East Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency)

East Cumberland is a former county constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election.

East Cumberland
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
Form 1832-1868 and this area was left intact until 1885. Extract from 1837 result: the central 'singly' orange area which omits to mention the other incumbent, of the same party.
18321885
Seatstwo
Created fromCumberland
Replaced byCockermouth, Eskdale and Penrith

Boundaries

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1832–1885: The Wards of Cumberland, Eskdale and Leath.[1]

In 1832 the historic county of Cumberland, in north west England, was split for parliamentary purposes into two county divisions. These were the East division (with a place of election at Carlisle) and West Cumberland (where voting took place at Cockermouth). Each division returned two members to Parliament.

The only parliamentary borough included in the East division, between 1832 and 1885, (whose non-resident 40-shilling freeholders could vote in the county constituency) was Carlisle. (Source: Stooks Smith).

History

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The first two Members of Parliament for this division were the last pair of representatives for the undivided county before the 1832 general election.

On the formation of Earl Grey's administration in 1830 Sir James Graham had received the post of First Lord of the Admiralty, with a seat in the cabinet. He resigned over the Irish Church question in 1834, and eventually joined the Conservatives in 1837. His former constituents did not re-elect Sir James when he sought election as a Tory at the 1837 general election.

The division proved to be favourable to the Liberal Party as no Conservative was elected until after the Reform Act 1867 and the party never held both seats simultaneously. In 1868 and again in 1880 a Conservative MP was returned.

The Howard family (whose head was the Earl of Carlisle) seem to have had influence in the constituency. The sixth son of the 6th Earl of Carlisle, the Honourable Charles Howard, represented the division from 1840 until his death in 1879. He was joined by Edward Howard in the representation of the constituency in 1876. Charles Howard's son George was the third Howard to sit for the constituency.

In 1885 this division was abolished, when the East and West Cumberland county divisions were replaced by four new single-member county constituencies. These were Cockermouth, Egremont (the Western division), Eskdale (Northern division) and Penrith (Mid division). In addition there were two remaining Cumberland borough constituencies; Carlisle and Whitehaven.

Members of Parliament

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  • Constituency created (1832)
Election First member First party Second member Second party
1832 William Blamire Whig[2][3][4] Sir James Graham, Bt a Whig[2][5]
1836 by-election William James Radical[2][6][7][8][9]
1837 Francis Aglionby Radical[7][9]
1840 by-election Hon. Charles Howard Whig[2][10][11][12]
1847 William Marshall Whig[13][14][15]
1859 Liberal Liberal
1868 William Nicholson Hodgson Conservative
1876 by-election Stafford Howard Liberal
1879 by-election George Howard Liberal
1880 Sir Richard Musgrave, Bt Conservative
1881 by-election George Howard Liberal
1885 Constituency abolished

Notes:-

See also

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Election results

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Elections in the 1830s

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General election 1832: East Cumberland[2][16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig William Blamire Unopposed
Whig James Graham Unopposed
Registered electors 4,035
Whig win (new seat)
Whig win (new seat)
General election 1835: East Cumberland[2][16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig William Blamire Unopposed
Whig James Graham Unopposed
Registered electors 3,992
Whig hold
Whig hold

Blamire resigned after being appointed as Chief Commissioner for the Commutation of Tithes, causing a by-election.

By-election, 2 September 1836: East Cumberland[2][16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Radical William James Unopposed
Radical gain from Whig
General election 1837: East Cumberland[2][16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Radical Francis Aglionby 2,294 38.1
Radical William James 2,124 35.3
Conservative James Graham 1,605 26.6
Majority 519 8.7
Turnout 3,699 79.8
Registered electors 4,638
Radical gain from Whig
Radical gain from Whig

Elections in the 1840s

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Aglionby's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 20 July 1840: East Cumberland[2][16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Howard Unopposed
Whig gain from Radical
General election 1841: East Cumberland[2][16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Howard 2,086 34.9 N/A
Radical William James 1,988 33.2 −40.2
Conservative William W Stephenson[17] 1,906 31.9 +5.3
Turnout c. 3,943 c. 81.4 c. +1.6
Registered electors 4,842
Majority 98 1.7 N/A
Whig gain from Radical Swing N/A
Majority 82 1.3 −7.4
Radical hold Swing −22.8
General election 1847: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Howard Unopposed
Whig William Marshall Unopposed
Registered electors 5,348
Whig hold
Whig gain from Radical

