Haverfordwest (UK Parliament constituency)
UK Parliament constituency (1545–1885)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Haverfordwest was a parliamentary constituency in Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
| Haverfordwest | |
|---|---|
| Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
| 1545–1885 | |
| Seats | one |
| Replaced by | Pembroke and Haverfordwest |
History
The constituency was enfranchised in 1545, as the second borough constituency in the historic county of Pembrokeshire. In the previous election of 1542, the first at which Wales is known to have sent members to the Parliament of England, this borough was one of the ancient boroughs contributing to the wages and being in some sense represented by the member for Pembroke. unlike most of the other Parliamentary districts, Haverfordwest was composed as a single member district, apparently in order to better maintain the conservative nature of the chamber.[1]
During the eighteenth century, Haverfordwest was considered to be little more than a pocket borough for the Philipps family of Picton Castle.[2] But unlike many "rotten boroughs", it was not disbanded in 1832.
From 1832 to 1885, it was a district of boroughs constituency, similar to those used in Scotland. It consisted of the three boroughs of Haverfordwest, Fishguard and Narberth.[3]
The constituency was abolished for the 1885 general election, and merged into the newly created constituency of Pembroke and Haverfordwest.
Members of Parliament
1543–1660
| Parliament | Member |
|---|---|
| 1547 | Richard Howell[4] |
| 1553 (Mar) | Richard Howell[4] |
| 1553 (Oct) | Richard Taylor[4] |
| 1554 (Apr) | Richard Howell[4] |
| 1554 (Nov) | Richard Howell[4] |
| 1555 | John Bolton or Button[4] |
| 1558 | Thomas ab Owen[4] |
| 1559 | Hugh Harris[5] |
| 1562–3 | Rice Morgan[5] |
| 1571 | John Garnons (Alban Stepneth cheated of seat by Sheriff) [5] |
| 1572 | Alban Stepneth[5] |
| 1584 | Alban Stepneth[5] |
| 1586 | Alban Stepneth[5] |
| 1588 | Sir John Perrot[5] |
| 1593 | Sir Nicholas Clifford[5] |
| 1597 | Sir James Perrot[5] |
| 1601 | John Canon[5] |
| 1604-1611 | Sir James Perrot |
| 1614 | Sir James Perrot |
| 1621-22 | Sir James Perrot |
| 1624 | Lewis Powell |
| 1625 | Sir Thomas Canon |
| 1626 | Sir James Perrot |
| 1628 | Sir James Perrot |
| 1629–1640 | No Parliaments summoned |
| 1640 (Apr) | Hugh Owen |
| 1640 (Nov) | Sir John Stepney, 3rd Baronet, disabled 1643 |
| 1645 | Sir Robert Needham, secluded 1648 |
| 1653 | Not represented in Barebone's Parliament |
| 1654 | Not represented in 1st Protectorate Parliament |
| 1656 | John Upton |
| 1659 | John Upton |
| 1660 | William Philipps |
1660–1885
Election results
Elections in the 1830s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | Richard Philipps | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | c. 500 | ||||
| Whig hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | Richard Philipps | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | c. 500 | ||||
| Whig hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | Richard Philipps | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 723 | ||||
| Whig hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William Henry Scourfield | 241 | 65.8 | ||
| Whig | Jonathan Haworth Peel | 125 | 34.2 | ||
| Majority | 116 | 31.6 | |||
| Turnout | 366 | 68.0 | |||
| Registered electors | 538 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Whig | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | Richard Philipps | 247 | 60.0 | +25.8 | |
| Conservative | William Henry Scourfield | 165 | 40.0 | −25.8 | |
| Majority | 82 | 20.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 412 | 58.4 | −9.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 706 | ||||
| Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | +25.8 | |||
Elections in the 1840s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | Richard Philipps | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 667 | ||||
| Whig hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | John Evans | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 667 | ||||
| Whig hold | |||||
Elections in the 1850s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Philipps | 297 | 59.4 | New | |
| Whig | John Evans | 203 | 40.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 94 | 18.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 500 | 73.3 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 682 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Philipps | 258 | 50.2 | −9.2 | |
| Radical | William Rees[14][15] | 256 | 49.8 | +9.2 | |
| Majority | 2 | 0.4 | −18.4 | ||
| Turnout | 514 | 69.5 | −3.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 740 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −9.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Philipps | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 777 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1860s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Scourfield | 314 | 58.6 | N/A | |
| Liberal | William Edwardes | 222 | 41.4 | New | |
| Majority | 92 | 17.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 536 | 80.1 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 669 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Edwardes | 638 | 56.2 | +14.8 | |
| Conservative | Samuel Pitman[16] | 497 | 43.8 | −14.8 | |
| Majority | 141 | 12.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 1,135 | 74.4 | −5.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 1,526 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +14.8 | |||
Elections in the 1870s
Edwardes was appointed a Groom in Waiting, requiring a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Edwardes | 609 | 52.2 | −4.0 | |
| Conservative | Xavier de Castanos Royds Peel | 558 | 47.8 | +4.0 | |
| Majority | 51 | 4.4 | −8.0 | ||
| Turnout | 1,167 | 73.3 | −1.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 1,592 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −4.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Edwardes | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 1,357 | ||||
| Liberal hold | |||||
The election was declared void on petition, causing a by-election, after a separate potential candidate, Mr Davis, had been refused his nomination by the local sheriff without a deposit for security of costs.[17] However, in the resulting by-election, Davis did not stand and Edwardes was re-elected.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Edwardes | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 1,357 | ||||
| Liberal hold | |||||
Elections in the 1880s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Edwardes | 686 | 56.8 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Edward Denman Thornburgh-Cropper | 522 | 43.2 | New | |
| Majority | 164 | 13.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 1,208 | 78.3 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 1,543 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Edwardes was appointed Comptroller of the Household, requiring a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Edwardes | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal hold | |||||