Great Marlow (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Marlow, sometimes simply called Marlow, was a parliamentary borough in Buckinghamshire. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of England between 1301 and 1307, and again from 1624 until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and finally in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1868. It elected one member from 1868 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.
Great Marlow | |
---|---|
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
1624–1885 | |
Seats | two (1311-1868); one (1868-1885) |
Replaced by | Aylesbury |
History
In the 17th century a solicitor named William Hakewill, of Lincoln's Inn, rediscovered ancient writs confirming that Amersham, Great Marlow, and Wendover had all sent members to Parliament in the past, and succeeded in re-establishing their privileges (despite the opposition of James I), so that they resumed electing members from the Parliament of 1624. Hakewill himself was elected for Amersham in 1624.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1624–1640
Year | First member | Second member |
---|---|---|
Constituency re-enfranchised by Parliament in 1624 | ||
1624 | Henry Borlase | Thomas Cotton |
1625 | John Backhouse | Thomas Cotton |
1626 | John Backhouse | Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet |
1628 | Sir John Backhouse | Miles Hobart |
MPs 1640–1868
- The election of Borlase and Hippesley to the Long Parliament were declared void.
- Expelled from the House of Commons for "indirect and fraudulent Practices in the Affairs of the Charitable Corporation, and for having never attended the Service of the House, although required to do so".
- Created a baronet, 1775
- At the 1841 general election (Sir) William Clayton, who succeeded as baronet in January 1834, was initially declared re-elected by 1 vote in 1841, but on petition and after scrutiny his election was declared void and his opponent, Hampden, was declared elected instead.
MPs 1868–1885
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1868 | Thomas Owen Wethered | Conservative | |
1880 | Owen Williams | Conservative | |
1885 | Constituency abolished |
Election results
Elections in the 1830s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Owen Williams | 209 | 36.5 | ||
Whig | Thomas Peers Williams | 192 | 33.6 | ||
Whig | William Clayton | 171 | 29.9 | ||
Majority | 21 | 3.7 | |||
Turnout | 360 | c. 90.0 | |||
Registered electors | c. 400 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Owen Williams | 196 | 34.1 | New | |
Tory | Thomas Peers Williams | 192 | 33.4 | New | |
Whig | William Clayton | 187 | 32.5 | +2.6 | |
Majority | 5 | 0.9 | −2.8 | ||
Turnout | 374 | c. 93.5 | c. +3.5 | ||
Registered electors | c. 400 | ||||
Tory gain from Whig | Swing | −1.9 | |||
Tory gain from Whig | Swing | −0.8 | |||
Owen Williams' death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | William Clayton | Unopposed | |||
Whig gain from Tory |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Thomas Peers Williams | Unopposed | |||
Whig | William Clayton | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 457 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Whig gain from Tory |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | William Clayton | 201 | 47.9 | ||
Conservative | Thomas Peers Williams | 185 | 44.0 | ||
Radical | William Carpenter | 34 | 8.1 | ||
Turnout | 240 | 64.3 | |||
Registered electors | 373 | ||||
Majority | 16 | 3.9 | |||
Whig hold | |||||
Majority | 151 | 35.9 | |||
Conservative hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | William Clayton | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Thomas Peers Williams | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 369 | ||||
Whig hold | |||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1840s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Peers Williams | 233 | 40.7 | N/A | |
Whig | William Clayton | 170 | 29.7 | N/A | |
Conservative | Renn Hampden | 169 | 29.5 | N/A | |
Turnout | 333 | 90.2 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 354 | ||||
Majority | 63 | 11.0 | N/A | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Majority | 1 | 0.2 | N/A | ||
Whig hold | Swing | ||||
On petition, Clayton was unseated on 11 April 1842 due to bribery and Hampden was declared elected in his place.[6]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Peers Williams | 238 | 41.2 | +0.5 | |
Conservative | Renn Hampden | 178 | 30.8 | +1.3 | |
Whig | William Clayton | 161 | 27.9 | −0.8 | |
Majority | 17 | 2.9 | −8.1 | ||
Turnout | 289 (est) | 77.8 (est) | −12.4 | ||
Registered electors | 371 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.5 | |||
Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +0.9 | |||
Elections in the 1850s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Peers Williams | 242 | 45.1 | +3.9 | |
Conservative | Brownlow William Knox | 198 | 36.9 | +6.1 | |
Whig | Jacob Bell[7][8][9] | 96 | 17.9 | −10.0 | |
Majority | 102 | 19.0 | +16.1 | ||
Turnout | 316 (est) | 89.3 (est) | +11.5 | ||
Registered electors | 354 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +4.5 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +5.6 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Brownlow William Knox | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Thomas Peers Williams | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 343 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Peers Williams | 229 | 43.7 | N/A | |
Conservative | Brownlow William Knox | 175 | 33.4 | N/A | |
Liberal | John Webb Probyn[10] | 120 | 22.9 | New | |
Majority | 55 | 10.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 322 (est) | 94.7 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 354 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1860s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Brownlow William Knox | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Thomas Peers Williams | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 349 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Seat reduced to one member
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Owen Wethered | 345 | 52.4 | N/A | |
Liberal | Edmund Verney | 314 | 47.6 | New | |
Majority | 31 | 4.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 659 | 86.7 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 760 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1870s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Owen Wethered | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 856 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1880s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Owen Williams | 505 | 58.7 | N/A | |
Liberal | James Olliff Griffits[11] | 355 | 41.3 | New | |
Majority | 150 | 17.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 860 | 91.4 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 941 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
References
- Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
- "General Election, 1841". Morning Post. 29 June 1841. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 5 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Marlow". Bell's Weekly Messenger. 12 July 1841. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 5 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Fisher, David R. "Great Marlow". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
- "Dublin Evening Mail". 13 April 1842. p. 3. Retrieved 5 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "St Albans". Newcastle Courant. 27 December 1850. p. 3. Retrieved 12 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Summary". Liverpool Mercury. 27 December 1850. p. 8. Retrieved 12 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "St. Alban's Election". Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser. 28 December 1850. p. 17. Retrieved 12 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Marlow". Reading Mercury. 30 April 1859. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- – via Wikisource. . Men-at-the-Bar
- Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
- F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
- 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 "G" (part 2)