Middlesex (UK Parliament constituency)

Middlesex
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1265–1885
Seats	two
Replaced by	Brentford, Ealing, Enfield, Hampstead, Harrow, Hornsey, Tottenham and Uxbridge
During its existence contributed to new seat(s) of:	City of London (1298) Westminster (1545) Finsbury, Marylebone and Tower Hamlets (1832) Hackney (from the Tower Hamlets constituency) (1867) Chelsea (1867) (directly)

Middlesex was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, then of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until abolished in 1885. It returned two members per election by various voting systems including hustings.

Boundaries and boundary changes

Soliciting Votes by William Hogarth, of Chiswick, Middlesex, 1754.

Map of Middlesex, drawn by Thomas Kitchin, geographer 1769 (with some towns not in the county i.e. south of the river or outside of the dashed line). It has a heading of Remarks that mentions 2 seats of Westminster and 4 of the City of London

Map of the seven single-MP county constituencies created by subdivision of the final version of the seat which existed between 1867 and 1885 and returned two MPs. Brentford division is highlighted which was named after the town where the hustings took place after 1700.

This county constituency until 1832 covered all the historic county of Middlesex, in south-eastern England, comprising Spelthorne, Poyle, South Mimms and Potters Bar in other modern counties, together with the north, west, and north-west sectors of the present-day Greater London. Apart from the ability of some voters to participate in the borough franchises of the cities of London and Westminster (after dates of their inception, see top right or below), it gave rise to three more urban offshoot divisions in 1832, one of which was split in two at the next national review or reform, in 1868. Its southern boundary was the River Thames.

The county seat returned two Members of Parliament (sometimes referred to by the medieval term of knights of the shire). The place of election for the county was until 1700 at Hampstead Heath, thereafter at The Butts in the town centre of Brentford. ^[1] Hustings were typically over a period of a fortnight when candidates set out their stall, and visible bribery had become not uncommon in closer contests around the country in such larger seats at the time, inspiring William Hogarth’s series of four pictures titled ‘Four Prints of An Election’ (when printed). ^[1]

Until 1832 the county franchise was limited to forty shilling freeholders. The decrease in the value of money due to inflation and the expansion of the wealth and population as the urbanised area in the east around London and Westminster grew contributed to gradually expanding the electorate. The county was estimated by Henning to have about 1,660 voters in 1681. Sedgwick estimated about 3,000 in the 1715–54 period. Namier and Brook suggested there were about 3,500 in 1754–90. The number had reached about 6,000 by 1790–1820, according to Thorne. Close elections between popular candidates would therefore be expensive - the worth of being a local magistrate, major landowner or other dignitary carrying little weight among such a generally urban and numerous upper-middle class forming the bulk of the electorate.

For subsequent changes in the franchise see Reform Act 1832 and Reform Act 1867. From 1832 voters were registered; the size of the electorate is shown below.

The geographic county until 1885 also contained the borough constituencies of City of London (first recorded as having its extraordinary four members from 1298) and Westminster (enfranchised with two members from 1545). In 1832 three two-seat Boroughs were added (or enfranchised): Finsbury, Marylebone, and Tower Hamlets. In 1867 two new parliamentary boroughs each returning two MPs were constituted: 'Hackney' (St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, St Matthew's Bethnal Green and St John's Hackney) formerly represented in borough elections via Tower Hamlets and 'Chelsea' (parishes of Chelsea, Kensington, Hammersmith and Fulham). ^[2] The single-member non-territorial University constituency of London University (1868–1950) was somewhat connected to the county by having most of its graduates eligible to vote.

Possession of a county electoral qualification, deriving from owning various types of property or having ecclesiastical 'offices' (controversially and sporadically defined) in an area not otherwise represented, conferred the right to vote in the county elections.

An 1885 redistribution of seats saw Middlesex and its early breakaway seats in and around the City reformed under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 reflecting the wider electorate of the Reform Act 1884 and need to 'liberate' boroughs, i.e. urban areas without properly apportioned representation:

• Constituencies in the urban south-east part that returned 18 MPs were replaced by 38 single-member seats.
• the City of London constituency (loosely considered with the county) was reduced from 4 to 2 members.
• the Middlesex constituency latterly covering the north, west and south-west of the county returning 2 MPs was replaced by 7 single-member seats.

Local government bodies

In 1889 the 40 urban constituencies that comprised the south-eastern part fell into (for local government) a County of London save for the much smaller City of London which remained a separate quasi-county and legal jurisdiction. The seven county divisions (constituencies) in the north and west of the historic county came under a new local government body, the administrative county of Middlesex. Both counties were also known by their governing bodies' name, County Councils (abbreviated to LCC and MCC). The seven successor seats were Brentford, Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Hornsey, Tottenham and Uxbridge. These (and numerous later successor seats) had MCC local governance until its abolition in 1965.

