Staffordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

Staffordshire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
County Staffordshire
1290–1832
SeatsTwo
Replaced by North Staffordshire and South Staffordshire

Staffordshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832.

Contents

History

Boundaries and franchise

The constituency, which first returned members to Parliament in 1290, consisted of the historic county of Staffordshire, excluding the city of Lichfield which had the status of a county in itself after 1556. (Although Staffordshire also contained the boroughs of Stafford and Newcastle-under-Lyme, and part of the borough of Tamworth, each of which elected two MPs in its own right for part of the period when Staffordshire was a constituency, these were not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election. This was not the case, though, for Lichfield.)

As in other county constituencies the franchise between 1430 and 1832 was defined by the Forty Shilling Freeholder Act, which gave the right to vote to every man who possessed freehold property within the county valued at £2 or more per year for the purposes of land tax; it was not necessary for the freeholder to occupy his land, nor even in later years to be resident in the county at all.

Except briefly during the period of the Commonwealth, Staffordshire had two MPs, traditionally known as Knights of the Shire, elected by the bloc vote method, under which each voter had two votes. (In the First and Second Parliaments of Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate, there was a general redistribution of seats and Staffordshire elected three members; the traditional arrangements were restored from 1659.)

Character

In the Middle Ages Staffordshire was mainly an agricultural county, but was transformed by the Industrial Revolution and had become significantly urbanised. By the time of the Great Reform Act in 1832, Staffordshire had a population of approximately 410,000, of which around 65,000 were in Wolverhampton, 60,000 in the urban area round Stoke-on-Trent, and 15,000 in Walsall. Its principal industries were hardware and pottery manufacture, and it also drew prosperity from the importance of the River Trent as a means of transport and from the extensive canal network constructed in the county in the 18th century.

Nevertheless, the urban and industrial interests had no opportunity to develop political leverage in Staffordshire. Although the qualified electorate numbered some 5,000 in the 18th century, control of the representation was entirely in the hands of a small number of aristocratic families, most notably the Leveson-Gowers (Marquesses of Stafford) and the Bagots. As in most counties of any size, contested elections were avoided whenever possible because of the expense. Elections were held at a single polling place, Stafford, and voters from the rest of the county had to travel to the county town to exercise their franchise; candidates were expected to meet the expenses of their supporters in travelling to the poll and to entertain them lavishly with food and drink when they got there. The MPs were generally chosen by and from among the principal families of the county, and it would have been futile as well as ruinously expensive for an outsider to fight an election. In fact there were only three contested elections in Staffordshire between 1700 and 1747, and none at all afterwards: in 1753, the Leveson Gowers and the Bagots, despite their political differences (the former being Whigs and the latter Tories) reached a satisfactory compromise, and thereafter the Leveson Gowers nominated one MP and the remaining county gentry the other (who was frequently a Bagot).

Abolition

The constituency was abolished in 1832 by the Great Reform Act, which divided the county into two new two-member divisions, Northern Staffordshire and Southern Staffordshire, and also created new boroughs from three of the larger towns previously in the county constituency (Stoke-upon-Trent, Walsall and Wolverhampton).

