Sussex (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1801–1832

Sussex

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

Sussex was a 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 by two Knights of the Shire, elected by the bloc vote system.

Under the Reform Act 1832 the constituency was split into two two-member divisions, for Parliamentary purposes, at the 1832 general election. The county was then represented by the East Sussex and West Sussex divisions.

## Boundaries[edit]

The constituency comprised the whole historic county of Sussex.

Sussex contained nine boroughs: Arundel, Bramber, Chichester, East Grinstead, Horsham, Lewes, Midhurst, New Shoreham and Steyning; and four Cinque Ports: Hastings, Rye, Seaford and Winchelsea. Each of these areas also elected two MPs in their own right and they were not excluded from the county constituency. Owning property within the boroughs or ports could confer a vote at the county election.

## Members of Parliament[edit]

Two Members

## 1290–1660[edit]

Parliament | First member | Second member

|
|

1334 | Roger Hussey |
1344 | Roger Hussey |
1351 | Andrew Peverell |
1353 | Andrew Peverell |
1356 | Andrew Peverell |
1361 | Andrew Peverell |
1366 | Andrew Peverell |
1373 | Andrew Peverell |
1377 (Oct) | Nicholas Wilcombe |
1378 | Sir Edmund FitzHerbert |
1380 (Nov) | Sir William Waleys |
1381 | Sir Edmund FitzHerbert |
1382 (May) | Sir Edmund FitzHerbert |
1382 (Oct) | Sir William Waleys | Sir Edmund FitzHerbert
1383 (Feb) | Sir William Waleys |
1386 | Sir Edmund FitzHerbert | Sir Edward Dallingridge[1]
1388 (Feb) | Sir William Waleys | Sir Edward Dallingridge[1]
1388 (Sep) | Nicholas Wilcombe | Robert Ore[1]
1390 (Jan) | Sir William Percy | Thomas Jardyn[1]
1390 (Nov) | Sir William Percy | Sir William Waleys[1]
1391 | Sir William Percy | Robert Tauk[1]
1393 | Sir William Percy | John Broke[1]
1394 | Sir William Percy | Sir Thomas Sackville II[1]
1395 | Hugh Quecche | Sir Thomas Sackville [1]
1397 (Jan) | Sir William Percy | John Ashburnham[1]
1397 (Sep) | Sir Thomas Sackville II | John Ashburnham[1]
1399 | John Pelham | John Preston[1]
1401 | Sir John Pelham | Sir Henry Hussey[1]
1402 | Sir John Dallingridge | Sir Henry Hussey[1]
1404 (Jan) | Sir John Pelham | Robert Lewknor[1]
1404 (Oct) | Sir John Dallingridge | Sir John Pelham[1]
1406 | Sir John Dallingridge | Sir John Pelham[1]
1407 | Sir John Dallingridge | Sir John Pelham[1]
1410 |
1411 |
1413 (Feb) |
1413 (May) | Richard Wayville | Richard Wakehurst[1]
1414 (Apr) | William Bramshott | Thomas St. Cler[1]
1414 (Nov) | Richard Wayville | John Babelake[1]
1415 | Richard Styuecle | William Weston II[1]
1416 (Mar) | Richard Styuecle | Sir Roger Fiennes[1]
1416 (Oct) |
1417 | John Halle | Richard Styuecle[1]
1419 | Richard Bannebury | Richard Bitterley[1]
1420 | William Ryman | Ralph Rademylde[1]
1421 (May) | William Ryman | John Halle[1]
1421 (Dec) | Ralph Rademylde | Richard Bitterley[1]
1442 | Sir Roger Fiennes |
1445 | Sir Roger Fiennes |
1449 | John Wood[2]
1450 | Robert Poynings |
1456 | Nicholas Hussey |
1483 | John Wood
1491 | Sir David Owen [3] |
1495 | Edmund Dudley
1510–1523 | No names known[4]
1529 | Sir John Gage | Sir Richard Shirley[4]
1536 |
1539 | Sir John Gage | Sir William Goring[4]
1542 | ?Sir John Gage | ? [4]
1545 | ?Sir John Gage | ? [4]
1547 | Sir William Goring | John Palmer[4]
1553 (Mar) | ?Sir Richard Sackville | ? [4]
1553 (Oct) | John Caryll | John Covert[4]
1554 (Apr) | Sir Robert Oxenbridge | Sir Thomas Palmer[4]
1554 (Nov) | John Covert | John Ashburnham II[4]
1555 | Sir Robert Oxenbridge | John Caryll[4]
1558 | Sir Nicholas Pelham | Sir Robert Oxenbridge[4]
1559 (Jan) | Sir Richard Sackville | John Caryll[5]
1562–3 | Sir Richard Sackville, died
and replaced 1566 by John Apsley | William Dawtrey[5]
1571 | John Pelham | Thomas Palmer[5]
1572 | John Jeffrey, died
and replaced Jan 1581 by Walter Covert | Thomas Shirley[5]
1584 | Robert Sackville | Sir Thomas Shirley[5]
1586 | Walter Covert | Thomas Pelham[5]
1588 (Oct) | Sir Thomas Palmer | Henry Neville[5]
1593 | Robert Sackville | Sir Thomas Shirley[5]
1597 (Sep) | Robert Sackville | Sir Nicholas Parker[5]
1601 | Robert Sackville | Charles Howard[5]
1604 | Robert Sackville | [
1609 | Henry Carey
1614 | Sir Walter Covert | Sampson Lennard
1621 | Sir Edward Sackville | Christopher Neville
1624 | Algernon Lord Peircy | Thomas Pelham
1625 | Sir Thomas Pelham, 2nd Baronet | Sir John Shurley
1626 | Sir Walter Covert | Sir Alexander Temple
1628 | Sir William Goring, 1st Baronet | Richard Lewknor
1629–1640 | No Parliaments summoned
1640 (Apr) | Sir Thomas Pelham Bt | Anthony Stapley
1640 (Nov) | Sir Thomas Pelham Bt | Anthony Stapley
1645 | Sir Thomas Pelham Bt | Anthony Stapley
1648 | Anthony Stapley | One seat only
1653 | Anthony Stapley | William Spence
Nathaniel Studeley
1654 | Herbert Morley | Sir Thomas Pelham, 2nd Baronet
Anthony Stapley
John Stapley
John Fagg
William Hay
John Pelham
Francis Lord Dacres
Herbert Springet
1656 | Herbert Morley | John Pelham
John Fagg
John Stapley
Anthony Shirley
George Courthope
Sir Thomas Rivers, 2nd Baronet
Sir Thomas Parker
Samuel Gott
1659 | Herbert Morley | John Fagg