Members of Parliament

Preliminary note: The English civil year started on Lady Day, 25 March, until 1752 (Scotland having changed to 1 January in 1600). The year used in the lists of Parliaments in this article have been converted to the new style where necessary. Old style dates for days between 1 January and 24 March actually referred to days after 31 December. No attempt has been made to compensate for the eleven days which did not occur in September 1752 in both England and Scotland as well as other British controlled territories (when the day after 2 September was 14 September), so as to bring the British Empire fully in line with the Gregorian calendar.

Constituency created (1265): See Montfort's Parliament for further details. Knights of the shire are known to have been summoned to most Parliaments from 1290 (19th Parliament of King Edward I of England) and to every one from 1320 (19th Parliament of King Edward II of England).

Knights of the shire 1265–1660

Some of the members elected during this period have been identified, but this list does not include Parliaments where no member has been identified before the reign of King Henry VIII. In the list (as opposed to the table below) the year given is for the first meeting of the Parliament, with the month added where there was more than one Parliament in the year. If a second year is given this is a date of dissolution. Early Parliaments usually only existed for a few days or weeks, so dissolutions in the same year as the first meeting are not recorded in this list If a specific date of election is known this is recorded in italic brackets. The Roman numerals in brackets, following some names, are those used to distinguish different politicians of the same name in 'The House of Commons' 1509-1558 and 1558–1603.

In this period, Parliament was not an institution with a regular pattern of elections and sittings. Therefore, a separate entry is made for each Parliament, even if the same Knight of the Shire served in successive Parliaments.

List of known Knights of the Shire before 1509

Parliament	First member	Second member
1295 (Nov)	William de Brook	Stephen de Gravesend
1296	Richard de Wyndesor	Richard le Rous
1297 (Oct)	Richard le Rous	?
1298 (Mar)	Richard le Rous	?
1298 (May)	Richard le Rous	?
1300	Richard le Rous	?
1301	Richard le Rous	?
1302 (Oct)	Richard le Rous	?
1305 (Feb)	Richard le Rous	?
1306	Richard le Rous	?
1386	Sir Adam Francis	William Swanland [3]
1388 (Feb)	Sir Adam Francis	William Swanland [3]
1388 (Sep)	William Barnville	Godfrey Atte Perry [3]
1390 (Jan)	John Shorditch I	Thomas Coningsby [3]
1390 (Nov)	John Shorditch I	Sir Adam Francis [3]
1391	Thomas Bray	William Norton [3]
1393	William Tamworth	Thomas Maidstone [3]
1394	John Shorditch II	James Ormesby [3]
1395	John Shorditch II	Thomas Coningsby [3]
1397 (Jan)	Thomas Goodlake	Thomas Maidstone [3]
1397 (Sep)	Sir Adam Francis	Sir John Wroth [3]
1399	John Durham	Thomas Maidstone [3]
1401	William Loveney	Sir John Wroth [3]
1402	James Northampton	Thomas Coningsby [3]
1404 (Jan)	William Wroth	Sir John Wroth [3]
1404 (Oct)	Sir Roger Strange	William Powe [3]
1406	Henry Somer	Sir John Wroth [3]
1407	Henry Somer	William Loveney [3]
1410
1411	Sir Adam Francis	Sir Roger Strange [3]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	William Loveney	Richard Wyot [3]
1414 (Apr)	Simon Camp	Walter Green [3]
1414 (Nov)	Thomas Charlton	John Walden [3]
1415	Simon Camp	Thomas Coningsby [3]
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)	Henry Somer	Walter Gawtron [3]
1419	Thomas Frowyk	Thomas Coningsby [3]
1420	Sir John Boys	Walter Green [3]
1421 (May)	Henry Somer	Sir Thomas Charlton [3]
1421 (Dec)	Richard Maidstone	Edmund Bibbesworth [3]
1429	Henry Somer
1442	Thomas Charlton [4]	John Somerset
1447	Thomas Charlton [4]
1449	Thomas Charlton [4]
1453	Thomas Charlton [4]
1459	Sir Thomas Charlton [4]
1460	Sir Thomas Charlton [4]
1491	Sir Thomas Lovell [5]

