The constituency consisted of the western end of the county of Somerset, stretching to the suburbs of Taunton, and was predominantly rural and agricultural. Wellington, though the largest town, contributed only about an eighth of the population; other small towns within the division were Minehead, Watchet, Wiveliscombe, Dunster, Dulverton, Williton and Bishop's Lydeard. Although Taunton was a borough electing an MP in its own right, the franchise rules that applied in the 1885–1918 period allowed freeholders in boroughs to qualify for a vote in the adjoining county division as if the borough did not exist, and the Taunton freeholders were a significant presence in the Wellington constituency.
By the time of the First World War, the population of the constituency was about 50,000, rather below the national average.
Political characteredit
The chief occupation of the population was farming of various types - sheep farming on Exmoor, dairy farming in the Vale of Taunton and arable crops elsewhere - which would have made the constituency naturally Conservative, although the slate quarries around Wellington and Williton would be likely to provide some Liberal voters. But more significant, perhaps, was the influence of the local landowning families, the Luttrells and the Aclands, both of whom were Liberal. This was sufficient to swing the constituency to the Liberals in 1885, but at the next election it was won by the Conservatives, and from 1892 their hold was secured by the choice of Sir Alexander Fuller Acland-Hood as their candidate (he being a relative of the Aclands but a Conservative) - after his initial victory in 1892, the Liberals did not even put up a candidate against him at the next three general elections, and he was returned unopposed. By the time of his elevation to a peerage in 1911, the Wellington division could be regarded as a relatively safe Conservative seat.
Abolitionedit
The constituency was abolished with effect from the 1918 general election, its voters being divided between the new Taunton and Bridgwater county constituencies.
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;
^ abDebrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
^ abcDebrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
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)
March 13, 2024
wellington, somerset, parliament, constituency, confused, with, wellington, shropshire, parliament, constituency, wellington, somerset, former, county, constituency, united, kingdom, formally, known, western, wellington, division, somerset, returned, member, p. Not to be confused with Wellington Shropshire UK Parliament constituency Wellington Somerset is a former county constituency in the United Kingdom formally known as The Western or Wellington Division of Somerset 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 voting system from 1885 until 1918 Wellington Somerset Former County constituencyfor the House of Commons1885 1918SeatsoneCreated fromWest SomersetReplaced byBridgwater and Taunton Contents 1 History 1 1 Creation 1 2 Boundaries 1 3 Political character 1 4 Abolition 2 Members of Parliament 3 Elections 3 1 Elections in the 1880s 3 2 Elections in the 1890s 3 3 Elections in the 1900s 3 4 Elections in the 1910s 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory editCreation edit The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 and elected its first MP at the 1885 general election It consisted of part of the previous West Somerset division a two member constituency which had existed between 1867 and 1885 Boundaries edit The constituency consisted of the western end of the county of Somerset stretching to the suburbs of Taunton and was predominantly rural and agricultural Wellington though the largest town contributed only about an eighth of the population other small towns within the division were Minehead Watchet Wiveliscombe Dunster Dulverton Williton and Bishop s Lydeard Although Taunton was a borough electing an MP in its own right the franchise rules that applied in the 1885 1918 period allowed freeholders in boroughs to qualify for a vote in the adjoining county division as if the borough did not exist and the Taunton freeholders were a significant presence in the Wellington constituency By the time of the First World War the population of the constituency was about 50 000 rather below the national average Political character edit The chief occupation of the population was farming of various types sheep farming on Exmoor dairy farming in the Vale of Taunton and arable crops elsewhere which would have made the constituency naturally Conservative although the slate quarries around Wellington and Williton would be likely to provide some Liberal voters But more significant perhaps was the influence of the local landowning families the Luttrells and the Aclands both of whom were Liberal This was sufficient to swing the constituency to the Liberals in 1885 but at the next election it was won by the Conservatives and from 1892 their hold was secured by the choice of Sir Alexander Fuller Acland Hood as their candidate he being a relative of the Aclands but a Conservative after his initial victory in 1892 the Liberals did not even put up a candidate against him at the next three general elections and he was returned unopposed By the time of his elevation to a peerage in 1911 the Wellington division could be regarded as a relatively safe Conservative seat Abolition edit The constituency was abolished with effect from the 1918 general election its voters being divided between the new Taunton and Bridgwater county constituencies Members of Parliament editYear Member Party1885 Sir Thomas Acland Liberal1886 Charles Elton Conservative1892 Sir Alexander Fuller Acland Hood Conservative1911 Dennis Boles Unionist1918 constituency abolished see Bridgwater and TauntonElections editElections in the 1880s edit General election 1885 Wellington Somerset 1 2 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Thomas Dyke Acland 4 299 53 3Conservative Charles Elton 3 760 46 7Majority 539 6 6Turnout 8 059 84 5Registered electors 9 537Liberal win new seat General election 1886 Wellington Somerset 1 2 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Charles Elton 4 117 56 1 9 4Liberal Thomas Dyke Acland 3 220 43 9 9 4Majority 897 12 2 N ATurnout 7 337 76 9 7 6Registered electors 9 537Conservative gain from Liberal Swing 9 4Elections in the 1890s edit General election 1892 Wellington Somerset 1 2 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Alexander Fuller Acland Hood 4 369 55 6 0 5Liberal William Latham 3 484 44 4 0 5Majority 885 11 2 1 0Turnout 7 853 82 9 6 0Registered electors 9 472Conservative hold Swing 0 5General election 1895 Wellington Somerset 1 2 3 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Alexander Fuller Acland Hood UnopposedConservative holdElections in the 1900s edit General election 1900 Wellington Somerset 1 2 3 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Alexander Fuller Acland Hood UnopposedConservative holdBy election 1900 Wellington Somerset 1 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Alexander Fuller Acland Hood UnopposedConservative holdGeneral election 1906 Wellington Somerset 1 2 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Alexander Fuller Acland Hood 4 558 51 5 N ALiberal Charles Humble Dudley Ward 4 286 48 5 NewMajority 272 3 0 N ATurnout 8 844 88 8 N ARegistered electors 9 960Conservative hold Swing N AElections in the 1910s edit General election January 1910 Wellington Somerset 1 4 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Alexander Fuller Acland Hood 5 216 55 7 4 2Liberal Walter King 4 150 44 3 4 2Majority 1 066 11 4 8 4Turnout 9 366 90 9 2 1Conservative hold Swing 4 2General election December 1910 Wellington Somerset 1 4 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Alexander Fuller Acland Hood UnopposedConservative hold1911 Wellington by election 1 4 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Dennis Boles 5 025 53 2 N ALiberal Charles Humble Dudley Ward 4 421 46 8 NewMajority 604 6 4 N ATurnout 9 446 88 3 N AConservative hold Swing N AGeneral 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 Dennis Boles Liberal Charles Humble Dudley WardSee also editList of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies Unreformed House of CommonsReferences edit a b c d e f g h i j Craig F W S ed 1974 British Parliamentary Election Results 1885 1918 London Macmillan Press p 384 ISBN 9781349022984 a b c d e f The Liberal Year Book 1907 a b Debrett s House of Commons amp Judicial Bench 1901 a b c Debrett s House of Commons amp Judicial Bench 1916 The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 London National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations 1913 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 Wellington Somerset UK Parliament constituency amp oldid 1143067454, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
