From 1832 to 1885, it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by the bloc vote system of election. From 1885 to 1918, a different constituency of the same name returned one MP, elected by the first past the post voting system.
1832–1868: The Hundreds or Liberties of Bath Forum, Bempstone, Brent and Wrington, Bruton, Catsash, Chew and Chewton, Norton Ferris, Frome, Glaston Twelve Hides, Hampton and Claverton, Horethorne, Keynsham, Kilmersdon, Mells and Leigh, Portbury, Wellow, Wells Forum, Whitstone, Winterstoke, and Witham Friary, and the parts of the Hundred of Hartcliffe with Bedminster excluded from the limits of the City of Bristol.[1]
1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Somerton and Wincanton, and part of the Sessional Divisions of Shepton Mallet and Wells.
Historyedit
1832–1868edit
The constituency, formally called The Eastern Division of Somerset, was created for the 1832 general election, when the former Somerset constituency was divided into new East and West divisions. It also absorbed the voters from the abolished borough of Milborne Port. The constituency might have been better described as North-Eastern Somerset, since its limits stopped well short of the southern extremities of the county. It surrounded the cities of Bath and Wells (although both were boroughs electing MPs in their own right, freeholders within these boroughs who met the property-owning qualifications for the county franchise could vote in East Somerset as well, as could those in Frome); other towns in the division were Glastonbury, Burnham-on-Sea, Clevedon, Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Portishead, Radstock, Shepton Mallet, Somerton and Weston-super-Mare.
At the 1885 general election, there were further radical boundary changes, Somerset's three two-member county divisions together with one abolished borough being reorganised into seven single-member county constituencies. One of these took the name of Eastern Somerset, but this included none of the voters from the 1867-85 East Somerset constituency, who were divided between the new Frome, Northern Somerset and Wells divisions.
The new Eastern division was carved out of the previous Mid Somerset division, with Shepton Mallet being its largest town; it also included Somerton, Street and Wincanton. This was a predominantly rural constituency, though with some industry in the towns (notably brewing and bootmaking), and a strong Nonconformist religious tradition. It would probably have been a safe Liberal seat, but when its sitting Liberal MP joined the Liberal Unionists when the party split in 1886, he had no difficulty holding his seat until he retired.
Abolitionedit
The constituency was abolished for the 1918 general election, when Somerset's number of county members was reduced by one. It was mostly replaced by the revised Wells county constituency, but the town of Somerton was transferred to Yeovil.
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;
^"The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
^Jenkins, Terry. "Somerset: Background information". The History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
^ abcdefghiStooks 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. 25. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via Google Books.
^Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 186. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
^"Election Talk". The Spectator. 13 December 1834. p. 6. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"The General Election". Sherborne Mercury. 27 July 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"To the Editor of the Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury". Sherborne Mercury. 28 August 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^Elvins, Brian. (PDF). Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. p. 152. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
^"The Provinces". The Spectator. 3 April 1847. p. 6. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
^"To the Electors of the Eastern Division of Somerset". Bristol Times and Mirror. 24 July 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ abDebrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
Michael Kinnear, The British Voter (London: BH Batsford, Ltd, 1968)
Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)
Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
April 12, 2024
