Dorchester (UK Parliament constituency)

Dorchester was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Dorchester in Dorset. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England, Great Britain and House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1295 to 1868, when its representation was reduced to one member.

The constituency was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, after which Dorchester was placed in the new Dorset South constituency. In 1918 it was transferred to Dorset West, where it has remained since.

Members of Parliament

1295-1629

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	Henry Cravell	Peter Blount^[1]
1388 (Feb)	John Perle	Thomas Lamer^[1]
1388 (Sep)	William Chuse	Thomas Gardener^[1]
1390 (Jan)	William Tylle	John Blount^[1]
1390 (Nov)
1391	Thomas Lamer	John Gould^[1]
1393	Robert Gutton	Thomas Gardener^[1]
1394	William Pullare	William Ash^[1]
1395	John Blount	Thomas Hussey^[1]^[2]
1397 (Jan)	Robert Veel	John Jordan^[1]
1397 (Sep)	Robert Gutton	John Jordan^[1]
1399	John Blount	John Westpray^[1]
1401
1402	John Bomel	John Jordan^[1]
1404 (Jan)	John Blount	John Jordan^[1]
1404 (Oct)
1406	Richard Hyde	John Jordan^[1]
1407	John Cheverell	John Jordan^[1]
1410	John Jordan^[1]
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	Walter Tracy	William Newton^[1]
1414 (Apr)	John Blount	John Gryffyn^[1]
1414 (Nov)	John Jordan	Richard Berell^[1]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417	Reynold Jacob	John Ford^[1]
1419	John Ford	^[1]
1420	John Stork	John Ford^[1]
1421 (May)	John Stork	John Ford^[1]
1421 (Dec)	Robert Mose	John Ford^[1]
Second Parliament of 1553	Christopher Hole	William Holman
Parliament of 1554		Owen Hayman
Parliament of 1554-1555		John Davy
Parliament of 1555	Robert Robotham	Ralph Perne
Parliament of 1558	Christopher Hole	John Hayward
Parliament of 1559	William Holman	John Leweston
Parliament of 1563-1567	Thomas Marten	Lewis Montgomery Chose to sit for Northampton By-election John Gardiner
Parliament of 1571	Henry Macwilliam	William Adyn
Parliament of 1572-1581	George Carleton	George Trenchard
Parliament of 1584-1585	Robert Beale	Thomas Freke
Parliament of 1586-1587		Robert Napier
Parliament of 1588-1589		Nowell Sotherton
Parliament of 1593	Dr Francis James	Thomas Dabridgecourt
Parliament of 1597-1598	Robert Ashley	Richard Wright
Parliament of 1601	Henry Brouncker^[3]	Matthew Chubbe
Parliament of 1604-1611	John Spicer	Matthew Chubbe
Addled Parliament (1614)	Francis Ashley	George Horsey
Parliament of 1621-1622	Sir Francis Ashley^[4]	John Parkins
Happy Parliament (1624–1625)	William Whiteway	Richard Bushrode
Useless Parliament (1625)	Sir Francis Ashley	William Whiteway
Parliament of 1625-1626	Michael Humphreys died replaced by William Whiteway jnr	Richard Bushrode
Parliament of 1628-1629	Denzil Holles	John Hill
No Parliament summoned 1629-1640

