The borough consisted of part of St Germans parish in South-East Cornwall, a coastal town too small to have a mayor and corporation, where the chief economic activity was fishing. Like most of the Cornish boroughs enfranchised or re-enfranchised during the Tudor period, it was a rotten borough from the start.
The right to vote rested in theory with all (adult male) householders, but in practice only a handful (who called themselves freemen) exercised the right; there were only seven voters in 1831. The Eliot family had exercised complete control over the choice of MPs for many years, as was also true at nearby Liskeard.[1]
In 1831, the borough had a population of 672, and 99 houses. The boundaries excluded part of the town, which consisted of 124 houses in total, but this was still far too small to justify its retaining its representation, and St Germans was disfranchised by the Reform Act in 1832. The decision, however, was controversial: the whole parish (of which the town made up only a fraction) had a population in the 1821 census of 2,404, and the initial proposal was that St Germans should lose only one of its two MPs. But the borough covered only 40 acres (160,000 m2), and the town 50, in a parish of more than 9,000 acres (36 km2). The Whig government decided that the availability in a surrounding parish of sufficient population should not save a borough from disfranchisement, unless a substantial part of that population was already within the borough boundaries. The bill's schedules were amended so as to extinguish both of the St Germans MPs, saving instead the second MP at Penryn (where the boundaries had been extended to take in the neighbouring town of Falmouth). The Tory opposition attacked the decision as politically motivated (St Germans was a Tory borough), and the vote in the Commons was one of the narrowest in the entire reform bill debates.
^This may possibly be John Chamberlain the letter writer and man-about-town of the same period, but the Dictionary of National Biography notes that it has not been possible to establish or disprove the identity of the one with the other
^A writ was issued for a by-election in November 1646, apparently in the mistaken belief that Moyle had died. William Scawen was elected, but does not appear to have attempted to take his seat
^Bacon was also elected for Norwich, which he chose to represent, and never sat for St Germans
^Eliot was re-elected in 1768 but had also been elected for Liskeard, which he chose to represent, and did not for St Germans in that Parliament
^Salt was also elected for Liskeard, which he chose to represent, and never sat for St Germans
^Eliot was also elected for Liskeard, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for St Germans in this Parliament
^Hardinge was also elected for Newport (Cornwall), which he chose to represent, and never sat for St Germans
Michael Brock, The Great Reform Act (London: Hutchinson, 1973)
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) [1]
J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
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.
December 01, 2023
germans, parliament, constituency, germans, rotten, borough, cornwall, which, returned, members, parliament, house, commons, english, later, british, parliament, from, 1562, 1832, when, abolished, great, reform, germansformer, borough, constituencyfor, house, . St Germans was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1562 to 1832 when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act St GermansFormer Borough constituencyfor the House of Commons1562 1832SeatsTwoReplaced byEast Cornwall Contents 1 History 2 Members of Parliament 2 1 MPs 1563 1629 2 2 MPs 1640 1832 3 Notes 4 ReferencesHistory editThe borough consisted of part of St Germans parish in South East Cornwall a coastal town too small to have a mayor and corporation where the chief economic activity was fishing Like most of the Cornish boroughs enfranchised or re enfranchised during the Tudor period it was a rotten borough from the start The right to vote rested in theory with all adult male householders but in practice only a handful who called themselves freemen exercised the right there were only seven voters in 1831 The Eliot family had exercised complete control over the choice of MPs for many years as was also true at nearby Liskeard 1 In 1831 the borough had a population of 672 and 99 houses The boundaries excluded part of the town which consisted of 124 houses in total but this was still far too small to justify its retaining its representation and St Germans was disfranchised by the Reform Act in 1832 The decision however was controversial the whole parish of which the town made up only a fraction had a population in the 1821 census of 2 404 and the initial proposal was that St Germans should lose only one of its two MPs But the borough covered only 40 acres 160 000 m2 and the town 50 in a parish of more than 9 000 acres 36 km2 The Whig government decided that the availability in a surrounding parish of sufficient population should not save a borough from disfranchisement unless a substantial part of