List of constituencies in the Parliament of Scotland at the time of the Union

List of constituencies in the Parliament of Scotland at the time of the Union is a list of the constituencies of the Parliament of Scotland (the Estates of Scotland) during the period shortly before the Union between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England. The unicameral Estates of Scotland existed from medieval times until 1707.

The Commissioners for the burghs (the "Third Estate") and shires and stewartries (sometimes called the "Fourth Estate", or classified as a subgroup within the "Second Estate") were elected, but on a very restrictive franchise. Commissioner was the title for ordinary, representative members of the parliament (junior peers were called Lords of Parliament; and senior peers, representatives of the monarch, and certain members of the clergy also sat in parliament).

The Scottish ministers (the Privy Council of Scotland), were not answerable to the Estates of Scotland but to the Scots monarch (which, after the Union of Crowns in 1603, usually meant de facto to the Privy Council of England, which had the opportunity to advise a king or queen resident in London). The Parliament of Scotland was abolished when it merged with the Parliament of England to create the new Parliament of Great Britain, in 1707 under the Acts of Union.

Constituencies

The representation of the burghs and those of the shires and stewartries, by the time of the Union, consisted of 154 Commissioners elected from 99 constituencies.

An election was not held immediately after the Union because the establishment feared a possible landslide victory for the anti-Union Commissioners. Instead 45 Commissioners were hand-picked to represent the whole country (see Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain) as the first MPs from Scotland. 43 of these hand-picked representatives were pro-Union.

From 1708, there were 45 single member constituencies of the Parliament of Great Britain. These constituencies remained unchanged until 1832. All the burghs were grouped into 4- or 5-member districts, apart from Edinburgh. Three pairs of shires were represented in alternate Parliaments.

The names given in the 'Shire or Stewartry' column in the list below were those for the shires and stewartries used in the Parliamentary returns for the Estates of Scotland which met on 6 May 1703, as reported in 1878 (this reporting date is important to note, as the names used are the anglicised ones introduced by the Victorians, and not the names given to the subdivisions of Scotland extant in 1703). In some cases the form of the name is unusual and not consistent with the version commonly accepted. In others the name changed after the Union.

The names used for UK constituencies are those used in The History of Parliament 1754–1790. These may not be exactly the same as those applied in the first half of the 18th century.

