Midhurst (UK Parliament constituency)

Midhurst
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1311–1885
Seats	two (1311–1832); one (1832–1885)
Replaced by	Horsham

Midhurst was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1311 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the constituency was abolished. Before the Great Reform Act of 1832, it was one of the most notorious of England's rotten boroughs.

History

From its foundation in the 14th century until 1832, the borough consisted of part of the parish of Midhurst, a small market town in Sussex. Much of the town as it existed by the 19th century was outside this ancient boundary, but the boundary was in any case academic since the townsfolk had no votes. As a contemporary, writer, Sir George Trevelyan explained in writing about the general election of 1768,^[1]

the right of election rested in a few small holdings, on which no human being resided, distinguished among the pastures and the stubble that surrounded them by a large stone set up on end in the middle of each portion.

No doubt these "burgage tenements" had once included houses, but long before the 19th century it was notorious that several of them consisted solely of the marker stones, set in the wall of the landowner's estate. Even compared with most of the other burgage boroughs this was an extreme situation, and during the parliamentary debates on the Reform Bills in 1831 and 1832 the reformers made much play of Midhurst's "niches in a wall" as an example of the abuses they wished to correct.

The natural result of a burgage franchise was to encourage some local landowner to attempt to buy up a majority of the tenements, thereby ensuring absolute control of the choice of both of the members of Parliament, and this happened at an early stage in many other burgage boroughs. In Midhurst, however, there was still no single proprietor by the middle of the 18th century. The most influential figure was The Viscount Montagu, who in 1754 claimed to own 104 burgages, but Sir John Peachey owned 40 and there were more than 70 independent burgage holders. Montagu could usually control matters since he could count on the support of at least half of the independent voters, but for many years there had been an agreement not to force matters, and the Peacheys were allowed one of the two seats.

However, after 1754 Montagu began to buy up the independent burgages; meanwhile Peachey sold his property in the borough to Sir William Peere Williams, who in his turn also tried to increase his holding. At the general election of 1761, the two proprietors seem to have been unsure which would prove to have a majority, and both the Prime Minister and opposition leaders were drawn into the negotiations before a compromise could be reached to avoid a contest. However, when Williams was killed during the capture of Belle Île later the same year, his burgages seem to have been bought by Montagu, who thereafter had a clear field. In 1832 there were still said to be 148 burgage tenements, but only 41 qualified electors, of whom no more than 20 voted. Midhurst was now an undisputed pocket borough: its elections consisted, as Trevelyan related of 1768, in a legal fiction:,^[1]

Viscount Montagu ... when an election was in prospect, assigned a few of [the burgage tenements] to his servants, with instructions to nominate the members and then make back the property to their employer.

In fact, by 1761, Montagu's political affairs were being directed by his son, Anthony Browne, who put the borough's seats at the disposal of his parliamentary leader, Lord Holland – Holland used one of them to bring his son, Charles James Fox, into Parliament even though underage. But Holland died before the 1774 election, and Browne (by now the 7th Viscount Montagu) being short of money sold the nomination for both seats to the Treasury in return for a government pension.

After the 7th Viscount's death in 1787, the Montagu property in the borough was sold to the Earl of Egremont for £40,000. The earl used the seat to return two of his younger brothers, Percy and Charles William to the Commons, with Charles only serving one parliament for Midhurst.^[2] Egremont in turn sold it to Lord Carrington, who used it more often than not to provide a parliamentary seat for one of his many brothers or nephews.

In 1831, the population of the borough was 1,478, and the first draft of the Reform Bill proposed to abolish it altogether. But after argument the government recognised that it was possible to make a more respectably-sized constituency by expanding the boundaries to bring in the whole of the town and some neighbouring parishes, and Midhurst was reprieved. The expanded borough consisted of the whole of nine parishes and part of ten others, and had a population of 5,627. Nevertheless, Midhurst was permitted to keep only one of its two seats. Under the reformed franchise, its electorate at the election of 1832 was 252; but this was not sufficient to lead to more competitive elections, since the MP was returned unopposed at every election between 1832 and 1868.

Midhurst was eventually abolished as a separate constituency in the boundary changes of 1885, the town being included from that date in the North Western (or Horsham) county division.