east, somerset, parliament, constituency, east, somerset, name, parliamentary, constituency, somerset, represented, house, commons, parliament, united, kingdom, between, 1832, 1918, east, somersetformer, county, constituencyfor, house, commonscontext, 1832, 18. East Somerset was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Somerset represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1832 and 1918 East SomersetFormer County constituencyfor the House of CommonsContext 1832 1868 Extract from 1837 result the main eastern striped area at centreCountySomerset1885 1918SeatsOneReplaced byWells and Yeovil1832 1885SeatsTwoType of constituencyCounty constituencyCreated fromSomersetFrom 1832 to 1885 it returned two Members of Parliament MPs elected by the bloc vote system of election From 1885 to 1918 a different constituency of the same name returned one MP elected by the first past the post voting system Contents 1 Boundaries 2 History 2 1 1832 1868 2 2 1868 1885 2 3 1885 1918 2 4 Abolition 3 Members of Parliament 3 1 MPs 1832 1885 3 2 MPs 1885 1918 4 Election results 4 1 Elections in the 1830s 4 2 Elections in the 1840s 4 3 Elections in the 1850s 4 4 Elections in the 1860s 4 5 Elections in the 1870s 4 6 Elections in the 1880s 4 7 Elections in the 1890s 4 8 Elections in the 1900s 4 9 Elections in the 1910s 5 ReferencesBoundaries edit1832 1868 The Hundreds or Liberties of Bath Forum Bempstone Brent and Wrington Bruton Catsash Chew and Chewton Norton Ferris Frome Glaston Twelve Hides Hampton and Claverton Horethorne Keynsham Kilmersdon Mells and Leigh Portbury Wellow Wells Forum Whitstone Winterstoke and Witham Friary and the parts of the Hundred of Hartcliffe with Bedminster excluded from the limits of the City of Bristol 1 1885 1918 The Sessional Divisions of Somerton and Wincanton and part of the Sessional Divisions of Shepton Mallet and Wells History edit1832 1868 edit The constituency formally called The Eastern Division of Somerset was created for the 1832 general election when the former Somerset constituency was divided into new East and West divisions It also absorbed the voters from the abolished borough of Milborne Port The constituency might have been better described as North Eastern Somerset since its limits stopped well short of the southern extremities of the county It surrounded the cities of Bath and Wells although both were boroughs electing MPs in their own right freeholders within these boroughs who met the property owning qualifications for the county franchise could vote in East Somerset as well as could those in Frome other towns in the division were Glastonbury Burnham on Sea Clevedon Keynsham Midsomer Norton Portishead Radstock Shepton Mallet Somerton and Weston super Mare 1868 1885 edit The Second Reform Act brought about significant boundary changes which came into effect at the 1868 general election as Somerset was given a third county constituency The southern end of East Somerset including Glastonbury Radstock Shepton Mallet and Somerton as well as the area round Frome and Wells was moved into the new Mid Somerset division The revised East Somerset constituency was now defined as consisting of the Long Ashton Axbridge Keynsham Temple Cloud and Weston Petty Sessional Divisions 1885 1918 edit At the 1885 general election there were further radical boundary changes Somerset s three two member county divisions together with one abolished borough being reorganised into seven single member county constituencies One of these took the name of Eastern Somerset but this included none of the voters from the 1867 85 East Somerset constituency who were divided between the new Frome Northern Somerset and Wells divisions The new Eastern division was carved out of the previous Mid Somerset division with Shepton Mallet being its largest town it also included Somerton Street and Wincanton This was a predominantly rural constituency though with some industry in the towns notably brewing and bootmaking and a strong Nonconformist religious tradition It would probably have been a safe Liberal seat but when its sitting Liberal MP joined the Liberal Unionists when the party split in 1886 he had no difficulty holding his seat until he retired Abolition edit The constituency was abolished for the 1918 general election when Somerset s number of county members was reduced by one It was mostly replaced by the revised Wells county constituency but the town of Somerton was transferred to Yeovil Members of Parliament editMPs 1832 1885 edit Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party1832 William Gore Langton 2 Whig 3 4 5 William Papwell Brigstocke 6 Whig 3 Feb 1834 by election William Miles 6 1 Tory 3 Dec 1834 Conservative 3 1847 by election William Pinney Whig 7 8 9 10 11 1852 William Knatchbull 6 Conservative1865 Ralph Neville Grenville 6 Conservative Richard Paget Conservative1868 Ralph