Whitby (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England

This article is about the abolished British parliamentary constituency. For the Canadian riding of the same name, see Whitby (federal electoral district).

Whitby

Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Whitby in Yorkshire, 1885-1918

1832–1885
Seats| One
Created from| Yorkshire
Replaced by| Whitby
1885–1918
Seats| One
Type of constituency| County constituency
Created from| North Riding of Yorkshire and Whitby
Replaced by| Scarborough and Whitby and Thirsk and Malton

Whitby was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

## History

[edit]

The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act for the 1832 general election as a parliamentary borough, Whitby being at that point one of the most prosperous towns in England which had not previously been represented. (Whitby had been summoned to send members to the Protectorate Parliaments during the Civil War period, but never at any other time.) It consisted of Whitby itself and the adjoining townships of Ruswarp, Hawsker and Stainsacre, and had a population of just over 10,000.

Whitby's shipbuilding industry had been in decline even before the new borough was established, and by 1885 a separate MP for the town could no longer be justified. However, when the borough was abolished the county constituency which absorbed it was also named Whitby (strictly, the Whitby Division of the North Riding of Yorkshire): it contained all the easternmost part of the Riding apart from Scarborough (which remained a separate borough), stretching south-west to Pickering which was the only other town in the constituency.

The Whitby division was abolished for the 1918 general election, when it was partially replaced by the new Scarborough & Whitby constituency.

## Members of Parliament

[edit]

Election | Member | Party

|
|

| 1832 | Aaron Chapman | Tory[1]
| 1834 | Conservative[1]
| 1847 | Robert Stephenson | Conservative
| 1859 by-election | Harry Thompson | Liberal
| 1865 | Charles Bagnall | Conservative
| 1868 | William Henry Gladstone | Liberal
| 1880 | Arthur Pease | Liberal
| 1885 | Ernest Beckett | Conservative
| 1905 by-election | Noel Buxton | Liberal
| 1906 | Gervase Beckett | Conservative
| 1918 | constituency abolished: see Scarborough and Whitby

## Election results

[edit]

### Elections in the 1830s

[edit]

General election 1832: Whitby[2][1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Tory | Aaron Chapman | 217  | 61.0
| Whig | Richard Moorson[3] | 139  | 39.0
Majority  | 78  | 22.0
Turnout | 356  | 84.4
Registered electors | 422  |
| Tory win (new seat)
General election 1835: Whitby[2][1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Aaron Chapman | Unopposed
Registered electors | 432  |  |
| Conservative hold
General election 1837: Whitby[2][1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Aaron Chapman | Unopposed
Registered electors | 458  |  |
| Conservative hold

### Elections in the 1840s

[edit]

General election 1841: Whitby[2][1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Aaron Chapman | Unopposed
Registered electors | 424  |  |
| Conservative hold
General election 1847: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Robert Stephenson | Unopposed
Registered electors | 403  |  |
| Conservative hold

### Elections in the 1850s

[edit]

General election 1852: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Robert Stephenson | 218  | 66.7  | N/A
| Whig | Edmund Phipps[4] | 109  | 33.3  | New
Majority | 109  | 33.4  | N/A
Turnout | 327  | 72.0  | N/A
Registered electors | 454  |  |
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
General election 1857: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Robert Stephenson | Unopposed
Registered electors | 532  |  |
| Conservative hold
General election 1859: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Robert Stephenson | Unopposed
Registered electors | 647  |  |
| Conservative hold

Stephenson's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 23 November 1859: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | Harry Thompson | 229  | 54.7  | New
| Conservative | Thomas Chapman[5] | 190  | 45.3  | N/A
Majority | 39  | 9.4  | N/A
Turnout | 419  | 64.8  | N/A
Registered electors | 647  |  |
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A |

### Elections in the 1860s

[edit]

General election 1865: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Charles Bagnall | 305  | 52.0  | N/A
| Liberal | Harry Thompson | 282  | 48.0  | N/A
Majority | 23  | 4.0  | N/A
Turnout | 587  | 83.5  | N/A
Registered electors | 703  |  |
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
General election 1868: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | William Henry Gladstone | 894  | 63.3  | +15.3
| Conservative | Sir William Cayley Worsley, 2nd Baronet  | 518  | 36.7  | −15.3
Majority | 376  | 26.6  | N/A
Turnout | 1,412  | 68.6  | −14.9
Registered electors | 2,058  |  |
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +15.3  |

Gladstone was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 18 November 1869: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | William Henry Gladstone | 779  | 56.7  | −6.6
| Conservative | Sir William Cayley Worsley, 2nd Baronet  | 596  | 43.3  | +6.6
Majority | 183  | 13.4  | −13.2
Turnout | 1,375  | 66.8  | −1.8
Registered electors | 2,058  |  |
| Liberal hold | Swing | −6.6  |

