Parliamentary representation from Cambridgeshire

The historic county of Cambridgeshire, located in the modern-day East of England region, has been represented in Parliament since the 13th century. This article provides the list of constituencies which have formed the parliamentary representation from Cambridgeshire.

In 1889 the historic county was divided between the administrative counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. The two administrative counties merged in 1965 to form Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. In 1974 Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely was merged with Huntingdon and Peterborough to form a new expanded non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire. Huntingdonshire was a historic and administrative county in its own right, whereas the Soke of Peterborough had been an administrative county which was part of the historic county of Northamptonshire.

This article covers only the constituencies wholly or predominantly within the area of the historic county of Cambridgeshire, both before and after the administrative changes of 1889, 1965 and 1974. Constituencies predominantly within the area of the historic county of Huntingdonshire are listed at Parliamentary representation from Huntingdonshire. For more information on the constituencies currently covering the modern-day ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, see List of parliamentary constituencies in Cambridgeshire.

List of constituencies

Key to abbreviations:

Type:

BC: Borough constituency
CC: County constituency
UC: University constituency.

Notes:

C1: historic county of Cambridgeshire (until 1889)
C2: administrative county of Cambridgeshire (1889–1974)
C3: non-metropolitan/ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire (from 1974)
IE: administrative county of the Isle of Ely (1889–1974).

Note: Dates of representation prior to 1654 are provisional. The constituencies which existed in 1707 were previously represented in the Parliament of England.

North West Cambridgeshire does not include any part of the historic county of Cambridgeshire. It combines parts of the historic counties of Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire.

Constituencies wholly or predominantly in the historic county

Constituency	Type	From	To	MPs	Notes
Cambridge	BC	1295	present	2 (1554 – 1654)	C1, C2, C3
				1 (1654 – 1659)
				2 (1659 – 1885)
				1 (1885–present)
Cambridgeshire	CC	1290	1885	2 (1290 - 1654)	C1, C2, C3
				4 (1654 – 1659)
				2 (1659 – 1832)
				3 (1832 – 1885)
		1918	1983	1
Cambridge University	UC	1603	1950	2 (1603 – 1654)	C1, C2
				1 (1654 – 1659)
				2 (1659 – 1950)
Chesterton	CC	1885	1918	1	C2
Ely	BC	1295	1296	2	C1
Isle of Ely	CC	1654	1659	2	C1, IE, C3
Isle of Ely	CC	1918	1983	1	C1, IE, C3
Newmarket	CC	1885	1918	1	C2
North East Cambridgeshire	CC	1983	present	1	C3, included a part of historic Northamptonshire prior to 2010.
South Cambridgeshire	CC	1997	present	1	C3
South East Cambridgeshire	CC	1983	present	1	C3
South West Cambridgeshire	CC	1983	1997	1	C3, included a part of historic Huntingdonshire
Wisbech	CC	1885	1918	1	C2

Periods constituencies represented

	1290 – 1295	1295 – 1296	1603 – 1654	1654 – 1659	1885 – 1918	1918 – 1950	1983 – 1997	1997 – present
Cambridge		1295 – present
Cambridgeshire	1290 – 1885					1918 – 1983
Cambridge University			1603 – 1950
Chesterton					1885 – 1918
Ely		1295 – 1296
Isle of Ely				1654 – 1659		1918 – 1983
Newmarket					1885 – 1918
North East Cambridgeshire							1983 – present
South Cambridgeshire								1997 – present
South East Cambridgeshire							1983 – present
South West Cambridgeshire							1983 – 1997
Wisbech					1885 – 1918

Summaries

Summary of Constituencies by Type and Period

Type	1290	1295	1296	1603	1654	1659	1832	1885	1918	1950	1983	1997	next
Borough	-	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
County	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	3	2	2	3	3	3
University	-	-	-	1	1	1	1	1	1	-	-	-	-
Total	1	3	2	3	4	3	3	5	4	3	4	4	4

Summary of Members of Parliament by Type and Period

Type	1290	1295	1296	1603	1654	1659	1832	1885	1918	1950	1983	1997	next
Borough	-	4	2	2	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
County	2	2	2	2	6	2	3	3	2	2	3	3	3
University	-	-	-	2	1	2	2	2	2	-	-	-	-
Total	2	6	4	6	8	6	7	6	5	3	4	4	4

References

Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
British Parliamentary Constituencies: A Statistical Compendium, by Ivor Crewe and Anthony Fox (Faber and Faber 1984)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977)
The House of Commons 1509-1558, by S.T. Bindoff (Secker & Warburg 1982)
The House of Commons 1558-1603, by P.W. Hasler (HMSO 1981)
The House of Commons 1660-1690, by Basil Duke Henning (Secker & Warburg 1983)
The House of Commons 1715-1754, by Romney Sedgwick (HMSO 1970)
The House of Commons 1754-1790, by Sir Lewis Namier and John Brooke (HMSO 1964)
The House of Commons 1790-1820, by R.G. Thorne (Secker & Warburg 1986)
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) out of copyright