Ashburton (UK Parliament constituency)

Ashburton
Ashburton
Former County constituency; for the House of Commons
County	Devon
Major settlements	Ashburton
1885–1918
Seats	One
Created from	East Devon
Replaced by	Parts of Totnes, South Molton and Tiverton
1640–1868
Seats	Two (1640–1832); One (1832–1868)
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	East Devon

Ashburton (also known as Mid Devon) was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament at Westminster, for the Parliaments of 1295 and 1407,[1][2] and regularly from 1640 until it was abolished for the 1868 general election. It was one of three Devon borough constituencies newly enfranchised (or re-enfranchised after a gap of centuries) in the Long Parliament. It returned two Members of Parliament until the 1832 general election when the number was reduced to one MP.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

From the 1885 general election Ashburton was revived as a county division of Devon. It returned one member until it was abolished from the 1918 general election.

Boundaries

1885-1918

The Sessional Divisions of Crockernwell and Teignbridge.[10]

Members of Parliament

Ashburton borough 1398–1868

1407 Richard Hurston, Walter Denys[2]

Ashburton re-enfranchised by Parliament in Nov 1640

MPs 1640–1832

Election		First member	First party	Second member	Second party
November 1640		Sir John Northcote	Parliamentarian	Sir Edmund Fowell	Parliamentarian
December 1648	Northcote and Fowell excluded in Pride's Purge – both seats vacant
1653	Ashburton was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		Thomas Reynell		John Fowell
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Sir William Courtenay		John Fowell[11]
1661		Sir George Sondes		John Fowell[11]
1677		William Stawell		Rawlin Mallock
February 1679		William Stawell		Thomas Reynell
September 1679		Richard Duke of Otterton
1681		William Stawell
1685		William Stawell		Edward Yarde
1689		Sir Walter Yonge		Thomas Reynell
1690		William Stawell		Sir Richard Reynell
1695				Richard Duke of Otterton
1701				Sir Thomas Lear
1702		Richard Reynell		Sir Thomas Lear
1705				Gilbert Yarde
January 1708				Roger Tuckfield	Whig
May 1708		Robert Balle
1710[12]		Richard Lloyd
March 1711		Richard Reynell		George Courtenay[13]
March 1711				Andrew Quick
1713				Roger Tuckfield	Whig
1734		Sir William Yonge[14]	Whig
1735		Thomas Bladen
1739		Thomas Bladen		Joseph Taylor
1741		John Harris		John Arscott
1754				The Viscount Midleton
1761				Hon. Thomas Walpole
1767		Robert Palk	Tory[15]	Hon. Thomas Walpole
1768		Laurence Sulivan	Tory[15]	Charles Boone	Tory[15]
1774		Robert Palk[16]	Tory[15]	Charles Boone	Tory[15]
1784		Robert Palk[16]	Tory[15]	Robert Mackreth[17]	Tory[15]
1787		Lawrence Palk[18]	Tory[15]
1796		Walter Palk	Tory[15]
1802				Sir Hugh Inglis	Tory[15]
1806				Hon. Gilbert Elliot	Tory[15]
1807				Lord Charles Bentinck	Tory[15]
1811		John Sullivan	Tory[15]	Lord Charles Bentinck	Tory[15]
1812		John Sullivan	Tory[15]	Richard Preston	Tory[15]
1818		Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk	Tory[15]	Sir John Copley	Tory[15]
1826				William Sturges Bourne	Tory[15]
1830				Charles Arbuthnot	Tory[15]
February 1831				William Stephen Poyntz	Whig[15][19]
May 1831		Robert Torrens	Whig[15][20]	William Stephen Poyntz	Whig[15][19]
1832	Representation reduced to one Member

MPs 1832–1868

Election		Member	Party
1832		William Stephen Poyntz	Whig[15][19]
1835		Charles Lushington	Whig[15][21][22]
1841		William Jardine	Whig[15][23][24]
1843 by-election		James Matheson[25]	Whig[15][26][27]
1847		Thomas Matheson	Whig[28]
1852		George Moffatt	Radical[29][30]
1859		John Harvey Astell	Conservative
1865		Robert Jardine	Liberal
1868	Constituency abolished