### Elections in the 1870s

[edit]

General election 1874: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | William Henry Gladstone | 873  | 53.7  | −9.6
| Conservative | Charles Bagnall | 754  | 46.3  | +9.6
Majority | 119  | 7.4  | −19.2
Turnout | 1,627  | 78.6  | +10.0
Registered electors | 2,069  |  |
| Liberal hold | Swing | −9.6  |

### Elections in the 1880s

[edit]

Pease General election 1880: Whitby[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | Arthur Pease | 1,072  | 60.5  | +6.8
| Conservative | Robert Mowbray[6] | 699  | 39.5  | −6.8
Majority | 373  | 21.0  | +13.6
Turnout | 1,771  | 81.9  | +3.3
Registered electors | 2,163  |  |
| Liberal hold | Swing | +6.8  |

At the 1885 election the constituency was redrawn to include Pickering and the hinterlands of Scarborough.

General election 1885: Whitby [7][8][9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Ernest Beckett-Denison | 5,049  | 51.7  | +12.2
| Liberal | Arthur Pease | 4,709  | 48.3  | −12.2
Majority | 340  | 3.4  | N/A
Turnout | 9,758  | 86.0  | +4.1
Registered electors | 11,350  |  |
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.2  |
General election 1886: Whitby [7][9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Ernest Beckett | 5,078  | 56.3  | +4.6
| Liberal | James Menzies Clayhills[10] | 3,940  | 43.7  | −4.6
Majority | 1,138  | 12.6  | +9.2
Turnout | 9,018  | 79.5  | −6.5
Registered electors | 11,350  |  |
| Conservative hold | Swing | +4.6  |

### Elections in the 1890s

[edit]

General election 1892: Whitby [7][9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Ernest Beckett | 4,909  | 56.2  | −0.1
| Liberal | H Frank Pyman  | 3,826  | 43.8  | +0.1
Majority | 1,083  | 12.4  | −0.2
Turnout | 8,735  | 80.8  | +1.3
Registered electors | 10,804  |  |
| Conservative hold | Swing | −0.1  |
General election 1895: Whitby [7][11][9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Ernest Beckett | Unopposed
| Conservative hold

### Elections in the 1900s

[edit]

General election 1900: Whitby [7][11][12] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Ernest Beckett | Unopposed
| Conservative hold
Buxton 1905 Whitby by-election[12][7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | Noel Buxton | 4,547  | 52.6  | New
| Conservative | Gervase Beckett | 4,102  | 47.4  | N/A
Majority | 445  | 5.2  | N/A
Turnout | 8,649  | 79.7  | N/A
Registered electors | 10,857  |  |
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A |
Beckett General election 1906: Whitby [12][7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Gervase Beckett | 4,780  | 50.4  | N/A
| Liberal | Noel Buxton | 4,709  | 49.6  | N/A
Majority | 71  | 0.8  | N/A
Turnout | 9,489  | 84.2  | N/A
Registered electors | 11,263  |  |
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |

### Elections in the 1910s

[edit]

Jardine General election January 1910: Whitby [12][13] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Gervase Beckett | 5,161  | 52.9  | +2.5
| Liberal | James Jardine | 4,602  | 47.1  | −2.5
Majority | 559  | 5.8  | +5.0
Turnout | 9,763  | 87.2  | +3.0
Registered electors | 11,200  |  |
| Conservative hold | Swing | +2.5  |
General election December 1910: Whitby [13][9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Gervase Beckett | 4,960  | 52.4  | −0.5
| Liberal | Walter Herbert Septimus Pyman  | 4,508  | 47.6  | +0.5
Majority | 452  | 4.8  | −1.0
Turnout | 9,468  | 84.5  | −2.7
Registered electors | 11,200  |  |
| Conservative hold | Swing | −0.5  |

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

* Unionist: Gervase Beckett
* Liberal:

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 172. Retrieved 23 December 2018 – via Internet Archive.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
3. ^ The Tourist: A Literary and Anti-slavery Journal, Volume 1. London: John Crisp. 1833. p. 16. Retrieved 30 April 2020 – via Internet Archive.
4. ^ "Whitby Election". Hull Packet. 9 July 1852. p. 8. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. ^ "To the Free and Electors of the Borough of Whitby". Whitby Gazette. 5 November 1859. p. 4. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. ^ "Whitby Borough Election". Whitby Gazette. 5 June 1880. p. 4. Retrieved 14 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. ^ a b c d e f g The Liberal Year Book, 1907
8. ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
9. ^ a b c d e Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
10. ^ "The General Election". Bristol Mercury. 8 July 1886. p. 8. Retrieved 14 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
12. ^ a b c d British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
13. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916

* Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 3)