Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)

Former parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Not to be confused with Electoral district of Somerset.

Somerset

Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
County| Somerset
1290–1832
Seats| Two
Replaced by| East Somerset and West Somerset

Somerset was a parliamentary constituency in Somerset, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), known traditionally as knights of the shire, to the House of Commons of England until 1707, the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832.

Elections were held by the bloc vote system.

## Members of Parliament

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### MPs 1290–1629

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This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (January 2011)

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* Constituency created (1290)

Parliament | First member | Second member

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Parliament of 1366  | Hugh de Durborough[1] | William Bonville[1]
Parliament of 1368  | Hugh de Durborough[1] | Walter Blewet[1]
Parliament of 1369  | Edward Cheney[1] | Matthew de Clevedon[1]
Parliament of 1371  | John Beauchamp of Lillisdon[1] |
Parliament of 1372  | Hugh de Durborough[1] | John Reynon[1]
Parliament of 1373  | Sir John Delamare[2][1] | Walter Blewet[1]
Parliament of 1376  | Thomas Marshall[1] |
Parliament of 1377  | Sir John Delamare[2] | Sir Thomas Hungerford
Parliament of 1379  | Sir John Burghersh[3]
Parliament of 1382  | Sir John Delamare[2] | Sir Thomas Hungerford
Parliament of 1383 (Oct)  | Sir William Bonville
Parliament of 1384 (Apr)  | Sir William Bonville
Parliament of 1384 (Nov)  | Sir William Bonville
Parliament of 1386  | Sir William Bonville[4] | Sir Thomas Brooke[4]
First Parliament of 1388  | Sir William Bonville[4] | Sir Thomas Brooke[4]
Second Parliament of 1388  | Sir Thomas Hungerford[4] | Sir John Burghersh[4]
First Parliament of 1390  | Sir Stephen Derby[4] | Thomas Beaupine[4]
Second Parliament of 1390  | Sir John Berkeley[4] | Sir Thomas Hungerford[4]
Parliament of 1391  | Sir John Rodney[4] | Sir Thomas Brooke[4]
Parliament of 1393  | Sir Thomas Brooke[4] | Sir William Bonville[4]
Parliament of 1394  | Sir Humphrey Stafford I[4] | Sir John Berkeley[4]
Parliament of 1395  | Sir William Bonville[4] | Sir Thomas Brooke[4]
First Parliament of 1397  | Sir Thomas Brooke[4] | Sir Thomas Arthur[4]
Second Parliament of 1397  | Sir Ivo Fitzwaryn[4] | Sir Thomas Brooke[4]
Parliament of 1399  | Sir Thomas Brooke[4] | Sir William Bonville[4]
Parliament of 1401  | Sir Thomas Beauchamp[4] | William Stourton[4]
Parliament of 1402  | Sir Thomas Brooke[4] | William Stourton[4]
First Parliament of 1404  | Sir Thomas Brooke[4] | William Stourton[4]
