Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Hertfordshire
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
County	Hertfordshire
1290–1885
Number of members	1290–1832: Two 1832–1885: Three

Hertfordshire was a county constituency covering the county of Hertfordshire in England. It returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1290 until 1832. The Reform Act 1832 gave the county a third seat with effect from the 1832 general election.

Elections were held using the bloc vote system, when contested. However, even after the 1832 reforms, contested elections were the exception: of the 17 elections from 1832 to 1880, 9 were uncontested, including the 1880 general election. In such cases all the nominated candidates were returned without a vote.^[1]

History

The constituency consisted of the historic county of Hertfordshire. (Although Hertfordshire contained two boroughs, Hertford and St Albans, each of which elected two MPs in its own right, these were not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election.)

As in other county constituencies the franchise between 1430 and 1832 was defined by the Forty Shilling Freeholder Act, which gave the right to vote to every man who possessed freehold property within the county valued at £2 or more per year for the purposes of land tax; it was not necessary for the freeholder to occupy his land, nor even in later years to be resident in the county at all.

Except during the period of the Commonwealth, Hertfordshire has two MPs elected by the bloc vote method, under which each voter had two votes. In the nominated Barebones Parliament, two members represented Hertfordshire. In the First and Second Parliaments of Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate, however, there was a general redistribution of seats and Hertfordshire elected five members, while each of the boroughs had their representation reduced to a single MP. The traditional arrangements were restored from 1659.

General character of the constituency before the Reform Act

At the time of the Great Reform Act in 1832, Hertfordshire had a population of approximately 143,000, and was entirely agricultural in character, although there was a limited urban vote: at the election of 1805, when 2628 votes were cast, four towns (St Albans, Bishops Stortford, Ware and Hitchin) provided more than 100 votes each though none provided more than 160.

Elections were held at a single polling place, Hertford, and voters from the rest of the county had to travel to the county town to exercise their franchise; but in a physically small county like Hertfordshire, with good roads, this was less prohibitively expensive than in some others. (It was normal for voters to expect the candidates for whom they voted to meet their expenses in travelling to the poll, making the cost of a contested election substantial in many counties. Even in Hertfordshire, it was reported that accommodation and entertainment for the voters at the county meeting in September 1774 cost the candidates £4,000; and that was merely a meeting to discuss the candidates and see if consensus could be reached without the need for a contest - the cost of the poll the following month, that in the end could not be averted, was on top of this.)

Contested elections were relatively frequent (there were contests at 13 of the 28 general elections between 1701 and 1831), and were often vigorously fought - the voters valued their independence, and at least from the middle of the 18th century no landed interests had much influence over them, although fifty years earlier the local gentry reckoned to return one of the two MPs without opposition.

The by-election of 1805

Peter Jupp includes in his collection of documents relating to elections round the turn of the 19th century a contemporary account of the Hertfordshire by-election, written by one of the candidates, William Baker, which gives a vivid picture of electioneering in the county at this period. The election was a straight fight between Baker and Hon. Thomas Brand to fill the vacancy left by the death of Hon. Peniston Lamb; Baker had been the county's MP until three years previously, and was backed by Pitt and his government, while Brand had particular support among the religious dissenters.

Baker's campaign took the form of a personal canvass of the voters, by visiting every town and village of any size in the county, if possible on market day: Hertford on the 26th; Ware on the 28th; then Watton; Stevenage; Hitchin and Baldock on the same day; and so through the whole of Hertfordshire in two weeks, over snow-bound roads with even the high road between St Albans and Berkhamsted barely passable in places. He travelled mostly on horseback, his carriage "attending me as it could at intervals by the great roads, and meeting me at the places where I was to sleep". In most of the county he had already pledges of solid support (he records that at Stevenage he had "nothing to do but go round... and thank the voters for their promises already made in my favour to their Rector"), and where possible in each place he was met by the local magnates who joined him in his canvassing to demonstrate their support.

The informality of the election itself seems strange today. After the candidates had made their final speeches at Hertford, the Sheriff took a show of hands and could have ended the proceedings there and then, had the candidates been content; but, Brand demanding the poll that was his right everybody proceeded to the hustings. Voting thus began around one in the afternoon. The poll was continued on the second day, the arrangement being that voting would be from eight o'clock until three, but ended as soon as Brand admitted defeat, some half-an-hour before the agreed deadline. By this time Baker had 1,556 votes and Brand only 1,076, and plainly he felt he had too few supporters unpolled to have any hope of making up the deficit.

