Clifton, Dartmouth and Hardness were three towns clustered round the mouth of the River Dart in southern Devon; all three are within the modern town of Dartmouth. The borough as first represented in 1298 seems to have included only the town of Dartmouth, but at the next return of members in 1350–1351 it also included Clifton; Hardness is first mentioned in 1553, though may have been included earlier. The boundaries by the 19th century included the whole of Dartmouth St Petrox and St Saviour parishes, and part of Townstall parish.
Dartmouth by the end of the 18th century was a prosperous small port, depending mainly on fishing but also with some shipbuilding interests; but the bulk of the inhabitants had little voice in the choice of its Members of Parliament. After a decision by Parliament that followed a disputed election in 1689, the right to vote in Dartmouth rested with the corporation, which appointed its own successors, and with the freemen of the borough, who were made by the corporation. This amounted to a total of 71 voters in 1832, although only 53 of these were resident; virtually all were officers of the custom house or other government employees.
This franchise meant that once control was gained of the borough it was easy to retain indefinitely. Around the turn of the 18th century, the Herne family had almost total control, but in the mid-to-late 18th and early 19th century, control had passed to the government and Dartmouth was considered a safe seat for the party in power, returning one member at the nomination of the Treasury and one of the Admiralty. (Even this control had its limits however – Namier and Brooke quote letters to show that when a vacancy arose in 1757, the government had to abandon their original intention of nominating a soldier, and instead acceded to the corporation's demand for a naval candidate.)[1] The Holdsworth family managed the government's interests in the borough,[2] and generally had first refusal on one of the seats. Indeed, the Holdsworths were sufficiently influential to defy the government on occasion, as in 1780 when Arthur Holdsworth arranged the re-election of the popular but opposition-supporting naval hero Lord Howe to one seat while taking the other for himself – no government candidates stood against them, and both Howe and Holdsworth voted with the opposition in the new Parliament.
At the time of the Great Reform Act, the 1831 census showed that there were 611 houses in the borough but a population of 4,447. Dartmouth was allowed to keep one of its two MPs, and the boundaries were extended slightly to include the whole of Townstall parish and part of Stoke Fleming, bringing the population up to 4,662.
The constituency was abolished at the next boundary revision, which came into effect at the general election of 1868, after which the towns were part of the Southern Devon county division.
^Booth was originally declared elected, but on petition the House of Commons decided that some of his voters had not validly been made Freemen, and were therefore ineligible to vote; Booth's opponent, Herne, was consequently declared elected in his place. (House of Commons Journal, 28 November 1689 [1])
^Sir Joseph Herne died 26 February 1699. There is apparently no record of a writ for a by-election being issued, and the seat may have remained vacant for the remainder of the Parliament
^Succeeded as the 4th Viscount Howe (in the Peerage of Ireland, July 1758. Rear Admiral 1770, Vice Admiral 1775, Admiral 1782
^ abcdefghijklmnStooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 66–68. ISBN0-900178-13-2.
^"The New House of Commons". Hull Packet. 9 July 1852. p. 5. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^Saunders, Robert (2016). "Peelites, Protectionists and Popular Toryism". Democracy and the Vote in British Politics, 1848–1867: The Making of the Second Reform Act. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 63. ISBN978-1-4094-1794-1. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
^"Dartmouth". Royal Cornwall Gazette. 3 April 1857. p. 5. Retrieved 6 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Election Petitions". Western Times. 30 July 1859. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 6 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Political". Brighton Guardian. 17 October 1860. p. 2. Retrieved 25 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Referencesedit
Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [2]
D. Brunton and 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)
Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
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)
Robert Walcott, English Politics in the Early Eighteenth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956)
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.