Table of Knights of the Shire 1509-1660

Summoned	Elected	Assembled	Dissolved	First Member	Second Member
17 October 1509	1509–10	21 January 1510	23 February 1510	Sir Thomas Lovell (I)	unknown
28 November 1511	1511–12	4 February 1512	4 March 1514	unknown	unknown
23 November 1514	1514–15	5 February 1515	22 December 1515	unknown	unknown
unknown	1523	15 April 1523	13 August 1523	Sir Thomas More (I) a	unknown
9 August 1529	1529	3 November 1529	14 April 1536	Robert Wroth b	Richard Hawkes c
27 April 1536	1536	8 June 1536	18 July 1536	unknown	unknown
1 March 1539	1539	28 April 1539	24 July 1540	Sir Ralph Sadler	Robert Cheeseman
23 November 1541	1541–42	16 January 1542	28 March 1544	Robert Cheeseman	John Hughes d
1 December 1544	1544–45	23 November 1545	31 January 1547	Sir William Paget	Thomas Wroth
2 August 1547	1547	4 November 1547	15 April 1552	Sir Thomas Wroth	John Newdigate
5 January 1553	1553	1 March 1553	31 March 1553	Sir Robert Bowes	Sir Thomas Wroth
14 August 1553	1553	5 October 1553	5 December 1553	Sir Edward Hastings	John Newdigate
17 February 1554	1554	2 April 1554	3 May 1554	Sir Edward Hastings	John Newdigate
3 October 1554	1554	12 November 1554	16 January 1555	Sir Edward Hastings	Sir Roger Cholmley
3 September 1555	1555	21 October 1555	9 December 1555	Sir Edward Hastings	Sir Roger Cholmley
6 December 1557	1557–58	20 January 1558	17 November 1558	Sir Roger Cholmley	John Newdigate
5 December 1558	29 December 1558	23 January 1559	8 May 1559	Sir Roger Cholmley	Sir Thomas Wroth
10 November 1562	1562–63	11 January 1563	2 January 1567	Sir William Cordell	Sir Thomas Wroth
unknown	1571	2 April 1571	29 May 1571	Francis Newdigate	John Newdigate
28 March 1572	1572	8 May 1572	19 April 1583	Robert Wroth (I)	Sir Owen Hopton
12 October 1584	1584	23 November 1584	14 September 1585	Robert Wroth (I)	Sir Owen Hopton
15 September 1586	1586	15 October 1586	23 March 1587	Robert Wroth (I)	William Fleetwood (III)
18 September 1588	19 December 1588	4 February 1589	29 March 1589	Robert Wroth (I)	William Fleetwood (III)
4 January 1593	1593	18 February 1593	10 April 1593	Robert Wroth (I)	Francis Bacon
23 August 1597	15 September 1597	24 October 1597	9 February 1598	Sir Robert Wroth (I)	Sir John Peyton (I)
11 September 1601	8 October 1601	27 October 1601	19 December 1601	Sir John Fortescue (I)	Sir Robert Wroth (I)
31 January 1604	1604	19 March 1604	9 February 1611	Sir William Fleetwood	Sir Robert Wroth
unknown	1614	5 April 1614	7 June 1614	Sir Julius Caesar	Sir Thomas Lake
13 November 1620	1620–21	16 January 1621	8 February 1622	Sir Francis Darcy	Sir Gilbert Gerard, Bt
20 December 1623	1623–24	12 February 1624	27 March 1625	Sir Gilbert Gerard, Bt	Sir John Suckling
2 April 1625	1625	17 May 1625	12 August 1625	Sir John Francklyn	Sir Gilbert Gerard, Bt
20 December 1625	1626	6 February 1626	15 June 1626	Sir Gilbert Gerard, Bt	Sir Edward Spencer
31 January 1628	1628	17 March 1628	10 March 1629	Sir Francis Darcy	Sir Henry Spiller
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
20 February 1640	1640	13 April 1640	5 May 1640	Sir John Francklyn	Sir Gilbert Gerard, Bt
24 September 1640	1640	3 November 1640	16 March 1660 e	Sir John Francklyn f	Sir Gilbert Gerard, Bt g
	18 May 1648			Sir Edward Spencer h

Notes:-

• ^a Speaker of the House of Commons.
• ^b Wroth ceased to be an MP after 11 May 1535. It is unknown if there was a by-election.
• ^c Hawkes ceased to be MP by May/June 1532. It is unknown if there was a by-election.
• ^d Hughes ceased to be an MP after January/April 1543. It is unknown if there was a by-election.
• ^e In theory the Long Parliament existed throughout the 1640–1660 term, as it could not be lawfully dissolved without its own consent which was not given until 1660. In practice all or part of the membership of the House of Commons were not permitted to sit for lengthy periods. Other bodies considered to be Parliaments existed within parts of the term of the Long Parliament.
• ^f Francklyn died and a by-election was held.
• ^g In December 1648, Gilbert was excluded from Parliament in Pride's Purge and the seat was left vacant.
• ^h Spencer is not recorded as having sat after Pride's Purge in December 1648.