1640-1868

Year	First Member		First Party	Second Member		Second Party
April 1640		Denzil Holles^[5]	Parliamentarian		Denis Bond	Parliamentarian
November 1640		Denzil Holles^[5]	Parliamentarian
December 1648	Holles excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653	Dorchester was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		John Whiteway		Dorchester had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656		John Whiteway
January 1659		James Gould			John Bushrode
May 1659	Dorchester was not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Denzil Holles			John Whiteway
March 1661		Denzil Holles			James Gould
May 1661		John Churchill			James Gould
1677		John Churchill			James Gould
1679		Sir Francis Holles			Nicholas Gould
1680		James Gould			Nicholas Gould
1681		James Gould			Nathaniel Bond
1685		Edward Meller			William Churchill
January 1689		Gerard Napier			Thomas Trenchard
December 1689		Thomas Chafin			Thomas Trenchard
March 1690		James Gould			Sir Robert Napier, Bt
December 1690		James Gould			Thomas Trenchard
1695		Nathaniel Bond			Nathaniel Napier
1698		Sir Robert Napier, Bt
1701		Thomas Trenchard
1702		Sir Nathaniel Napier, Bt
1705		Awnsham Churchill
1708					John Churchill
1709					Denis Bond
1710		Sir Nathaniel Napier, Bt			Benjamin Gifford
1713					Henry Trenchard
April 1720					Robert Browne^[6]
May 1720					Abraham Janssen
1722		Edmund Morton Pleydell^[7]			Joseph Damer
1723		William Chapple			Joseph Damer
1727		William Chapple			John Browne
1737		Robert Browne
1741		Nathaniel Gundry
1751		George Damer			John Pitt
1752		George Clavell
1754		The Lord Milton
1761		The Lord Milton			Thomas Foster
1762		John Damer	Tory^[8]		Thomas Foster
1765		John Damer	Tory^[8]		William Ewer	Tory^[8]
1780		Hon. George Damer^[9]	Tory^[8]		William Ewer	Tory^[8]
1789					Thomas Ewer	Tory^[8]
Jan. 1790					Hon. Cropley Ashley	Tory^[8]
Jun. 1790			Whig^[8]		Francis Fane	Tory^[8]
1791		Hon. Cropley Ashley	Tory^[8]		Francis Fane	Tory^[8]
1807		Hon. Cropley Ashley	Tory^[8]		Robert Williams	Whig^[8]
1811		Charles Henry Bouverie			Robert Williams	Whig^[8]
October 1812		Charles Henry Bouverie			Robert Williams
December 1812		William A'Court
1814		Sir Samuel Shepherd
1819		Charles Warren
1826		William Ashley-Cooper	Tory			Tory^[8]
Apr. 1830		Henry Sturt
Aug. 1830		Lord Ashley	Tory^[8]
1831		Hon. Henry Ashley-Cooper	Tory^[8]
1834			Conservative^[8]			Conservative^[8]
1835					Robert Williams	Conservative^[8]
1841					Sir James Graham, Bt	Conservative^[8]
1847		Hon. George Dawson-Damer	Conservative		Henry Sturt	Conservative
1852		Richard Brinsley Sheridan^[10]	Whig^[11]^[12]^[13]		Henry Sturt	Conservative
1856			Whig^[11]^[12]^[13]		Charles Napier Sturt	Conservative
1859			Liberal		Charles Napier Sturt	Conservative
1868	representation reduced to one member

1868-1885

Election		Member	Party
1868		representation reduced to one member
	1868	Charles Napier Sturt	Conservative
	1874	William Brymer	Conservative
1885		constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

By-election, 10 April 1830: Dorchester^[14]^[8]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	No label	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 500
	No label gain from Tory

General election 1830: Dorchester^[14]^[8]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Robert Williams, senior	Unopposed
	Tory	Anthony Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 500
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Dorchester^[14]^[8]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Robert Williams, senior	Unopposed
	Tory	Anthony Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 500
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

Ashley-Cooper resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 11 October 1831: Dorchester^[14]^[8]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Henry Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 500
	Tory hold

General election 1832: Dorchester^[14]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Robert Williams, senior	Unopposed
	Tory	Henry Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
Registered electors			322
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

General election 1835: Dorchester^[14]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Robert Williams, junior	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
Registered electors			318
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1837: Dorchester^[14]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Robert Williams, junior	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Ashley-Cooper	Unopposed
Registered electors			397
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Henry Ashley	Unopposed
	Conservative	James Graham	Unopposed
Registered electors			367
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Graham was appointed Home Secretary, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 13 September 1841: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Graham	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	George Dawson-Damer	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	Unopposed
Registered electors			405
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Richard Brinsley Sheridan	235	36.9	*New*
	Conservative	Henry Sturt	215	33.8	*N/A*
	Conservative	George Dawson-Damer	186	29.2	N/A
Majority			20	3.1	N/A
Turnout			318 (est)	73.6 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			432
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Sturt resigned in order to contest the 1856 by-election in Dorset, causing a by-election.

