Hertford (UK Parliament constituency) (original) (raw)

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Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1801–1974

Hertford was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire, which elected Members of Parliament (MPs) from 1298 until 1974.

The Parliamentary Borough of Hertford was represented by two MPs in the House of Commons of England from 1298 to 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 onwards. Under the Boundaries Act of 1868, its representation was reduced to 1 MP.[1]

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (which followed on from the Third Reform Act) abolished the Parliamentary Borough and it gave its name to one of four Divisions of the abolished three-member Parliamentary County of Hertfordshire, and was formally named as the Eastern or Hertford Division of Hertfordshire.

As well as the Borough of Hertford, the enlarged constituency included the towns of Ware, Bishop's Stortford and Hoddesdon. It remained largely unchanged until 1955, but was radically altered for the 1955 general election. It was abolished in 1974.

Boundaries and boundary changes

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• The Borough of Hertford;
• The Sessional Divisions of Bishop's Stortford and Cheshunt;
• Parts of the Sessional Divisions of Hertford and Ware; and
• In the Sessional Division of Aldbury, the parishes of Great Hadham and Little Hadham.[2]
• The Borough of Hertford;
• The Urban Districts of Bishop's Stortford, Cheshunt, Hoddesdon, Sawbridgeworth, and Ware;
• The Rural Districts of Hadham and Ware; and
• The Rural District of Hertford parishes of Bayford, Bengeo Rural, Bengeo Urban, Bramfield, Brickendon Liberty, Brickendon Rural, Hertingfordbury, Little Amwell, Little Berkhamsted, St Andrew Rural, St John Rural, Stapleford, and Tewin.[3]

Minor changes to boundaries.

• The Borough of Hertford;
• The Urban Districts of Bishop's Stortford, Cheshunt, Hoddesdon, Sawbridgeworth, and Ware;
• The Rural District of Ware;
• The Rural District of Braughing parishes of Albury, Braughing, Brent Pelham, Furneux Pelham, High Wych, Little Hadham, Much Hadham, Stocking Pelham, and Thorley; and
• The Rural District of Hertford parishes of Bayford, Bengeo Rural, Bengeo Urban, Bramfield, Brickendon Liberty, Brickendon Rural, Hertingfordbury, Little Amwell, Little Berkhamsted, St Andrew Rural, St John Rural, Stapleford, and Tewin.[4]

Nominal changes only to reflect restructuring of rural districts.

• The Borough of Hertford;
• The Urban District of Welwyn Garden City; and
• The Rural Districts of Hatfield, Hertford, and Welwyn.[5]

Significant changes with only the Municipal Borough and the part of the Rural District of Hertford retained. The remainder of the constituency formed the basis of the new County Constituency of East Hertfordshire. The Urban District of Welwyn Garden City and the Rural District of Welwyn were transferred from St Albans; the Rural District of Hatfield from Barnet; and the remainder of the Rural District of Hertford from Hitchin.

The constituency was abolished in the redistribution taking effect for the February 1974 general election. The Municipal Borough and Rural District of Hertford were included in the new constituency of Hertford and Stevenage, with remaining areas forming the new constituency of Welwyn and Hatfield.

Members of Parliament

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Hertford borough (1298-1885)

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Hertford county constituency (1885-1974)

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Elections in the 1830s

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The 1832 election was later declared void, but a new writ was not issued during the course of the parliament.

Cowper was appointed as a commissioner of Greenwich Hospital, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

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Cowper was appointed a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

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Cowper was appointed Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

Cowper was appointed president of the General Board of Health, requiring a by-election.

Cowper was appointed Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education, requiring a by-election.

Cowper was appointed Vice-President of the Board of Trade, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

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Cowper was appointed First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings, requiring a by-election.

Townshend-Farquhar's death caused a by-election.

Seat reduced to one member

Elections in the 1870s

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Arthur Balfour was MP for Hertford between 1874 and 1885, and later Prime Minister.

Elections in the 1880s

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Balfour was appointed President of the Local Government Board, requiring a by-election.

Smith

Elections in the 1890s

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Smith's death caused a by-election.

Spencer

Elections in the 1900s

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Smith

Buxton

Elections in the 1910s

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General 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: John Rolleston
• Liberal:
• Independent: W. H. Rolfe

Billing

* Barnard was also the nominee of the National Farmers' Union

Elections in the 1920s

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* Sueter was also the nominee of the Independent Parliamentary Group.

Elections in the 1930s

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Elections in the 1940s

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General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Murray Sueter
• Labour: Mitchell W. Gordon[27]

Elections in the 1950s

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Elections in the 1960s

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Elections in the 1970s

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1. ^ Great Britain (1868). The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland [1807-1868/69]. unknown library. His Majesty's statute and law printers.
2. ^ Great Britain, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. The public general acts. unknown library. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports, 1884.
3. ^ Fraser, Hugh (1918). The Representation of the people act, 1918 : with explanatory notes. University of California Libraries. London : Sweet and Maxwell.
4. ^ "Representation of the People Act, 1948". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
5. ^ S., Craig, Fred W. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0900178094. OCLC 539011.{{[cite book](/wiki/Template:Cite%5Fbook "Template:Cite book")}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. ^ At the general election of 1715, Caesar and Goulston were initially declared re-elected, but on petition the result was overturned and their opponents, Clarke and Boteler, were seated in their place
7. ^ On petition, Caesar was adjudged not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Clarke, was declared elected in his place
8. ^ a b Dimsdale was a baron in the Russian peerage
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 145–147. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
10. ^ a b c d Fisher, David R. "Hertford". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
11. ^ a b At the election of 1832 Ingestrie and Mahon were declared elected, but on petition was their election was declared void, Hertford's writ was suspended and the seats remained vacant until the next general election
12. ^ "Hertford". Hertford Mercury and Reformer. 17 February 1835. p. 3. Retrieved 14 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. ^ Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. pp. 151–152. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
14. ^ Warwick, William Atkinson (1841). The House of Commons: As Elected to the Fourteenth Parliament of the United Kingdom, Being The Second of Victoria. London: Saunders and Otley. p. 43.
15. ^ Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1855). The Parliamentary Companion, 1855. London: Whittaker & Co. p. 154. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
16. ^ "Hertford Election". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 10 July 1852. pp. 4, 7. Retrieved 14 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
17. ^ "The Borough Election". Herts Guardian, Agricultural Journal, and General Advertiser. 10 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 14 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
19. ^ "Hertford Borough Election". Hertford Mercury and Reformer. 10 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 14 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
20. ^ "Hertford Election". Hertford Mercury and Reformer. 14 November 1868. p. 1. Retrieved 18 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
21. ^ "Hertford". The Scotsman. 20 March 1880. p. 12. Retrieved 29 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
22. ^ a b c d e f g The Liberal Year Book, 1907
23. ^ a b c d e f g h Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
24. ^ a b c Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1918
25. ^ a b c d e f g h British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
26. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
27. ^ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
28. ^ a b c d e f g British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973, F W S Craig
29. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
30. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
31. ^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
32. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
33. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
34. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
35. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
36. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
• 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)
• F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949" (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969)
• Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)