Bridgwater (UK Parliament constituency)

Bridgwater
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bridgwater in Somerset for the 2005 general election.
Location of Somerset within England.
County	Somerset
1885–2010
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Bridgwater & West Somerset
Created from	West Somerset
1295–1870
Number of members	Two
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	West Somerset

Bridgwater was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, until 2010 when it was replaced by the Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

History

Bridgwater was one of the original Parliamentary Constituencies in the House of Commons, having elected Members of Parliament since 1295, the Model Parliament.

The original borough constituency was disenfranchised for corruption in 1870. From 4 July 1870 the town was incorporated within the county constituency of West Somerset.

From Parliament's enactment of the major Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 which took effect at the 1885 general election, a new county division of Bridgwater was created, which lasted with modifications until 2010. The constituency expanded considerably beyond Bridgwater town itself from 1885.

Bridgwater frequently compared to other seats had a radical or game-changing representative, though since 1950 this became less noticeable in its candidates elected.

The seat received particular fame in late 1938 when a by-election took place in the aftermath of the signing of the Munich Agreement. Opponents of the agreement persuaded the local Labour and Liberal parties to not field candidates of their own against the Conservative candidate, but to instead jointly back an independent standing on a platform of opposition to the Government's foreign policy, in the hope that this would be the precursor to the formation of a more general Popular Front of opposition to the government of Neville Chamberlain in anticipation of the General Election due in either 1939 or 1940. The noted journalist Vernon Bartlett stood as the independent Popular Front candidate and achieved a sensational victory in what was hitherto a Conservative seat. He represented the constituency for the next twelve years.

In 1970 another by-election in the constituency achieved fame as it was the first occasion when 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds were able to vote in the UK Parliamentary election. The first under-21 year old to cast a vote was Susan Wallace. The by-election was won by the future Conservative Cabinet Minister Tom King who held the seat for the next thirty-one years, followed by another Conservative until its abolition in 2010.

Members of Parliament

• Constituency created (1295)

Bridgwater borough, 1295–1870

MPs 1295–1640

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Parliament	First member	Second member
1377	William Tomer[1]	John Sydenham[2]
1380 (Jan)	William Tomer [1]
1383 (Oct)	William Tomer [1]
1385	William Tomer [1]
1386	John Sydenham	Richard Mayne [2]
1388 (Feb)	John Sydenham	Richard Mayne [2]
1388 (Sep)	John Palmer	John Wynd [2]
1390 (Jan)	William Tomer	John Palmer [2]
1390 (Nov)
1391	William Tomer	John Sydenham [2]
1393	William Tomer	Robert Boson [2]
1394	John Cole	John Palmer [2]
1395	William Tomer	John Kedwelly [2]
1397 (Jan)	William Tomer	John Kedwelly [2]
1397 (Sep)	William Tomer	John Sydenham [2]
1399	William Tomer	John Kedwelly [2]
1401
1402	William Tomer	John Kedwelly [2]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406	William Tomer	William Gascoigne [2]
1407	William Gascoigne	Richard Ward [2]
1410	William Gascoigne	John Kedwelly [2]
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	William Gascoigne	William Gosse [2]
1414 (Apr)	William Gascoigne	Thomas Cave [2]
1414 (Nov)	William Gascoigne	John Kedwelly [2]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417	William Gascoigne	John Kedwelly [2]
1419	William Gascoigne	Richard Mayne [2]
1420	William Gascoigne	Martin Jacob [2]
1421 (May)	James FitzJames	William Gascoigne [2]
1421 (Dec)	William Gascoigne	John Pitt [2]
1442	William Dodesham	William Gascoigne
1472	Sir Thomas Tremayle
1483	William Hody
1449	Thomas Driffield	John Maunsel
1453	John Maunsel
1467	James FitzJames
1467	John Kendall (4 terms)
1483	John Hymerford
1510–1523	No names known [3]
1529	Henry Thornton	Hugh Trotter [3]
1536	?
1539	?
1542	?
1545	Thomas Dyer	Alexander Popham [3]
1547	Sir Thomas Dyer	Alexander Popham [3]
1553 (Mar)	Sir Thomas Dyer	Richard Gubby [3]
1553 (Oct)	Sir Thomas Dyer	Nicholas Halswell
1554 (Apr)	John Newport	Robert Molyns (or Mullens) [4]
1554 (Nov)	John Newport	John Chapell
1555	Thomas Dyer	Edmund Lyte
1558	John Newport	Robert Molyns (or Mullens)
1559	Sir Thomas Dyer	Robert Molyns (or Mullens)
1563–1567	John Edwards	Nicholas Halswell
1571		Edward Popham
1572–1581
1584–1585	Robert Blake
Parliament of 1586–1587		John Court
Parliament of 1588–1589		Alexander Popham
1593	Robert Bocking	William Thomas
1597–1598	Alexander Jones	Alexander Popham
1601	Sir Francis Hastings
1604–1611	Sir Nicholas Halswell	John Povey
Addled Parliament (1614)	Robert Halswell	Thomas Warre
1621–1622	Roger Warre	Edward Popham
Happy Parliament (1624–1625)
Useless Parliament (1625)	Sir Arthur Lake
1625–1626
1628	Thomas Smith	Sir Thomas Wroth
1629–1640	No Parliament summoned

