Worcestershire (UK Parliament constituency)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Worcestershire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1290–1832
Number of memberstwo

Worcestershire 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 until 1832 by two Members of Parliament traditionally referred to as Knights of the Shire. It was split then into two two-member divisions, for Parliamentary purposes, Worcestershire Eastern and Worcestershire Western constituencies.

Boundaries[]

Worcestershire was one of the historic counties of England. The constituency comprised the whole county, except for the boroughs of Bewdley, Droitwich, Evesham and Worcester.

Members of Parliament[]

1294–1478[]

Year Location First Member Second Member
23 Edward I Westminster
25 Edward I Westminster
26 Edward I York
28 Edward I London
29 Edward I
33 Edward I Westminster
34 Edward I Great Council at Westminster
35 Edward I Carlisle
2 Edward II Westminster
5 Edward II Westminster
6 Edward II Westminster
6 Edward II Westminster
6 Edward II Westminster
7 Edward II Westminster
8 Edward II Westminster
8 Edward II Westminster
9 Edward II Lincoln
9 Edward II Great Council at Westminster
12 Edward II York Walter de Beauchamp
12 Edward II York
15 Edward II York
16 Edward II York
17 Edward II Westminster
19 Edward II Westminster
20 Edward II Westminster
1 Edward III Lincoln
1 Edward III York
1 Edward III Westminster
2 Edward III New Sarum
2 Edward III Northampton
3 Edward III New Sarum
4 Edward III Westminster
4 Edward III Westminster
5 Edward III Westminster
6 Edward III Westminster
6 Edward III Westminster
7 Edward III Westminster
7 Edward III Westminster
8 Edward III Westminster
8 Edward III York
9 Edward III York
10 Edward III Westminster
10 Edward III Westminster
11 Edward III Westminster
11 Edward III Council at Westminster
11 Edward III Westminster
11 Edward III Westminster
12 Edward III Northampton (Council)
12 Edward III Westminster
13 Edward III Westminster
13 Edward III Westminster
14 Edward III Westminster
14 Edward III Westminster
14 Edward III Westminster
14 Edward III Westminster
15 Edward III Westminster
15 Edward III Westminster
17 Edward III Westminster
17 Edward III Westminster
18 Edward III Westminster
18 Edward III Sarum
20 Edward III Westminster
21 Edward III Westminster (Brayne)
22 Edward III Westminster
22 Edward III Westminster
24 Edward III Westminster
25 Edward III Westminster
26 Edward III Westminster
26 & 27 Edward III Council at Westminster
28 Edward III Westminster
29 Edward III Westminster
31 Edward III Westminster
32 Edward III Westminster
34 Edward III Westminster
34 Edward III Westminster
35 Edward III Westminster
36 Edward III Westminster
37 Edward III Westminster
38 Edward III Westminster
39 Edward III Westminster
40 Edward III Westminster
42 Edward III Westminster
42 Edward III Westminster
45 Edward III Westminster
45 Edward III Council at Westminster
46 Edward III Westminster John Attwood
47 Edward III Westminster
50 Edward III Westminster
51 Edward III Westminster
1 Richard II Westminster
2 Richard II Gloucester Sir John Russell
2 Richard II Westminster Sir John Russell
2 Richard II Westminster
2 Richard II Northampton
5 Richard II Westminster
5 Richard II Westminster
6 Richard II Westminster
6 Richard II Westminster Ralf Stafford
7 Richard II Westminster
7 Richard II Sarum
8 Richard II Westminster
9 Richard II Westminster
10 Richard II Westminster
11 Richard II Westminster
12 Richard II Westminster
13 Richard II Westminster
14 Richard II Westminster
15 Richard II Westminster
16 Richard II Winchester
17 Richard II Westminster
18 Richard II Westminster
20 Richard II Westminster
21 Richard II Westminster Sir John Russell
1 Henry IV Westminster
2 Henry IV Westminster Ralf Stafford
3 Henry IV Westminster
4 Henry IV Westminster
5 Henry IV Westminster Sir
6 Henry IV Coventry
8 Henry IV Westminster Ralph Ardern
9 Henry IV Gloucester
1 Henry V Westminster Sir
2 Henry V (Apr) Leicester
1414 (Nov) John Wood[1]
3 Henry V Westminster Humphrey Stafford
3 Henry V Westminster
5 Henry V Westminster
1419 [1]
8 Henry V Westminster John Weston
8 Henry V Westminster
1421 (Apr) Westminster John Wood
1421 (Dec) Westminster
1422 Westminster
2 Henry VI Westminster John Wood
4 Henry VI Westminster Sir
5 Henry VI Leicester Humphrey Stafford of Grafton
8 Henry VI Westminster John Huband
9 Henry VI Westminster John Wood
13 Henry VI Westminster John Wood
20 Henry VI Westminster
25 Henry VI Cambridge Humphrey Stafford
27 Henry VI Westminster Humphrey Stafford
28 Henry VI Westminster Humphrey Stafford
29 Henry VI Westminster Humphrey Stafford
31 Henry VI Reading Humphrey Stafford
33 Henry VI Westminster Humphrey Stafford
35 Henry VI Westminster
6 Edward IV Westminster
12 Edward IV Westminster
17 Edward IV Westminster