Frederic A. Youngs Jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol. I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
January 01, 1970
dartmouth, parliament, constituency, dartmouth, also, sometimes, called, clifton, dartmouth, hardness, parliamentary, borough, devon, which, elected, members, parliament, house, commons, 1298, commons, england, great, britain, united, kingdom, from, 1351, unti. Dartmouth also sometimes called Clifton Dartmouth and Hardness was a parliamentary borough in Devon which elected two Members of Parliament MPs to the House of Commons in 1298 and to the Commons of England Great Britain and the United Kingdom from 1351 until 1832 and then one member from 1832 until 1868 when the borough was disfranchised DartmouthFormer Borough constituencyfor the House of Commons1351 1868Seatstwo 1351 1832 one 1832 1868 Replaced bySouth Devon Contents 1 History 2 Members of Parliament 2 1 1351 1640 2 2 1640 1832 2 3 1832 1868 3 Election results 3 1 Elections in the 1830s 3 2 Elections in the 1840s 3 3 Elections in the 1850s 3 4 Elections in the 1860s 4 Notes 5 ReferencesHistory editClifton Dartmouth and Hardness were three towns clustered round the mouth of the River Dart in southern Devon all three are within the modern town of Dartmouth The borough as first represented in 1298 seems to have included only the town of Dartmouth but at the next return of members in 1350 1351 it also included Clifton Hardness is first mentioned in 1553 though may have been included earlier The boundaries by the 19th century included the whole of Dartmouth St Petrox and St Saviour parishes and part of Townstall parish Dartmouth by the end of the 18th century was a prosperous small port depending mainly on fishing but also with some shipbuilding interests but the bulk of the inhabitants had little voice in the choice of its Members of Parliament After a decision by Parliament that followed a disputed election in 1689 the right to vote in Dartmouth rested with the corporation which appointed its own successors and with the freemen of the borough who were made by the corporation This amounted to a total of 71 voters in 1832 although only 53 of these were resident virtually all were officers of the custom house or other government employees This franchise meant that once control was gained of the borough it was easy to retain indefinitely Around the turn of the 18th century the Herne family had almost total control but in the mid to late 18th and early 19th century control had passed to the government and Dartmouth was considered a safe seat for the party in power returning one member at the nomination of the Treasury and one of the Admiralty Even this control had its limits however Namier and Brooke quote letters to show that when a vacancy arose in 1757 the government had to abandon their original intention of nominating a soldier and instead acceded to the corporation s demand for a naval candidate 1 The Holdsworth family managed the government s interests in the borough 2 and generally had first refusal on one of the seats Indeed the Holdsworths were sufficiently influential to defy the government on occasion as in 1780 when Arthur Holdsworth arranged the re election of the popular but opposition supporting naval hero Lord Howe to one seat while taking the other for himself no government candidates stood against them and both Howe and Holdsworth voted with the opposition in the new Parliament At the time of the Great Reform Act the 1831 census showed that there were 611 houses in the borough but a population of 4 447 Dartmouth was allowed to keep one of its two MPs and the boundaries were extended slightly to include the whole of Townstall parish and part of Stoke Fleming bringing the population up to 4 662 The constituency was abolished at the next boundary revision which came into effect at the general election of 1868 after which the towns were part of the Southern Devon county division Members of Parliament edit1351 1640 edit Parliament First member Second member 1368 Richard Whitelegh 3 1371 John Pasford 4 1377 Thomas