Aldborough (constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in England, 1558–1832 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aldborough was a parliamentary borough located in the West Riding of Yorkshire, abolished in the Great Reform Act 1832.

CountyWest Riding of Yorkshire

BoroughAldborough

Seats2

Replaced byWest Riding of Yorkshire

Quick facts County, Borough ...

Aldborough
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	West Riding of Yorkshire
Borough	Aldborough
1558–1832
Seats	2
Replaced by	West Riding of Yorkshire

Boundaries

Aldborough was a small borough (not even including the whole parish of Aldborough, since Boroughbridge, also within the boundaries, was also a borough with its own two MPs). By the time of the Reform Act 1832 it had a population only just over 500 and an electorate of less than 100. This made it a pocket borough and easy for the local landowner to dominate.

History

Aldborough returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) from 1558 until 1832.^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] It was a "scot and lot" borough, meaning that any man paying the poor rate was eligible to vote.

In the 18th century, Aldborough was controlled by the Duke of Newcastle. In April 1754 Newcastle, who had just become Prime Minister, selected his junior colleague and future Prime Minister, William Pitt (Pitt the Elder), to sit as its MP. Pitt represented Aldborough for two-and-a-half years, but having fallen out with Newcastle and been dismissed from his ministry, he was forced to find a new constituency when he next needed to be re-elected to the Commons in 1756.

Members of Parliament

Constituency created (1558)

MPs 1558–1640

More information Parliament, First member ...

Parliament	First member	Second member
1558	John Gascoigne II	John Browne II^[1]
1559	Richard Onslow	Richard Assheton^[2]
1563	William Lambarde	Anthony Tailboyes^[2]
1571	Thomas Eynns	Barnaby Googe^[2]
1572	Richard Bunny II	Richard Tempest^[2]
1584	William Waad	David Waterhouse^[2]
1586	George Horsey	Ralph Hurleston^[2]
1588	Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron	David Waterhouse^[2]
1593	Andrew Fisher	Edward Hancock^[2]
1597	Henry Bellasis	Richard Gargrave^[2]>
1601	Sir Edward Cecil	Richard Theakston^[2]
1604–1611	Sir Henry Savile	Sir Edmund Sheffield
1614	Sir Henry Savile	George Wetherid
1621	Christopher Wandesford	John Carvile
1624	Christopher Wandesford	John Carvile
1625	Richard Aldborough	John Carvile
1626	Richard Aldborough	John Carvile
1628	Henry Darley	Robert Stapleton
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1832

More information Year, First member ...

	First member	First party	Second member	Second party
April 1640	Richard Aldeburgh	Royalist	Brian Palmes	Royalist
November 1640	Richard Aldeburgh	Royalist	Robert Strickland	Royalist
September 1642	Richard Aldeburgh	Royalist	Strickland disabled to sit – seat vacant
January 1643	Aldeburgh disabled to sit – seat vacant		Strickland disabled to sit – seat vacant
1645	Thomas Scott (died January 1648)		Brian Stapylton
March (?) 1648	James Chaloner		Brian Stapylton
December 1648	James Chaloner		Stapylton not recorded as having sat after Pride's Purge
1653	Aldborough was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659	Francis Goodricke		John Lambert^{[n 1]}
May 1659	No representatives in the restored Rump
1660	Sir Solomon Swale, Bt		Francis Goodricke
1673	Sir Solomon Swale, Bt		Sir John Reresby, Bt^{[n 2]}
1678	Ruisshe Wentworth
February 1679	Henry Arthington
May 1679	Henry Arthington		Sir Godfrey Copley, Bt^{[n 3]}
August 1679	Sir Brian Stapylton, Bt
1681	Sir John Reresby, Bt
1685	Sir Michael Wentworth		Sir Roger Strickland
1689	Sir Michael Wentworth		Christopher Tancred
1696	Henry Fairfax^{[n 4]}
January 1698	William Wentworth
July 1698	Sir George Cooke		Sir Abstrupus Danby
1701	Robert Monckton	Whig	Cyril Arthington
1702	Robert Monckton	Whig	William Jessop	Whig
1713	John Dawnay^{[n 5]}		Paul Foley
February 1715	James Stanhope^{[n 6]}	Whig	William Jessop	Whig
April 1715 by-election	William Monson
1722	Charles Stanhope
1734	Henry Pelham^{[n 7]}	Whig
1735 by-election	John Jewkes	Whig	Andrew Wilkinson	Whig
1743 by-election	Nathaniel Newnham
1754	William Pitt	Whig
1756 by-election	Nathaniel Cholmley
1765 by-election	Nathaniel Cholmley		Viscount Villiers
1768	Hon. Aubrey Beauclerk		Andrew Wilkinson	Whig
1772 by-election	Hon. Aubrey Beauclerk		Earl of Lincoln	Tory
1774	Charles Wilkinson		Abel Smith	Tory
1777 by-election	William Baker		Abel Smith	Tory
1778 by-election	William Baker		Hon. William Hanger
September 1780	Sir Richard Sutton, Bt^{[n 8]}		Charles Mellish
November 1780 by-election	Edward Onslow
1781 by-election	Sir Samuel Fludyer, Bt
January 1784 by-election	Sir Samuel Fludyer, Bt		John Gally Knight
March 1784	Richard Arden^{[n 9]}	Whig
1790	Trench Chiswell
1796	Trench Chiswell		Charles Duncombe
1797 by-election	John Blackburn
1802	John Sullivan
1806	Henry Fynes	Tory	Gilbert Jones	Tory
1812			Henry Dawkins	Tory
1814 by-election			Henry Gally Knight	Tory
1815 by-election			Granville Harcourt-Vernon	Tory
1820			Gibbs Antrobus	Tory
1826	Clinton James Fynes Clinton	Tory^[11]	Sir Alexander Grant, Bt	Tory^[12]
1830			Viscount Stormont	Ultra-Tory^[13]
1831			Michael Thomas Sadler	Tory^[14]
1832	Constituency abolished

Notes

[1]
Lambert was also elected for Pontefract, which he chose to represent. The vacancy was unfilled when the Parliament ended
[2]
At the by-election in November 1673, the Returning Officer made a double return of Reresby and Robert Benson; the dispute was decided in Reresby's favour, and he took his seat, in April 1675.
[3]
Sir John Reresby was declared re-elected at the general election in February 1679 but unseated on petition, Copley being elected in his place.
[4]
Fairfax's election was voided by a resolution of the House of Commons (21 December 1696) for breaking the law in his spending on the election; the writ to hold a new election was not issued until December 1697
[5]
A petition was raised against Dawnay's election that had not been resolved by the time the Parliament was dissolved. Dawnay had also been elected for Pontefract and, not being required to choose which constituency he would represent while there was an outstanding petition against one of the elections, sat for both boroughs throughout the Parliament
[6]
Stanhope was also elected for Cockermouth, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Aldborough
[7]
Pelham was also elected for Sussex, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Aldborough
[8]
Sutton was also elected for Sandwich, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Aldborough
[9]
Sir Richard Arden from 1788

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

More information Party, Candidate ...

General election 1831: Aldborough^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Clinton James Fynes Clinton	Unopposed
	Tory	Michael Thomas Sadler	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 80
	Tory hold
	Tory hold