Shuttleworth Allen 6 Conservative Richard Bright Conservative1878 by election Sir Philip Miles Bt 6 Conservative1879 by election Lord Brooke 6 Conservative1885 Redistribution of Seats Act Name transferred to a different constituency electing only one memberNotes1 Miles was created a Baronet in 1859 MPs 1885 1918 edit Election Member Party1885 Henry Hobhouse 6 Liberal1886 Liberal Unionist1906 John Thompson 6 Liberal1910 Ernest Jardine 6 Liberal Unionist1912 Conservative1918 constituency abolishedElection results editDecades 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910sElections in the 1830s edit General election 1832 East Somerset 12 3 Party Candidate Votes Whig William Gore Langton 4 249 35 8Whig William Papwell Brigstock 4 003 33 8Tory William Miles 3 603 30 4Majority 400 3 4Turnout 7 694 85 5Registered electors 8 996Whig win new seat Whig win new seat Brigstock s death caused a by election By election 3 February 1834 East Somerset 12 3 Party Candidate Votes Tory William Miles UnopposedTory gain from WhigGeneral election 1835 East Somerset 12 3 Party Candidate Votes Whig William Gore Langton UnopposedConservative William Miles UnopposedRegistered electors 9 107Whig holdConservative gain from WhigGeneral election 1837 East Somerset 12 3 Party Candidate Votes Whig William Gore Langton UnopposedConservative William Miles UnopposedRegistered electors 9 561Whig holdConservative holdElections in the 1840s edit General election 1841 East Somerset 12 3 Party Candidate Votes Conservative William Miles UnopposedWhig William Gore Langton UnopposedRegistered electors 9 759Conservative holdWhig holdGore Langton s death caused a by election By election 10 April 1847 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Whig William Pinney UnopposedWhig holdGeneral election 1847 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Conservative William Miles UnopposedWhig William Pinney UnopposedRegistered electors 9 655Conservative holdWhig holdElections in the 1850s edit General election 1852 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Conservative William Miles 4 643 38 9 N AConservative William Knatchbull 4 309 36 1 N AWhig Arthur Elton 13 2 984 25 0 N AMajority 1 325 11 1 N ATurnout 7 460 est 73 6 est N ARegistered electors 10 140Conservative holdConservative gain from WhigGeneral election 1857 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Conservative William Knatchbull UnopposedConservative William Miles UnopposedRegistered electors 10 592Conservative holdConservative holdGeneral election 1859 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Conservative William Knatchbull UnopposedConservative William Miles UnopposedRegistered electors 10 644Conservative holdConservative holdElections in the 1860s edit General election 1865 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Richard Paget UnopposedConservative Ralph Neville Grenville UnopposedRegistered electors 11 867Conservative holdConservative holdGeneral election 1868 East Somerset 12 14 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Ralph Shuttleworth Allen 3 887 29 7 N AConservative Richard Bright 3 848 29 4 N ALiberal Arthur Hayter 2 704 20 6 NewLiberal William Pinney 2 656 20 3 NewMajority 1 144 8 8 N ATurnout 6 548 est 74 4 est N ARegistered electors 8 795Conservative holdConservative holdElections in the 1870s edit General election 1874 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Ralph Shuttleworth Allen UnopposedConservative Richard Bright UnopposedRegistered electors 8 435Conservative holdConservative holdBright s death caused a by election By election 20 Mar 1878 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Philip Miles UnopposedConservative holdAllen resigned causing a by election By election 19 Mar 1879 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Francis Greville UnopposedConservative holdElections in the 1880s edit General election 1880 East Somerset 12 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Francis Greville UnopposedConservative Philip Miles UnopposedRegistered electors 8 360Conservative holdConservative hold nbsp HobhouseGeneral election 1885 East Somerset 15 16 17 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Henry Hobhouse 4 732 59 1 NewConservative Henry Hoare 3 280 40 9 N AMajority 1 452 18 2 N ATurnout 8 012 85 7 N ARegistered electors 9 344Liberal gain from ConservativeGeneral election 1886 East Somerset 15 17 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Unionist Henry Hobhouse UnopposedLiberal Unionist gain from LiberalElections in the 1890s edit nbsp MorleyGeneral election 1892 East Somerset 15 17 