Tower Hamlets (UK Parliament constituency)

Tower Hamlets was a parliamentary borough (constituency) in Middlesex, England from 1832 to 1885. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the first five of its type in the metropolitan area of London. It was enfranchised by the Reform Act 1832.

Tower Hamlets
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Form 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the easternmost area in orange.
CountyMiddlesex
1832–1885
SeatsTwo
Created fromMiddlesex
Replaced byBow and Bromley, Limehouse, Mile End, Poplar, St George, Stepney and Whitechapel
During its existence contributed to new seat(s) of:Hackney (constituency)

In its early years the borough was coterminous with the ancient Tower Hamlets, an area which covered the area of the modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets as well as Shoreditch and Hackney (the parish rather than the larger modern borough), thus extending from the edge of the City of London to the Lea. In 1868, the borough was split in two, with the southern part retaining the name.

Boundaries

Boundaries 1832–1868

The boundaries of the parliamentary borough were defined by the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 as "The several Divisions of the Liberty of the Tower, and the Tower Division of Ossulston Hundred".[1]

It comprised the following civil parishes and places:[2]

Boundaries 1868–1885
Tower Hamlets in the Metropolitan area, showing boundaries used from 1868 to 1885.

The Representation of the People Act 1867 widened the parliamentary franchise and also effected a redistribution of seats. This, along with a rapidly increasing population in the East End, resulted in the existing entity being reduced, shedding the parishes of Bethnal Green, Hackney and Shoreditch forming a separate Hackney constituency. The reformed Tower Hamlets was defined as comprising:[3]

  • The Parish of St. George's-in-the-East
  • The Hamlet of Mile End Old Town
  • The Poplar Union (Bow, Bromley and Poplar)
  • The Stepney Union (Limehouse, Ratcliffe, Shadwell and Wapping)
  • The Whitechapel Union (Holy Trinity Minories, Mile End New Town, Norton Folgate, Old Artillery Ground, St Botolph Without Aldgate, St Katherine by the Tower, Spitalfields, Whitechapel.)
  • The Tower of London.[2]

Redistribution

In 1885 the parliamentary borough was split into seven single-member divisions. These were Bow and Bromley, Limehouse, Mile End, Poplar, St George, Stepney and Whitechapel.

Members of Parliament
ElectionFirst member [4] First partySecond memberSecond party
1832 Stephen LushingtonWhig[5][6][7] Sir William Clay, BtRadical[8][9]
1841 Charles Richard FoxWhig[5][10][11]
1847 George ThompsonRadical[12][13][14]
1852 Charles Salisbury ButlerRadical[15]
1857 Rt Hon. Acton Smee AyrtonRadical[16][17][18]
1859 Liberal Liberal
1868 Joseph d'Aguilar SamudaLiberal
1874 Charles RitchieConservative
1880 James BryceLiberal
1885 Constituency abolished

Elections

Turnout, in multi-member elections, is estimated by dividing the number of votes by two. To the extent that electors did not use both their votes, the figure given will be an underestimate.

Change is calculated for individual candidates, when a party had more than one candidate in an election or the previous one. When a party had only one candidate in an election and the previous one change is calculated for the party vote.

Elections in the 1830s
General election 1832: Tower Hamlets[19][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Stephen Lushington 3,978 31.5 N/A
Radical William Clay 3,751 29.7 N/A
Whig Leicester Stanhope 2,952 23.4 N/A
Whig Frederick Marryat 1,934 15.3 N/A
Turnout 7,320 73.9 N/A
Registered electors 9,906
Majority 227 1.8 N/A
Whig win (new seat)
Majority 799 6.3 N/A
Radical win (new seat)
General election 1835: Tower Hamlets[19][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical William Clay 2,779 47.7 +18.0
Whig Stephen Lushington 2,580 44.3 −25.9
Conservative Ryder Burton[20] 465 8.0 New
Turnout 2,912 (est) 30.8 (est) −43.1
Registered electors 9,462
Majority 199 3.4 −2.9
Radical hold Swing +22.0
Majority 2,115 36.3 +34.5
Whig hold Swing −22.0
General election 1837: Tower Hamlets[19][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical William Clay Unopposed
Whig Stephen Lushington Unopposed
Registered electors 13,318
Radical hold
Whig hold