Members of Parliament

MPs 1290–1640

ParliamentFirst memberSecond member
1295 Richard de Caverswall [1]
1324 Sir John de Arderne
1332 Philip de Lutley [2]
1336 Sir Robert de Mauveysin [3]
1341 Adam de Peshale or Peshall [4]
1378 Robert Stafford Sir Robert de Swynnerton [5]
1380 Robert Stafford
1380 Sir Robert Peshall
1382 Robert Stafford
1382John Basset
1383 Robert Stafford
1383 Sir Robert Peshall
1386 Sir William Shareshull Aymer Lichfield [6]
1388 (Feb) Sir John Ipstones Roger Longridge [6]
1388 (Sep) Sir Thomas Aston John Delves [6]
1389 William Chetwynd?
1390 (Jan) Sir Nicholas Stafford John Delves [6]
1390 (Nov) Sir Nicholas Stafford John Delves [6]
1391 Sir John Bagot William Walsall [6]
1393 Sir Thomas Aston William Walsall I [6]
1394 Sir John Ipstones (murdered on arrival in London February 1394) [7] William Walsall [6]
1395 Sir William Shareshull Aymer Lichfield [6]
1397 (Jan) Sir John Bagot Sir Robert Francis [6]
1397 (Sep) Sir John Bagot Rustin Villeneuve [6]
1399 Sir Thomas Aston Sir Robert Francis [6]
1401 Sir John Bagot Sir Robert Francis [6]
1402 John Swynnerton William Walsall [6]
1404 (Jan) Ralph Stafford William Walsall [6]
1404 (Oct) Sir John Bagot Sir Robert Francis [6]
1406 Sir Thomas Aston Sir Humphrey Stafford [6]
1407 Sir John Bagot Sir William Newport [6]
1410
1411 Sir John Bagot Sir William Newport [6]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May) Sir Thomas Gresley Hugh Erdeswyk [6]
1414 (Apr) John Meverel William Walsall [6]
1414 (Nov) John Meverel Sir William Newport [6]
1415
1416 (Mar) Humphrey Haughton Roger Bradshaw [6]
1416 (Oct)
1417
1419 Sir Thomas Gresley Sir Richard Vernon [6]
1420 William Lee II John Mynors [6]
1421 (May) Sir John Bagot Richard Lane [6]
1421 (Dec) Hugh Erdeswyk Richard Lane [6]
1422Sir Thomas Stanley Sir John Gresley
1431 John Mynors John Harpour
1437 John Hampton John Mynors
1439 John Hampton
1442 John Hampton
1445 Robert Whitgreve
1449 (Feb) John Hampton
1449 (Nov) Robert Whitgreve John Hampton
1455Sir William Vernon
1467 Sir John Delves [8]
1491 William Chetwynd [9]
1504 Sir Edmond Dudley
1510–1523No Names Known [10]
1529 Sir John Giffard Edward Littleton [10]
1536
1539 Edward Littleton Thomas Giffard [10]
1542 Sir John Dudley Sir Philip Draycott [10]
1545 Sir George Griffith Thomas Fitzherbert [10]
1547 Sir William Paget, ennobled
and replaced Jan 1552 by
Sir Ralph Bagnall
Sir John Harcourt [10]
1553 (Mar) William Devereux Walter Aston [10]
1553 (Oct) Sir Thomas Giffard Edward Littleton [10]
1554 (Apr) Sir Philip Draycott Thomas Grey [10]
1554 (Nov) Sir Philip Draycott (Sir) Edward Littleton [10]
1555Sir Thomas Giffard (Sir) Edward Littleton [10]
1558 Brian Fowler Francis Meverell [10]
1559 (Jan) Sir Ralph Bagnall Simon Harcourt [11]
1562–1563 Simon Harcourt John Grey [11]
1571 John Grey Thomas Trentham [11]
1572 (Apr) John Fleetwood Thomas Whorwood [11]
1584 (Nov) Hon. Edward Dudley (alias Sutton) Edward Legh [11]
1586 John Grey William Bassett [11]
1588-1589 (Sir) Walter Harcourt Thomas Gerard
1593 Sir Christopher Blount
1597-1598 Hon. John Dudley
1601 Sir Thomas Gerard Sir John Egerton
1604-1611 Sir Edward Littleton
Littleton dying 1610 - replaced by
Francis Trentham
Robert Stanford
Stanford died 1597 - replaced by
Sir John Egerton
Addled Parliament (1614) Sir Walter Chetwynd Thomas Crompton
1621-1622 Sir William Bowyer Thomas Crompton
Happy Parliament (1624-1625) Sir William Bowyer Sir Edward Littleton
Useless Parliament (1625) Richard Erdeswick Sir Simon Weston
1625-1626 Sir William Bowyer Sir Simon Weston
1628-1629 Sir Hervey Bagot Thomas Crompton
1629-1640No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1832

ElectionFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party
April 1640 Sir Edward Littleton Parliamentarian Sir William Bowyer
November 1640 Sir William Bowyer Parliamentarian
1641 Sir Hervey Bagot Royalist
November 1642Bagot disabled from sitting - seat vacant
March 1644Littleton disabled from sitting - seat vacant
1646 John Bowyer Sir Richard Skeffington
1647 Thomas Crompton
December 1648Bowyer excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653 George Bellot John Chetwood
Staffordshire's representation was increased to three Members in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1654 Sir Charles Wolseley, Thomas Crompton, Thomas Whitgrave
1656
Staffordshire's representation reverted to two Members in the Third Protectorate Parliament
January 1659 Thomas Crompton Sir Thomas Whitgrave
May 1659 Thomas Crompton
April 1660 Edward Bagot William Sneyd
1661 Sir Thomas Leigh Randolph Egerton
1663 Sir Edward Littleton
1679 Sir Walter Bagot Sir John Bowyer
1685 Edward Littleton
1689 John Grey
1690 Walter Chetwynd
1693 Sir Walter Bagot
1695 Henry Paget Tory
1698 (Sir) Edward Bagot [12]
1708 John Wrottesley
1710 William Ward
1712 Charles Bagot
1713 Ralph Sneyd Henry Vernon
1715 Lord Paget Tory William Ward
1720 by-election Hon. William Leveson-Gower
1727 Sir Walter Wagstaffe Bagot Tory
1754 (Sir) William Bagot [13] Tory
1757 by-election Hon. Henry Thynne
1761 Lord Grey Whig
May 1768 by-election Captain (Sir) John Wrottesley [14] Whig
1780 Viscount Lewisham Tory
1784 Sir Edward Littleton Whig
1787 by-election Earl Gower Whig
1799 by-election Lord Granville Leveson-Gower Whig
May 1812 by-election Edward Littleton Canningite Tory
1815 by-election Earl Gower Whig
1820 Sir John Fenton Boughey Whig
1823 by-election Major-General Sir John Wrottesley Whig
c. 1830 Whig
1832 Constituency abolished: replaced by North Staffordshire and South Staffordshire

