Bere Alston (UK Parliament constituency)

Bere Alston
Bere Alston
Former borough constituency; for the House of Commons
Borough	Bere Alston
1584–1832
Seats	2

Bere Alston or Beeralston was a parliamentary borough in Devon, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1584 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act as a rotten borough.

History

Bere Alston was first summoned to return MPs in 1584; like many of the boroughs over the county boundary in Cornwall that were enfranchised during the reign of Elizabeth I, it had never been of much size and was a rotten borough from the start. Indeed, its first return of members specifically states that they had been elected at the request of the Marquess of Winchester and Lord Mountjoy, the chief landowners in the borough, and its enfranchisement plainly designed to allow them to nominate MPs.

The borough consisted of most of the village of Bere Alston in the parish of Bere Ferris, 10 miles north of Plymouth. By the time of the Great Reform Act there were 112 houses within the borough boundaries, and 139 in the whole village. The population was not separately recorded in the census. It was customary for elections to be conducted under a great tree in the centre of the village; there was no equivalent of a town hall, and indeed no municipal corporation.

Bere Alston was a burgage borough,[1] the right to vote resting with the freehold tenants of a number of specified properties within the town of which there appears to have been only 30. For much of the eighteenth century most, if not all, of these burgage properties were owned by the Drake and Hobart families (the latter becoming the Earls of Buckinghamshire in 1746). Only one contested election therefore occurred in the eighteenth century, when the two families failed to compromise. In the 1770s the borough was acquired by the 1st Duke of Northumberland, and was retained by his descendants until the borough was disenfranchised.

In the debates before the passing of the Reform Act, Bere Alston was held up as one of the most notorious examples of a rotten borough, vilified in more than one of the pro-Reform newspapers. The Times carried the following report of what happened in Bere Alston in the general election there in 1830:

"Dr Butler [the Portreeve, who was Returning Officer for the borough] ... met the voters under a great tree, the place usually chosen for the purpose of election. During the time the Portreeve was reading the acts of Parliament usually read on such occasions, one of the voters handed in to him a card containing the names of two candidates, proposed by himself and seconded by his friend. He was told ... this was too early. Before the reading was completed, the voter on the other side handed in a card corresponding with the former, which he was told was too late. The meeting broke up. The Portreeve and assistants adjourned to a public house in the neighbourhood, and then and there made a return of Lord Lovaine and Mr Blackett, which was not signed by a single person having a vote."

The election return actually bears seven signatures - individuals who were probably made temporary burgage holders to qualify as electors for the day of the election but none of whom probably resided in the borough. The two "voters" who sought to nominate candidates were probably unqualified but were actual residents. Otherwise the report is probably truthful.

The borough was disenfranchised by the Reform Act.

Members of Parliament

1584-1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
Parliament of 1584-1585	Edward Montagu	Edward Phelips
Parliament of 1586-1587	(Sir) Charles Blount	Nicholas Martin
Parliament of 1588-1589	Richard Spencer	Ferdinand Clarke
Parliament of 1593	Sir Charles Blount	Thomas Burgoyne
Parliament of 1597-1598	Sir Jocelyn Blount	George Crooke
Parliament of 1601	Charles Lister	John Langford
Parliament of 1604-1611	Sir Arthur Atye 1604 Humphrey May from 1605	Sir Richard Strode
Addled Parliament (1614)	Thomas Crewe	Sir Richard White
Parliament of 1621-1622	Thomas Keightley	Sir Thomas Wise
Happy Parliament (1624-1625)	Thomas Jermyn	Sir Thomas Cheke[2]
Useless Parliament (1625)	Sir Thomas Cheke	William Strode
Parliament of 1626-1627	William Strode	Thomas Wise
Parliament of 1628-1629	William Strode	Thomas Wise
No Parliament summoned 1629-1640

