The borough consisted of the former market town of Bramber on the River Adur, which by the 19th century had decayed to the size of a small village. Bramber was barely distinguishable from neighbouring Steyning, with which it shared a main street, and for a century and a half after 1295 they formed a single borough collectively returning MPs. From the reign of Edward IV, however, they returned two MPs each, even though one part of Bramber was in the centre of Steyning so that a single property could in theory give rise to a vote in both boroughs. They were never substantial enough towns to deserve enfranchisement on their own merits, and both probably owed their status to a royal desire to gratify the courtiers that owned them with a degree of influence in the House of Commons.
Bramber was a burgage borough – the vote was restricted to inhabitants of ancient houses in the borough, or those built on ancient foundations, who paid scot and lot. In 1816 this amounted to only 20 voters, although as in 1831 the borough contained 35 houses and a population of approximately 170, this was a much higher proportion of the residents than in most burgage boroughs.
Bramber was slightly unusual in that the vote was accorded to the occupier rather than the owner of the burgage tenements, but in practice the owners had total control over the votes of their tenants – by bribery if not by threats – and therefore of elections in the borough. In Tudor times, the Dukes of Norfolk seem to have held sway. By the first half of the 18th century Bramber was wholly owned by Sir Harry Gough, who leased it (and the right to nominate its MPs) to Lord Archer;[1] Lord Archer sold this right onwards in his turn, apparently being paid £1000 by the government to allow Lord Malpas to be elected in 1754. In 1768 the Duke of Rutland gained control, but Gough later regained power over one of the two seats and it was inherited by his descendants (who held the title Lord Calthorpe). These two families still shared the representation at the time of the Reform Act.
Bramber was abolished as a separate constituency with effect from the 1832 general election. However, the nearby borough of New Shoreham had already been expanded to include the whole of the Rape of Bramber as an antidote to its corruption, and survived the Reform Act with both its MPs intact. Bramber therefore formed part of the New Shoreham constituency from 1832.
Members of Parliamentedit
before 1640edit
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)
^At the election of 1768, Winterton and Lowndes were initially declared elected, but on petition the result was reversed and their opponents Thoroton and Ambler were seated instead
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)
J. E. Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
October 31, 2023
bramber, parliament, constituency, bramber, parliamentary, borough, sussex, most, notorious, rotten, boroughs, elected, members, parliament, house, commons, 1295, again, from, 1472, until, 1832, when, constituency, abolished, great, reform, bramberformer, boro. Bramber was a parliamentary borough in Sussex one of the most notorious of all the rotten boroughs It elected two Members of Parliament MPs to the House of Commons in 1295 and again from 1472 until 1832 when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act BramberFormer Borough constituencyfor the House of Commons1472 1832SeatsTwoReplaced byNew Shoreham Contents 1 History 2 Members of Parliament 2 1 before 1640 2 2 1640 1832 3 ReferencesHistory editThe borough consisted of the former market town of Bramber on the River Adur which by the 19th century had decayed to the size of a small village Bramber was barely distinguishable from neighbouring Steyning with which it shared a main street and for a century and a half after 1295 they formed a single borough collectively returning MPs From the reign of Edward IV however they returned two MPs each even though one part of Bramber was in the centre of Steyning so that a single property could in theory give rise to a vote in both boroughs They were never substantial enough towns to deserve enfranchisement on their own merits and both probably owed their status to a royal desire to gratify the courtiers that owned them with a degree of influence in the House of Commons Bramber was a burgage borough the vote was restricted to inhabitants of ancient houses in the borough or those built on ancient foundations who paid scot and lot In 1816 this amounted to only 20 voters although as in 1831 the borough contained 35 houses and a population of approximately 170 this was a much higher proportion of the residents than in most burgage boroughs Bramber was slightly unusual in that the vote was accorded to the occupier rather than the owner of the burgage tenements but in practice the owners had total control over the votes of their tenants by bribery if not by threats and therefore of elections in the borough In Tudor times the Dukes of Norfolk seem to have held sway By the first half of the 18th century Bramber was wholly owned by Sir Harry Gough who leased it and the right to nominate its MPs to Lord Archer 1 Lord Archer sold this right onwards in his turn apparently being paid 1000 by the government to allow Lord Malpas to be elected in 1754 In 1768 the Duke of Rutland gained control but Gough later regained power over one of the two seats and it was inherited by his descendants who held the title Lord Calthorpe These two families still shared the representation at the time of the Reform Act Bramber was abolished as a separate constituency with effect from the 1832 general election However the nearby borough of New Shoreham had already been expanded to include the whole of the Rape of Bramber as an antidote to its corruption and survived the Reform Act with both its MPs intact Bramber therefore formed part of the New Shoreham constituency from 1832 Members of Parliament editbefore 1640 edit This list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items August 2008 Parliament First member