Raymond 5 1386 Richard Whitelegh Robert More 6 1388 Feb William Burlestone John Lacche 6 1388 Sep William Bast Roger Scoce 6 1390 Jan John Hawley Thomas Asshenden I 6 1390 Nov 1391 John William John Brasuter 6 1393 John Ellemede John Hawley 6 1394 William Damiet John Hawley 6 1395 John Bosom Edmund Arnold 6 1397 Jan John Bosom William Glover 6 1397 Sep 1399 1401 1402 John Hawley the elder Ralph North 6 1404 Jan 1404 Oct 1406 John Foxley John White 6 1407 Henry Bremeler John Pille 6 1410 John Hawley the younger Edmund Arnold 6 1411 John Hawley John Corp 6 1413 Feb 1413 May John Hawley John Corp 6 1414 Apr 1414 Nov John Hawley Edmund Arnold 6 1415 6 Mar Edmund Arnold Walter Wodeland 6 1416 Oct 1417 1419 1420 Thomas Asshenden II Walter Wodeland 6 1421 May John Hawley Thomas Hankyn 6 1421 Dec John Burley Henry Sadeler 6 1510 1523 No names known 7 1529 John Trevanion William Holland repl 1534 by Nicholas Langmede 7 1536 1539 John Ridgeway William Holland 7 1542 John Anthony William Holland 7 1545 Nicholas Bacon John Ridgeway 7 1547 Sir Peter Carew Richard Duke 7 1553 Mar Nicholas Adams alias Bodrugan Gilbert Roupe 7 1553 Oct Michael Adams Michael Roope Parliament of 1554 Nicholas Adams Edmund Sture Parliament of 1554 1555 John Petre Nicholas Enis Parliament of 1555 Sir John St Leger James Courtenay Parliament of 1558 Gregory Huckmore Thomas Gurney Parliament of 1559 Thomas Southcote Edward Yarde Parliament of 1563 1567 Sir John More John Lovell Parliament of 1571 John Vaughan Thomas Gurney Parliament of 1572 1581 William Cardinal Thomas Gurney diedand repl 1576 by William Lyster Parliament of 1584 1585 Hugh Vaughan Thomas Ridgeway Parliament of 1586 1587 Robert Petre George Cary Parliament of 1588 1589 Robert Papworth Richard Drewe Parliament of 1593 Nicholas Hayman Thomas Holland Parliament of 1597 1598 John Osborne 8 9 William Bastard 8 Parliament of 1601 John Traherne William Bastard Parliament of 1604 1611 Thomas Holland Thomas Gurney Addled Parliament 1614 Parliament of 1621 1622 Robert Matthew William Nyell Happy Parliament 1624 1625 Richard Matthew William Plumley Useless Parliament 1625 Roger Matthew John Upton Parliament of 1625 1626 Parliament of 1628 1629 No Parliament summoned 1629 1640 1640 1832 edit Year First member First party Second member Second party April 1640 Andrew Voysey John Upton 10 November 1640 Roger Matthew Royalist 1641 Samuel Browne Parliamentarian February 1644 Matthew disabled from sitting seat vacant 1646 Thomas Boone December 1648 Browne excluded in Pride s Purge seat vacant 1653 Dartmouth was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament 1654 Thomas Boone Dartmouth had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate 1656 Edward Hopkins January 1659 Thomas Boone Colonel John Clarke May 1659 Not represented in the restored Rump 1660 John Frederick John Hale 1661 William Harbord Thomas Southcote 1664 Thomas Kendall 1667 Walter Yonge 1670 William Gould 1640 1671 of Floyer Hayes Exeter 1673 Josiah Child February 1679 Sir Nathaniel Herne John Upton August 1679 Edward Yarde 1685 Roger Pomeroy Arthur Farwell January 1689 Charles Boone William Hayne September 1689 George Booth 11 November 1689 Sir Joseph Herne 1698 Frederick Herne 1699 12 1701 Nathaniel Herne 1713 Sir William Drake 1714 John Fownes 1715 Joseph Herne John Fownes junior 1722 George Treby III Thomas Martyn 1727 George Treby II Whig Walter Carey Whig 1742 Lord Archibald Hamilton 1747 John Jeffreys Whig 1757 Captain the Hon Richard Howe 13 1766 Richard Hopkins 1780 Arthur Holdsworth 1782 Charles Brett Rockingham Whig 1784 Richard Hopkins 1787 Edmund Bastard 1790 John Charles Villiers 1802 Tory 14 Arthur Howe Holdsworth Tory 14 1812 Edmund Pollexfen Bastard Tory 14 1816 John Bastard Tory 14 1820 Charles Milner Ricketts Tory 14 1822 James Hamilton Stanhope Tory 14 1825 Sir John Hutton Cooper Tory 14 1829 Arthur Howe Holdsworth Tory 14 1832 Representation reduced to one member 1832 1868 edit Year Member Party 1832 Sir John Seale 15 Whig 14 16 1844 Joseph Somes Conservative 1845 George Moffatt Radical 17 18 19 1852 Sir Thomas