Barnstaple (UK Parliament constituency)

Barnstaple was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Barnstaple in Devon, in the South West of England. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member.

The constituency was created in 1295, and abolished for the 1950 general election. The town of Barnstaple is today represented by the North Devon constituency.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Boroughs of Barnstaple and Bideford, and the Sessional Divisions of Bideford and Braunton.

1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Barnstaple and Bideford, the Urban Districts of Ilfracombe, Lynton, and Northam, and the Rural Districts of Barnstaple and Bideford (including Lundy Island).

Members of Parliament

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1295–1885

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
1372		Thomas Raymond
Jan. 1377		Thomas Raymond
Oct. 1377		Thomas Raymond[1]
1385		John Grey[2]
1386		John Bidewell			Jocelin Antony
February 1388		Thomas Norris II			William Long
September 1388		John Sampford			Roger Rede
January 1390		Thomas Norris II			Robert Crook
1391		John Aston			Robert Cobbley
1393		Richard Colecote			John Herberd
1394		Thomas Norris II			John Bidewell
1395		Thomas Norris II			John Bidewell
January 1397		Robert Napton			Thomas Holman
1399		Thomas Hoper			Walter Spencer
1402		Robert Napton			John But
1406		Thomas Holman alias Pyers			John Luttrell
1407		John Bakwell			John Hunt
1410		Alfred Wonston			John Foxley
1411		Nicholas Broomford			Alfred Wonston
May 1413		Thomas Haseley			John Broomford
November 1414		John Pyne			John Walwyn
1420		William Weldo			Walter Prideaux
May 1421		John More II			Richard Wood
December 1421		John Cokeworthy II			Sir John Trebell
1427		Sir John Trebell
1512		John Culme			John Goddisland
1515		John Goddisland			?
1529		Hugh Yeo			Anthony Bury
1542		George Rolle			?
1545		George Rolle			George Haydon
1547		Sir James Wilford died 1550 and repl. by Sir Arthur Champernowne			Bartholemew Traheron
1553 (Mar)		William Gardiner			Thomas Prideaux
1553 (Oct)		Robert Carey			Roger Worthe
1554 (Apr)		Sir John Pollard			George Ferrers
1554 (Nov)		Robert Apley			William Salusbury
1555		Robert Apley			George Stapleton
1558		Richard Skinner			William Salusbury
1558/9		Sir John Chichester			John Darte
1562/3		Arthur Bassett			Robert Apley
1571		Peter Wentworth[3]			Robert Apley
1572		Vincent Skinner			Robert Apley
1584		John Peryam			Robert Prowse
1586		Thomas Hinson			Lewis Darte
1588		Thomas Hinson			John Doddridge
1593		George Chittinge			Richard Leye
1597		Thomas Hinson			George Peard
1601		Richard Martin[4]			Edward Hancock
1604		Thomas Hinson			George Pearde
1614		John Gostlin[5]			John Delbridge
1621		John Delbridge			Pentecost Dodderidge
1624		John Delbridge			Pentecost Dodderidge
1625		John Delbridge			Pentecost Dodderidge
1626		Sir Alexander St John			John Delbridge
1628		Sir Alexander St John			John Delbridge
1640 April		George Peard			Thomas Matthew
1640 November		George Peard			Richard Ferris
		Peard died; Ferrers disabled
1646		Philip Skippon			John Dodderidge
1653		Not represented in Barebones Parliament
1654		John Dodderidge
1656		Sir John Coppleston
1659		Sir John Coppleston			George Walters
1660		John Rolle			Nicholas Dennys
1661		Sir John Chichester
1667		Sir John Northcote
1677		John Basset
February 1679					Sir Hugh Acland
October 1679					Arthur Acland
1680					Richard Lee
1685					Sir Arthur Chichester
1689		Richard Lee
1690		Sir George Hutchins			Arthur Champneys
1695		Sir Nicholas Hooper	Tory
1705					Samuel Rolle
1708					Richard Acland
1713					Sir Arthur Chichester
1715		John Rolle
1718					John Basset
1721					Sir Hugh Acland
1722		Lieutenant-General Thomas Whetham
1727		Richard Coffin			Theophilus Fortescue
1734		Sir John Chichester
1740		John Basset
1741		John Harris			Henry Rolle
1747		Thomas Benson
1748					Sir Bourchier Wrey
1754		John Harris	Whig		George Amyand [6]	Whig
1761		Denys Rolle
1766					John Clevland	Whig
1774		William Devaynes
1780		Francis Basset
1784		William Devaynes
1796		Richard Wilson
1802		William Devaynes			Captain Sir Edward Pellew
1804					Viscount Ebrington	Whig
1806		William Taylor
1807					George Woodford Thellusson
January 1812					William Busk
October 1812		Sir Manasseh Masseh Lopes [7]	Tory		Sir Eyre Coote
1818					Francis Molyneux Ommanney
1820		Michael Nolan
1824		Frederick Hodgson
1826					Henry Alexander
1830		Stephens Lyne-Stephens			George Tudor
1831		Frederick Hodgson			John Chichester	Whig
1832		Charles St John Fancourt	Conservative
1837		Frederick Hodgson	Conservative
1841					Montague Gore	Conservative
1847		Richard Bremridge	Conservative		Hon. John Fortescue	Whig
1852 [8]					Sir William Fraser	Conservative
1854		John Laurie [9]	Conservative		Richard Samuel Guinness	Conservative
1855		George Stucley Buck	Conservative
1857		John Laurie	Conservative		Sir William Fraser	Conservative
1859		John Ferguson Davie	Liberal		George Potts	Liberal
1863					Thomas Lloyd [10]	Liberal
1864					Richard Bremridge	Conservative
1865		Sir George Stucley Stucley	Conservative		Thomas Cave	Liberal
1868		Charles Henry Williams	Conservative
1874		Samuel Danks Waddy	Liberal
February 1880		Viscount Lymington	Liberal
April 1880					Sir Robert Walter Carden	Conservative
1885	Representation reduced to one member