1640–1868

Year		First member[5]	First party		Second member[5]	Second party
April 1640		Robert Blake			Edmund Wyndham [6]	Royalist
November 1640		Sir Peter Wroth	Parliamentarian
February 1641					Thomas Smith	Royalist
August 1642				Smith disabled from sitting — seat vacant
May 1644	Wroth died — seat vacant
1645		Admiral Robert Blake [7]			Sir Thomas Wroth
1653	Bridgwater was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Admiral Robert Blake		Bridgwater had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656		Sir Thomas Wroth
January 1659					John Wroth
May 1659				One seat vacant
April 1660					Francis Rolle
1661		Edmund Wyndham			John Tynte
November 1669					Sir Francis Rolle
December 1669					Peregrine Palmer
February 1679		Sir Halswell Tynte			Sir Francis Rolle
September 1679					Ralph Stawell
1681					Sir John Malet
1685					Sir Francis Warre	Tory
1689		Henry Bull	Tory
1692		Robert Balch
1695		Nathaniel Palmer			Roger Hoar
1698		George Crane
1699					Sir Francis Warre	Tory
January 1701		John Gilbert			George Balch	Tory
November 1701		Sir Thomas Wroth
1708		George Dodington	Whig
1710					Nathaniel Palmer	Tory
1713		John Rolle
1715		George Dodington	Whig		Thomas Palmer	Tory
1720		William Pitt
1722		George Bubb Dodington
1727					Sir Halswell Tynte	Tory
1731					Thomas Palmer	Tory
1735					Charles Wyndham	Tory
1741					Vere Poulett	Tory
1747					Peregrine Poulett	Tory
1753					Robert Balch	Tory
1754		The Earl of Egmont
1761					Edward Southwell
1762		Viscount Perceval [8]
1763					The Lord Coleraine
1768					Benjamin Allen [9]
1769		Hon. Anne Poulett	Tory
1781					John Acland
1784					Rear-Admiral Alexander Hood [10]
1785		Robert Thornton
1790		Major the Hon. Vere Poulett [11]			John Langston
1796		George Pocock			Jeffreys Allen
1804					John Hudleston
1806		Major-General the Hon. Vere Poulett			John Langston
1807		William Thornton Astell			George Pocock
1820					Charles Kemeys Kemeys Tynte	Whig
1832		William Tayleur	Whig
1835		John Temple Leader	Whig
May 1837		Henry Broadwood	Conservative
August 1837					Philip Courtenay	Conservative
1841					Thomas Seaton Forman	Conservative
1847					Charles John Kemeys Tynte	Whig
1852		Brent Spencer Follett	Conservative
1857		Alexander William Kinglake	Whig
1859			Liberal			Liberal
1865					Henry Westropp [12]	Conservative
1866					George Patton	Conservative
1866					Philip Vanderbyl	Liberal
1869	Writ suspended — both seats vacant [13]
1870	Constituency abolished for corruption and incorporated into the West Somerset county division from 4 July 1870

Bridgwater county constituency, 1885–2010

• County division created (1885)

Year		Member[5]	Party
	1885	Edward Stanley	Conservative
	1906	Henry Greville Montgomery	Liberal
	1910	Rt Hon. Sir Robert Arthur Sanders, Bt, later Baron Bayford	Conservative
	1918		Coalition Conservative
	1922		Conservative
	1923	William Ewart Morse	Liberal
	1924	Brooks Crompton Wood	Conservative
	1929	Reginald Powell Croom-Johnson [14]	Conservative
	1938	Charles Vernon Oldfield Bartlett	Independent Progressive[15]
	1942		Common Wealth
	1945		Independent
	1950	Sir Gerald Wills	Conservative
	1970	Rt Hon Tom King, later Baron King of Bridgwater	Conservative
	2001	Ian Liddell-Grainger	Conservative
	2010	constituency abolished: see Bridgwater and West Somerset

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Edward Stanley

General Election 1885: Bridgwater [16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward James Stanley	3,935	50.6	n/a
	Liberal	Edwin Brook Cely Trevilian	3,835	49.4	n/a
Majority			100	1.2	n/a
Turnout			7,770		n/a
	Conservative win (new seat)

