Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1801-1885 & 1918–1983
Cambridgeshire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1290–1885
Seats
2 (1290 – 1832) 3 (1832 – 1885)
Replaced by
Chesterton Newmarket Wisbech
1918–1983
Seats
one
Created from
Chesterton Newmarket
Replaced by
SE Cambridgeshire SW Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a former Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It was a constituency represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then in the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832, when its representation was increased to three until it was abolished in 1885.
It was reconstituted as a single-member seat in 1918 and abolished once again in 1983.
History
[edit]
The county was represented by two Knights of the Shire until 1832, when the number of members was increased to three by the Great Reform Act. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency was abolished and was divided into three single-member constituencies: the Western or Chesterton Division, the Eastern or Newmarket Division and the Northern or Wisbech Division.
Under the Local Government Act 1888, the historic county of Cambridgeshire was divided between the administrative counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. When the parliamentary constituencies were next redistributed under the Representation of the People Act 1918, Cambridgeshire was re-constituted as a single-member Parliamentary County, largely formed from combining the Chesterton Division (excluding areas that were now part of the expanded Municipal Borough of Cambridge) and the Newmarket Division (excluding the city of Ely which was included in the Parliamentary County of Isle of Ely).
The administrative counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely had been recombined in 1965 and Cambridgeshire was further expanded in 1974 to include Huntingdon and Peterborough under the Local Government Act 1972. Under the subsequent redistribution of seats, which did not come into effect until the 1983 general election, Cambridgeshire was abolished as a county constituency, forming the bulk of the new constituency of South East Cambridgeshire and the majority of South West Cambridgeshire.
Boundaries
[edit]
Prior to 1885
[edit]
1290–1653, 1658-1885: The historic county of Cambridgeshire. (Although Cambridgeshire contained the borough of Cambridge, which elected two MPs in its own right, this was not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election. In the elections of 1830 and 1831, about an eighth of the votes cast for the county came from within Cambridge itself. The city of Ely also elected its own MPs in 1295.)
1654–1658: The historic county was divided for the First and the Second Protectorate Parliaments, between the two-member Isle of Ely area and the four-member constituency consisting of the rest of the county.
1918–1983
[edit]
The administrative county of Cambridgeshire, excluding the Municipal Borough of Cambridge.[1]
There were minor boundary changes in 1950, when some of the constituency was transferred to the Cambridge seat, which was expanded to align with the Municipal Borough, and in 1974, to align with changes to the county boundary.
Members of Parliament
[edit]
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)
General election 1859: Cambridgeshire (3 seats)[21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Conservative
Edward Ball
Unopposed
Conservative
Eliot Yorke
Unopposed
Liberal
Henry John Adeane
Unopposed
Registered electors
7,157
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Liberal hold
General election 1857: Cambridgeshire (3 seats)[21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Conservative
Edward Ball
2,780
27.8
N/A
Whig
Henry John Adeane
2,616
26.1
New
Conservative
Eliot Yorke
2,483
24.8
N/A
Conservative
George Manners
2,127
21.3
N/A
Turnout
5,079 (est)
80.6 (est)
N/A
Registered electors
6,298
Majority
164
1.7
N/A
Conservative hold
Swing
N/A
Majority
489
4.8
N/A
Whig gain from Conservative
Swing
N/A
Conservative hold
Swing
N/A
General election 1852: Cambridgeshire (3 seats)[21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Conservative
Edward Ball
Unopposed
Conservative
Eliot Yorke
Unopposed
Conservative
George Manners
Unopposed
Registered electors
6,989
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Conservative gain from Whig
Elections in the 1840s
[edit]
General election 1847: Cambridgeshire (3 seats)[21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Conservative
George Manners
Unopposed
Conservative
Eliot Yorke
Unopposed
Whig
Richard Greaves Townley
Unopposed
Registered electors
7,175
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Whig gain from Conservative
General election 1841: Cambridgeshire (3 seats)[21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Conservative
Richard Jefferson Eaton
Unopposed
Conservative
Eliot Yorke
Unopposed
Conservative
John Peter Allix
Unopposed
Registered electors
7,400
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Conservative gain from Whig
Elections in the 1830s
[edit]
General election 1837: Cambridgeshire (3 seats)[12][21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Conservative
Eliot Yorke
Unopposed
Conservative
Richard Jefferson Eaton
Unopposed
Whig
Richard Greaves Townley
Unopposed
Registered electors
7,100
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Whig hold
General election 1835: Cambridgeshire (3 seats)[12][21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Conservative
Eliot Yorke
3,871
29.4
+14.8
Conservative
Richard Jefferson Eaton
3,261
24.7
+10.1
Whig
Richard Greaves Townley
3,070
23.3
−12.1
Whig
John Walbanke-Childers
2,979
22.6
−12.8
Turnout
6,469
96.4
+4.4
Registered electors
6,710
Majority
191
1.4
−2.1
Conservative hold
Swing
+13.6
Conservative gain from Whig
Swing
+11.3
Majority
91
0.7
+0.6
Whig hold
Swing
−12.3
General election 1832: Cambridgeshire (3 seats)[12][21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Tory
Charles Yorke
3,693
29.2
Whig
Richard Greaves Townley
3,261
25.7
Whig
John Walbanke-Childers
2,862
22.6
Whig
Henry John Adeane
2,850
22.5
Turnout
5,923
92.0
Registered electors
6,435
Majority
432
3.5
Tory win (new seat)
Majority
12
0.1
Whig hold
Whig hold
By-election, 1 November 1831: Cambridgeshire[12][23]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Whig
Richard Greaves Townley
1,981
57.8
Tory
Charles Yorke
1,445
42.2
Majority
536
15.6
Turnout
3,426
c. 85.7
Registered electors
c. 4,000
Whig hold
Caused by Osborne's resignation
General election 1831: Cambridgeshire (2 seats)[12][23]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Whig
Francis Osborne
Unopposed
Whig
Henry John Adeane
Unopposed
Registered electors
c. 4,000
Whig hold
Whig hold
General election 1830: Cambridgeshire (2 seats)[12][23]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Whig
Francis Osborne
2,339
37.8
Whig
Henry John Adeane
2,086
33.7
Tory
Charles Manners
1,757
28.4
Majority
329
5.3
Turnout
3,717
c. 92.9
Registered electors
c. 4,000
Whig hold
Swing
Whig gain from Tory
Swing
See also
[edit]
Parliamentary representation from Cambridgeshire
List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
Unreformed House of Commons
References
[edit]
^S., Craig, Fred W. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0900178094. OCLC 539011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxStooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-900178-13-2. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
^"Cambridgeshire". Cambridge Independent Press. 4 April 1857. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 29 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Election News". Herts Guardian, Agricultural Journal, and General Advertiser. 19 April 1859. p. 3. Retrieved 29 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ abcF. W. S. Craig (1984), British Parliamentary Election Results, 1974-1983. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services.
^ abcdefghF. W. S. Craig (1971), British Parliamentary Election Results, 1950-1970. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services.
^By-election triggered on the appointment of Gerald Howard as a High Court Judge.
^ abcdefghF. W. S. Craig (1983), British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918-1949. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrsCraig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 357–358. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^"Cambridge County Election". Nottingham Evening Post. 13 March 1884. p. 2. Retrieved 19 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ abcFusher, David R. "Cambridgeshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
British Parliamentary Constituencies: A Statistical Compendium, by Ivor Crewe and Anthony Fox (Faber and Faber 1984)
John Cannon, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973)
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