1885–1950

Year		Member	Party
	1885	George Pitt-Lewis	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1892	Alfred Billson	Liberal
	1895	Sir William Cameron Gull	Liberal Unionist
	1900	Ernest Joseph Soares	Liberal
	1911	Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt	Liberal
	1918	Tudor Rees	Liberal
	1922	Basil Edward Peto	Conservative
	1923	Tudor Rees	Liberal
	1924	Sir Basil Edward Peto	Unionist
	1935	Sir Richard Thomas Dyke Acland	Liberal
	1942		Common Wealth
	1945	Christopher Henry Maxwell Peto	Conservative
1950		constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1900s

Ernest Soares

General Election January 1906: Barnstaple [11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Joseph Soares	6,510	59.3	+7.5
	Conservative	William Edgar Horne	4,465	40.7	-7.5
Majority			2,045	18.6	15.0
Turnout				85.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	+7.5

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Barnstaple [12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Joseph Soares	6,236	53.8
	Liberal Unionist	George Borwick	5,354	46.2
Majority			882	7.6
Turnout				88.3
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election December 1910: Barnstaple [13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Joseph Soares	6,047	54.0
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Sandbach Parker	5,155	46.0
Majority			892	8.0
Turnout				85.3
	Liberal hold		Swing

Godfrey Baring

Barnstaple by-election, 1911
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sir Godfrey Baring	6,239	52.0	-2.0
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Sandbach Parker	5,751	48.0	+2.0
Majority				4.0	-4.0
Turnout				88.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	-2.0

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;

• Liberal: Sir Godfrey Baring
• Unionist: Charles Sandbach Parker

General Election 1918: Barnstaple [14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Capt. John Thomas Tudor Rees	11,281	51.4	-0.6
	Unionist	Charles Sandbach Parker	10,679	48.6	+0.6
Majority			602	2.8	-1.2
Turnout				69.1	-19.1
	Liberal hold		Swing	-0.6

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: Barnstaple [15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Basil Edward Peto	13,793	50.3	+1.7
	Liberal	John Thomas Tudor Rees	13,619	49.7	-1.7
Majority			174	0.6	3.4
Turnout				83.1	+14.0
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+1.7

General Election 1923: Barnstaple [16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Thomas Tudor Rees	14,880	50.1	+0.4
	Unionist	Basil Edward Peto	13,614	45.8	-4.5
	Labour	Richard W. Gifford	1,225	4.1	n/a
Majority			1,266	4.3	4.9
Turnout				87.6	+4.5
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+2.5

General Election 1924: Barnstaple [17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Basil Edward Peto	15,479	52.0	+6.2
	Liberal	John Thomas Tudor Rees	14,284	48.0	-2.1
Majority			1,195	4.0	8.3
Turnout				85.9
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.1

General Election 1929: Barnstaple [18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Sir Basil Edward Peto	17,382	45.9	-6.1
	Liberal	David Marshall Mason	16,593	43.9	-4.1
	Labour	Donald Evan Mullins	3,864	10.2	n/a
Majority			789	2.0	2.0
Turnout
	Unionist hold		Swing	-1.0

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Barnstaple [19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Basil Edward Peto	20,028	52.2	+6.3
	Liberal	Richard Thomas Dyke Acland	18,318	47.8	+3.9
Majority			1,710	4.5	+2.5
Turnout			38,346	86.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.2

General Election 1935: Barnstaple [20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Thomas Dyke Acland	19,432	50.6
	Conservative	Benjamin Garnet Lampard-Vachell	18,978	49.4
Majority			454	1.2
Turnout				83.8
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1939/40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: Sir Richard Thomas Dyke Acland ^[21]
• Conservative: Sir Edward Charles Benthall

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Barnstaple [22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Henry Maxwell Peto	17,822	42.6
	Liberal	Mark Bonham Carter	13,752	32.9
	Labour	Ivor Arthur J Williams	10,237	24.5
Majority			4,070	9.7
Turnout			41,811	75.8
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

References

1. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/raymond-thomas-1418
2. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/grey-john-i-1413
3. His DNB article.
4.  "Martin, Richard (1570–1618)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
5.  "Gostlin, John (1566?–1626)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
6. Created a baronet, 1764
7. Lopes was re-elected at the general election of 1818, but on petition was unseated for bribery
8. At the election of 1852 Fraser and Bremridge were declared elected, but on petition the election was declared void and the constituency's writ was suspended. After investigation by a Royal Commission, a new writ was issued and a by-election was held
9. Laurie's election at the by-election of 1854 was declared void on petition, and a second by-election held
10. On petition, Lloyd's election was declared void and after scrutiny of the votes Bremridge was declared duly elected
11. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
12. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
13. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
14. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
15. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
16. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
17. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
18. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
19. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
20. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
21. The Liberal Magazine, 1939
22. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig

• 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)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)