Scottish Burghs, Shires and Stewartries

SP ConstituencyShire or StewartryCommissionersConstituency after the union
AberdeenAberdeenshire1Part of Aberdeen Burghs
AberdeenshireAberdeenshire4Aberdeenshire
AnnanDumfries & Annandale1Part of Dumfries Burghs
Anstruther EasterFifeshire1Part of Anstruther Easter Burghs
Anstruther WesterFifeshire1Part of Anstruther Easter Burghs
ArbroathForfarshire1Part of Aberdeen Burghs
ArgyllshireArgyllshire3Argyllshire
AyrAyrshire1Part of Ayr Burghs
AyrshireAyrshire3Ayrshire
BanffBanffshire1Part of Elgin Burghs
BanffshireBanffshire2Banffshire
BerwickshireBerwickshire4Berwickshire
BrechinForfarshire1Part of Aberdeen Burghs
BurntislandFifeshire1Part of Dysart Burghs
ButeshireButeshire2Buteshire
Caithness-shireCaithness-shire2Caithness
CampbeltownArgyllshire1Part of Ayr Burghs
ClackmannanshireClackmannanshire1Clackmannanshire
CrailFifeshire1Part of Anstruther Easter Burghs
CromartyshireCromartyshire2Cromartyshire
CullenBanffshire1Part of Elgin Burghs
CulrossPerthshire1Part of Stirling Burghs
CuparFifeshire1Part of Perth Burghs
DingwallRoss-shire1Part of Tain Burghs
DornochSutherlandshire1Part of Tain Burghs
DumbartonDunbartonshire1Part of Glasgow Burghs
DumfriesDumfries & Annandale1Part of Dumfries Burghs
Dumfries & AnnandaleDumfries & Annandale4Dumfriesshire
DunbarHaddingtonshire1Part of Haddington Burghs
DunbartonshireDunbartonshire2Dunbartonshire
DundeeForfarshire1Part of Perth Burghs
DunfermlineFifeshire1Part of Stirling Burghs
DysartFifeshire1Part of Dysart Burghs
EdinburghEdinburghshire2Edinburgh
EdinburghshireEdinburghshire4Edinburghshire
ElginElgin & Forresshire1Part of Elgin Burghs
Elgin & ForresshireElgin & Forresshire2Elginshire
FifeshireFifeshire4Fifeshire
ForfarForfarshire1Part of Perth Burghs
ForfarshireForfarshire4Forfarshire
ForresElgin & Forresshire1Part of Inverness Burghs
FortroseRoss-shire1Part of Inverness Burghs
GlasgowLanarkshire1Part of Glasgow Burghs
HaddingtonHaddingtonshire1Part of Haddington Burghs
HaddingtonshireHaddingtonshire4Haddingtonshire
InverbervieKincardineshire1Part of Aberdeen Burghs
InverarayArgyllshire1Part of Ayr Burghs
InverkeithingFifeshire1Part of Stirling Burghs
InvernessInverness-shire1Part of Inverness Burghs
Inverness-shireInverness-shire2Inverness-shire
InverurieAberdeenshire1Part of Elgin Burghs
IrvineAyrshire1Part of Ayr Burghs
JedburghRoxburghshire1Part of Haddington Burghs
KilrennyFifeshire1Part of Anstruther Easter Burghs
KincardineshireKincardineshire2Kincardineshire
KinghornFifeshire1Part of Dysart Burghs
Kinross-shireKinross-shire1Kinross-shire
KintoreAberdeenshire1Part of Elgin Burghs
KirkcaldyFifeshire1Part of Dysart Burghs
Kirkcudbright BurghStewartry of Kirkcudbright1Part of Dumfries Burghs
Kirkcudbright StewartryStewartry of Kirkcudbright2Kirkcudbright Stewartry
KirkwallOrkney1Part of Tain Burghs
LanarkLanarkshire1Part of Linlithgow Burghs
LanarkshireLanarkshire4Lanarkshire
LauderBerwickshire1Part of Haddington Burghs
LinlithgowLinlithgowshire1Part of Linlithgow Burghs
LinlithgowshireLinlithgowshire2Linlithgowshire
LochmabenDumfries & Annandale1Part of Dumfries Burghs
MontroseForfarshire1Part of Aberdeen Burghs
NairnNairnshire1Part of Inverness Burghs
NairnshireNairnshire2Nairnshire
New GallowayStewartry of Kirkcudbright1Part of Wigtown Burghs
North BerwickHaddingtonshire1Part of Haddington Burghs
Orkney & ZetlandOrkney & Zetland2Orkney & Shetland
PeeblesPeeblesshire1Part of Linlithgow Burghs
PeeblesshirePeeblesshire2Peeblesshire
PerthPerthshire1Part of Perth Burghs
PerthshirePerthshire4Perthshire
PittenweemFifeshire1Part of Anstruther Easter Burghs
QueensferryLinlithgowshire1Part of Stirling Burghs
RenfrewRenfrewshire1Part of Glasgow Burghs
RenfrewshireRenfrewshire3Renfrewshire
Ross-shireRoss-shire2Ross-shire
RothesayButeshire1Part of Ayr Burghs
RoxburghshireRoxburghshire4Roxburghshire
RutherglenLanarkshire1Part of Glasgow Burghs
St AndrewsFifeshire1Part of Perth Burghs
SanquharDumfries & Annandale1Part of Dumfries Burghs
SelkirkSelkirkshire1Part of Linlithgow Burghs
SelkirkshireSelkirkshire2Selkirkshire
StirlingStirlingshire1Part of Stirling Burghs
StirlingshireStirlingshire3Stirlingshire
StranraerWigtownshire1Part of Wigtown Burghs
SutherlandshireSutherlandshire1Sutherland
TainRoss-shire1Part of Tain Burghs
WhithornWigtownshire1Part of Wigtown Burghs
WickCaithness-shire1Part of Tain Burghs
WigtownWigtownshire1Part of Wigtown Burghs
WigtownshireWigtownshire2Wigtownshire

Analysis of Scottish constituencies, 1703 and 1708

Key to categories in the following tables: BC - Burgh constituencies, SC - Shire and Stewartry constituencies, Total C - Total constituencies, BMP - Burgh Members of Parliament, SMP - Shire and Stewartry Members of Parliament.

Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type of constituency

Year BC SC Total C BMP SMP Total MPs
1703 66 33 99 67 87 154
1708 15 30 45 15 30 45

Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and number of seats

Year BCx1 BCx2 SCx1 SCx2 SCx3 SCx4 Total C Total MPs
1703 65 1 3 16 4 10 99 154
1708 15 0 30 0 0 0 45 45

References

  • Return of the name of every member of the lower house of Parliament of England, Scotland and Ireland, with names of constituency represented, and dates of return from 1213 to 1874 H.C. 1878
  • History of Parliament: House of Commons 1754-1790, by Sir Lewis Namier and John Brooke (Sidgwick & Jackson 1964)

See also

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