Helston (UK Parliament constituency)
Helston | |
---|---|
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Cornwall |
Major settlements | Helston |
1298–1885 | |
Number of members | 1298–1832: Two 1832–1885: One |
Replaced by | Truro |
Helston, sometimes known as Helleston,[1] was a parliamentary borough centred on the small town of Helston in Cornwall.
Using the block vote system of election, it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until the 1832 general election.
The Reform Act 1832 reduced its representation to one member, elected by the first-past-the-post system. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, it was abolished with effect from the 1885 general election.
Members of Parliament[]
MPs before 1640[]
- Constituency created (1298)
Parliament | First member | Second member | |
---|---|---|---|
1298 | R de Rosemayn | I de Kellyhellan[2] | |
1318 | J Jerveys[3] | ||
1323/24 | John Tremayne[4] | ||
1325 | David De Autrenon[4] | ||
1332 | J Jerveys[3] | ||
1338 | J Jerveys[3] | ||
1341/42 | John Tremayne[4] | ||
1351/52 | Johannes De Tremayn[4][a 1] | ||
1358 | John Hamely[5] | ||
1360 | T Jerveys[3] | ||
1361 | John Hamely[5] | ||
1363 | T Jerveys[3] | ||
1384 | William Bodrugan[6] | ||
Parliament of 1386 | |||
First Parliament of 1388 (Feb) | |||
Second Parliament of 1388 (Sep) | |||
First Parliament of 1390 (Jan) | |||
Second Parliament of 1390 (Nov) | ? | ? | |
Parliament of 1391 | |||
Parliament of 1393 | |||
Parliament of 1394 | ? | ? | |
Parliament of 1395 | |||
First Parliament of 1397 (Jan) | |||
Second Parliament of 1397 (Sep) | |||
Parliament of 1399 | |||
Parliament of 1401 | ? | ? | |
Parliament of 1402 | |||
First Parliament of 1404 (Jan) | |||
Second Parliament of 1404 (Oct) | |||
Parliament of 1406 | |||
Parliament of 1407 | |||
Parliament of 1410 | M Jerveys[3] | ||
Parliament of 1411 | |||
First Parliament of 1413 (Feb) | |||
Second Parliament of 1413 (May) | |||
First Parliament of 1414 (Apr) | |||
Second Parliament of 1414 (Nov) | |||
Parliament of 1415 or 1416 (Mar) | |||
Parliament of 1416 (Oct) | |||
Parliament of 1417 | |||
Parliament of 1419 | John Cork | ||
Parliament of 1420 | |||
First Parliament of 1421 (May) | |||
Second Parliament of 1421 (Dec) | \ | ||
1422 | Nicholas Aysshton | ||
1423 | Nicholas Aysshton | ||
1425 | Nicholas Aysshton | ||
1427 | Nicholas Aysshton | ||
1435 | Nicholas Aysshton | ||
1491–92 | William Antron[4] | ||
Parliament of 1529 | John Holdiche | ||
Parliament of 1542 | William Trewynnard | ? | |
Parliament of 1545 | John Arundell | Richard Heywood | |
Parliament of 1547 | Thomas Mildmay | John Trengove | |
First Parliament of 1553 (Mar) | Thomas Mildmay | Robert Docatt | |
Second Parliament of 1553 (Oct) | William Bendlowes | Henry Trengove alias Nance | |
First Parliament of 1554 (Apr) | William St Aubyn | John Kyme | |
Second Parliament of 1554 (Nov) | Reginald Mohun | ||
Parliament of 1555 | Thomas Mildmay | Edward Neville | |
Parliament of 1558 | |||
Parliament of 1559 | Francis Goldsmith | ||
Parliament of 1562–1567 | William Porter | John Dudley | |
Parliament of 1571 | Sir Edward Bray | John Gayer | |
Parliament of 1572–1581 | William Killigrew | (died c.1578) | |
Parliament of 1584–1585 | |||
Parliament of 1586–1587 | Hannibal Vyvyan | William Godolphin | |
Parliament of 1588–1589 | |||
Parliament of 1593 | |||
Parliament of 1597–1598 | William Cooke | Nicholas Saunders | |
Parliament of 1601 | William Twysden | Hannibal Vyvyan | |
Parliament of 1604–1611 | Sir John Leigh | (died) Robert Naunton (from 1606) | |
Addled Parliament (1614) | Sir Robert Killigrew | Henry Bulstrode | |
Parliament of 1621–1622 | Sir Thomas Stafford | William Noy | |
Happy Parliament (1624–1625) | Thomas Carey | ||
Useless Parliament (1625) | |||
Parliament of 1625–1626 | Francis Godolphin | ||
Parliament of 1628–1629 | Sidney Godolphin | William Noy | |
No Parliament summoned 1629–1640 |
![]() | This list is incomplete; you can help by . (August 2008) |
MPs 1640–1832[]
Year | 1st Member | 1st Party | 2nd Member | 2nd Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 1640 | Sidney Godolphin | Royalist | William Godolphin | |||
November 1640 | Francis Godolphin | Royalist | ||||
February 1643 | Sidney Godolphin killed in battle – seat vacant | |||||