Lushington was appointed a judge of the High Court of Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 11 February 1839: Tower Hamlets[19][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Stephen Lushington Unopposed
Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s
General election 1841: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical William Clay 4,706 34.6 N/A
Whig Charles Richard Fox 4,096 30.1 N/A
Conservative George Richard Robinson[21] 2,183 16.1 New
Whig Andrew Kennedy Hutchinson[22][23][24] 1,775 13.1 N/A
Radical Thomas Edward Perronet Thompson[25][24] 831 6.1 N/A
Turnout 6,796 (est) 49.1 (est) N/A
Registered electors 13,842
Majority 610 4.5 N/A
Radical hold Swing N/A
Majority 1,913 14.0 N/A
Whig hold Swing N/A

Fox was appointed Surveyor-General of the Ordnance, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 11 July 1846: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Richard Fox Unopposed
Whig hold
General election 1847: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical George Thompson 6,268 49.2 +43.1
Radical William Clay 3,839 30.2 −4.4
Whig Charles Richard Fox 2,622 20.6 −22.6
Majority 1,217 9.6 +5.1
Turnout 6,365 (est) 33.9 (est) −15.2
Registered electors 18,748
Radical hold Swing +27.2
Radical gain from Whig Swing +3.5

Elections in the 1850s
General election 1852: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical William Clay 7,728 32.3 +2.1
Radical Charles Salisbury Butler 7,718 32.3 N/A
Radical George Thompson 4,568 19.1 −30.1
Radical Acton Smee Ayrton 2,792 11.7 N/A
Radical William Newton[26] 1,095 4.6 N/A
Majority 3,150 13.2 +3.6
Turnout 11,951 (est) 50.8 (est) +16.9
Registered electors 23,534
Radical hold Swing N/A
Radical hold Swing N/A
General election 1857: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Acton Smee Ayrton 7,813 35.9 +24.2
Radical Charles Salisbury Butler 7,297 33.5 +1.2
Radical William Clay 6,654 30.6 −1.7
Majority 643 2.9 −10.3
Turnout 10,882 (est) 38.9 (est) −11.9
Registered electors 27,980
Radical hold Swing N/A
Radical hold Swing N/A
General election 1859: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Salisbury Butler Unopposed
Liberal Acton Smee Ayrton Unopposed
Registered electors 28,843
Liberal hold
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s
General election 1865: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Salisbury Butler Unopposed
Liberal Acton Smee Ayrton Unopposed
Registered electors 34,115
Liberal hold
Liberal hold
General election 1868: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Acton Smee Ayrton 9,839 28.0 N/A
Liberal Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda 7,849 22.3 N/A
Conservative Octavius Coope[27] 7,446 21.2 New
Liberal Edmond Beales[28] 7,160 20.4 N/A
Lib-Lab William Newton 2,890 8.2 New
Majority 403 1.1 N/A
Turnout 17,592 (est) 54.1 (est) N/A
Registered electors 32,546
Liberal hold Swing N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Ayrton was appointed First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 8 November 1869: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Acton Smee Ayrton Unopposed
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s
General election 1874: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Ritchie 7,228 29.7 +9.5
Liberal Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda 5,900 24.2 +1.9
Liberal Edmund Hay Currie 5,022 20.6 N/A
Liberal Acton Smee Ayrton 3,202 13.2 −14.8
Liberal Frederick Maxse 2,992 12.3 N/A
Majority 1,328 5.5 N/A
Turnout 15,786 (est) 47.9 (est) −6.2
Registered electors 32,937
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +8.0
Liberal hold Swing −1.4