Members of Parliament

1311–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	Henry Exton	Thomas Smith[3]
1388 (Feb)	Richard Hobekyn	Robert Hynkele[3]
1388 (Sep)	William Baggele	John Sarceller[3]
1390 (Jan)	Richard Hobekyn	John Mory[3]
1390 (Nov)
1391
1393	Thomas Clerk	John G(renettour?)[3]
1394
1395	John Grenettour	Robert atte Rode[3]
1397 (Jan)	William atte Barre	John Grenettour[3]
1397 (Sep)	William Baggele	Thomas Sarceller[3]
1399	Michael Baggele	John Rombald[3]
1401	Gregory Fuller	Robert Pechard[3]
1402	Robert Cooper	John Ive II[3]
1404 (Jan)	John Symkyn	Thomas Westlond[3]
1404 (Oct)
1406	William Brereton	John Stapleton I[3]
1407	Thomas Lucas	John Puckepole[3]
1410
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	John Vincent	Thomas Walsh[3]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	John Walsh	John Rombald[3]
1415	John Ive II	John Sewall
1416 (Mar)	John Mousehole	John Sewall[3]
1416 (Oct)
1417	William Chyngford	Gregory Tanner[3]
1419	Walter Lucas	Thomas Russell[3]
1420	Michael Maunser	Gregory Pedlyng[3]
1421 (May)	William Brereton	William Chyngford[3]
1421 (Dec)	William Brereton	Simon Lopeshurst[3]
1425	John Sewall	? Westlond
1426	Walter Lucas
1510–1523	No names known[4]
1529	George Gifford	John Bassett[4]
1536	?
1539	?
1542	Nicholas Dering	John Bourne[4]
1545	?
1547	Edmund Ford	William Wightman[4]
1553 (Mar)	John Fitzwilliam	William Denton[4]
1553 (Oct)	Sir Thomas Lovell	William Denton[4]
1554 (Apr)	Michael Wentworth	William Denton[4]
1554 (Nov)	Thomas Harvey	William Denton[4]
1555	William Denton	Henry Heighes[4]
1558	Thomas Harvey	William Denton
1558–9	William Denton	Henry Heighes[5]
1562–3	Edward Banester	William Denton, died and replaced 1566 by John Fenner[5]
1571	Thomas Bowyer	Richard Porter[5]
1572	Thomas Holcroft	Thomas Bowyer[5]
1584	Edward More	Thomas Churcher[5]
1586	Thomas Lewknor	Thomas Churcher[5]
1588–9	Samuel Foxe	Thomas Churcher[5]
1593	John Boys	Thomas Churcher[5]
1597	Lewis Lewknor	James Smyth[5]
1601	Richard Browne	Michael Haydon[5]
1604–1611	Francis Neville	Sir Richard Weston
1614	Thomas Bowyer	William Courteman
1621–1622	John Smith	Richard Lewknor
1624	Sir Anthony Manie	Richard Lewknor
1625	Richard Lewknor	Samuel Owfield
1626	Richard Lewknor	Sir Henry Spiller
1628	Christopher Lewknor	Edward Savage
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

1640–1832

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640		Robert Long			Thomas May
November 1640		Dr Chaworth [6]			Thomas May	Royalist
February 1641		William Cawley	Parliamentarian
November 1642				May disabled from sitting – seat vacant
1645					Sir Gregory Norton
1653	Midhurst was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		William Yalden			Benjamin Weston
May 1659		William Cawley		One seat vacant
April 1660		William Willoughby			John Steward
March 1661		John Lewknor			Adam Browne
May 1661					John Steward
January 1670		Baptist May
February 1679		William Morley			John Alford
October 1679		John Lewknor
1681		William Montagu			John Cooke
1685		William Morley			John Lewknor
1701		Lawrence Alcock
1705					Robert Orme[7]
1709					Thomas Meredyth
1710					Robert Orme
1711					John Pratt
1713		William Woodward Knight
1715					John Fortescue Aland
1717					Alan Brodrick
1721		Sir Richard Mill, Bt
1722		Bulstrode Knight
1729					Sir Richard Mill, Bt
1734					(Sir) Thomas Bootle
1736		Sir Henry Peachey, Bt
1738		Sir John Peachey, Bt
1744		Sir John Peachey, Bt
1754					John Sargent
1761		William Hamilton			John Burgoyne
1765		Bamber Gascoyne
1768		Lord Stavordale			Hon. Charles James Fox	Whig
October 1774		Herbert Mackworth[8]			Clement Tudway[9]
December 1774		Hon. Henry Seymour-Conway			John Ord
September 1780		Hon. John St John[10]			Hon. Henry Drummond
November 1780		Sir Sampson Gideon
April 1784		Benjamin Lethieullier[11]
June 1784		Edward Cotsford
1790		Hon. Percy Wyndham			Hon. Charles Wyndham
1795					Peter Thellusson
1796		Sylvester Douglas[12]			Charles Long
1800		George Smith
July 1802					Samuel Smith[13]
1802					Edmund Turnor
1806		John Smith[14]	Tory		William Wickham[15]	Tory
January 1807		Henry Williams-Wynn			William Plunket
May 1807		Samuel Smith			James Abercromby	Whig
July 1807		Thomas Thompson
October 1812					George Smith
December 1812					Viscount Mahon
1817					Sir Oswald Mosley
1818		Samuel Smith			John Smith	Whig[16]
1820		Abel Smith	Tory[16]
1830		John Abel Smith	Whig[16]		George Smith	Whig[16]
1831		George Robert Smith	Whig[16]		Martin Tucker Smith	Whig[16]
1832	Representation reduced to one member