Herbert Conservative 1857 James Caird Peelite 20 21 April 1859 Edward Wyndham Harrington Schenley 22 Liberal August 1859 John Dunn Conservative 1860 John Hardy Conservative 1868 Constituency abolishedElection results editElections in the 1830s edit General election 1830 Dartmouth 2 seats 14 23 Party Candidate Votes Tory John Bastard 21 7 5 N A Tory Arthur Howe Holdsworth 21 7 5 N A Whig Henry Willoughby 119 42 5 N A Whig John Henry Seale 119 42 5 N A Majority 98 35 0 N A Turnout 21 eligible c 48 8 N A Registered electors c 43 Tory hold Swing N A Tory hold Swing N A The 119 votes for Willoughby and Seale were declared void as they were placed by ineligible householders General election 1831 Dartmouth 2 seats 14 23 Party Candidate Votes Tory John Bastard Unopposed Tory Arthur Howe Holdsworth Unopposed Registered electors 43 Tory hold Tory hold General election 1832 Dartmouth 24 14 Party Candidate Votes Whig John Henry Seale Unopposed Registered electors 243 Whig gain from Tory General election 1835 Dartmouth 24 14 Party Candidate Votes Whig John Henry Seale Unopposed Registered electors 240 Whig hold General election 1837 Dartmouth 24 14 Party Candidate Votes Whig John Henry Seale Unopposed Registered electors 257 Whig hold Elections in the 1840s edit General election 1841 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Whig John Henry Seale Unopposed Registered electors 276 Whig hold Seale s death caused a by election By election 27 December 1844 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Joseph Somes 125 51 4 New Radical George Moffatt 118 48 6 N A Majority 7 2 8 N A Turnout 243 86 2 N A Registered electors 282 Conservative gain from Whig Swing N A Somes death caused a by election By election 3 July 1845 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Radical George Moffatt 125 53 0 N A Conservative Henry Thoby Prinsep 111 47 0 N A Majority 14 6 0 N A Turnout 236 83 7 N A Registered electors 282 Radical gain from Whig Swing N A General election 1847 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Radical George Moffatt Unopposed Registered electors 376 Radical gain from Whig Elections in the 1850s edit General election 1852 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Thomas Herbert 146 52 0 New Whig William Schaw Lindsay 25 26 135 48 0 N A Majority 11 4 0 N A Turnout 281 93 0 N A Registered electors 302 Conservative gain from Radical Swing N A General election 1857 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Peelite James Caird 127 57 5 N A Whig Charles Seale Hayne 27 28 94 42 5 5 5 Majority 33 15 0 N A Turnout 221 82 2 10 8 Registered electors 269 Peelite gain from Conservative Swing 5 5 General election 1859 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Edward Wyndham Harrington Schenley 123 51 5 9 0 Conservative Thomas Herbert 116 48 5 9 0 Majority 7 3 0 12 0 Turnout 239 93 0 10 8 Registered electors 257 Liberal hold Swing N A The election was declared void on petition due to bribery and corruption causing a by election 29 By election 8 August 1859 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Conservative John Dunn Unopposed Conservative gain from Liberal Elections in the 1860s edit Dunn s death caused a by election By election 3 November 1860 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Conservative John Hardy 112 50 5 2 0 Liberal Charles Seale Hayne 30 110 49 5 2 0 Majority 2 1 0 N A Turnout 222 90 2 2 8 Registered electors 246 Conservative gain from Liberal Swing 2 0 General election 1865 Dartmouth 24 Party Candidate Votes Conservative John Hardy Unopposed Registered electors 282 Conservative gain from LiberalNotes edit Namier Lewis 1964 Dartmouth In Namier Sir Lewis Brooke John eds The House of Commons 1754 1790 The History of Parliament Trust Page 140 Lewis Namier The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III 2nd edition London St Martin s Press 1957 WHITELEGH Richard of Osborn Newton in Churchstow Devon History of Parliament Online Retrieved 10 May 2013 PASFORD PAFFORD John of Devon History of Parliament Online Archived from the original