Second Parliament of 1404  | Sir Hugh Lutrell[4] | Sir Leonard Hakluyt[4]
Parliament of 1406  | Sir Walter Rodney[4] | Sir Leonard Hakluyt[4]
Parliament of 1407  | Sir Thomas Brooke[4] | Richard Cheddar[4]
Parliament of 1410  | Walter Hungerford[4] | Sir Thomas Brooke[4]
Second Parliament of 1413  | Sir Thomas Brooke[4] | Richard Cheddar[4]
First Parliament of 1414  | Sir John Tiptoft[4] | Sir Hugh Luttrell[4]
Second Parliament of 1414  | Sir Hugh Luttrell[4] | Robert Hill[4]
Parliament of 1415  | Sir Hugh Luttrell[4] | Robert Hill[4]
First Parliament of 1416  | Robert Hill[4] | Richard Boyton[4]
Parliament of 1417  | Thomas Brooke[4] | Richard Cheddar[4]
Parliament of 1419  | Robert Hill[4] | John Stourton[4]
Parliament of 1420  | Sir Thomas Stawell[4] | John Stourton[4]
First Parliament of 1421  | Sir William Bonville[4] | Sir Thomas Brooke[4]
Second Parliament of 1421  | Richard Cheddar[4] | John Stourton[4]
Parliament of 1424  | Giles Daubeney[5] |
Parliament of 1429  | Giles Daubeney[5] |
Parliament of 1433  | John Hody[6] |
Parliament of 1435  | John Hody[6] |
Parliament of 1437  | John Hody[6] |
Parliament of 1455  | William Courtenay  |
Parliament of 1529  | Sir Nicholas Wadham | Sir William Stourton
Parliament of 1539  | Sir Hugh Paulet | Sir Thomas Speke
Parliament of 1545  | Sir Thomas Speke | Sir John St Loe
Parliament of 1547  | Sir Maurice Berkeley | Sir Henry Capell
First Parliament of 1553  | Sir Ralph Hopton | Sir Edward Rogers
Second Parliament of 1553  | Sir Edward Rogers | Sir Ralph Hopton
First Parliament of 1554  | Sir Edward Waldegrave | Sir John Sydenham
Second Parliament of 1554  | Sir Edward Waldegrave | Humphrey Colles
Parliament of 1555  | ?Sir Ralph Hopton | ?Sir John St Loe
Parliament of 1558  | Sir Edward Rogers | John Walshe
Parliament of 1559  | Sir William St Loe
Parliament of 1562–1567  | Sir Maurice Berkeley
Parliament of 1571  | Amias Paulet | George Rogers
Parliament of 1572–1581  | Sir Hugh Paulet died
Sir George Speke | Sir Maurice Berkeley
Parliament of 1584–1585  | Thomas Horner | (Sir) Henry Berkeley
Parliament of 1586–1587
Parliament of 1588–1589  | (Sir) Francis Hastings | Edward Dyer
Parliament of 1593
Parliament of 1597–1598  | Sir Francis Popham | Sir Hugh Portman
Parliament of 1601  | (Sir) Edward Phelips | Sir Maurice Berkeley
Parliament of 1604–1611  | Sir Francis Hastings died 1610
In his place John Poulett
Addled Parliament (1614) | Sir Maurice Berkeley
Parliament of 1621–1622  | Robert Hopton | Sir Henry Portman died 1621
In his place Charles Berkeley
Happy Parliament (1624–1625) | Sir Robert Phelips | John Symes
Useless Parliament (1625) | John Stawell
Parliament of 1625–1626  | Sir Henry Berkeley | Sir John Horner
Parliament of 1628–1629  | Sir Robert Phelips | Sir Edward Rodney
No Parliament summoned 1629–1640

