South Devon (UK Parliament constituency)

South Devon
South Devon
Former County constituency; for the House of Commons
	Context of 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the largest blue area.
County	Devon
1832–1885
Seats	Two
Created from	Devon
Replaced by	Totnes; Tavistock

South Devon, formerly known as the Southern Division of Devon, was a parliamentary constituency in the county of Devon in England. From 1832 to 1885 it returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be re-established for the next general election.[1] It will be formed from the current seat of Totnes, with only minor changes to its boundaries.

Boundaries

In 1832 the county of Devon, in south western England, was divided for Parliamentary purposes between this constituency and North Devon. In 1868 the Devon county constituencies were re-arranged into North, South and East Devon divisions. Each of these divisions returned two members of Parliament.

In 1885 the three constituencies were again redrawn, so that Devon was represented by eight single member County constituencies (there were also three borough constituencies, two of which returned two members and the third one member). The county was split between the new smaller constituencies of Ashburton (alternatively the Mid Division), Barnstaple (the North-Western Division), Honiton (the Eastern Division), South Molton (the Northern Division), Tavistock (the Western Division), Tiverton (the North-Eastern Division), Torquay and Totnes (the Southern Division). The constituencies in this redistribution are normally referred to by the distinctive place name rather than the alternative compass point designation, so the South Devon division is considered to have been abolished in 1885.

1832–1868: The Hundreds of Axminster, Clyston, Colyton, Ottery St. Mary, East Budleigh, Lifton, Exminster, Teignbridge, Haytor, Coleridge, Stanborough, Ermington, Plympton, Roborough, and Tavistock, and Exeter Castle, and the parts of the hundred of Wonford that are not included in the city of Exeter.[2]

1868–1885: The Hundreds of Black Torrington, Ermington, Lifton, Plympton, Roborough, Stanborough and Coleridge, and Tavistock.[3]

Members of Parliament

	First member	First party	Second member	Second party
1832	Lord John Russell	Whig[4][5]	John Crocker Bulteel	Whig[4][5]
1835	Lord John Russell	Whig[4][5]	Sir John Yarde-Buller, Bt	Conservative
May 1835 by-election	Montague Parker of Whiteway House	Conservative
1841	Lord Courtenay	Conservative
1849 by-election	Sir Ralph Lopes, Bt	Conservative
1854 by-election	Sir Lawrence Palk, Bt	Conservative
1858 by-election	Sir Lawrence Palk, Bt	Conservative	Samuel Trehawke Kekewich	Conservative
1868	Sir Massey Lopes, Bt	Conservative	Samuel Trehawke Kekewich	Conservative
1873 by-election			John Carpenter Garnier	Conservative
1884 by-election			John Tremayne	Conservative
1885	Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: South Devon[6][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Russell	3,782	35.4
	Whig	John Crocker Bulteel	3,684	34.5
	Tory	John Yarde-Buller	3,217	30.1
Majority			467	4.4
Turnout			6,660	89.4
Registered electors			7,453
	Whig win (new seat)
	Whig win (new seat)

General election 1835: South Devon[6][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	John Russell	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Yarde-Buller	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,160
	Whig hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Russell was appointed Home Secretary, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 7 May 1835: South Devon[6][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Montagu Edmund Newcombe Parker	3,755	54.6
	Whig	John Russell	3,128	45.4
Majority			627	9.2
Turnout			6,883	84.4
Registered electors			8,160
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1837: South Devon[6][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Yarde-Buller	4,974	37.1
	Conservative	Montagu Edmund Newcombe Parker	4,671	34.9
	Whig	John Crocker Bulteel	3,744	28.0
Majority			927	6.9
Turnout			8,449	78.4
Registered electors			10,775
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: South Devon[6][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Yarde-Buller	Unopposed
	Conservative	William Courtenay	Unopposed
Registered electors			10,783
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Yarde-Buller	Unopposed
	Conservative	William Courtenay	Unopposed
Registered electors			10,411
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Courtenay resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 13 February 1849: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ralph Lopes	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Yarde-Buller	Unopposed
	Conservative	Ralph Lopes	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,569
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Lopes' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 14 February 1854: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lawrence Palk	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Yarde-Buller	Unopposed
	Conservative	Lawrence Palk	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,625
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Buller was elevated to the peerage, becoming 1st Baron Churston and causing a by-election.

By-election, 6 August 1858: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Samuel Trehawke Kekewich	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Samuel Trehawke Kekewich	Unopposed
	Conservative	Lawrence Palk	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,466
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Samuel Trehawke Kekewich	Unopposed
	Conservative	Lawrence Palk	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,592
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Massey Lopes	3,234	35.3	*N/A*
	Conservative	Samuel Trehawke Kekewich	3,233	35.3	*N/A*
	Liberal	John Russell	2,694	29.4	New
Majority			539	5.9	N/A
Turnout			5,928 (est)	73.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			8,047
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

Kekewich's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 17 Jun 1873: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Carpenter Garnier	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1874: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Carpenter Garnier	Unopposed
	Conservative	Massey Lopes	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,350
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

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

By-election, 19 Mar 1874: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Massey Lopes	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Carpenter Garnier	Unopposed
	Conservative	Massey Lopes	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,982
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Garnier resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 14 Aug 1884: South Devon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Tremayne	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

References

"South West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
"The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
"Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). London. 1867. pp. 1165–1198. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 62. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
Gash, Norman (2013). Politics in the Age of Peel: A Study in the Technique of Parliamentary Representation, 1830–1850. Faber & Faber. p. 247. ISBN 9780571302901. Retrieved 5 April 2019 – via Google Books.
Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 378–379. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 2)

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[1] "South West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2023.

[2] "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 22 May 2020.

[3] "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). London. 1867. pp. 1165–1198. Retrieved 22 May 2020.

[stooks-smith-4] Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 62. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.

[gash-5] Gash, Norman (2013). Politics in the Age of Peel: A Study in the Technique of Parliamentary Representation, 1830–1850. Faber & Faber. p. 247. ISBN 9780571302901. Retrieved 5 April 2019 – via Google Books.

[craig1832-6] Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 378–379. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.