1832–1885

Year		Member	Party
1832		Hon. Frederick Spencer	Whig[16][17][18]
1835		William Stephen Poyntz	Whig[16][19]
1837		Hon. Frederick Spencer	Whig[16][17][18]
1841		Sir Horace Seymour	Conservative[16]
1846		Spencer Horatio Walpole	Conservative
1856		Samuel Warren	Conservative
March 1859		John Hardy	Conservative
April 1859		William Townley Mitford	Conservative
February 1874		Charles Perceval	Conservative
September 1874		Sir Henry Holland	Conservative
1885	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Midhurst^[16]^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Abel Smith	Unopposed
	Whig	George Smith	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1831: Midhurst^[16]^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Robert Smith	Unopposed
	Whig	Martin Tucker Smith	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 41
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Midhurst^[16]^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Frederick Spencer	Unopposed
Registered electors			252
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Midhurst^[16]^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Stephen Poyntz	Unopposed
Registered electors			246
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Midhurst^[16]^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Stephen Poyntz	Unopposed
Registered electors			248
	Whig hold

Poyntz resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 12 December 1837: Midhurst^[16]^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Frederick Spencer	Unopposed
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Horace Seymour	Unopposed
Registered electors			289
	Conservative gain from Whig

Seymour resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds in order to contest a by-election at Antrim, causing a by-election.

By-election, 30 January 1846: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Spencer Horatio Walpole	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Spencer Horatio Walpole	Unopposed
Registered electors			304
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

Walpole was appointed Home Secretary, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 5 March 1852: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Spencer Horatio Walpole	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1852: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Spencer Horatio Walpole	Unopposed
Registered electors			279
	Conservative hold

Walpole resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 7 February 1856: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Samuel Warren	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Samuel Warren	Unopposed
Registered electors			411
	Conservative hold

Warren resigned after being appointed a Master in Lunacy, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 3 March 1859: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hardy	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Townley Mitford	Unopposed
Registered electors			429
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Townley Mitford	Unopposed
Registered electors			309
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Townley Mitford	375	58.9	N/A
	Liberal	Daniel Adolphus Lange[22][23]	262	41.1	New
Majority			113	17.8	N/A
Turnout			637	63.3	N/A
Registered electors			1,007
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Perceval	530	68.4	N/A
	Conservative	William Townley Mitford	185	23.9	−35.0
	Liberal	John Patrick Murrough	60	7.7	−33.4
Majority			345	44.5	+26.7
Turnout			775	76.8	+13.5
Registered electors			1,009
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Perceval succeeded to the peerage, becoming Earl of Egmont, and causing a by-election.

By-election, 23 Sep 1874: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Holland	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Midhurst^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Holland	501	63.9	−4.5
	Liberal	Charles Woodward Wallis[24]	283	36.1	+28.4
Majority			218	27.8	−16.7
Turnout			784	75.2	−1.6
Registered electors			1,042
	Conservative hold		Swing	−8.9

References

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
• 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) [2]
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, Third Series, Volume 3 (1831) [3]
• Lewis Namier & John Brooke, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754–1790 (London: HMSO, 1964)
• J. E. Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
• Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 2)

Notes

1. G O Trevelyan, Life of Fox, quoted by Porritt
2. Thorne, R. G (1986). The House of Commons, 1790–1820. History of Parliament Trust. ISBN 9780436521010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
3. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
4. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
5. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
6. The election of November 1640 was disputed. On 6 January 1641 the House of Commons resolved that "Mr Thomas May and Dr Chaworth, elected for this borough, shall sit till the election be avoided"; but a further resolution on 15 February decided that "Mr Cawley and Mr May are well returned".
7. Orme was initially declared re-elected in 1708, but on petition his election was declared void
8. Mackworth was also elected for Cardiff, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Midhurst
9. Tudway was also elected for Wells, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Midhurst
10. St John was also elected for Newport (Isle of Wight), which he chose to represent, and never sat for Midhurst
11. Lethieullier was also elected for Andover, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Midhurst
12. Created The Lord Glenbervie (in the Peerage of Ireland), November 1800
13. Smith was also elected for Leicester, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Midhurst in this Parliament
14. Smith was also elected for Nottingham, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Midhurst in this Parliament
15. Wickham was also elected for Callington, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Midhurst
16. 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, & Co. pp. 87–90. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via Google Books.
17. "Hampshire Advertiser". 23 December 1837. p. 2. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
18. "Coventry Standard". 22 December 1837. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
19. Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 187. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via Google Books.
20. Spencer, Howard. "Midhurst". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
21. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 211–212. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
22. "Mr. Lange at Worthing". Sussex Weekly Advertiser. 27 May 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
23. "The Sussex Elections". Brighton Gazette. 19 November 1868. p. 5. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
24. "Election Preparations". Belfast Telegraph. County Antrim, Northern Ireland. 20 March 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 21 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.