## 1640–1832[edit]

Year |  | First member | First party |  | Second member | Second party

|
|
|
|
|
|

1660 |  | Sir John Pelham, Bt |  |  | Henry Goring |
1661 |  | John Ashburnham |
1667 |  | Sir William Morley |
February 1679 |  | John Lewknor |
August 1679 |  | Sir Nicholas Pelham |
1681 |  | Sir William Thomas, Bt |  |  | Sir John Fagg, Bt |
1685 |  | Sir Henry Goring, Bt |  |  | Sir Thomas Dyke, Bt |
1689 |  | Sir John Pelham, Bt |  |  | Sir William Thomas, Bt |
1698 |  | Robert Orme |
January 1701 |  | Henry Lumley |  |  | John Miller |
December 1701 |  | Sir William Thomas, Bt |  |  | Sir Henry Peachey | Whig
1702 |  | Sir Thomas Pelham, Bt | Whig  |  | Henry Lumley |
1705 |  | John Morley Trevor |  |  | Sir George Parker, Bt |
1708 |  | Sir Henry Peachey, Bt | Whig  |  | Peter Gott |
1710 |  | Charles Eversfield | Tory  |  | Sir George Parker, Bt |
1713 |  | Henry Campion |  |  | John Fuller |
1715 |  | James Butler |  |  | Hon. Spencer Compton | Whig
1722 |  | Hon. Henry Pelham | Whig
1728 |  | James Butler | Whig
1742 |  | Earl of Middlesex |
1747 |  | John Butler |
1754 |  | Thomas Pelham | Whig
1767 |  | Lord George Henry Lennox | Rockingham Whig
1768 |  | Richard Harcourt |
1774 |  | Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson |
1780 |  | Thomas Pelham | Whig
1790 |  | Charles Lennox | Tory
1795 |  | Pittite
1801 |  | John 'Mad Jack' Fuller | Tory
1807 |  | Charles William Wyndham |
1812 |  | Sir Godfrey Webster, Bt | Tory  |  | Walter Burrell | Tory
1820 |  | Edward Jeremiah Curteis |
1830 |  | Herbert Barrett Curteis | Tory
1831 |  | Lord John Lennox | Whig
1832 | Constituency divided into East and West Sussex.

## Elections[edit]

The county franchise, from 1430, was held by the adult male owners of freehold land valued at 40 shillings or more. Each elector 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 Chichester. 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 electors, 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.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

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## See also[edit]

* List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
* Unreformed House of Commons

## References[edit]

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 1)

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 y z aa ab "History of Parliament". Retrieved 16 September 2011.
2. ^ Satchell, Max (2004). "Wood, Sir John, speaker of the House of commons". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29875. Retrieved 1 December 2011. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
3. ^ Cavill. The English Parliaments of Henry VII 1485–1504.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "History of Parliament". Retrieved 16 September 2011.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History of Parliament". Retrieved 16 September 2011.

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Vacant

since 1742

Title last held by

King's Lynn |  Constituency represented by the prime minister
1743–1754  | Vacant

until 1763

Title next held by

Buckingham