By-election, 22 July 1856: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Napier Sturt	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Richard Brinsley Sheridan	Unopposed
	Conservative	Charles Napier Sturt	Unopposed
Registered electors			451
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Richard Brinsley Sheridan	Unopposed
	Conservative	Charles Napier Sturt	Unopposed
Registered electors			442
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Napier Sturt	268	42.8	*N/A*
	Liberal	Richard Brinsley Sheridan	255	40.7	*N/A*
	Conservative	Henry Drummond Wolff	103	16.5	N/A
Turnout			313 (est)	72.5 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			432
Majority			13	2.1	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			152	24.2	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Seat reduced to one member

General election 1868: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Charles Napier Sturt	Unopposed
Registered electors			628
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Brymer	353	60.2	*N/A*
	Liberal	Sir Francis Somerville Head, 2nd Baronet	233	39.8	New
Majority			120	20.4	N/A
Turnout			586	85.2	N/A
Registered electors			688
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Dorchester^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Brymer	374	53.0	−7.2
	Liberal	Algernon Greville	332	47.0	+7.2
Majority			42	6.0	−14.4
Turnout			706	86.4	+1.2
Registered electors			817
	Conservative hold		Swing	−7.2

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x "Dorchester". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
^ "HUSSEY, Thomas I, of North Bowood, Dorset. | History of Parliament Online".
^ "BROUNCKER, Henry (C.1550-1607), of Erlestoke, Wilts. And West Ham, Essex. | History of Parliament Online".
^ Ashley resigned his place in favour of Sir Thomas Edmondes but was rechosen when Edmondes chose to sit for another constituency
^ Disabled from sitting January 1648 but re-instated June 1648
^ On petition (in a dispute over the franchise), Browne was declared not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Janssen, was seated in his place
^ On petition, Pleydell was declared not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Chapple, was seated in his place
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 85–87. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
^ Damer was declared re-elected in 1790, but on petition was found not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Ashley, was seated in his place
^ Sheridan was the grandson of his celebrated namesake Richard Brinsley Sheridan
^ "London Electoral History — Steps Towards Democracy: 6.2 History of Elections in Westminster, 1749–1852" (PDF). London Electoral History 1700-1850. Newcastle University. p. 11. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
^ Roberts, Andrew. "Biographies of Honorary (Unpaid) Lunacy Commissioners 1828-1912". THE LUNACY COMMISSION, A STUDY OF ITS ORIGIN, EMERGENCE AND CHARACTER. Middlesex University. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
^ The Illustrated London News, Volume 6. Illustrated London News & Sketch Limited. 1845. p. 151. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Farrell, stephen. "Dorchester". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

References

Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
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) [2]
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)
M Stenton (ed), Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885 (The Harvester Press, 1976)
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 "D" (part 2)

[HoP-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x "Dorchester". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 27 October 2012.

[2] "HUSSEY, Thomas I, of North Bowood, Dorset. | History of Parliament Online".

[3] "BROUNCKER, Henry (C.1550-1607), of Erlestoke, Wilts. And West Ham, Essex. | History of Parliament Online".

[4] Ashley resigned his place in favour of Sir Thomas Edmondes but was rechosen when Edmondes chose to sit for another constituency

[5] Disabled from sitting January 1648 but re-instated June 1648

[6] On petition (in a dispute over the franchise), Browne was declared not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Janssen, was seated in his place

[7] On petition, Pleydell was declared not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Chapple, was seated in his place

[stooks-smith-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 85–87. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.

[9] Damer was declared re-elected in 1790, but on petition was found not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Ashley, was seated in his place

[10] Sheridan was the grandson of his celebrated namesake Richard Brinsley Sheridan

[11] "London Electoral History — Steps Towards Democracy: 6.2 History of Elections in Westminster, 1749–1852" (PDF). London Electoral History 1700-1850. Newcastle University. p. 11. Retrieved 6 May 2018.

[12] Roberts, Andrew. "Biographies of Honorary (Unpaid) Lunacy Commissioners 1828-1912". THE LUNACY COMMISSION, A STUDY OF ITS ORIGIN, EMERGENCE AND CHARACTER. Middlesex University. Retrieved 6 May 2018.

[13] The Illustrated London News, Volume 6. Illustrated London News & Sketch Limited. 1845. p. 151. Retrieved 6 May 2018.

[craig1832-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

[hop-15] Farrell, stephen. "Dorchester". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

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v t e Dorset constituencies
Current	Bournemouth East Bournemouth West Christchurch Mid Dorset and North Poole North Dorset Poole South Dorset West Dorset
Historic	Dorset (1290–1885) Bridport (1295–1885) Dorchester (1295–1885) Lyme Regis (1295–1868) Shaftesbury (1295–1885) Wareham (1302–1885) Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (1570–1885) Corfe Castle (1572–1832) East Dorset (1885–1950) Bournemouth (1918–1950) Bournemouth East and Christchurch (1950–1974) Christchurch and Lymington (1974–1983)