Wolverhampton (constituency)
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1832–1885
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Wolverhampton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
SeatsTwo
Created fromStaffordshire
Replaced byWolverhampton East, Wolverhampton South and Wolverhampton West
| Wolverhampton | |
|---|---|
| Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
| 1832–1885 | |
| Seats | Two |
| Created from | Staffordshire |
| Replaced by | Wolverhampton East, Wolverhampton South and Wolverhampton West |
History
The constituency was created under the Reform Act 1832, and first used at the 1832 general election. It was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when it was replaced for the 1885 general election by three new single-member constituencies: Wolverhampton East, Wolverhampton South and Wolverhampton West.
Members of Parliament
| Election | 1st Member | 1st Party | 2nd Member | 2nd Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | William Wolryche-Whitmore | Whig[1][2] | Richard Fryer | Whig[1][3] | ||
| 1835 | Charles Pelham Villiers | Radical[4][5][3] | Thomas Thornely | Radical[6][7] | ||
| 1859 | Liberal | Sir Richard Bethell | Liberal | |||
| 1861 by-election | Thomas Matthias Weguelin | Liberal | ||||
| 1880 | Henry Fowler | Liberal | ||||
| 1885 | constituency divided: see Wolverhampton East, Wolverhampton South and Wolverhampton West. | |||||
Election results
Elections in the 1830s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | William Wolryche-Whitmore | 850 | 32.3 | ||
| Whig | Richard Fryer | 810 | 30.8 | ||
| Tory | Francis Holyoake | 615 | 23.4 | ||
| Radical | John Nicholson | 358 | 13.6 | ||
| Majority | 195 | 7.4 | |||
| Turnout | 1,463 | 86.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 1,700 | ||||
| Whig win (new seat) | |||||
| Whig win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radical | Charles Pelham Villiers | 776 | 30.0 | N/A | |
| Radical | Thomas Thornely | 776 | 30.0 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Dudley Fereday | 658 | 25.5 | +2.1 | |
| Radical | John Nicholson | 374 | 14.5 | +0.9 | |
| Majority | 118 | 4.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 1,498 | 81.5 | −4.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 1,839 | ||||
| Radical gain from Whig | Swing | ||||
| Radical gain from Whig | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radical | Charles Pelham Villiers | 1,068 | 32.1 | +2.1 | |
| Radical | Thomas Thornely | 1,024 | 30.8 | +0.8 | |
| Conservative | Ryder Burton[9] | 623 | 18.7 | +6.0 | |
| Conservative | John Benbow | 613 | 18.4 | +5.7 | |
| Majority | 401 | 12.1 | +7.6 | ||
| Turnout | 1,675 | 77.2 | −4.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 2,170 | ||||
| Radical hold | Swing | −1.9 | |||
| Radical hold | Swing | −3.3 | |||
Elections in the 1840s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radical | Charles Pelham Villiers | Unopposed | |||
| Radical | Thomas Thornely | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 2,571 | ||||
| Radical hold | |||||
| Radical hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radical | Charles Pelham Villiers | Unopposed | |||
| Radical | Thomas Thornely | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 2,692 | ||||
| Radical hold | |||||
| Radical hold | |||||
Elections in the 1850s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radical | Charles Pelham Villiers | Unopposed | |||
| Radical | Thomas Thornely | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 3,587 | ||||
| Radical hold | |||||
| Radical hold | |||||
Villiers was appointed Judge-Advocate-General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radical | Charles Pelham Villiers | Unopposed | |||
| Radical hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radical | Charles Pelham Villiers | Unopposed | |||
| Radical | Thomas Thornely | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 3,611 | ||||
| Radical hold | |||||
| Radical hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Pelham Villiers | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal | Richard Bethell | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 3,821 | ||||
| Liberal hold | |||||
| Liberal hold | |||||
Bethell was appointed Attorney General for England and Wales, requiring a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Richard Bethell | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal hold | |||||
Villiers was appointed President of the Poor Law Board, requiring a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Pelham Villiers | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal hold | |||||
Elections in the 1860s
Bethell resigned after being appointed Lord Chancellor, causing him to become Lord Westbury and a by-election to be called.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Thomas Matthias Weguelin | 1,363 | 48.7 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Samuel Griffiths[10] | 772 | 27.6 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Alexander Staveley Hill[11] | 665 | 23.8 | New | |
| Majority | 591 | 21.1 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,800 | 68.1 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 4,110 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Pelham Villiers | 1,623 | 50.9 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Thomas Matthias Weguelin | 1,519 | 47.6 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Thomas Thornycroft[12] | 47 | 1.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 1,472 | 46.1 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 1,618 (est) | 33.5 (est) | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 4,830 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Pelham Villiers | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal | Thomas Matthias Weguelin | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 15,772 | ||||
| Liberal hold | |||||
| Liberal hold | |||||
Elections in the 1870s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Pelham Villiers | 10,358 | 43.1 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Thomas Matthias Weguelin | 10,036 | 41.8 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Walter Williams[13] | 3,628 | 15.1 | New | |
| Majority | 6,408 | 26.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 13,825 (est) | 59.4 (est) | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 23,257 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1880s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Pelham Villiers | 12,197 | 41.1 | −2.0 | |
| Liberal | Henry Fowler | 11,606 | 39.1 | −2.7 | |
| Conservative | Alfred Hickman | 5,874 | 19.8 | +4.7 | |
| Majority | 5,732 | 19.3 | −7.4 | ||
| Turnout | 17,776 (est) | 77.9 (est) | +18.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 22,821 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −2.2 | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −2.5 | |||