on 6 August 2020 Retrieved 24 July 2021 RAYMOND Thomas d 1418 of Simpson in Holsworthy Devon History of Parliament Online Archived from the original on 7 March 2021 Retrieved 24 July 2021 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t History of Parliament History of Parliament Trust Retrieved 12 November 2011 a b c d e f g History of Parliament History of Parliament Trust Retrieved 12 November 2011 a b Dartmouth History of Parliament Online Retrieved 11 October 2016 Browne Willis gives Lambert s name with a query against it and does not list a second member Died September 1641 Booth was originally declared elected but on petition the House of Commons decided that some of his voters had not validly been made Freemen and were therefore ineligible to vote Booth s opponent Herne was consequently declared elected in his place House of Commons Journal 28 November 1689 1 Sir Joseph Herne died 26 February 1699 There is apparently no record of a writ for a by election being issued and the seat may have remained vacant for the remainder of the Parliament Succeeded as the 4th Viscount Howe in the Peerage of Ireland July 1758 Rear Admiral 1770 Vice Admiral 1775 Admiral 1782 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Stooks Smith Henry 1973 1844 1850 Craig F W S ed The Parliaments of England 2nd ed Chichester Parliamentary Research Services pp 66 68 ISBN 0 900178 13 2 Created a baronet July 1838 Churton Edward 1838 The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer 1838 p 203 Retrieved 1 November 2018 via Google Books Steele E D 1991 At home Palmerston and Liberalism 1855 1865 Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 84 ISBN 0521400457 Retrieved 7 April 2018 The New House of Commons Hull Packet 9 July 1852 p 5 Retrieved 7 April 2018 via British Newspaper Archive Saunders Robert 2016 Peelites Protectionists and Popular Toryism Democracy and the Vote in British Politics 1848 1867 The Making of the Second Reform Act Abingdon Routledge p 63 ISBN 978 1 4094 1794 1 Retrieved 6 May 2018 Leadam Isaac Saunders 1901 Caird James In Lee Sidney ed Dictionary of National Biography 1st supplement Vol 52 London Smith Elder amp Co Election Intelligence Caledonian Mercury 21 March 1857 p 2 Retrieved 6 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive On petition Schenley s election was declared void and a writ for a by election issued a b Jenkins Terry Dartmouth The History of Parliament Retrieved 11 April 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Craig F W S 1989 1977 British parliamentary election results 1832 1885 2nd ed Chichester Parliamentary Research Services ISBN 0 900178 26 4 Dartmouth Western Times 10 July 1852 p 6 Retrieved 6 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive Election Intelligence Morning Chronicle 3 July 1852 p 2 Retrieved 6 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive Dartmouth Western Times 18 April 1857 p 3 Retrieved 6 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive Dartmouth Royal Cornwall Gazette 3 April 1857 p 5 Retrieved 6 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive Election Petitions Western Times 30 July 1859 pp 2 3 Retrieved 6 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive Political Brighton Guardian 17 October 1860 p 2 Retrieved 25 March 2018 via British Newspaper Archive References editRobert Beatson A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament London Longman Hurst Res amp Orme 1807 2 D Brunton and 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 3 Maija Jansson ed Proceedings in Parliament 1614 House of Commons Philadelphia American Philosophical Society 1988 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 Robert Walcott English Politics in the Early Eighteenth Century Oxford Oxford University Press 1956 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 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 D part 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dartmouth UK Parliament constituency amp oldid 1213255940, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
