Selkirk and Peebles (Commonwealth Parliament constituency)

Further information: First Protectorate Parliament § Scotland

Selkirk and Peebles
Former constituency for the Protectorate Parliament
Region	Scotland
Former constituency
Created	1654
Abolished	1659
Created from	Scotland
Replaced by	Selkirkshire Peeblesshire

During the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland , called the Protectorate, the Scottish sheriffdoms of Selkirk and Peebles were jointly represented by one Member of Parliament in the House of Commons at Westminster from 1654 until 1659. This electoral union was established under the Ordinance for uniting Scotland into one Commonwealth with England (1654), which reduced Scotland's parliamentary representation to just 30 members. ^[1]

Historical context

• The union reflected Cromwell's administrative reforms that merged traditional Scottish jurisdictions for parliamentary purposes ^[2]
• These Border sheriffdoms were combined due to their small populations and geographic proximity ^[3]
• Elections followed the Protectorate's modified electoral procedures, with voting restricted to property-owning males

References

1. "Economic and Social History Society of Scotland: Report for 1989". Scottish Economic & Social History. 10 (1): 125–126. May 1990. doi:10.3366/sesh.1990.10.10.125. ISSN   0269-5030.
2. Williamson, Arthur H. (1 December 1980). "F. D. Dow. Cromwellian Scotland, 1651–1660. Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers; distributed by Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, N.J. 1979. Pp. xii, 361. $37.50". The American Historical Review. 85 (5): 1199–1199. doi:10.1086/ahr/85.5.1199. ISSN   1937-5239.
3. "Early Stuart Parliaments, 1603-1640", The Stuart Parliaments 1603–1689, Bloomsbury Academic, ISBN   978-1-4742-1025-6 , retrieved 4 August 2025