### MPs 1640–1832

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Election | First member | First party | Second member | Second party

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April 1640 |  | Sir Ralph Hopton | Royalist |  | Thomas Smith | Royalist
November 1640 |  | Sir John Poulett | Royalist |  | Sir John Stawell | Royalist
August 1642  | Poulett and Stawell disabled from sitting – both seats vacant
1645  |  | George Horner |  |  | John Harrington |
Election declared void and new writ issued
1646  |  | George Horner |  |  | John Harrington |
December 1648  | Horner excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant | Harrington did not sit after Pride's Purge
Somerset had four members in the Barebones Parliament
1653  | General-at-sea Robert Blake, John Pine, Dennis Hollister, Henry Henley
Somerset had eleven members in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1654 | Sir John Horner, John Buckland, General John Desborough, John Preston, John Harrington,
John Ashe, Charles Steynings, Robert Long, Richard Jones, Thomas Hippisley, Samuel Perry
1656 | John Buckland, General John Desborough, John Harrington, John Ashe, Robert Long, Alexander Popham,
Colonel John Gorges, Francis Luttrell, Sir Lislebone Long, William Wyndham, Francis Rolle
Representation reverted to two members for the Third Protectorate Parliament
January 1659 |  | John Buckland, |  |  | Robert Hunt |
May 1659 | Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660  |  | George Horner |  |  | Hugh Smith |
1661  |  | Sir John Stawell |  |  | Edward Phelips |
1662  |  | John Poulett |
1665  |  | Sir John Warre |
1669  |  | Sir John Sydenham |
February 1679  |  | Sir Hugh Smith |
August 1679  |  | Sir William Portman |  |  | George Speke |
1685  |  | Sir John Smith |  |  | George Horner |
1689  |  | Edward Gorges |
1690  |  | Sir Edward Phelips |  |  | Nathaniel Palmer |
1695  |  | Sir John Smith |  |  | Sir John Trevelyan, Bt |
1698  |  | John Hunt |  |  | Sir Edward Phelips |
1699  |  | Nathaniel Palmer |
January 1701  |  | Sir John Trevelyan, Bt |
December 1701  |  | Sir Philip Sydenham |  |  | Nathaniel Palmer |
1705  |  | John Pigott  |
1708  |  | Henry Seymour Portman |  |  | John Prowse |
April 1710  |  | Sir William Wyndham, Bt | Tory
October 1710  |  | Sir Thomas Wroth | Tory
1713  |  | Thomas Horner | Tory
1715  |  | William Helyar |
1722  |  | Edward Phelips |
1727  |  | Thomas Strangways Horner | Tory
1740  |  | Thomas Prowse |
1741  |  | Henry William Portman | Tory
1747  |  | Sir Charles Kemys Tynte |
1767  |  | Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bt |
1768  |  | Richard Hippisley Coxe |
1774  |  | Edward Phelips |
1780  |  | Sir John Trevelyan, Bt |
1784  |  | Edward Phelips |
1792  |  | Henry Hippisley Coxe |
1795  |  | William Gore-Langton | Whig
1796  |  | William Dickinson | Tory
June 1806  |  | Thomas Lethbridge | Tory
November 1806  |  | William Dickinson | Tory
1812  |  | William Gore-Langton | Whig
1820  |  | Sir Thomas Lethbridge | Tory
1830  |  | Edward Ayshford Sanford | Whig
1831  |  | William Gore-Langton | Whig
1832 | constituency divided into Eastern and Western divisions

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l John Collinson, Edmund Rack, 'The History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset: Collected from Authentic Records, and an Actual Survey Made by the Late Mr. Edmund Rack. Adorned with a Map of the County, and Engravings of Roman and Other Reliques, Town-seals, Baths, Churches, and Gentlemen's Seats, Volume 1, R. Cutwell, 1791, p. xxx online Archived 15 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ a b c S. E. Rigold, Nunney Castle, Somerset (HMSO, 1967), p. 4 (online Archived 30 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ "BURGHERSH, Sir John (1343-91), of Ewelme, Oxon. | History of Parliament Online". Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf "History of Parliament". Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
5. ^ a b "South Petherton, Somerset" (PDF). Hamline University. Retrieved 21 October 2009.[permanent dead link]
6. ^ a b c Roskell, John Smith (1954). The Commons in the Parliament of 1422. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2011.

## Sources

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* 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)
* 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.
* Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847, Volume 2 (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co, 1845)

* v
* t
* e

Somerset constituencies

Current|

* Bath
* Bridgwater
* Frome and East Somerset
* Glastonbury and Somerton
* North East Somerset and Hanham
* North Somerset
* Taunton and Wellington
* Tiverton and Minehead
* Wells and Mendip Hills
* Weston-super-Mare
* Yeovil

Historic|

* Somerset (1290–1832)

* Taunton (1295–2010)
* Wells (1295–2024)
* Minehead (1563–1832)
* Ilchester (1621–1832)
* Milborne Port (1628–1832)
* Frome (1832–1950)
* Mid Somerset (1868–1885)
* East Somerset (1832–1918)
* West Somerset (1832–1918)
* South Somerset (1885–1918)
* Wellington (1885–1918)
* Somerton and Frome (1983–2024)
* Woodspring (1983–2010)
* Bridgwater and West Somerset (2010–2024)
* North East Somerset (2010–2024)
* Taunton Deane (2010–2024)

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