General Election 1886: Bridgwater [17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward James Stanley	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: Bridgwater [18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward James Stanley	4,555	57.5	n/a
	Liberal	James Douglas Walker	3,362	42.5	n/a
Majority			1,193	15.0	n/a
Turnout			7,917		n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1895: Bridgwater [19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward James Stanley	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Bridgwater [20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward James Stanley	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1906: Bridgwater[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Greville Montgomery	4,422	50.1	n/a
	Conservative	Robert Arthur Sanders	4,405	49.9	n/a
Majority				0.2	n/a
Turnout				86.7	n/a
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Bridgwater [22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Arthur Sanders	5,575	58.9	+9.0
	Liberal	Harold C. Hicks	3,896	41.1	-9.0
Majority			1,679	17.8	18.0
Turnout			9,471
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+9.0

General Election December 1910: Bridgwater [23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Arthur Sanders	5,160	57.7	-1.2
	Liberal	Harold C. Hicks	3,779	42.3	+1.2
Majority			1,381	15.4	-2.4
Turnout			8,939
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.2

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 from 1914 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Robert Sanders
• Liberal: Philip Foale Rowsell

General Election 1918
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Lt-Col. Robert Arthur Sanders	12,587
	Labour	S. J. Plummer	5,771
Majority
Turnout
	Unionist hold		Swing

• endorsed by the Coalition Government

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Sir Robert Arthur Sanders	11,240	46.9
	Liberal	William Ewart Morse	11,121	46.4	n/a
	Labour	Thomas Samuel Beauchamp-Williams	1,598	6.7
Majority			119	0.5
Turnout
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1923: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Ewart Morse	13,778	52.7	+6.3
	Unionist	Rt Hon. Sir Robert Arthur Sanders	12,347	47.3	+0.4
Majority			1,431	5.4
Turnout
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+3.0

General Election 1924: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Brooks Crompton Wood	14,283	52.7
	Liberal	William Ewart Morse	10,842	40.0
	Labour	James Musgrave Boltz	1,966	7.3	n/a
Majority			3,441
Turnout
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1929: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Reginald Powell Croom-Johnson	15,440	46.8	-5.9
	Liberal	Joseph William Molden	11,161	33.8	-6.2
	Labour	James Musgrave Boltz	6,423	19.4	+12.1
Majority			4,279	13.0	+0.3
Turnout			33,024	80.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	+0.1

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reginald Powell Croom-Johnson	24,041	77.5
	Labour	James Musgrave Boltz	6,974	22.5
Majority			17,067	55.03
Turnout				73.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1935: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reginald Powell Croom-Johnson	17,939	56.9
	Liberal	N D Blake	7,370	23.4
	Labour	Cllr. Arthur W Loveys	6,240	19.8
Majority			10,569	33.5
Turnout				72.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bridgwater by-election, 1938
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Progressive	Charles Vernon Oldfield Bartlett	19,540	53.2	+53.2
	Conservative	Patrick Gerald Heathcoat-Amory	17,208	46.8	-10.1
Majority			2,332	6.3
Turnout			36,748	82.3	+9.6
	Independent Progressive gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

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;

• Independent Progressive: Vernon Bartlett
• Conservative: Patrick Heathcoat Amery^[24]

General Election 1945: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Progressive	Charles Vernon Oldfield Bartlett	17,937	45.79
	Conservative	Gerald Wills	15,625	39.89
	Labour	N Corkhill	5,613	14.33
Majority			2,312	5.90
Turnout				72.69
	Independent Progressive hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Wills	21,732	48.84
	Labour	Norman E Carr	16,053	36.08
	Independent	Stephen King-Hall	6,708	15.08
Majority			5,679	12.76
Turnout				85.75
	Conservative gain from Independent Progressive		Swing

General Election 1951
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Wills	25,365	56.34
	Labour	Norman E Carr	19,656	43.66
Majority			5,709	12.68
Turnout				84.63
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Wills	24,887	59.17
	Labour	Albert E Sumbler	17,170	40.83
Majority			7,717	18.35
Turnout				78.00
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1959
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Gerald Wills	23,002	50.44
	Labour	James Finnigan	14,706	32.25
	Liberal	Philip George Watkins	7,893	17.31
Majority			8,296	18.19
Turnout				81.77
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Gerald Wills	20,822	44.8
	Labour	Norman J Hart	14,645	31.5
	Liberal	Philip George Watkins	9,009	19.4
	Independent	Michael L de V Hart	2,038	4.4
Majority			6,177	13.3
Turnout				80.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1966
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Gerald Wills	20,850	44.4
	Labour	Richard Mayer	17,864	38.1
	Liberal	Philip George Watkins	8,205	17.5
Majority			2,986	6.3
Turnout			46,919	80.2	-0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.5