that population was already within the borough boundaries The bill s schedules were amended so as to extinguish both of the St Germans MPs saving instead the second MP at Penryn where the boundaries had been extended to take in the neighbouring town of Falmouth The Tory opposition attacked the decision as politically motivated St Germans was a Tory borough and the vote in the Commons was one of the narrowest in the entire reform bill debates Members of Parliament editMPs 1563 1629 edit Parliament First member Second memberParliament of 1563 1567 William Mohun William HydeParliament of 1571 Charles Glemham Thomas CosgraveParliament of 1572 1581 Thomas Ayshe Richard EliotParliament of 1584 1585 George Carew Henry DennyParliament of 1586 1587 Thomas Bodley Edward BarkerParliament of 1588 1589 William Barrington William LanghamParliament of 1593 Sampson Lennard John GlanvilleParliament of 1597 1598 Robert Hatchman John Chamberlain 2 Parliament of 1601 Sir George Carew John OsborneParliament of 1604 1611 John TrottAddled Parliament 1614 Sir John EliotParliament of 1621 1622 Richard Tisdale Sir Richard BullerHappy Parliament 1624 1625 Sir John Coke Sir John StradlingUseless Parliament 1625 Sir Henry MartenParliament of 1625 1626 Sir John EliotParliament of 1628 1629 Thomas Cotton Benjamin ValentineNo Parliament summoned 1629 1640MPs 1640 1832 edit Year First member First party Second member Second partyApril 1640 William Scawen John EliotNovember 1640 Benjamin Valentine Parliamentarian John Moyle 3 ParliamentarianDecember 1648 Moyle excluded in Pride s Purge seat vacant1652 Valentine died 1652 seat vacant1653 St Germans was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the ProtectorateJanuary 1659 John Glanville John St AubynMay 1659 Not represented in the restored Rump1660 John Eliot Richard Knightley1661 Edward Eliot1679 Daniel Eliot Richard Eliot1685 Sir Thomas Higgons1689 Sir Walter Moyle1690 Henry Fleming1698 John Tanner1700 Henry FlemingJanuary 1701 John SpeccotApril 1701 Daniel EliotDecember 1701 Richard Edgcumbe Whig1702 John AnstisMay 1705 Samuel RolleDecember 1705 Edward Eliot1708 Francis Scobell1710 John Knight WhigJanuary 1715 Waller Bacon 4 May 1715 Lord Stanhope Whig1722 Lord Binning Philip Cavendish1727 Sir Gilbert Heathcote Whig Sidney GodolphinJanuary 1733 Richard EliotMarch 1733 Dudley Ryder1734 The Lord Baltimore Charles Montagu1741 John Hynde Cotton James Newsham1747 Richard Eliot Thomas Potter1748 Edward Eliot 5 Whig1754 Anthony Champion1761 Philip Stanhope1765 William HusseyMarch 1768 Samuel Salt 6 December 1768 George Jennings Benjamin Langlois1774 Edward Eliot Whig1775 John Pownall1776 John Peachey1780 Edward James Eliot Dudley Long Whig1784 John Hamilton Tory Abel Smith1788 Samuel SmithFebruary 1790 Sir Charles HamiltonJune 1790 The Marquess of Lorne Whig Hon Edward James Eliot 7 1791 Hon William Eliot Tory1796 Lord Grey Whig1802 Lord Binning Tory James Langham1806 Sir Joseph Yorke Tory Matthew Montagu Tory1810 Charles Philip Yorke Tory1812 William Henry Pringle Tory Henry Goulburn Tory1818 Hon Seymour Thomas Bathurst Tory Charles Arbuthnot Tory1826 Charles Ross Tory1827 James Loch WhigJuly 1830 Sir Henry Hardinge 8 ToryDecember 1830 Winthrop Mackworth Praed Tory1832 Constituency abolishedNotes edit Page 147 Lewis Namier The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III 2nd edition London St Martin s Press 1957 This may possibly be John Chamberlain the letter writer and man about town of the same period but the Dictionary of National Biography notes that it has not been possible to establish or disprove the identity of the one with the other A writ was issued for a by election in November 1646 apparently in the mistaken belief that Moyle had died William Scawen was elected but does not appear to have attempted to take his seat Bacon was also elected for Norwich which he chose to represent and never sat for St Germans Eliot was re elected in 1768 but had also been elected for Liskeard which he chose to represent and did not for St Germans in that Parliament Salt was also elected for Liskeard which he chose to represent and never sat for St Germans Eliot was also elected for Liskeard which he chose to represent and did not sit for St Germans in this Parliament Hardinge was also elected for Newport Cornwall which he chose to represent and never sat for St GermansReferences edit nbsp Cornwall portalMichael Brock The Great Reform Act London Hutchinson 1973 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 1 J E Neale The Elizabethan House of Commons London Jonathan Cape 1949 J Holladay Philbin Parliamentary Representation 1832 England and Wales New Haven Yale University Press 1965 Henry Stooks Smith The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 2nd edition edited by FWS Craig Chichester Parliamentary Reference Publications 1973 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 Leigh Rayment s Historical List of MPs Constituencies beginning with S part 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Germans UK Parliament constituency amp oldid 1125417076, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