January 1644 | Francis Godolphin disabled from sitting – seat vacant | |||||
1646 | John Penrose | |||||
December 1648 | Penrose not recorded as having sat after Pride's Purge | Thomas excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant | ||||
1653 | Unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | |||||
January 1659 | ||||||
May 1659 | Helston was unrepresented in the restored Rump | |||||
April 1660 | Anthony Rous | Alexander Penhellick | ||||
July 1660 | (Sir) Francis Godolphin | |||||
1661 | ||||||
1665 | Sir William Godolphin, Bt | |||||
1668 | Sidney Godolphin | Tory | ||||
Feb 1679 | ||||||
Sep 1679 | Sidney Godolphin | Tory | ||||
1681 | ||||||
1685 | Sidney Godolphin | |||||
1689 | ||||||
1695 | Francis Godolphin | |||||
1698 | Sidney Godolphin | |||||
1701 | Francis Godolphin[7] | |||||
1708 | John Evelyn | |||||
Oct 1710 | George Granville[8] | Tory | ||||
Dec 1710 | Robert Child | |||||
1713 | Henry Campion[9] | Charles Coxe[10] | ||||
1714 | Thomas Tonkin | Alexander Pendarves | Tory | |||
1715 | Sir Gilbert Heathcote, Bt | Whig | Sidney Godolphin | |||
1722 | Sir Robert Raymond | Tory | Walter Carey | |||
1724 | Sir Clement Wearg | Whig | ||||
1726 | Exton Sayer | |||||
1727 | John Evelyn | John Harris | ||||
1741 | Francis Godolphin | Thomas Walker | Whig | |||
1747 | (Sir) John Evelyn[11] | |||||
1766 | William Windham | |||||
1767 | William Evelyn[12] | |||||
1768 | The Earl of Clanbrassil | |||||
1774 [13] | Marquess of Carmarthen | Tory | Francis Owen | |||
1775 | Francis Cust | Philip Yorke | ||||
1780 | Jocelyn Deane[14] | |||||
March 1781 | Richard Barwell | |||||
June 1781 | Lord Hyde | Tory | ||||
1784 | John Rogers | |||||
1786 | Roger Wilbraham | |||||
1787 | James Burges | |||||
1790 | Sir Gilbert Elliot, Bt | Whig | Stephen Lushington[15] | Whig | ||
1795 | Charles Abbot | Tory[16] | ||||
1796 | Richard Richards | |||||
1799 | Lord Francis Osborne | |||||
1802 | Viscount Fitzharris | John Penn | ||||
1804 | Davies Giddy | |||||
1805 | Viscount Primrose | |||||
April 1806 | Sir John Shelley, Bt | |||||
November 1806 | Nicholas Vansittart[17] | Tory | ||||
January 1807 | Thomas Brand | Whig | ||||
May 1807 | Sir John St Aubyn, Bt | Richard Richards | ||||
July 1807 | The Lord Dufferin and Claneboye | |||||
1812 | William Horne | Whig | ||||
1818 | Lord James Townshend | Tory[18] | ||||
1826 | The Marquess of Carmarthen | Tory[19] | ||||
1830 | Sir Samuel Brooke-Pechell, Bt | Whig[18] | ||||
1831 | Sackville Lane-Fox | Tory[18] | ||||
1832 | Representation reduced to one member |
MPs 1832–1885[]
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1832 | Representation reduced to one member | ||
1832 | Sackville Lane-Fox | Conservative[18] | |
1835 | Lord James Townshend | Conservative[18] | |
1837 | Viscount Cantelupe | Conservative[18] | |
John Basset | Conservative[18] | ||
1841 | Sir Richard Vyvyan, Bt | Conservative[18] | |
1857 | Charles Trueman | Whig[20] | |
1859 | John Jope Rogers[21] | Conservative | |
1865 | Adolphus William Young | Liberal | |
1866 by-election[22] | Robert Campbell | Liberal | |
Sir William Brett | Conservative | ||
1868 | Adolphus William Young | Liberal | |
1880 | William Molesworth-St Aubyn | Conservative | |
1885 | constituency abolished |
Elections[]
Elections in the 1880s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Molesworth-St Aubyn | 466 | 52.1 | +5.1 | |
Liberal | Adolphus William Young | 429 | 47.9 | −5.1 | |
Majority | 37 | 4.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 895 | 84.2 | −1.7 | ||
Registered electors | 1,063 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.1 |
Elections in the 1870s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Adolphus William Young | 473 | 53.0 | −3.9 | |
Conservative | William Nassau Lees[25] | 420 | 47.0 | +3.9 | |
Majority | 53 | 5.0 | −7.8 | ||
Turnout | 893 | 85.9 | +1.5 | ||
Registered electors | 1,040 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −3.9 |
Elections in the 1860s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Adolphus William Young | 494 | 56.9 | +5.2 | |
Conservative | Thomas Charles Bruce[26] | 374 | 43.1 | −5.2 | |
Majority | 120 | 13.8 | +10.4 | ||
Turnout | 868 | 84.4 | −1.2 | ||
Registered electors | 1,029 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +5.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Brett | Unopposed | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal |
- Caused by Brett's appointment as Solicitor General for England and Wales
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Brett | 153 | 50.2 | +1.9 | |
Liberal | Robert Campbell | 152 | 49.8 | −1.9 | |
Majority | 1 | 0.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 305 | 87.6 | +2.0 | ||
Registered electors | 348 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +1.9 |
- Caused by the 1865 election being declared void on petition, due to bribery.[27] At the original count for the by-election, both candidates received 153 votes apiece, but Campbell was declared elected after the Returning officer (who was the father of his election agent) cast a vote for him, after consulting a legal textbook which suggested he could make the casting vote. A petition was lodged, and a committee decided the returning officer had no right to cast the vote and should have declared both candidates elected. However, on scrutiny one vote was taken from Campbell's total, leaving Brett elected alone. This election led to Parliament deciding that "according to the law and usage of Parliament, it is the duty of the sheriff or other returning officer in England, in the case of an equal number of votes being polled for two or more candidates at an election, to return all such candidates".[24]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Adolphus William Young | 154 | 51.7 | +6.9 | |
Conservative | Shadwell Morley Grylls | 144 | 48.3 | −6.9 | |
Majority | 10 | 3.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 298 | 85.6 | −4.3 | ||
Registered electors | 348 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +6.9 |
Elections in the 1850s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Jope Rogers | 158 | 55.2 | N/A | |
Liberal | Charles Trueman | 128 | 44.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 30 | 10.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 286 | 89.9 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 318 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Charles Trueman | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 309 | ||||
Whig gain from Conservative |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Richard Vyvyan | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 317 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Elections in the 1840s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Richard Vyvyan | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 385 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Richard Vyvyan | 159 | 54.5 | −1.6 | |
Whig | William Revell Vigors[28] | 133 | 45.5 | +1.6 | |
Majority | 26 | 9.0 | −3.2 | ||
Turnout | 292 | 73.4 | −4.5 | ||
Registered electors | 398 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | −1.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Basset | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
- Caused by West's resignation, by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, in order to contest a at Lewes
Elections in the 1830s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George West | 160 | 56.1 | ||
Whig | Arthur William Buller | 125 | 43.9 | ||
Majority | 35 | 12.2 | |||
Turnout | 285 | 77.9 | |||
Registered electors | 366 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Townshend | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 356 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Sackville Lane-Fox | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 341 | ||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Sackville Lane-Fox | Unopposed | |||
Tory | James Townshend | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | c. 81 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Tory gain from Whig |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Samuel Pechell | Unopposed | |||
Whig hold |
- Caused by Pechell's appointment as a Lord of the Admiralty[30]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | James Townshend | Unopposed | |||
Whig | Samuel Pechell | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | c. 81 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Whig gain from Tory |
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ "No. 19008". The London Gazette. 28 December 1832. p. 2836.