Table of Members of the Commonwealth Parliaments 1653-1659

The county had three nominated members in the Barebones Parliament, four representatives in the First and Second and the usual two in the Third of the Protectorate Parliaments

Summoned	Elected	Assembled	Dissolved	1st Member	2nd Member	3rd Member	4th Member
		4 July 1653	12 December 1653	Sir William Roberts	Augustine Wingfield	Arthur Squib
1 June 1654	1654	3 September 1654	22 January 1655	Sir James Harrington, Bt	Sir William Roberts	Josiah Berners	Edmund Harvey
10 July 1656	1656	17 September 1656	4 February 1658	Sir John Barkstead	Sir William Roberts	Chaloner Chute	William Kiffen
9 December 1658	1658–59	27 January 1659	22 April 1659	Francis Gerard	Chaloner Chute

Knights of the shire 1660–1885

Year	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
1660		Sir Lancelot Lake	Non Partisan		Sir William Waller	Non Partisan
1661					Sir Thomas Allen	Non Partisan
1679		Sir Robert Peyton	Non Partisan		Sir William Roberts, Bt	Non Partisan
1681		Robert Atkyns	Non Partisan
1681		Nicholas Raynton	Non Partisan
1685		Sir Charles Gerard, Bt	Non Partisan		Ralph Hawtrey	Non Partisan
1695		Edward Russell	Non Partisan		Sir John Wolstenholme, Bt	Non Partisan
1696		Sir John Bucknall	Non Partisan
1698		Warwick Lake	Non Partisan
1701					Hugh Smithson	Tory
1701					John Austen	Whig
1702					Hugh Smithson	Tory
1705		Scorie Barker	Non Partisan		Sir John Wolstenholme, Bt	Non Partisan
1709					John Austen	Whig
1710		Hon. James Bertie	Tory		Hugh Smithson	Tory
1722					Sir John Austen, Bt.	Whig
1727					Sir Francis Child	Tory
1734		William Pulteney	Whig
1740					Sir Hugh Smithson, Bt (later Sir Hugh Percy, Bt)a	Tory
1742		Sir Roger Newdigate, Bt	Tory
1747		Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor, Bt	Whig			Whig
1750					George Cooke	Tory
1768		John Wilkes	Radical
1768					John Glynn	Whig [6]
1769 (Feb)
1769 (Mar)
1769 (Apr)		Henry Luttrell	Tory [6]
1774		John Wilkes	Radical [6]
1779					Thomas Wood	Whig
1780					George Byng	Whig [6]
1784					William Mainwaring	Tory [6]
1790		George Byng	Whig [6] [7]
1802					Sir Francis Burdett, Bt	Whig [6]
1804					George Boulton Mainwaring	Tory [6]
1805					Sir Francis Burdett, Bt	Whig [6]
1806					George Boulton Mainwaring	Tory [6]
1806					William Mellish	Tory [6]
1820					Samuel Charles Whitbread	Whig [6]
1830					Joseph Hume	Radical [6] [8]
1837					Thomas Wood	Conservative [6]
1847		Lord Robert Grosvenor	Whig [9] [10] [11]
1847					Ralph Bernal Osborne	Radical [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
1857					Robert Culling Hanbury	Whig [18] [19]
1857		Hon. George Byng (later Viscount Enfield)b	Whig [20] [21] [22]
1859			Liberal			Liberal
1867					Henry Labouchère	Liberal
1868					Lord George Hamilton	Conservative
1874		Octavius Coope	Conservative
1885	constituency divided and abolished

Notes:-

• ^a Smithson, not the same man as the former member of the same name, changed his surname to Percy before the 1741 general election.
• ^b Byng received the courtesy title of Viscount Enfield in 1860.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 2)

Elections

General notes

In multi-member elections the bloc voting system was used. Voters could cast a vote for two candidates or "plump" for one, as they chose. The leading candidates with the largest number of votes were elected.

In by-elections, to fill a single seat, the first past the post system applied.

Table terms

After 1832 (from registration of voters) Turnout is estimated for contests. In two-member elections precise turnout is unknown; maximum turnout is known by dividing the number of votes by two. This underestimates the turnout by the number of "plumpers" (see above).

For candidates across elections, Change is shown for each, otherwise it is that of the party vote.

Men for whom no party has been identified are marked Non Partisan. He might have been associated with a party or faction in Parliament or consider himself to belong to a particular political tradition. Political parties before the nineteenth century were not as cohesive or organised as they later became. Contemporary commentators (even the reputed leaders of parties or factions) in the eighteenth century did not necessarily agree who the party supporters were. The traditional parties, which had arisen in the late seventeenth century, became less relevant to politics in the eighteenth century (particularly after 1760) but for some contests in some constituencies party labels were still used. Towards 1800 party labels began, gradually, to regain strength.

Sources

Results of 1660-1790 are by History of Parliament Trust publications. The results from 1790– 1832 are by Stooks Smith, thereafter his work becoming the footnotes for results by Craig.

