Whitby (UK Parliament constituency)

Whitby was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

This article is about the abolished British parliamentary constituency. For the Canadian riding of the same name, see Whitby (federal electoral district).

Whitby
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Whitby in Yorkshire, 1885-1918
1832–1885
SeatsOne
Created fromYorkshire
Replaced byWhitby
1885–1918
SeatsOne
Type of constituencyCounty constituency
Created fromNorth Riding of Yorkshire and Whitby
Replaced byScarborough and Whitby and Thirsk and Malton

History

The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act for the 1832 general election as a parliamentary borough, Whitby being at that point one of the most prosperous towns in England which had not previously been represented. (Whitby had been summoned to send members to the Protectorate Parliaments during the Civil War period, but never at any other time.) It consisted of Whitby itself and the adjoining townships of Ruswarp, Hawsker and Stainsacre, and had a population of just over 10,000.

Whitby's shipbuilding industry had been in decline even before the new borough was established, and by 1885 a separate MP for the town could no longer be justified. However, when the borough was abolished the county constituency which absorbed it was also named Whitby (strictly, the Whitby Division of the North Riding of Yorkshire): it contained all the easternmost part of the Riding apart from Scarborough (which remained a separate borough), stretching south-west to Pickering which was the only other town in the constituency.

The Whitby division was abolished for the 1918 general election, when it was partially replaced by the new Scarborough & Whitby constituency.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMemberParty
1832 Aaron Chapman Tory[1]
1834 Conservative[1]
1847 Robert Stephenson Conservative
1859 by-election Harry Thompson Liberal
1865 Charles Bagnall Conservative
1868 William Henry Gladstone Liberal
1880 Arthur Pease Liberal
1885 Ernest Beckett Conservative
1905 by-election Noel Buxton Liberal
1906 Gervase Beckett Conservative
1918 constituency abolished: see Scarborough and Whitby

Election results

Elections in the 1830s
General election 1832: Whitby[2][1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Aaron Chapman 217 61.0
Whig Richard Moorson[3] 139 39.0
Majority 78 22.0
Turnout 356 84.4
Registered electors 422
Tory win (new seat)
General election 1835: Whitby[2][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Aaron Chapman Unopposed
Registered electors 432
Conservative hold
General election 1837: Whitby[2][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Aaron Chapman Unopposed
Registered electors 458
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s
General election 1841: Whitby[2][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Aaron Chapman Unopposed
Registered electors 424
Conservative hold
General election 1847: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Stephenson Unopposed
Registered electors 403
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s
General election 1852: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Stephenson 218 66.7 N/A
Whig Edmund Phipps[4] 109 33.3 New
Majority 109 33.4 N/A
Turnout 327 72.0 N/A
Registered electors 454
Conservative hold Swing N/A
General election 1857: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Stephenson Unopposed
Registered electors 532
Conservative hold
General election 1859: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Stephenson Unopposed
Registered electors 647
Conservative hold

Stephenson's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 23 November 1859: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Harry Thompson 229 54.7 New
Conservative Thomas Chapman[5] 190 45.3 N/A
Majority 39 9.4 N/A
Turnout 419 64.8 N/A
Registered electors 647
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A

Elections in the 1860s
General election 1865: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Bagnall 305 52.0 N/A
Liberal Harry Thompson 282 48.0 N/A
Majority 23 4.0 N/A
Turnout 587 83.5 N/A
Registered electors 703
Conservative hold Swing N/A
General election 1868: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Henry Gladstone 894 63.3 +15.3
Conservative Sir William Cayley Worsley, 2nd Baronet 518 36.7 −15.3
Majority 376 26.6 N/A
Turnout 1,412 68.6 −14.9
Registered electors 2,058
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +15.3

Gladstone was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 18 November 1869: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Henry Gladstone 779 56.7 −6.6
Conservative Sir William Cayley Worsley, 2nd Baronet 596 43.3 +6.6
Majority 183 13.4 −13.2
Turnout 1,375 66.8 −1.8
Registered electors 2,058
Liberal hold Swing −6.6

Elections in the 1870s
General election 1874: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Henry Gladstone 873 53.7 −9.6
Conservative Charles Bagnall 754 46.3 +9.6
Majority 119 7.4 −19.2
Turnout 1,627 78.6 +10.0
Registered electors 2,069
Liberal hold Swing −9.6

Elections in the 1880s
Pease
General election 1880: Whitby[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Arthur Pease 1,072 60.5 +6.8
Conservative Robert Mowbray[6] 699 39.5 −6.8
Majority 373 21.0 +13.6
Turnout 1,771 81.9 +3.3
Registered electors 2,163
Liberal hold Swing +6.8

At the 1885 election the constituency was redrawn to include Pickering and the hinterlands of Scarborough.

General election 1885: Whitby [7][8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ernest Beckett-Denison 5,049 51.7 +12.2
Liberal Arthur Pease 4,709 48.3 −12.2
Majority 340 3.4 N/A
Turnout 9,758 86.0 +4.1
Registered electors 11,350
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +12.2
General election 1886: Whitby [7][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ernest Beckett 5,078 56.3 +4.6
Liberal James Menzies Clayhills[10] 3,940 43.7 −4.6
Majority 1,138 12.6 +9.2
Turnout 9,018 79.5 −6.5
Registered electors 11,350
Conservative hold Swing +4.6

Elections in the 1890s
General election 1892: Whitby [7][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ernest Beckett 4,909 56.2 −0.1
Liberal H Frank Pyman 3,826 43.8 +0.1
Majority 1,083 12.4 −0.2
Turnout 8,735 80.8 +1.3
Registered electors 10,804
Conservative hold Swing −0.1
General election 1895: Whitby [7][11][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ernest Beckett Unopposed
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1900s
General election 1900: Whitby [7][11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ernest Beckett Unopposed
Conservative hold
Buxton
1905 Whitby by-election[12][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Noel Buxton 4,547 52.6 New
Conservative Gervase Beckett 4,102 47.4 N/A
Majority 445 5.2 N/A
Turnout 8,649 79.7 N/A
Registered electors 10,857
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A
Beckett
General election 1906: Whitby [12][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gervase Beckett 4,780 50.4 N/A
Liberal Noel Buxton 4,709 49.6 N/A
Majority 71 0.8 N/A
Turnout 9,489 84.2 N/A
Registered electors 11,263
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1910s
Jardine
General election January 1910: Whitby [12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gervase Beckett 5,161 52.9 +2.5
Liberal James Jardine 4,602 47.1 −2.5
Majority 559 5.8 +5.0
Turnout 9,763 87.2 +3.0
Registered electors 11,200
Conservative hold Swing +2.5
General election December 1910: Whitby [13][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gervase Beckett 4,960 52.4 −0.5
Liberal Walter Herbert Septimus Pyman 4,508 47.6 +0.5
Majority 452 4.8 −1.0
Turnout 9,468 84.5 −2.7
Registered electors 11,200
Conservative hold Swing −0.5

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

References
  1. Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 172. Retrieved 23 December 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  2. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  3. The Tourist: A Literary and Anti-slavery Journal, Volume 1. London: John Crisp. 1833. p. 16. Retrieved 30 April 2020 – via Internet Archive.
  4. "Whitby Election". Hull Packet. 9 July 1852. p. 8. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "To the Free and Electors of the Borough of Whitby". Whitby Gazette. 5 November 1859. p. 4. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Whitby Borough Election". Whitby Gazette. 5 June 1880. p. 4. Retrieved 14 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  8. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
  9. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  10. "The General Election". Bristol Mercury. 8 July 1886. p. 8. Retrieved 14 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
  12. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
  13. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
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