Elections in the 1880s
General election 1880: Tower Hamlets[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James Bryce 12,020 30.6 N/A
Conservative Charles Ritchie 11,720 29.9 +0.2
Liberal Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda 10,384 26.5 +2.3
Lib-Lab Benjamin Lucraft[29] 5,103 13.0 N/A
Turnout 28,025 (est) 68.3 (est) +20.4
Registered electors 41,042
Majority 300 0.7 N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A
Majority 1,336 3.4 N/A
Conservative hold Swing −1.1

References
  1. Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will.4 c.64), Schedule O
  2. Youngs, Frederic A, Jr. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. p. 749. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Representation of the People Act 1867 c.102, Schedule C
  4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)
  5. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 213. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
  6. "North Northamptonshire Election". Northampton Mercury. 5 August 1837. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Freeman's Journal". 2 August 1837. p. 4. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. Hawkins, Angus (2007). "Conservative Consolation: 1835-1841". The Forgotten Prime Minister: The 14th Earl of Derby: Volume I: Ascent, 1799–1851 (Illustrated ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 193. ISBN 9780199204403. Retrieved 6 April 2018 – via Google Books.
  9. Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). "Members of the House of Commons". Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 145. Retrieved 6 April 2018 – via Google Books.
  10. "Staffordshire Gazette and County Standard". 8 July 1841. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. Vigne, Randolph (2012). Thomas Pringle: South African Pioneer, Poet & Abolitionist. Woodbridge: James Currey. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-84701-052-0. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via Google Books.
  12. Spychal, Martin (12 December 2017). "MP of the Month: George Donisthorpe Thompson (1804–1878)". The Victorian Commons. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  13. Hawkins, Angus (2015). "The Dynamics of Voting". Victorian Political Culture: 'Habits of Heart and Mind' (First ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 193. ISBN 9780198728481. Retrieved 6 April 2018 – via Google Books.
  14. Bayly, C. A. (2012). "The invention of class in India". Indian Thought in the Age of Liberalism and Empire (First ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 112. ISBN 9781107013834. Retrieved 6 April 2018 – via Google Books.
  15. Weinstein, Benjamin (2011). Liberalism and Local Government in Early Victorian London. Boydell & Brewer. p. 91. ISBN 9780861933129. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via Google Books.
  16. Hawkins, Angus (1987). "Reform Deferred". Parliament, Party and the Art of Politics in Britain, 1855–59 (Illustrated ed.). Basingstoke: Macmillan Press. p. 83. ISBN 9781349089253. Retrieved 6 April 2018 – via Google Books.
  17. Jarvis, Adrian, ed. (2016). Port and Harbour Engineering. Routledge. ISBN 9781351909914. Retrieved 6 April 2018 – via Google Books.
  18. Crawford, Elizabeth, ed. (1999). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928. London: UCL Press. ISBN 184142031X. Retrieved 6 April 2018 – via Google Books.
  19. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  20. "To the Electors of the Tower Hamlets". Morning Advertiser. 5 January 1835. p. 1. Retrieved 5 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. "Dublin Morning Register". 28 June 1841. p. 4. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  22. "Electioneering Intelligence". Leeds Times. 26 June 1841. p. 3. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  23. "Domestic Intelligence". Worcestershire Chronicle. 7 July 1841. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  24. "Election Movements". John Bull. 14 June 1841. p. 10. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  25. "The Tower Hamlets". Wolverhampton Chronicle and Staffordshire Advertiser. 7 July 1841. p. 2. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  26. Alastair J. Reid. "Newton, William", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  27. "The Elections". Chelmsford Chronicle. 6 November 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  28. "Register". Newcastle Chronicle. 21 November 1868. p. 4. Retrieved 4 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  29. "Marylebone". Daily News. 3 April 1880. p. 5. Retrieved 23 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources
  • 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)
  • Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
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