Mid or Ashburton division of Devon 1885–1918

Election		Member	Party
1885		Charles Seale-Hayne	Liberal
1904 by-election		Harry Eve	Liberal
1908 by-election		Ernest Morrison-Bell	Liberal Unionist
January 1910		Charles Buxton	Liberal
December 1910		Ernest Morrison-Bell	Conservative
1918	Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Ashburton[31][15][32]
	Candidate	Votes
Tory	Lawrence Vaughan Palk	Unopposed
Tory	Charles Arbuthnot	Unopposed
Tory hold
Tory hold

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

By-election, 25 February 1831: Ashburton[31][15][32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Stephen Poyntz	Unopposed
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1831: Ashburton[31][15][32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Stephen Poyntz	74	45.7	*N/A*
	Whig	Robert Torrens	47	29.0	*N/A*
	Tory	Lawrence Vaughan Palk	41	25.3	N/A
Majority			6	3.7	N/A
Turnout			81 (est)	80.2 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			101
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

General election 1832: Ashburton[31][15]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	William Stephen Poyntz	Unopposed
Registered electors			198
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Ashburton[31][15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Charles Lushington	89	55.6	*N/A*
	Conservative	John Horsley Palmer[33]	71	44.4	New
Majority			18	11.2	N/A
Turnout			160	84.2	N/A
Registered electors			190
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1837: Ashburton[31][15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Charles Lushington	98	53.0	−2.6
	Conservative	William John Utten Browne[34]	87	47.0	+2.6
Majority			11	6.0	−5.2
Turnout			185	81.9	−2.3
Registered electors			226
	Whig hold		Swing	−2.6

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Ashburton[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	William Jardine	Unopposed
Registered electors			280
	Whig hold

Jardine's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 8 March 1843: Ashburton[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Matheson	141	59.5	*N/A*
	Conservative	John Horsley Palmer[35]	96	40.5	New
Majority			45	19.0	N/A
Turnout			237	87.8	N/A
Registered electors			270
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1847: Ashburton[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Thomas Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			262
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Ashburton[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Radical	George Moffatt	Unopposed
Registered electors			236
	Radical gain from Whig

General election 1857: Ashburton[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Radical	George Moffatt	Unopposed
Registered electors			182
	Radical hold

General election 1859: Ashburton[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Harvey Astell	91	50.3	*New*
	Liberal	George Moffatt	90	49.7	N/A
Majority			1	0.6	N/A
Turnout			181	92.3	N/A
Registered electors			196
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Ashburton[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Robert Jardine	Unopposed
Registered electors			350
	Liberal gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1880s

Seale-Hayne

General election 1885: Ashburton[36][37][10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	4,433	58.2	*N/A*
	Conservative	William James Harris	3,182	41.8	New
Majority			1,251	16.4	N/A
Turnout			7,615	81.9	N/A
Registered electors			9,300
	Liberal win (new seat)

Martin

General election 1886: Ashburton[36][37]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	3,413	53.2	-5.0
	Liberal Unionist	Richard Martin	3,007	46.8	+5.0
Majority			406	6.4	-10.0
Turnout			6,420	69.0	-12.9
Registered electors			9,300
	Liberal hold		Swing	-5.0

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Ashburton[36][37][38]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	4,361	54.4	+1.2
	Conservative	Charles Robert Collins	3,650	45.6	-1.2
Majority			711	8.8	+2.4
Turnout			8,011	85.3	+16.3
Registered electors			9,392
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.2

General election 1895: Ashburton[36][37][39]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	4,380	52.4	-2.0
	Conservative	John A Nix	3,976	47.6	+2.0
Majority			4.4	4.8	-4.0
Turnout			8,356	85.9	+0.6
Registered electors			9,726
	Liberal hold		Swing	-2.0

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Ashburton[36][37][39]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	4,487	54.7	+2.3
	Conservative	John A Nix	3,716	45.3	−2.3
Majority			771	9.4	+4.6
Turnout			8,203	83.9	-2.0
Registered electors			9,777
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.3