Results 1660–1885

Parliament of England

General election 5 April 1660: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Lancelot Lake	Elected	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	William Waller	Elected	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Gilbert Gerard	Defeated	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	William Roberts	Defeated	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	James Harington	Defeated	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	John Page	Defeated	N/A	N/A

• Note (1660) vote totals unavailable

General election 4 April 1661: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Lancelot Lake	Elected	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Thomas Allen	Elected	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	John Robinson	Defeated	N/A	N/A

• Note (1661) vote totals unavailable

General Election 21 February 1679: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Robert Peyton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	William Roberts	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Note (1679): Roberts was not the same man as the 1660 candidate of the same name.

General Election 3 September 1679: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	William Roberts	720	45.37	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Robert Peyton	670	42.22	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Francis Gerard	194	12.22	N/A
	Nonpartisan	William Smyth	3	0.19	N/A

• Note (1679): Smyth is referred to as Smith in House of Commons 1660-1690, but Smyth seems to be correct from Leigh Rayment's list of baronets.
• Expulsion from the House of Peyton

By-Election 13 January 1681: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Robert Atkyns	680	55.78	+55.78
	Nonpartisan	Hugh Middleton	379	31.09	+31.09
	Nonpartisan	Charles Umfrevile	160	13.13	+13.13
Majority			301	24.69	N/A
	Nonpartisan hold		Swing	N/A

General election 3 March 1681: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	William Roberts	1,054	35.73	+35.73
	Nonpartisan	Nicholas Raynton	874	29.63	+29.63
	Nonpartisan	Hugh Middleton	607	20.58	-10.51
	Nonpartisan	Charles Gerard	415	14.07	+14.07

General election 18 March 1685: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Charles Gerard	Elected	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Roger Hawtrey	Elected	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Hugh Middleton	Defeated	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Nicholas Raynton	Defeated	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Thomas Johnson	Defeated	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	William Smyth	Defeated	N/A	N/A

• Note (1685) vote totals unavailable. Smyth is referred to as Smith in House of Commons 1660-1690, but Smyth seems to be correct from Leigh Rayment's list of baronets.

General election 11 January 1689: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Charles Gerard	Elected	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Roger Hawtrey	Elected	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Robert Peyton	Defeated	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Thomas Johnson	Defeated	N/A	N/A

• Note (1689) vote totals unavailable

General election 1690: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Charles Gerard	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Roger Hawtrey	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 14 November 1695: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Edward Russell	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	John Wolstenholme	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Choice of Russell to sit for Cambridgeshire

By-Election 8 January 1696: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	John Bucknall	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan hold		Swing	N/A

General election 4 August 1698: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Warwick Lake	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	John Wolstenholme	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 16 January 1701: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Warwick Lake	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Hugh Smithson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 3 December 1701: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Warwick Lake	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	John Austen	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 30 July 1702: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Warwick Lake	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Hugh Smithson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 28 May 1705: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Scorie Barker	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	John Wolstenholme	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Parliament of Great Britain

General election 1708: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Scorie Barker	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	John Wolstenholme	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Death of Wolstenholme

By-Election 3 March 1709: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Austen	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig gain from Nonpartisan		Swing	N/A

General election 12 October 1710: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	James Bertie	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Hugh Smithson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 1713: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	James Bertie	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Hugh Smithson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 27 January 1715: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	James Bertie	1,604	27.60	N/A
	Tory	Hugh Smithson	1,553	26.72	N/A
	Whig	John Austen	1,330	22.80	N/A
	Whig	Henry Barker	1,325	22.80	N/A

General election 30 March 1722: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	James Bertie	1,800	39.43	+11.83
	Whig	John Austen	967	21.18	-1.62
	Whig	Henry Barker	908	18.89	-3.91
	Tory	George Cooke	662	14.50	+14.50
	Tory	William Withers	228	5.00	+5.00

General election 6 September 1727: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	James Bertie	1,410	29.21	-10.22
	Tory	Francis Child	1,305	27.03	+27.03
	Whig	Henry Barker	1,074	22.25	+3.36
	Whig	Lord Paget	1,039	21.52	+21.52

General election 25 April 1734: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Francis Child	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	William Pulteney	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Death of Child

By-Election 15 March 1740: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Hugh Smithson	382	72.21	N/A
	Whig	Henry Barker	147	27.79	N/A
Majority			235	44.42	N/A
	Tory hold		Swing	N/A

• Smithson (not the same person as the former MP of the same name) subsequently changed his surname to Percy

General election 14 May 1741: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Pulteney	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Hugh Percy	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Creation of Pulteney as 1st Earl of Bath

By-Election 5 August 1742: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Roger Newdigate	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

General election 2 July 1747: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Hugh Percy	1,797	36.33	N/A
	Whig	William Beauchamp-Proctor	1,457	29.45	N/A
	Tory	George Cooke	899	18.17	N/A
	Tory	Roger Newdigate	794	16.05	N/A

