackett	Sir Henry Liddell	Death
1 February 1706	Cardiff Boroughs	u*	Thomas Mansel	Sir John Aubrey	Death
27 February 1706	Buckinghamshire	u	Robert Dormer	William Egerton	Appointed Puisne Justice of the Common Pleas
2 March 1706	Wootton Bassett	u*	John Morton Pleydell	Francis Popham	Death
5 March 1706	Bishop's Castle	u	Charles Mason	Henry Newport	Chose to sit for Montgomery Boroughs
11 December 1706	Devizes	c*	John Methuen	Josiah Diston	Death
11 December 1706	Oxford	c*	Francis Norreys	Sir John Walter	Death
12 December 1706	Seaford	c*	Sir William Thomas	George Naylor	Death
16 December 1706	Sudbury	u*	Sir Gervase Elwes	Sir Hervey Elwes	Death
17 December 1706	Bodmin	c	John Hoblyn	Thomas Herne	Death
23 December 1706	Nottingham	u*	William Pierrepont	John Plumptre	Death
27 December 1706	Clitheroe	c(*)	Thomas Stringer	Daniel Harvey	Death (Two MPs elected due to a Double Return)
			Thomas Stringer	Christopher Parker	Death (Two MPs elected due to a Double Return)
			Daniel Harvey	Daniel Harvey	Harvey declared elected 22 January 1707
			Christopher Parker	Daniel Harvey	Harvey declared elected 22 January 1707
27 December 1706	Preston	c*	Edward Rigby	Arthur Maynwaring	Death
1 January 1707	Yorkshire	c	Sir John Kaye	The Lord Fairfax of Cameron	Death
21 January 1707	Essex	u*	Lord Walden	Thomas Middleton	Elevated to the peerage
21 January 1707	Newport (Cornwall)	u	John Sparke	Sir John Pole	Death
23 January 1707	West Looe	u	John Mountstephen	Francis Palmes	Death
20 February 1707	Bath	c*	Alexander Popham	Samuel Trotman	Death
20 February 1707	Westmorland	u	Henry Graham	Michael Fleming	Death
25 February 1707	Coventry	c*	Sir Christopher Hales	Sir Orlando Bridgeman	Void Election
25 February 1707	Coventry	c*	Thomas Gery	Edward Hopkins	Void Election
3 March 1707	Newport (I.o.W.)	u*	The Lord Cutts	Sir Tristram Dillington	Death
5 March 1707	County Durham	u	Sir William Bowes	John Tempest	Death
4 April 1707	Horsham	u	Henry Cowper	Henry Goring	Death

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The English general election, which began in November 1701, produced substantial gains for the Whigs, who enthusiastically supported the war with France. The Tories had been criticised in the press for their ambivalence towards the war, and public opinion had turned against them; they consequently lost ground as a result of the election. Ninety-one constituencies, 34% of the total in England and Wales, were contested.

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References

List of MPs since 1660 ^[usurped]
Return of the name of every member of the lower house of parliament of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with name of constituency represented, and date of return, from 1213 to 1874.
The House of Commons 1690-1715, edited by David Hayton (Cambridge University Press 2002) ISBN 0521772214

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Northern Ireland Assembly vacancies are filled by co-option. Local Government by-election results are generally given on the page for the last election in that area.