Eve

1904 Ashburton by-election[36][37]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Harry Eve	5,034	58.6	+3.9
	Conservative	Richard Harrison	3,558	41.4	−3.9
Majority			1,476	17.2	+7.8
Turnout			8,592	85.1	+1.2
Registered electors			10,097
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.9

General election 1906: Ashburton[36][37]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Harry Eve	5,079	57.3	+2.6
	Conservative	Ernest Morrison-Bell	3,790	42.7	−2.6
Majority			1,289	14.6	+5.2
Turnout			8,869	85.0	+1.1
Registered electors			10,429
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.6

1908 Ashburton by-election[36]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ernest Morrison-Bell	5,191	52.8	+10.1
	Liberal	Charles Buxton	4,632	47.2	−10.1
Majority			559	5.7	N/A
Turnout			9,823	89.5	+4.5
Registered electors			10,976
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+10.1

Elections in the 1910s

Buxton

General election January 1910: Ashburton[36][40]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Buxton	5,668	51.1	+3.9
	Conservative	Ernest Morrison-Bell	5,421	48.9	-3.9
Majority			247	2.2	7.8
Turnout			11,089	92.6	+3.1
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.9

General election December 1910: Ashburton[36][40]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ernest Morrison-Bell	5,579	51.6	+2.7
	Liberal	Charles Buxton	5,225	48.4	-2.7
Majority			354	3.2	+5.4
Turnout			10,804	90.2	-2.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.7

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Unionist: Ernest Morrison-Bell
Liberal:

References

Hannes Kleineke (2008). "The Widening Gap: The Practice of Parliamentary Borough Elections in Devon and Cornwall in the Fifteenth Century". Parliamentary History. 23 (1): 124. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
"Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1386-1421). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
"Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1640-1660). Retrieved 27 March 2019.(currently unavailable )
"Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1660-1690). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
"Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
"Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
"Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
"Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
"Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
Succeeded as 2nd Baronet, 1674
At the election of 1710, Lloyd and Tuckfield were returned but on petition both were found not to have been duly elected (in a dispute over the franchise), and Reynell and Courtenay were declared elected in their place
Courtenay had also been elected for Newport (Cornwall), which he chose to represent; on his being declared duly elected for Ashburton a new writ for a by-election was immediately issued, and Courtenay never sat for Ashburton
Yonge was also elected for Honiton, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Ashburton
Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 63–64. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
Created a baronet, May 1782
Knighted, May 1795
Palk was re-elected in 1796 but was also elected for Devon, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Ashburton again
Disraeli, Benjamin (1982). Gunn, John A. W.; Matthews, John P.; Schurman, Donald M.; Wiebe, Melvin G. (eds.). Benjamin Disraeli Letters: 1835-1837. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442639546.
Jenkins, Terry (2009). "TORRENS, Robert (1780–1864), of Stonehouse, Devon and 12 Fludyer Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
Seaber, Luke (2017). Brant, Clare; Saunders, Max (eds.). Incognito Social Investigation in British Literature: Certainties in Degradation (eBook ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. p. 3. ISBN 9783319509624.
Waddams, S. M. (2004). "Lushington, Stephen (1782–1873)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17213. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Neal, Stan (2015). Jardine Matheson and Chinese Migration in the British Empire, 1833–1853 (PDF) (PhD). Northumbria University. p. 101. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
"Borough of Ashburton (Devonshire)". Morning Post. 3 July 1841. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Created a baronet, 1850
"Ashburton Election". Freeman's Journal. 11 March 1843. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
"Royal Cornwall Gazette". 10 March 1843. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
"Political". Norfolk News. 31 July 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Steele, E. D. (1991). "At home". Palmerston and Liberalism: 1855–1865. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 84. ISBN 0521400457. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
"The New House of Commons". Hull Packet. 9 July 1852. p. 5. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
Jenkins, Terry (2009). "Ashburton". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
"The Elections". The Scotsman. 10 January 1835. p. 4. Retrieved 6 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Mackie, Charles (1901). Norfolk Annals: A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteenth Century, Vol. 2. Norwich: Norfolk Chronicle. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
"County Intelligence". North Devon Journal. 9 March 1843. p. 3. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
The Liberal Year Book, 1907
Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1896
Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916

