South Essex (UK Parliament constituency)

South Essex
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
County	Essex
1832–1885
Number of members	Two
Replaced by	South East Essex, Epping, West Ham North, West Ham South, Romford and Walthamstow
Created from	Essex

South Essex (formally the Southern division of Essex) was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) using the bloc vote system.

Boundaries

The Hundreds of Barstable, Becontree, Chafford, Chelmsford, Dengie, Harlow, Ongar, Rochford, and Waltham, and the Liberty of Havering.

At the time the constituency was entirely in the county of Essex. Part of the area has since been transferred from Essex to Greater London.

• Areas still in Essex:
  • Epping Forest, Brentwood, Basildon, Thurrock, Southend
• Areas now in Greater London:
  • Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Newham

History

The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1832, with effect from the general election in December 1832, when the former Essex constituency was divided into Northern and Southern divisions.

Members of Parliament

Election	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
1832		Robert Westley Hall Dare	Tory		Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard, Bt	Whig
1834			Conservative
1835					Thomas William Bramston	Conservative
1836 by-election		George Palmer	Conservative
1847		Sir Edward Buxton, Bt	Liberal
1852		Sir William Bowyer-Smijth, Bt	Conservative
1857		Richard Baker Wingfield-Baker	Liberal
1859		John Watlington Perry Watlington	Conservative
1865		Henry Selwin-Ibbetson	Conservative		Lord Eustace Cecil	Conservative
1868		Richard Baker Wingfield-Baker	Liberal		Andrew Johnston	Liberal
1874		Thomas Baring	Conservative		William Makins	Conservative
1885	Constituency divided

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 2)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 387. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.