Selkirkshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Selkirkshire
Selkirkshire
Former county constituency ; for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	Selkirkshire
1708–1868
Seats	One
Replaced by	Peebles & Selkirk ; Hawick Burghs

Last updated April 15, 2025

Selkirkshire was a Scottish county constituency represented in Great Britain and after 1801 the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 until 1868, when it was combined with Peeblesshire to form Peebles and Selkirk.

Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Selkirkshire.

Boundaries

The constituency covered the whole county of Selkirkshire except for the county town of Selkirk which was represented separately as part of the Lanark Burghs constituency until 1832 when it was combined with Selkirkshire.

History

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was abolished for the 1868 general election.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] It was combined with Peeblesshire to form Peebles and Selkirk.

Members of Parliament

Election	Member	Party	Notes
1708	John Pringle I		appointed Lord of Session in 1729, as Lord Haining
1730 by-election	James Rutherford
1734	John Murray		Previously MP for Lanark Burghs 1725–34. Hereditary Sheriff of Selkirk 1708–34.
1753 by-election	Gilbert Elliot
1765 by-election	John Pringle II		second son of Lord Haining
1786 by-election	Mark Pringle
1802	John Rutherfurd
1806	William Eliott-Lockhart	Tory ^[6]
1830	Alexander Pringle	Tory ^[7]^[8]
1832	Robert Pringle	Whig ^[7]
1835	Alexander Pringle	Conservative ^[7]
1846 by-election	Allan Eliott-Lockhart	Conservative
1861 by-election	The Lord Henry Montagu-Douglas-Scott	Conservative	Later 1st Baron Montagu of Beaulieu. MP for South Hampshire 1868–84.
1868	constituency abolished. See Peebles and Selkirk

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Selkirkshire^[7]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Alexander Pringle	Unopposed
Registered electors			53
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Selkirkshire^[7]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Alexander Pringle	Unopposed
Registered electors			53
	Tory hold

General election 1832: Selkirkshire^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Pringle (MP)	133	51.8
	Tory	Alexander Pringle	124	48.2
Majority			9	3.6
Turnout			257	91.5
Registered electors			281
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1835: Selkirkshire^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Pringle	206	54.1	+5.9
	Whig	Robert Pringle (MP)	175	45.9	−5.9
Majority			31	8.2	N/A
Turnout			381	90.1	−1.4
Registered electors			423
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+5.9

General election 1837: Selkirkshire^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Pringle	262	54.9	+0.8
	Whig	Robert Pringle (MP)	215	45.1	−0.8
Majority			47	9.8	+1.6
Turnout			477	85.0	−5.1
Registered electors			561
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.8

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Selkirkshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Alexander Pringle	Unopposed
Registered electors			612
	Conservative hold

Pringle was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 21 September 1841: Selkirkshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Pringle	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Pringle resigned after being appointed Clerk of Sasines, causing a by-election.

By-election, 12 February 1846: Selkirkshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allan Eliott-Lockhart	223	100.0	*N/A*
	Whig	John Nesbitt-Murray	0	0.0	New
Majority			223	100.0	N/A
Turnout			223	35.9	N/A
Registered electors			622
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Selkirkshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Allan Eliott-Lockhart	Unopposed
Registered electors			622
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Selkirkshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Allan Eliott-Lockhart	Unopposed
Registered electors			497
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Selkirkshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Allan Eliott-Lockhart	Unopposed
Registered electors			362
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Selkirkshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Allan Eliott-Lockhart	Unopposed
Registered electors			361
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

Eliott-Lockhart resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 1 August 1861: Selkirkshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Douglas-Scott-Montagu	158	53.7	*N/A*
	Liberal	William Napier^[11]	136	46.3	New
Majority			22	7.4	N/A
Turnout			294	81.4	N/A
Registered electors			361
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1865: Selkirkshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Douglas-Scott-Montagu	227	53.7	*N/A*
	Liberal	William Napier	196	46.3	N/A
Majority			31	7.4	N/A
Turnout			423	84.3	N/A
Registered electors			502
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

References

↑ "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
↑ "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
↑ "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
↑ "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
↑ "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
↑ Fisher, David R. "ELIOTT LOCKHART, William (1764-1832), of Borthwickbrae, Roxburgh". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 211. Retrieved 9 May 2020– via Google Books.
↑ Fisher, David R. "PRINGLE, Alexander (1791-1857), of Whytbank and Yair, Selkirk". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
1 2 Fisher, David R. "Selkirkshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 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.
↑ "Selkirk Election" . Newcastle Journal . 1 August 1861. p. 3. Retrieved 26 March 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 604. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
History of Parliament: constituencies
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 2)

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[HOP1690-1] "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[HOP1715-2] "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[HOP1754-3] "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[HOP1790-4] "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[HOP1820-5] "Selkirkshire". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[6] Fisher, David R. "ELIOTT LOCKHART, William (1764-1832), of Borthwickbrae, Roxburgh". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.

[stookssmith-7] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 211. Retrieved 9 May 2020– via Google Books.

[8] Fisher, David R. "PRINGLE, Alexander (1791-1857), of Whytbank and Yair, Selkirk". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.

[hop1820-1832-9] 1 2 Fisher, David R. "Selkirkshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.

[craig1832-10] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 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.

[11] "Selkirk Election" . Newcastle Journal . 1 August 1861. p. 3. Retrieved 26 March 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.

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Selkirkshire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	Selkirkshire
1708–1868
Seats	One
Replaced by	Peebles & Selkirk Hawick Burghs