Source: Treadway Russell Nash.[2]

1479–1552[]

Parliament First member Second member
1510-1532 Not known
1529
1536 Not known
1539 (30 Henry VIII) Sir John Pakington
1542 (33 Henry VIII) , died
and replaced by
1547

1553–1649[]

Year Location First Member Second Member
7 Edward VI 1553 Westminster Walter Blount
1 Mary 1553 Westminster John Lyttelton
1 Mary 1554 Westminster John Bourne
1 Mary 1554 Westminster Sir John Bourne Walter Blount
2&3 Ph & Mary Westminster Sir John Bourne
4&5 Ph & Mary Westminster Sir John Bourne
1559 Westminster
1562 Westminster Ralph Sheldon
1571 Westminster Gilbert Lyttelton
1572 Westminster Gilbert Lyttelton John Talbot
1584 Westminster John Lyttelton (II)
1586 Westminster John Lyttelton (II)
1588 Westminster William Lygon
1593 Westminster Sir Henry Bromley
1597 Westminster John Lyttelton (II) Edmund Colles
1601 Westminster Thomas Leighton Thomas Russell
1604 Westminster Sir Henry Bromley Sir William Lygon (died 1609)
repl Sir Samuel Sandys
1614 Westminster Sir Thomas Bromley Sir Samuel Sandys
1621 Westminster Sir Thomas Lyttelton Sir Samuel Sandys
1624 Westminster Sir Thomas Lyttelton Sir Walter Devereux, Bt
1625 Westminster and Oxford Sir Thomas Lyttelton William Russell
1626 Westminster Sir Thomas Lyttelton Sir John Rouse
1628 Westminster Thomas Coventry Sir Thomas Bromley
April 1640 Westminster Sir Thomas Lyttelton Sir John Pakington, 2nd Baronet
November 1640 Westminster John Wilde Humphrey Salwey

Source: TR Nash[2]

Commonwealth Parliaments[]

!Year First Member Second Member Third Member Fourth Member Fifth Member
1653 Richard Salwey John James
1654 Sir Thomas Rouse, Bt Edward Pytts Nicholas Lechmere John Bridges Talbot Badger
1656 Col. James Berry Edward Pytts Nicholas Lechmere Sir Thomas Rouse, Bt John Nanfan
1658-9 Nicholas Lechmere Thomas Foley

Source: T. R. Nash, Collections for a History of Worcestershire (1783)

MPs 1660–1832[]

Election First member First party Second member Second party
1660 Henry Bromley John Talbot
1661 Sir John Pakington, 2nd Bt Royalist Samuel Sandys
1679 Thomas Foley
1681 Bridges Nanfan
1685 Sir John Pakington, 3rd Bt Tory James Pytts
1689 Sir James Rushout, Bt Thomas Foley
1690 Sir John Pakington, 4th Bt Tory
1695 Edwin Sandys
1698 Sir John Pakington, 4th Bt Tory William Walsh
1701 William Bromley Whig
1702 William Walsh
1705 William Bromley Whig
1707
1710 Samuel Pytts
1715 Thomas Vernon
1720 Sir Thomas Lyttelton, Bt
1727 Sir Herbert Pakington, Bt Tory
1734 Edmund Lechmere Tory
1741 Edmund Pytts (I) Tory
1747 Viscount Deerhurst
1751 by-election John Bulkeley Coventry
1753 by-election Edmund Pytts (II) Tory
1761 John Ward William Dowdeswell Whig
1774 Edward Foley
1775 by-election William Lygon
1803 by-election John Ward Tory
1806 by-election William Lygon
1806 William Lyttelton
1816 by-election Henry Lygon
1820 Sir Thomas Winnington, Bt
1830 Thomas Foley Whig
1831 Frederick Spencer Whig
1832 constituency divided. See Worcestershire Eastern and Worcestershire Western

Elections[]

The county franchise, from 1430, was held by the owners of freehold land valued at 40 shillings or more. Each voter had as many votes as there were seats to be filled. Votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration, in public, at the hustings, which took place in the county town of Worcester. The expense and difficulty of voting at only one location in the county, together with the lack of a secret ballot contributed to the corruption and intimidation of voters, which was widespread in the unreformed British political system.

The expense, to candidates, of contested elections encouraged the leading families of the county to agree on the candidates to be returned unopposed whenever possible. Contested county elections were therefore unusual.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Worcestershire - History of Parliament Online". Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Treadway Russell Nash, Collections for a History of Worcestershire (1783)
Retrieved from ""