• Succession of Percy as 2nd Earl of Northumberland

By-Election 8 March 1750: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	George Cooke	1,617	57.38	+39.21
	Whig	Fraser Honywood	1,201	42.62	+42.62
Majority			416	14.76	N/A
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

General election 2 May 1754: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	George Cooke	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	William Beauchamp-Proctor	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 7 April 1761: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	George Cooke	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	William Beauchamp-Proctor	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Appointment of Cooke as Joint Paymaster of the Forces

By-Election 27 November 1766: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	George Cooke	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory hold		Swing	N/A

General election 28 March 1768: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	John Wilkes	1,297	44.33	N/A
	Tory	George Cooke	827	28.26	N/A
	Whig	William Beauchamp-Proctor	802	27.41	N/A

• Note (1768): Stooks Smith attributes 1,292 votes to Wilkes. Stooks Smith does not give candidates party labels in Middlesex until after this election.
• Death of Cooke

By-Election 14 December 1768: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Glynn	1,548	54.89	+54.89
	Tory	William Beauchamp-Proctor	1,272	45.11	+17.70
Majority			276	9.79	N/A
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

• Note (1768): Poll 6 days (Source: Stooks Smith)
• Expulsion from the House of Wilkes, declared incapable of being elected 3 February 1769

By-Election 16 February 1769: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	John Wilkes	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Radical hold		Swing	N/A

• Expulsion from the House of Wilkes, election declared void

By-Election 16 March 1769: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	John Wilkes	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Radical hold		Swing	N/A

• Expulsion from the House of Wilkes, election declared void 17 March 1769

By-Election 13 April 1769: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	John Wilkes	1,143	79.16	N/A
	Tory	Henry Luttrell	296	20.50	N/A
	Whig	William Whitaker	5	0.35	N/A
Majority			847	58.66	N/A
	Radical hold		Swing	N/A

• Election return of Wilkes amended to Luttrell by Parliament on 14 April 1769 and Luttrell seated as the MP 15 April 1769

General election 20 October 1774: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Glynn	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Radical	John Wilkes	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Death of Glynn

By-Election 28 October 1779: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Wood	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 14 September 1780: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Radical	John Wilkes	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 22 April 1784: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	William Mainwaring	2,118	36.72	N/A
	Radical	John Wilkes	1,858	32.21	N/A
	Whig	George Byng	1,792	31.07	N/A

General election 28 June 1790: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	William Mainwaring	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Note (1790): The George Byng who contested Middlesex elections from this year is a different person from the one who stood previously

General election 3 June 1796: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	William Mainwaring	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Parliament of the United Kingdom

General election 13 July 1802: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	3,848	38.5	N/A
	Radical	Francis Burdett	3,207	32.1	N/A
	Tory	William Mainwaring	2,936	29.4	N/A
Majority			269	2.7	N/A
Turnout			9,991
	Radical gain from Tory		Swing
	Whig hold		Swing

• Note (1802): Poll 15 days (Source: Stooks Smith)
• Election of Burdett declared void 9 July 1804

By-Election 23 July 1804: Middlesex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	George Boulton Mainwaring	2,828	50.0	+20.6
	Radical	Francis Burdett	2,823	50.0	+17.9
Majority			5	0.0	N/A
Turnout			5,651
	Tory gain from Radical		Swing

• Note (1804): Poll 15 days (Source: Stooks Smith)
• Election of Mainwaring challenged by a petition of Burdett. Mainwaring unseated and Francis Burdett seated on 5 March 1805. (Source: The Times (of London), edition of 6 March 1805)
• Election of Burdett challenged by a petition of Mainwaring. Burdett unseated and George Boulton Mainwaring seated with effect from 10 February 1806. (Source: The Times (of London), edition of 10 February 1806)

General election 10 November 1806: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	William Mellish	3,213	47.9	+18.5
	Whig	George Byng	2,304	34.3	-4.2
	Radical	Francis Burdett	1,197	17.8	-18.3
Majority			1,107	16.5	N/A
Turnout			6,714
	Whig gain from Radical		Swing
	Tory hold		Swing

• Note (1806): Poll 15 days (Source: Stooks Smith)

General election 18 May 1807: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	William Mellish	2,706	42.8	-5.1
	Whig	George Byng	2,368	37.4	+3.1
	Tory	Sir Christopher Baynes, 1st Baronet	1,252	19.8	+19.8
Majority			116	18.6	+2.1
Turnout			6,326
	Tory hold		Swing
	Whig hold		Swing

General election 12 October 1812: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed
	Tory	William Mellish	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Tory hold

General election 26 June 1818: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed
	Tory	William Mellish	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Tory hold