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Unionist Henry Hobhouse 4 330 54 8 N ALiberal Charles Morley 3 575 45 2 NewMajority 755 9 6 N ATurnout 7 905 85 8 N ARegistered electors 9 208Liberal Unionist holdGeneral election 1895 East Somerset 15 18 17 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Unionist Henry Hobhouse 4 408 56 9 2 1Liberal John Swinburne Hanham 3 334 43 1 2 1Majority 1 074 13 8 4 2Turnout 7 742 83 5 2 3Registered electors 9 268Liberal Unionist hold Swing 2 1Elections in the 1900s edit General election 1900 East Somerset 15 18 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Unionist Henry Hobhouse UnopposedLiberal Unionist holdGeneral election 1906 East Somerset 19 15 Party Candidate Votes Liberal John Thompson 4 553 53 9 NewLiberal Unionist Bertram Falle 3 890 46 1 N AMajority 663 7 8 N ATurnout 8 443 86 9 N ARegistered electors 9 717Liberal gain from Liberal UnionistElections in the 1910s edit General election January 1910 East Somerset 19 20 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Unionist Ernest Jardine 4 997 55 7 9 6Liberal John Thompson 3 970 44 3 9 6Majority 1 027 11 4 N ATurnout 8 967Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal Swing 9 6General election December 1910 East Somerset 19 20 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Unionist Ernest Jardine 4 748 55 1 0 6Liberal John Thompson 3 875 44 9 0 6Majority 873 10 2 1 2Turnout 8 623Liberal Unionist hold Swing 0 6General 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 Ernest Jardine Liberal John ThompsonReferences edit The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 2 amp 3 William IV Cap LXIV An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs in England and Wales in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament London His Majesty s statute and law printers 1832 pp 300 383 Retrieved 23 May 2020 Jenkins Terry Somerset Background information The History of Parliament The History of Parliament Trust Retrieved 5 October 2012 a b c d e f g h i 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 amp Co p 25 Retrieved 27 May 2019 via Google Books Mosse Richard Bartholomew 1838 The Parliamentary Guide a concise history of the Members of both Houses etc p 186 Retrieved 27 May 2019 North Devon Journal 27 December 1832 p 3 Retrieved 27 May 2019 via British Newspaper Archive a b c d e f g h i j Somerset Eastern 1832 1918 Parliamentary Debates Hansard Retrieved 5 October 2012 Election Talk The Spectator 13 December 1834 p 6 Retrieved 19 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive The General Election Sherborne Mercury 27 July 1852 p 3 Retrieved 19 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive To the Editor of the Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury Sherborne Mercury 28 August 1847 p 3 Retrieved 19 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive Elvins Brian Somerset County M P s 1832 1885 A Profile PDF Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society p 152 Archived from the original PDF on 20 May 2018 Retrieved 19 May 2018 The Provinces The Spectator 3 April 1847 p 6 Retrieved 19 May 2018 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Craig F W S ed 1977 British Parliamentary Election Results 1832 1885 e book 1st ed London Macmillan Press pp 450 451 ISBN 978 1 349 02349 3 To the Electors of the Eastern Division of Somerset Bristol Times and Mirror 24 July 1852 p 4 Retrieved 13 August 2018 via British Newspaper Archive East Somerset Election Frome Times 2 December 1868 p 2 Retrieved 17 March 2018 via British Newspaper Archive a b c d e f The Liberal Year Book 1907 Debrett s House of Commons amp Judicial Bench 1886 a b c d Craig FWS ed 1974 British Parliamentary Election Results 1885 1918 London Macmillan Press ISBN 9781349022984 a b Debrett s House of Commons amp Judicial Bench 1901 a b c British Parliamentary Election Results 1885 1918 FWS Craig a b Debrett s House of Commons amp Judicial Bench 1916 The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 London National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations 1913 F W S Craig British Parliamentary Election Results 1832 1885 2nd edition Aldershot Parliamentary Research Services 1989 Michael Kinnear The British Voter London BH Batsford Ltd 1968 Henry Pelling Social Geography of British Elections 1885 1910 London Macmillan 1967 Frederic A Youngs jr Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England Vol I London Royal Historical Society 1979 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title East Somerset UK Parliament constituency amp oldid 1209350949, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