1640-1832

Year		First member	First party	Second member	Second party
April 1640		William Strode[3]	Parliamentarian	John Harris
November 1640				Sir Thomas Cheek[4]	Parliamentarian
December 1640				Hugh Pollard[5]	Royalist
1641				Charles Pym	Parliamentarian
1646		Sir Francis Drake	Parliamentarian	Charles Pym	Parliamentarian
December 1648	Drake and Pym excluded in Pride's Purge - both seats vacant
1653	Bere Alston was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		Sir John Maynard	Parliamentarian	Elisha Crymes	Parliamentarian
May 1659	Bere Alston was not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		John Maynard	Parliamentarian	George Howard	Cavalier
June 1660		John Maynard	Parliamentarian	Richard Arundell	Cavalier
1661		Sir John Maynard	Parliamentarian	George Howard	Cavalier
1662				Richard Arundell	Cavalier
1665				Joseph Maynard	Parliamentarian
February 1679				Sir William Bastard	Whig
March 1679		Sir John Trevor	Tory	Sir William Bastard	Whig
1681		Sir Duncombe Colchester	Tory	John Elwill	Whig
1685		Sir John Maynard	Whig	Sir Benjamin Bathurst	Tory
19 January 1689		Sir John Maynard	Whig	John Elwill	Whig
31 January 1689		Sir John Holt	Tory
May 1689		Sir John Trevor	Tory
1690		Sir Francis Drake	Whig	John Swinfen	Whig
1691		John Smith	Whig	John Swinfen	Whig
1694		John Smith	Whig	Sir Henry Hobart	Whig
November 1695		John Elwill	Whig	Sir Henry Hobart	Whig
December 1695		John Elwill	Whig	Sir Rowland Gwynne	Whig
1698		John Hawles	Whig	Sir Rowland Gwynne	Whig
1698		John Hawles	Whig	James Montagu	Whig
January 1701		Sir Rowland Gwynne	Whig	Sir Peter King	Whig
March 1701		William Cowper	Whig
1705		Spencer Cowper	Whig
1710		Lawrence Carter	Whig
1715				Horatio Walpole	Whig
1717				Edward Carteret	Whig
1721				Philip Cavendish[6]	Whig
1721				St John Brodrick	Whig
1722		Sir John Hobart[7]	Whig
1724		Sir Robert Rich	Whig
1727		Sir John Hobart[8]	Whig	Sir Francis Drake[9]	Whig
1728		Sir Archer Croft	Whig	Lord Walden	Tory
February 1734		Sir Archer Croft	Whig	William Morden[10]	Whig
May 1734		Sir Francis Drake	Whig	John Bristow	Whig
1740		Samuel Heathcote	Whig	John Bristow	Whig
1741		Samuel Heathcote	Whig	Sir William Morden	Whig
1747		Sir Francis Henry Drake	Whig	Sir William Morden	Whig
1754				John Bristow	Whigs
1761				Hon. George Hobart	Whig
1771		Francis William Drake	Whig
1774		Sir Francis Henry Drake	Whig
September 1780		Lord Algernon Percy[11]	Tory	The Lord Macartney	Whig
December 1780		Viscount Feilding	Tory	The Lord Macartney	Whig
1781				Laurence Cox	Tory
1784				The Earl of Mornington	Tory
1787				Charles Rainsford	Tory
1788				John Mitford[12]	Tory
1790		Sir George Beaumont	Tory
1796		William Mitford	Tory
1799		William Mitford	Tory	Lord Lovaine	Tory[13]
1806		Hon. Josceline Percy	Tory
1820		Henry Percy	Tory
1825		Percy Ashburnham	Tory[14]
1830		Christopher Blackett	Tory[15]
January 1831		Christopher Blackett	Tory[15]	David Lyon	Tory[16]
May 1831		Lord Lovaine	Tory[17]	David Lyon	Tory[16]
1832	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election, 2 May 1831: Bere Alston[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Algernon Percy	9	50.0
	Tory	David Lyon	9	50.0
	Whig	Charles Wood	0	0.0
	Whig	James Mackintosh	0	0.0
Majority			9	50.0
Turnout			c. 9	c. 30.0
Registered electors			c. 30
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

By-election, 11 January 1831: Bere Alston[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	David Lyon	7	100.0
	Non Partisan	John Attwood	0	0.0
Majority			7	100.0
Turnout			c. 7	c. 23.3
Registered electors			c. 30
	Tory hold

Caused by Percy's succession to the peerage, becoming 5th Duke of Northumberland

General election, 31 July 1830: Bere Alston[18]
	Candidate	Votes
Tory	George Percy	Unopposed
Tory	Christopher Blackett	Unopposed
Tory hold
Tory hold

Notes

Page 136, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
Cheek sat for Essex and was replaced by William Strode
Died 1645
Cheek was also elected for Harwich, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Bere Alston
Expelled 9 December 1641 for involvement in a plan to intimidate Parliament by bringing the Royal army in the North to Westminster
Cavendish was initially declared elected, but on petition the Commons found in favour of his opponent, Broderick, who was seated in his place
Hobart was also elected for St Ives, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bere Alston
Hobart was also elected for Norfolk, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bere Alston
Drake was also elected for Tavistock, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bere Alston
Morden later changed his name to Harbord
Percy was also elected for Northumberland, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bere Alston
Sir John Mitford from 1793
Jenkins, Terry. "PERCY, George, Lord Lovaine (1778-1867), of 8 Portman Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
Spencer, Howard. "ASHBURNHAM, Hon. Percy (1799-1881), of 95 Park Street, Grosvenor Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
Jenkins, Terry. "BLACKETT, Christopher (1787-1847), of Wylam Hall, Northumb". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
Fisher, David R. "LYON, David (?1794-1872), of 34 Grosvenor Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
Jenkins, Terry. "PERCY, see Algernon George, Algernon George, Lord Lovaine (1810-1899), of 8 Portman Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
Jenkins, Terry. "Bere Alston". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

References

Scott-Stokes, Charity; Lumb, Alan (2019). Sir Francis Henry Drake (1723-1794) : letters from the country, letters from the city. Boydel & Brewer. ISBN 9780901853622.
Robert Beatson, "A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament" (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
Michael Brock, The Great Reform Act (London: Hutchinson, 1973)
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)
J. E. Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 2)

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[1] Page 136, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)

[2] Cheek sat for Essex and was replaced by William Strode

[3] Died 1645

[4] Cheek was also elected for Harwich, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Bere Alston

[5] Expelled 9 December 1641 for involvement in a plan to intimidate Parliament by bringing the Royal army in the North to Westminster

[6] Cavendish was initially declared elected, but on petition the Commons found in favour of his opponent, Broderick, who was seated in his place

[7] Hobart was also elected for St Ives, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bere Alston

[8] Hobart was also elected for Norfolk, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bere Alston

[9] Drake was also elected for Tavistock, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bere Alston

[10] Morden later changed his name to Harbord

[11] Percy was also elected for Northumberland, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bere Alston

[12] Sir John Mitford from 1793

[13] Jenkins, Terry. "PERCY, George, Lord Lovaine (1778-1867), of 8 Portman Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

[14] Spencer, Howard. "ASHBURNHAM, Hon. Percy (1799-1881), of 95 Park Street, Grosvenor Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

[15] Jenkins, Terry. "BLACKETT, Christopher (1787-1847), of Wylam Hall, Northumb". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

[16] Fisher, David R. "LYON, David (?1794-1872), of 34 Grosvenor Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

[17] Jenkins, Terry. "PERCY, see Algernon George, Algernon George, Lord Lovaine (1810-1899), of 8 Portman Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

[hop1820-1832-18] Jenkins, Terry. "Bere Alston". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.