General election 17 March 1820: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	4,004	37.6	N/A
	Whig	Samuel Charles Whitbread	3,585	33.6	N/A
	Tory	William Mellish	3,073	28.8	N/A
Majority			512	4.8	N/A
Turnout			10,662
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing
	Whig hold		Swing

• Note (1820): Poll 12 days (Source: Stooks Smith)

General election 1826: Middlesex (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed
	Whig	Samuel Charles Whitbread	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 5 August 1830: Middlesex (2 seats) ^{[6] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed
	Radical	Joseph Hume	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Radical gain from Whig

General election 1831: Middlesex (2 seats) ^{[6] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed
	Radical	Joseph Hume	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Radical hold

General election 1832: Middlesex (2 seats) ^{[6] [24]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Radical	Joseph Hume	3,238	36.9
	Whig	George Byng	3,033	34.6
	Tory	Charles Forbes	1,494	17.0
	Radical	John Scott Lillie	1,004	11.4
Turnout			5,132	74.0
Registered electors			6,939
Majority			205	2.3
	Radical hold
Majority			1,539	17.6
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Middlesex (2 seats) ^{[6] [24]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	3,505	37.7	+3.1
	Radical	Joseph Hume	3,096	33.3	−15.0
	Conservative	Thomas Wood	2,707	29.1	+12.1
Turnout			6,046	75.5	+1.5
Registered electors			8,005
Majority			409	4.4	−13.2
	Whig hold		Swing	+5.3
Majority			389	4.2	+1.9
	Radical hold		Swing	−13.6

• Note (1835): The Thomas Wood who contested Middlesex elections from this year is a different person from the one who was elected in 1779

General election 31 July 1837: Middlesex (2 seats) ^{[6] [24]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	4,796	26.6	−11.1
	Conservative	Thomas Wood	4,582	25.4	+10.9
	Radical	Joseph Hume	4,380	24.3	−9.0
	Conservative	Henry Pownall	4,273	23.7	+9.2
Turnout			9,260	72.2	−3.3
Registered electors			12,817
Majority			214	1.2	−3.2
	Whig hold		Swing	−10.6
Majority			202	1.1	N/A
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	+7.7

General election 1841: Middlesex (2 seats) ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed
	Conservative	Thomas Wood	Unopposed
Registered electors			13,915
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

Byng's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 3 February 1847: Middlesex ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Grosvenor	Unopposed
	Whig hold
Registered electors			12,577

12577

General election 4 August 1847: Middlesex (2 seats) ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Grosvenor	4,944	39.3	N/A
	Radical	Ralph Bernal Osborne	4,175	33.2	N/A
	Conservative	Thomas Wood	3,458	27.5	N/A
Turnout			6,289 (est)	45.6 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			13,781
Majority			769	6.1	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			717	5.7	N/A
	Radical gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

General election 1852: Middlesex (2 seats) ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Grosvenor	5,241	37.7	−1.6
	Radical	Ralph Bernal Osborne	4,390	31.6	−1.6
	Conservative	John Spencer-Churchill	4,258	30.7	+3.2
Turnout			6,945 (est)	47.5 (est)	+1.9
Registered electors			14,610
Majority			851	6.1	—
	Whig hold		Swing	−1.6
Majority			132	0.9	−4.8
	Radical hold		Swing	−1.6

General election 29 April 1857: Middlesex (2 seats) ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Culling Hanbury	5,426	39.7	+8.1
	Whig	Robert Grosvenor	5,327	38.9	+1.2
	Conservative	Henry Cadogan	2,928	21.4	−9.3
Majority			2,399	17.5	+11.4
Turnout			8,305 (est)	55.4 (est)	+7.9
Registered electors			14,977
	Whig hold		Swing	+6.4
	Whig gain from Radical		Swing	+2.9

• Creation of Grosvenor as 1st Baron Ebury

By-election, 3 September 1857: Middlesex ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Byng	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1859: Middlesex (2 seats) ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Culling Hanbury	3,678	43.6	+3.9
	Liberal	George Byng	3,618	42.9	+4.0
	Conservative	James Haig [25]	1,147	13.6	−7.8
Majority			2,471	29.3	+11.8
Turnout			4,795 (est)	31.6 (est)	−23.8
Registered electors			15,171
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.9
	Liberal hold		Swing	+4.0

• Byng became known by the courtesy title of Viscount Enfield when his father became 2nd Earl of Strafford in 1860

General election 1865: Middlesex (2 seats) ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Byng	Unopposed
	Liberal	Robert Culling Hanbury	Unopposed
Registered electors			14,847
	Liberal hold
	Liberal hold