Elections

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower</span> English Tory politician and peer (1694–1752)

John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower, PC was an English Tory politician and peer who twice served as Lord Privy Seal from 1742 to 1743 and 1744 to 1754. Leveson-Gower also served in the Parliament of Great Britain, where he sat in the House of Lords as a leading member of the Tories, prior to switching his political affiliation and serving in various Whig-led government ministries until his death in 1754.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lichfield (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

Lichfield is a constituency in Staffordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1997 recreation by Michael Fabricant, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a constituency in northern Staffordshire created in 1354 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Aaron Bell of the Conservative Party. It was the last to be co-represented by a member of the Conservative Party when it was dual-member, before the 1885 general election which followed the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 coupled with the Reform Act 1884. In 1919 the local MP, Josiah Wedgwood, shifted his allegiance from the Liberal Party — the Lloyd George Coalition Liberals allying with the Conservatives — to the Labour Party and the seat elected the Labour candidate who has stood at each election for the next hundred years, a total of 29 elections in succession. Labour came close to losing the seat in 1969, 1986, 2015 and 2017, and eventually lost the seat in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stafford (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Stafford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Theodora Clarke, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland</span> English peer, MP and cricketer

George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland, KG, styled Viscount Trentham until 1803, Earl Gower between 1803 and 1833 and Marquess of Stafford in 1833, was a British Whig MP and peer from the Leveson-Gower family.

Morpeth was a constituency centred on the town of Morpeth in Northumberland represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1553 to 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and then the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1800 to 1983.

Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 until 1707, then the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1801 and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1885 when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1832–1865

West Riding of Yorkshire was a parliamentary constituency in England from 1832 to 1865. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Surrey was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Durham (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1832–1885

South Durham, formally the Southern Division of Durham and often referred to as Durham Southern, was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election.

Norfolk was a County constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290 to 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament. In 1832 the county was divided for parliamentary purposes into two new two member divisions – East Norfolk and West Norfolk.

Stoke-upon-Trent was a parliamentary borough in Staffordshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1832 until 1885, and then one member from 1885 until 1918, when the borough was enlarged, renamed Stoke-on-Trent, and split into three single-member constituencies.

Kent was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Kent in southeast England. It returned two "knights of the shire" to the House of Commons by the bloc vote system from the year 1290. Members were returned to the Parliament of England until the Union with Scotland created the Parliament of Great Britain in 1708, and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom after the union with Ireland in 1801 until the county was divided by the Reform Act 1832.

Suffolk was a County constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290 to 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons until 1832, when it was split into two divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir John Wrottesley, 8th Baronet</span> British army officer and politician (1744-1787)

Sir John Wrottesley, 8th Baronet, of Wrottesley Hall in Staffordshire, was a British army officer and politician who was a Member of the British House of Commons from 1768 to 1787.

Harry Tichborne DavenportJ.P., known from 1890 as Harry Tichborne Hinckes, was a British barrister and Conservative Party politician who was elected to the House of Commons for constituencies in his native Staffordshire on two occasions in the 1880s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Edward Littleton, 4th Baronet</span>

Sir Edward Littleton of Pillaton Hall, 4th Baronet, was a long-lived Staffordshire landowner and MP from the extended Littleton/Lyttelton family, who represented Staffordshire in the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of the United Kingdom for a total of 28 years. The last of the Littleton Baronets of Pillaton Hall, he transferred the family seat from eponymous Pillaton to Teddesley Hall, and died childless, leaving the estates to his great-nephew, Edward Walhouse, who became Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Hatherton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Giffard (died 1613)</span> Member of the Parliament of England

John Giffard (1534–1613) was a Staffordshire landowner and Member of the English Parliament, notable as a leader of Roman Catholic Recusancy in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Offlow</span>

Offlow is a hundred in the county of Staffordshire, England, located in the south-east of that county. It is named after a tumulus or mound in the parish of Swinfen and Packington, 2+12 miles south of Lichfield. The hundred is recorded in the Domesday Book under the name "Offelav".

References

  1. Wedgwood, Josiah C. (1917). Staffordshire Parliamentary History, Volume I. William Salt Archaeological Society. p. 13.
  2. Staffordshire Parliamentary History, Volume I. p. 60.
  3. Staffordshire Parliamentary History, Volume I. p. 68.
  4. Staffordshire Parliamentary History, Volume I. p. 85.
  5. Staffordshire Parliamentary History, Volume I. p. 124.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 "History of Parliament" . Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  7. Staffordshire Parliamentary History, Volume I. p. 145.
  8. Staffordshire Parliamentary History, Volume I. p. 250.
  9. Staffordshire Parliamentary History, Volume I. pp. 278–279.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "History of Parliament" . Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "History of Parliament" . Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  12. Succeeded to a baronetcy, February 1705
  13. Succeeded to a baronetcy, January 1768
  14. Succeeded to a baronetcy, July 1769; promoted to Lieutenant Colonel 1770, Colonel 1779, Major-General 1782