Penryn and Falmouth (UK Parliament constituency) (original) (raw)

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Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1950

Penryn and Falmouth was the name of a constituency in Cornwall, England, UK, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1950. From 1832 to 1918 it was a parliamentary borough, initially returning two Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by the bloc vote system.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, its representation was reduced to one member, elected by the first past the post system. In 1918 the borough was abolished and the name was transferred to a county constituency electing one MP.

1918–1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Falmouth, Penryn, and Truro, the Urban District of St Austell, the Rural District of St Austell except the civil parishes of St Sampson and Tywardreath, the Rural District of East Kerrier except the civil parishes of Constantine, Mabe, and Perranarworthal, and the Rural District of Truro except the civil parishes of Kea, Kenwyn Rural, Perranzabuloe, St Agnes, St Allen, and Tregavethan.[1]

The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1832 (the "Great Reform Act") as a replacement for the Penryn constituency, which had become a notoriously rotten borough. The new borough consisted of Penryn, Falmouth and parts of Budock and St Gluvias parishes, giving it a mostly urban population of nearly 12,000, of whom 875 were registered to vote at its first election in 1832.

Initially Penryn and Falmouth elected two MPs, but this was reduced to one in 1885. It was one of the smallest constituencies in England for the next thirty years. At this period its voters were politically unpredictable; though generally among the more Conservative Cornish constituencies, they were influenced by personal factors and often swung against the national tide of opinion. Falmouth, which had a stronger non-conformist presence, was the more Liberal part of the constituency in the late 19th century, but was thought to become more Conservative as it developed its economy as a destination seaside resort.

In 1918 the borough was abolished, but the Penryn and Falmouth name was applied to the county constituency in which the two towns were placed. This was a much more extensive constituency, covering the whole of south central Cornwall, including the towns of Truro and St Austell as well a long stretch of coastline. The constituency had a more industrial character (a sixth of the population were engaged in tin mining); the area suffered badly from unemployment in the 1930s, and in 1935 the Labour Party came within 3,031 votes of winning what would have been their first seat in Cornwall.

The constituency was abolished for the 1950 general election, most of its area being moved into the Truro constituency. Penryn and Falmouth were assigned to the new Falmouth and Camborne division.

Members of Parliament

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Penryn & Falmouth borough 1832–1885

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Penryn & Falmouth borough 1885–1918

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Penryn & Falmouth division of Cornwall 1918–1950

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St Austell area election results

Elections in the 1830s

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Rolfe was appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

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Rolfe resigned after being appointed a Judge of the Court of the Exchequer, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

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

Elections in the 1860s

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Baring succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Northbrook and causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

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Elections in the 1880s

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Elections in the 1890s

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F.J.Horniman

Elections in the 1900s

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John Barker

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: Charles Sydney Goldman
• Liberal:

Elections in the 1920s

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Elections in the 1930s

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A General election was due to take place before the end of 1940, but was postponed due to the Second World War. By 1939, the following candidates had been selected to contest this constituency;

• Conservative: Maurice Petherick
• Labour: A.L.Rowse

Elections in the 1940s

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1. ^ Fraser, Hugh (1918). The Representation of the People Act, 1918: with explanatory notes. London: Sweet and Maxwell.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 44–46. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
3. ^ Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 196.
4. ^ Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 211.
5. ^ E J Hutchins was subsequently elected for Lymington 1850–1857. There is a biography of him at Masonic Province of South Wales, Eastern Division. Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
6. ^ The Spectator, Volume 12. F.C. Westley. 1839. p. 1204. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
7. ^ "The Recent Elections". Essex Standard. 31 January 1840. p. 1. Retrieved 21 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. ^ "The Elections". Dublin Morning Register. 29 January 1840. p. 3. Retrieved 21 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. ^ "General Election 1841". Morning Post. 29 June 1841. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 14 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. ^ "Elections Decided". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 10 July 1841. p. 6. Retrieved 14 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. ^ a b "Evening Mail". 2 July 1841. p. 6. Retrieved 27 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. ^ Collet, Collet Dobson (1899). History of the Taxes on Knowledge: Their Origin and Repeal. London: T. Fisher Unwin. p. 93. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
13. ^ "Register". Cambridge Chronicle and Journal. 5 August 1854. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 22 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. ^ Mallet, Bernard (1912). "Baring, Thomas George" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
15. ^ "The General Elections". Morning Chronicle. 16 March 1857. p. 6. Retrieved 24 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
16. ^ See ODNB article by Richard Davenport-Hines, 'Gurney, Samuel (1816–1882)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 23 Jan 2008
17. ^ Hansard website gives dates of George Pilcher, MP as 1882 – 8 December 1962, in Parliament 29 October 1924 – 30 May 1929. The National Portrait Gallery, London has two photographic portraits of him, taken in 1927. He is described as journalist, barrister and politician. Rayment says he was born 26 February 1882. He was Secretary of the Royal Empire Society. The Times, 16 March 1935; pg. 9; Issue 47014; col D Notes his resignation as Secretary of the RES, after six years' service and his previous work as a journalist. The Times, 13 December 1962; pg. 12; Issue 55573; col E includes an Obituary, giving further information.
18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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. ^ "General Election". London Evening Standard. 2 August 1847. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 27 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
20. ^ "The Cornish Times". 7 May 1859. p. 4. Retrieved 24 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
21. ^ "Representation of Penryn and Falmouth". Royal Cornwall Gazette. 25 June 1868. p. 6. Retrieved 15 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
22. ^ "Penryn And Falmouth". The Cornishman. No. 90. 1 April 1880. p. 5.
23. ^ a b c d e f g h British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
24. ^ a b c d e f g h British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig

• Michael Kinnear, The British Voter (London: BH Batsford, Ltd, 1968)
• Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• 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 "P" (part 1)