Second member1399 Robert Couk John Farnfold1510 1523 No names known 2 1529 Henry See William Roper 2 1536 1539 1542 Sir John Clere Richard Watkins 2 1545 Sir John Clere John Gilmyn 2 1547 Sir William Sharington John Fylde 2 by 23 Jan 1552 Chidiock Paulet Richard Bunny 2 1553 Mar George Rithe Lawrence Awen 2 1553 Oct Sir John Baker Thomas Timperley 2 1554 Apr Sir Henry Palmer John Story 2 1554 Nov Thomas Elrington John Baker 2 1555 Sir Thomas Knyvet John Baker or Thomas Baker 2 1558 Henry Mynn Nicholas Mynn 2 1559 Sir Henry Gates Robert Buxton 3 1562 3 William Barker Robert Balam 3 1571 Bartholomew Clerke Robert Wiseman 3 1572 Hugh Hare Henry Clerke 3 1584 Nicholas Beaumont Sampson Lennard 3 1586 William Towse John Porter 3 1588 James Altham John Osborne 3 1593 Samuel Thornhill Edward Michelborne 3 1597 Nicholas Trott William Comber 3 1601 Sir Thomas Shirley sat for Hastings and replaced Nov 1601 by Henry Lok Henry Bowyer 3 1604 Sir John Shurley 4 Henry Shelley1614 Sir John Leedes Henry ShelleySon of Member for 16041621 Sir Thomas Bowyer Robert Morley1624 Sir Thomas Bowyer Robert Morley1625 Walter Barttelot Sir Thomas Bowyer1626 Walter Barttelot Sir Thomas Bowyer1628 1629 Sir Sackville Crowe Sir Thomas Bowyer1629 1640 No Parliaments summoned1640 1832 edit Year First member First party Second member Second partyApril 1640 Sir Edward Bishopp Sir Thomas Bowyer RoyalistNovember 1640 5 Arthur Onslow ParliamentarianDecember 1640 Sir Thomas Bowyer RoyalistNovember 1642 Bowyer disabled from sitting seat vacantSeptember 1645 James TempleDecember 1648 Onslow excluded in Pride s Purge seat vacant1653 Bramber was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the ProtectorateJanuary 1659 John Byne John FaggMay 1659 James Temple One seat vacant1660 John Byne Edward Eversfield1661 Percy Goring1662 Sir Cecil BishoppFebruary 1679 Henry Goring Nicholas EversfieldAugust 1679 Henry Sidney1681 Percy Goring1685 Sir Thomas Bludworth William Bridgeman1689 John Alford Charles Goring1690 Nicholas Barbon John Radcliffe1695 William Stringer1698 Sir Henry Furnese 6 William WestbrookeFebruary 1699 John CourthopeApril 1699 John AsgillJanuary 1701 Thomas Stringer Thomas OwenMarch 1701 Francis Seymour Conway1702 John Asgill 7 1703 John Middleton 8 1704 Samuel Vanacker Sambrooke1705 The Viscount Windsor1707 William Shippen1709 9 William Hale Sir Cleave MoreOctober 1710 The Viscount Windsor 10 Andrews WindsorDecember 1710 William Shippen1713 The Lord HawleyJanuary 1715 Sir Richard Gough Sir Thomas Style 11 June 1715 Edward Minshull1722 William Charles van Huls1723 David Polhill1727 Joseph DanversMarch 1728 John Gumley 12 April 1728 James Hoste1734 Sir Harry Gough Harry Gough senior 1741 Thomas Archer1747 Joseph Damer1751 Henry Pelham Whig1754 Viscount Malpas Nathaniel NewnhamMarch 1761 Hon Andrew Archer 13 William FitzherbertDecember 1761 The Lord Winterton 14 1762 Hon George Venables Vernon1768 15 Charles Lowndes1769 Thomas Thoroton Charles Ambler1774 Sir Henry Gough 16 1782 Hon Henry Fitzroy Stanhope1784 Daniel Pulteney1788 Robert Hobart1790 Thomas Coxhead 17 1796 Sir Charles Rouse Boughton James Adams1800 John Henry Newbolt1802 George Manners Sutton Henry Jodrell1804 Richard Norman1806 John Irving1812 William Wilberforce Independent1825 Arthur Gough Calthorpe1826 Frederick Gough Calthorpe1831 William Stratford Dugdale1832 Constituency abolishedNotes Page 144 note 1 Lewis Namier The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III 2nd edition London St Martin s Press 1957 a b c d e f g h i j k l History of Parliament History of Parliament Trust Retrieved 28 October 2011 a b c d e f g h i j History of Parliament History of Parliament Trust Retrieved 28 October 2011 Son in law of Sir Thomas Shirley Bishopp and Onslow were initially elected but their election was declared void Bishopp was barred from standing again but Onslow was re elected Expelled from the House of Commons 1699 for holding an office incompatible with membership Expelled from the House of Commons 1707 for his controversial writings on religion On petition Middleton s election was declared void following a dispute over the franchise At the general election of 1708 Windsor and Shippen were initially declared re elected but on petition the election was declared void The Viscount Windsor was also elected for Monmouthshire which he chose to represent and never sat for Bramber On petition a dispute over the franchise Style was found not to have been duly elected and a by election was held On petition Gumley was found not to have been duly elected and a by election was held Archer was also elected for Coventry which he chose to represent and never sat for Bramber The Earl Winterton from 1766 At the election of 1768 Winterton and Lowndes were initially declared elected but on petition the result was reversed and their opponents Thoroton and Ambler were seated instead Adopted the surname Calthorpe in 1788 Sir Thomas Coxhead from 1793References editRobert Beatson A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament London Longman Hurst Res amp Orme 1807 1 D Brunton amp D H Pennington Members of the Long Parliament London George Allen amp Unwin 1954 Cobbett s Parliamentary history of England from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 London Thomas Hansard 1808 2 J E Neale The Elizabethan House of Commons London Jonathan Cape 1949 T H B Oldfield The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland London Baldwin Cradock amp Joy 1816 J Holladay Philbin Parliamentary Representation 1832 England and Wales New Haven Yale University Press 1965 Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt The Unreformed House of Commons Cambridge University Press 1903 Frederic A Youngs jr Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England Vol I London Royal Historical Society 1979 Leigh Rayment s Historical List of MPs Constituencies beginning with B part 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bramber UK Parliament constituency amp oldid 1167919807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,