• Death of Hanbury

By-election 15 April 1867: Middlesex ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Labouchere	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 21 November 1868: Middlesex (2 seats) ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Hamilton	7,850	37.9	New
	Liberal	George Byng	6,487	31.3	N/A
	Liberal	Henry Labouchere	6,397	30.9	N/A
Majority			1,453	7.0	N/A
Turnout			14,292 (est)	56.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			25,196
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 14 February 1874: Middlesex (2 seats) ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Hamilton	10,343	33.3	+14.3
	Conservative	Octavius Coope	9,867	31.8	+12.8
	Liberal	George Byng	5,623	18.1	−13.2
	Liberal	Frederick Lehmann	5,192	16.7	−14.2
Majority			4,244	13.7	N/A
Turnout			15,513 (est)	61.9 (est)	+5.2
Registered electors			25,071
	Conservative hold		Swing	+14.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+13.3

• Appointment of Hamilton as Vice-President of the Privy Council Committee on Education

By-election, 12 April 1878: Middlesex ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Hamilton	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1880: Middlesex (2 seats) ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Hamilton	12,904	37.8	+4.5
	Conservative	Octavius Coope	12,328	36.1	+4.3
	Liberal	Herbert Gladstone	8,876	26.0	−8.8
Majority			3,452	10.1	-3.6
Turnout			21,492 (est)	70.0 (est)	+8.1
Registered electors			30,707
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.4

• Appointment of Hamilton as First Lord of the Admiralty

By-election, 3 July 1885: Middlesex ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Hamilton	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Constituency divided in the 1885 redistribution

See also

• List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
• Unreformed House of Commons
• List of parliaments of England
• Duration of English, British and United Kingdom parliaments from 1660

References

Citations

1. "Brentford Elections In The Past: scenes of riot, disorder and tumult" Brentford TW8: Brentford's local website Accessed 2017-60-03
2. Reform Act 1867, Sch. B & Sch. C Legislation.gov.uk Publisher: UK Government. Accessed 2017-08-19
3. "History of Parliament" . Retrieved 17 September 2011.
4. "Charlton, Sir Thomas" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/92982 . Retrieved 1 December 2011.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
5. Cavill. The English Parliaments of Henry VII 1485-1504.
6. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp.  206–208. ISBN   0-900178-13-2.
7. "Middlesex Election" . Leeds Times. 17 January 1835. p. 2. Retrieved 17 May 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
8. Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. pp. 127–128. Retrieved 17 May 2019– via Google Books.
9. "Forthcoming Elections" . London Daily News. 31 July 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
10. Pollard, Alfred Frederick (1901). "Grosvenor, Robert (1801-1893)"  . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
11. Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 177. Retrieved 11 August 2018– via Google Books.
12. "Ralph Bernal". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
13. Malcolmson, A. P. W. (2006). The Pursuit of the Heiress: Aristocratic Marriage in Ireland 1740-1840 (Illustrated ed.). Ulster Historical Foundation. p. 176. ISBN   9781903688656 . Retrieved 11 August 2018– via Google Books.
14. "The Brazil Controversy". The Spectator. 18 February 1865. p. 13. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
15. Rubinstein, William D.; Jolles, Michael A.; Rubinstein, Hilary L., eds. (2011). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 191. ISBN   978-1-4039-3910-4 . Retrieved 11 August 2018– via Google Books.
16. Hawkins, Angus (2015). Victorian Political Culture: 'Habits of Heart & Mind'. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 280. ISBN   978-0-19-872848-1 . Retrieved 11 August 2018– via Google Books.
17. "Members Returned, with Their Political Predilections" . Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. 12 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 11 August 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
18. "Middlesex" . Coventry Standard. 10 April 1857. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 11 August 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
19. "Portsmouth Times and Naval Gazette" . 18 April 1857. p. 6. Retrieved 11 August 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
20. "Latest News" . York Herald. 5 September 1857. p. 7. Retrieved 15 July 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
21. "Representation of Middlesex" . Leeds Mercury. 1 September 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
22. "Representation of Middlesex" . London Daily News. 2 September 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
23. Escott, Margaret. "Middlesex". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
24. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 424–425. ISBN   978-1-349-02349-3.
25. "Middlesex Election" . Marylebone Mercury. 7 May 1859. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 11 August 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

• British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977)
• The House of Commons 1509-1558, by S.T. Bindoff (Secker & Warburg 1982)
• The House of Commons 1558-1603, by P.W. Hasler (HMSO 1981)
• The House of Commons 1660-1690, by Basil Duke Henning (Secker & Warburg 1983)
• The House of Commons 1715-1754, by Romney Sedgwick (HMSO 1970)
• The House of Commons 1754-1790, by Sir Lewis Namier and John Brooke (HMSO 1964)
• The House of Commons 1790-1820, by R.G. Thorne (Secker & Warburg 1986)
• The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
• 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)
• List of members nominated for Parliament of 1653 at British History Online