Western Division of Suffolk
| West Suffolk | |
|---|---|
| Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
| County | Suffolk |
| 1832–1885 | |
| Seats | Two |
| Created from | Suffolk |
| Replaced by | Stowmarket, Sudbury and Eye |
The Western Division of Suffolk was a county constituency in Suffolk, England. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the bloc vote system of election.
History
[edit | edit source]The seat was created under the Reform Act 1832 as one of two divisions, together with the Eastern Division, of the Parliamentary County of Suffolk. This resulted in a more representative allocation, with a total of four MPs instead of two for the former entire county at large, which still allowed for double voting (or more) of those Forty Shilling Freeholders who also were householders or landlords of any particular boroughs within the county. This Act retained the four largest boroughs of the seven before 1832.
With two heirs to their title serving the seat, the Marquesses of Bristol, the Hervey family, were major landowners in the county. The modern seat is at Ickworth, with part of its grand house now being a luxury hotel.
Further sweeping changes took place as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 which saw the 2 two-member Suffolk divisions being replaced by five single-member constituencies. The Western Division was largely replaced by the North-Western or Stowmarket Division and the Southern or Sudbury Division. A small area in the east was included in the North-Eastern or Eye Division.
Boundaries
[edit | edit source]1832–1885: The Liberty of Bury St. Edmund's, and the Hundreds of Hartesmere, and Stow.[1]
Members of Parliament
[edit | edit source]Election results
[edit | edit source]Elections in the 1830s
[edit | edit source]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | Charles Tyrell | 1,832 | 38.4 | ||
| Whig | Hyde Parker | 1,664 | 34.9 | ||
| Tory | Harry Spencer Waddington | 1,272 | 26.7 | ||
| Majority | 392 | 8.2 | |||
| Turnout | 2,920 | 87.8 | |||
| Registered electors | 3,326 | ||||
| Whig win (new seat) | |||||
| Whig win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | Henry Wilson | 1,723 | 27.6 | −10.8 | |
| Conservative | Robert Rushbrooke | 1,655 | 26.5 | +13.2 | |
| Conservative | Robert Hart Logan | 1,509 | 24.2 | +10.9 | |
| Whig | John Turner Hales | 1,350 | 21.6 | −13.3 | |
| Turnout | 3,256 | 87.3 | −0.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,731 | ||||
| Majority | 68 | 1.1 | −7.1 | ||
| Whig hold | Swing | −11.4 | |||
| Majority | 146 | 2.3 | N/A | ||
| Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +12.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Hart Logan | 2,217 | 29.7 | +5.5 | |
| Conservative | Robert Rushbrooke | 2,173 | 29.1 | +2.6 | |
| Whig | Henry Bunbury | 1,560 | 20.9 | −0.7 | |
| Whig | Henry Wilson | 1,505 | 20.2 | −7.4 | |
| Majority | 613 | 8.2 | +5.9 | ||
| Turnout | 3,810 | 76.8 | −10.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 4,959 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +4.8 | |||
| Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +3.3 | |||
Logan's death caused a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Harry Spencer Waddington | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1840s
[edit | edit source]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Harry Spencer Waddington | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Robert Rushbrooke | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 5,091 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Rushbrooke's death caused a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Philip Bennet | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Harry Spencer Waddington | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Philip Bennet | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 4,913 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1850s
[edit | edit source]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Harry Spencer Waddington | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Philip Bennet | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 4,379 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Harry Spencer Waddington | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Philip Bennet | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 4,084 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Frederick Hervey | 1,958 | 42.2 | N/A | |
| Conservative | William Parker | 1,379 | 29.7 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Philip Bennet | 1,300 | 28.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 79 | 1.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,319 (est) | 55.6 (est) | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 4,172 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1860s
[edit | edit source]Hervey succeeded to the peerage, becoming 3rd Marquess of Bristol and causing a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Augustus Hervey | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Augustus Hervey | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | William Parker | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 4,269 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William Parker | 2,500 | 37.9 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Augustus Hervey | 2,389 | 36.2 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Charles Lamport[7] | 1,705 | 25.9 | New | |
| Majority | 684 | 10.3 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,150 (est) | 74.3 (est) | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 5,583 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1870s
[edit | edit source]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Augustus Hervey | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | William Parker | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 5,949 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Hervey's death caused a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Fuller Maitland Wilson | 2,780 | 72.4 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Charles Easton[8] | 1,061 | 27.6 | New | |
| Majority | 1,719 | 44.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 3,841 | 66.1 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 5,811 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Wilson's death caused a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Thomas Thornhill | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1880s
[edit | edit source]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William Biddell | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Thomas Thornhill | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 5,700 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ This is the courtesy title given to the eldest son of the Marquess of Bristol as his main subsidiary title.
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
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