- ^ Toy, Henry, Spencer (1912). The Ancient Borough of Helston. Helston: John Lander & Son. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Barton of Bonallack". The Cornishman (324). 2 October 1884. p. 4.
- ^ a b c d e Tremayne, Joy; Chapple, Mandy. Tremayne Family History. p. 4.
- ^ a b "HAMELY (HAMYLYN), Sir John (aft.1324–1399), of Wimborne St. Giles, Dorset". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ^ "BODRUGAN, William I, of Markwell in St. Erney, Cornw. | History of Parliament Online".
- ^ Styled Viscount Rialton from 1706. He was re-elected for Helston in 1708, but had also been elected for Oxfordshire, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Helston
- ^ Granville was also elected for Cornwall, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Pontefract
- ^ Campion was also elected for Sussex, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Helston
- ^ Coxe was also elected for Gloucester, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Helston
- ^ Succeeded to a baronetcy, 1763
- ^ Major-General from 1770
- ^ On petition, Carmarthen and Owen were adjudged not to have been duly elected, and their opponents, Cust and Yorke, were declared to have been duly elected instead
- ^ Dean was elected at a disputed election where the returning officer made a double return. Although eventually adjudged to have been duly elected, he never sat as he had died before the case was heard.
- ^ Sir Stephen Lushington from 1791
- ^ Speaker from 1802
- ^ Vansittart was also elected for Old Sarum, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Helston
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844–1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 39–41. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
- ^ Fisher, David R. "OSBORNE, Francis Godolphin D'Arcy, mq. of Carmarthen (1798–1859), of 16 Bruton Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Truro". Royal Cornwall Gazette. 3 April 1857. p. 5. Retrieved 14 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Marchant, E. C. (1897). "Rogers, John (1778–1856), divine, by E. C. Marchant". Dictionary of National Biography Vol. IL. Smith, Elder & Co. Retrieved 13 December 2007.
- ^ At the Helston by-election, 1866, both candidates polled exactly the same number of votes. The mayor, as returning officer, gave his casting vote for the Liberal candidate Robert Campbell. As this vote was given after four o'clock, however, an appeal was lodged, and the House of Commons declared that the returning officer had no right to a casting vote, and that he should have returned the names of both tied candidates. On scrutiny of the votes, one vote was struck off Campbell's total, and the Conservative candidate Sir William Baliol Brett declared duly elected.
- ^ "Helston". The Cornishman (91). 8 April 1880. p. 5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 148–149. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
- ^ "Colonel Lees Before the Helston Electors". Western Morning News. 30 January 1874. p. 6. Retrieved 31 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The Representation of Helston". Royal Cornwall Gazette. 27 August 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 17 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Helston". The Scotsman. 19 April 1866. p. 2. Retrieved 17 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The Elections". Western Courier, West of England Conservative, Plymouth and Devonport Advertiser. 7 July 1841. p. 1. Retrieved 6 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c Jenkins, Terry. "Helston". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Jenkins, Terry. "BROOKE PECHELL, Sir Samuel John, 3rd bt. (1785–1849), of Paglesham, Essex and Aldwick, Suss". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
Further reading[]
- The History of Parliament Trust, Helston, Borough from 1386 to 1868
- Beatson, Robert (1807), A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament, London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme
- 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, archived from the original on 4 September 2015
- F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
- Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
- J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
- Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. p. 1
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 2)
Categories:
- Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1298
- Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885
- Parliamentary constituencies in Cornwall (historic)
- Helston