Elections in the 1970s

Bridgwater by-election, 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom King	25,687	55.5	+11.1
	Labour	Richard Mayer	14,772	31.9	-6.2
	Liberal	Patrick M O'Loughlin	5,832	12.6	+4.9
Majority			10,915	23.6
Turnout			46,291	70.3	-9.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.6

General Election 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom King	26,685	52.3
	Labour	Raymond J Billington	18,224	35.8
	Liberal	Patrick M O'Loughlin	6,066	11.9
Majority			8,461	16.6
Turnout			50,975	77.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.3

General Election February 1974: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom King	24,830	43.65
	Labour	R Undy	16,786	29.5
	Liberal	JHG Wyatt	15,269	26.8
Majority			8,044	14.1
Turnout				82.25
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom King	23,850	44.3
	Labour	A Mitchell	17,663	32.78
	Liberal	JHG Wyatt	12,077	22.4
	United Democratic	SR Harrad	288	0.5
Majority			6,187	11.5
Turnout				77.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1979: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom King	31,259	54.0
	Labour	J Beasant	16,809	29.05
	Liberal	Christina Baron	9,793	16.9
Majority			14,450	25.0
Turnout				79.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1983: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom King	25,107	52.26
	Social Democratic	R Farley	14,410	30.00
	Labour	AJ May	8,524	17.74
Majority			10,697	22.27
Turnout				74.80
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1987: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom King	27,177	51.52
	Social Democratic	C Clarke	15,982	30.30
	Labour	J Turner	9,594	18.19
Majority			11,195	21.22
Turnout				78.18
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1992: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom King	26,610	46.76
	Liberal Democrat	WJ Revans	16,894	29.69
	Labour	PE James	12,365	21.73
	Green	G Dummett	746	1.31
	Independent	A Body	183	0.32
	Natural Law	G Sanson	112	0.20
Majority			9,716	17.07
Turnout			56,910	79.52
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1997: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom King	20,174	36.93
	Liberal Democrat	Michael Hoban	18,378	33.65
	Labour	Roger Lavers	13,519	24.75
	Referendum	Fran Evens	2,551	4.67
Majority			1,796	3.29
Turnout				74.41
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2001: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Liddell-Grainger	19,354	40.40
	Liberal Democrat	Ian Thorn	14,367	30.00
	Labour	Bill Monteith	12,803	26.80
	UKIP	Vicky Gardner	1,323	2.80
Majority			4,987	10.40
Turnout				64.40
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2005: Bridgwater
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Liddell-Grainger	21,240	44.10
	Labour	Matthew Burchell	12,771	26.50
	Liberal Democrat	James Main	10,940	22.70
	UKIP	Raymond Weinstein	1,767	3.70
	Green	Charlie Graham	1,391	2.90
Majority			8,469	17.60
Turnout				63.50
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Somerset

Notes and references

1. "THOMER (TOMERE), William, of Bridgwater, Som.". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
2. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
3. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
4. Browne Willis gives Molyns' name only tentatively for 1555
5. "Bridgwater". The History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
6. Expelled as a monopolist, January 1641
7. Cobbett lists the second MP elected in 1645 as John Palmer, MD, and gives Blake as MP for Taunton. Brunton & Pennington agree with the Dictionary of National Biography in naming Blake as MP for Bridgwater and Palmer for Taunton.
8. Perceval was initially declared re-elected in 1768, but on petition he was judged not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Poulett, was seated in his place.
9. Allen was initially declared re-elected in 1780, but on petition he was judged not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Acland, was seated in his place.
10. Vice-Admiral from 1787
11. Lieutenant-Colonel from 1793, Colonel from 1796
12. The election of Westropp was declared void and a by-election was held
13. The election of Kinglake and Vanderbyl in 1868 declared void. The writ (of election) was suspended and a Royal Commission was appointed, which reported that it had found proof of extensive bribery.
14. Croom-Johnson vacated his seat on appointment as a Justice of the High Court.
15. Bartlett contested the 1938 by-election with the support of the local Labour and Liberal Associations, standing on a Popular Front and anti-appeasement programme.
16. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
17. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
18. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
19. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
20. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
21. British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig)
22. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
23. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
24. Western Daily Press, 13 Jan 1939

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)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press, revised edition 1977)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1950–1973, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1983)
• 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)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919–1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945–1979, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)
• 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)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
• Esther S Cope and Willson H Coates (eds), Camden Fourth Series, Volume 19: Proceedings of the Short Parliament of 1640 (London: Royal Historical Society, 1977)
• Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• 'Bridgwater: Parliamentary representation' in Victoria County History of Somerset: Volume 6 (1992)