Elections in the 1850s

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General election 1852: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Howard 2,375 36.0 N/A
Whig William Marshall 2,255 34.2 N/A
Conservative Thomas Salkeld[18] 1,964 29.8 New
Majority 291 4.4 N/A
Turnout 4,279 (est) 80.0 (est) N/A
Registered electors 5,351
Whig hold Swing N/A
Whig hold Swing N/A
General election 1857: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Howard Unopposed
Whig William Marshall Unopposed
Registered electors 5,693
Whig hold
Whig hold
General election 1859: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Howard Unopposed
Liberal William Marshall Unopposed
Registered electors 5,582
Liberal hold
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

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General election 1865: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Howard Unopposed
Liberal William Marshall Unopposed
Registered electors 5,455
Liberal hold
Liberal hold
General election 1868: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Nicholson Hodgson 2,626 34.7 New
Liberal Charles Howard 2,546 33.6 N/A
Liberal William Marshall 2,397 31.7 N/A
Majority 229 3.0 N/A
Turnout 5,098 (est) 76.2 (est) N/A
Registered electors 6,694
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1870s

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General election 1874: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Howard 2,943 35.9 +2.3
Conservative William Nicholson Hodgson 2,629 32.1 −2.6
Conservative Richard Musgrave 2,622 32.0 N/A
Majority 321 3.9
Turnout 5,569 (est) 77.1 (est) +0.9
Registered electors 7,225
Liberal hold Swing +2.5
Conservative hold Swing −2.5

Hodgson's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 28 Apr 1876: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Stafford Howard 2,939 51.4 +15.5
Conservative Richard Musgrave 2,783 48.6 −15.5
Majority 156 2.8 N/A
Turnout 5,722 78.1 +1.0
Registered electors 7,323
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +15.5

Charles Howard's death led to a by-election.

By-election, 25 Apr 1879: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Howard Unopposed
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s

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General election 1880: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Musgrave 3,161 34.1 −30.0
Liberal Stafford Howard 3,083 33.2 +15.2
Liberal George Howard 3,039 32.7 +14.7
Majority 78 0.9
Turnout 6,244 (est) 80.1 (est) +3.0
Registered electors 7,798
Conservative hold Swing −15.1
Liberal hold Swing +15.1

Musgrave's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 28 Feb 1881: East Cumberland[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Howard 3,071 50.2 −15.7
Conservative James Lowther 3,041 49.8 +15.7
Majority 30 0.6 N/A
Turnout 6,112 77.1 −3.0 (est)
Registered electors 7,928
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing −15.7

References

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  1. ^ "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. XLV: An Act to amend the Representation of the People in England and Wales". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 154–206. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 52. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
  3. ^ Creighton, Mandell (1886). "Blamire, William" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 05. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  4. ^ Kain, Roger J. P.; Prince, Hugh C. (1985). The tithe surveys of England and Wales. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-521-24681-1. LCCN 84-7100. Retrieved 5 April 2019 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Creighton, Mandell (1890). "Graham, James Robert George" . In Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney (eds.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 22. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  6. ^ Escott, Margaret. "JAMES, William (1791–1861), of Barrock Lodge, Lower Heskett, Cumb". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. pp. 13–14, 131–132. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "William James MP". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  9. ^ a b "The Elections". Morning Post. 3 July 1837. p. 1. Retrieved 5 April 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Representation of East Cumberland". Dublin Evening Mail. 17 July 1840. p. 2. Retrieved 30 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ Gent, David Christopher (2010). Aristocratic Whig Politics in Early-Victorian Yorkshire: Lord Morpeth and His World (PDF) (PhD). University of York. p. 36.
  12. ^ "East Cumberland Election". Sherborne Mercury. 27 July 1840. p. 4. Retrieved 30 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ^ Casey, Martin. "Marshall, William (1796-1872)". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Election Intelligence". Morning Post. 28 July 1847. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 22 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ Carlisle Patriot. 27 December 1834. pp. 2–4 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000365/18341227/023/0004. Retrieved 22 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 367–368. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  17. ^ "Cumberland Pacquet, and Ware's Whitehaven Advertiser". 22 June 1841. p. 2. Retrieved 5 April 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ^ "The General Election". Morning Post. 16 July 1852. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 30 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  • Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
  • The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
  • Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
  • Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)