Robert Beatson, "A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament" (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
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)
British History Online – list of speakers in the Parliaments of 1656 and 1658-9
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 3)

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[1] Hannes Kleineke (2008). "The Widening Gap: The Practice of Parliamentary Borough Elections in Devon and Cornwall in the Fifteenth Century". Parliamentary History. 23 (1): 124. Retrieved 9 June 2021.

[HOP1386-2] "Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1386-1421). Retrieved 27 March 2019.

[HOP1640-3] "Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1640-1660). Retrieved 27 March 2019.(currently unavailable )

[HOP1660-4] "Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1660-1690). Retrieved 27 March 2019.

[HOP1690-5] "Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 27 March 2019.

[HOP1715-6] "Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 27 March 2019.

[HOP1754-7] "Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 27 March 2019.

[HOP1790-8] "Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 27 March 2019.

[HOP1820-9] "Ashburton". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 27 March 2019.

[ReferenceA-10] Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886

[11] Succeeded as 2nd Baronet, 1674

[12] At the election of 1710, Lloyd and Tuckfield were returned but on petition both were found not to have been duly elected (in a dispute over the franchise), and Reynell and Courtenay were declared elected in their place

[13] Courtenay had also been elected for Newport (Cornwall), which he chose to represent; on his being declared duly elected for Ashburton a new writ for a by-election was immediately issued, and Courtenay never sat for Ashburton

[14] Yonge was also elected for Honiton, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Ashburton

[stooks-smith-15] Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 63–64. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.

[16] Created a baronet, May 1782

[17] Knighted, May 1795

[18] Palk was re-elected in 1796 but was also elected for Devon, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Ashburton again

[disraeli-19] Disraeli, Benjamin (1982). Gunn, John A. W.; Matthews, John P.; Schurman, Donald M.; Wiebe, Melvin G. (eds.). Benjamin Disraeli Letters: 1835-1837. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442639546.

[20] Jenkins, Terry (2009). "TORRENS, Robert (1780–1864), of Stonehouse, Devon and 12 Fludyer Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 6 September 2019.

[seaber-21] Seaber, Luke (2017). Brant, Clare; Saunders, Max (eds.). Incognito Social Investigation in British Literature: Certainties in Degradation (eBook ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. p. 3. ISBN 9783319509624.

[odnb-22] Waddams, S. M. (2004). "Lushington, Stephen (1782–1873)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17213. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[23] Neal, Stan (2015). Jardine Matheson and Chinese Migration in the British Empire, 1833–1853 (PDF) (PhD). Northumbria University. p. 101. Retrieved 26 October 2018.

[24] "Borough of Ashburton (Devonshire)". Morning Post. 3 July 1841. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[25] Created a baronet, 1850

[26] "Ashburton Election". Freeman's Journal. 11 March 1843. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[27] "Royal Cornwall Gazette". 10 March 1843. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[28] "Political". Norfolk News. 31 July 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[29] Steele, E. D. (1991). "At home". Palmerston and Liberalism: 1855–1865. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 84. ISBN 0521400457. Retrieved 7 April 2018.

[30] "The New House of Commons". Hull Packet. 9 July 1852. p. 5. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[craig1832-31] Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

[hop-32] Jenkins, Terry (2009). "Ashburton". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 6 September 2019.

[33] "The Elections". The Scotsman. 10 January 1835. p. 4. Retrieved 6 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[34] Mackie, Charles (1901). Norfolk Annals: A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteenth Century, Vol. 2. Norwich: Norfolk Chronicle. Retrieved 6 September 2019.

[35] "County Intelligence". North Devon Journal. 9 March 1843. p. 3. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[ReferenceCraig85-18-36] British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig

[ReferenceLYB07-37] The Liberal Year Book, 1907

[38] Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1896

[ReferenceB-39] Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901

[ReferenceC-40] Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916