The election ended in typically rumbustious fashion. Baker having been declared the victor, his supporters celebrated by chairing their candidate round the town, but

"Wilshere's coachman... had the insolence to drive his master's carriage full speed through the crowd at the time of chairing, to the risk of the lives of hundreds. Providentially, however, no person was materially injured. Brand made an apology to me afterwards by letter for the outrage, and Wilshere, though not at my desire, has since turned the servant away..."
- Letter of William Baker to his son, 22 February 1805, in Hertfordshire County Records Office, quoted by Jupp, op cit

After the Reform Act

In 1832, the Great Reform Act increased the county's representation from two to three MPs (a change that had not been in the original Reform Bill of 1830 but was adopted the following year), as well as making minor boundary changes. (One parish, Coleshill, was transferred to Buckinghamshire.) The extension of the franchise to tenants-at-will, copyholders and leaseholders increased the electorate a little, but the 4,245 electors registered in 1832 was not much higher than the 4,000 qualified voters who have been estimated for 1754. However, the electorate grew by almost half over the next thirty years, and the extension of the franchise in 1868 increased the electorate still further, to more than 9,000.

Abolition

Hertfordshire and its two boroughs ceased to exist as constituencies in 1885, the county being divided into four new single-member constituencies: the Mid or St Albans division of Hertfordshire, the Eastern or Hertford division, the Northern or Hitchin division and the Western or Watford division.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1290–1640

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Parliament	First member	Second member
1294	Roger Bryan
1296	Roger Bryan
1306	Ranulph de Monte Canisto
1377 (Jan)	Sir Walter Lee[2]
1379	Sir Walter Lee[2]
1380 (Jan)	Sir Walter Lee[2]
1380 (Nov)	Sir Walter Lee[2]
1381	Sir Walter Lee[2]
1384	Sir Edward Benstede
1385	Sir Walter Lee[2]
1386	Sir Walter Lee	Thomas Lee [3]
1388 (February)	Sir Walter Lee	Sir Robert Turk [3]
1388 (September)	Sir Walter Lee	Sir Robert Turk[3]
1390 (January)	Sir Walter Lee	Sir John Thornbury[3]
1390 (November)	Sir Walter Lee	John Ruggewyn[3]
1391	John Norbury	Sir John Thornbury[3]
1393	Sir Robert Turk	John Ruggewyn[3]
1394	Richard de la Pantry	John Ruggewyn[3]
1395	Sir Thomas Morewell	John Ruggewyn[3]
1397 (January)	Sir Edward Benstede	John Ruggewyn[3]
1397 (September)	Sir Edward Benstede	John Ruggewyn[3]
1399	Sir Edward Benstede	John Ludwick[3]
1401	Sir Thomas de la Barre	Robert Newport[3]
1402	Sir Edward Benstede	Sir Robert Corbet[3]
1404 (January)	Sir John Poultney	Sir Robert Corbet[3]
1404 (October)	Sir John Poultney	William Parker[3]
1406	Sir John Poultney	John Goldington[3]
1407	William Parker	Sir Thomas de la Barre[3]
1410
1411	Sir Thomas de la Barre	Robert Newport[3]
1413 (February)
1413 (May)	John Hotoft	John Leventhorpe[3]
1414 (April)	John Hotoft	William Flete{[3]
1414 (November)	John Hotoft	William Flete[3]
1415
1416 (March)	John Hotoft	John Leventhorpe[3]
1416 (October)
1417	Sir Philip Thornbury	John Hotoft[3]
1419	John Fray	John Hotoft[3]
1420	John Fray	John Barley[3]
1421 (May)	Robert Louthe	William Rokesburgh[3]
1421 (December)	Sir Philip Thornbury	John Kirby[3]
1422	John Leventhorpe	John Hotoft
1427	Sir John Tyrell
1435	Thomas Broket
1439	Sir John Cressy
1447	John Troutbeck
1449	Sir Robert Wingfield
October 1450	Sir William Oldhall
March 1453	John Say	Bartholemew Halley
April 1453	John Say	Bartholemew Halley
February 1454	John Say	Bartholemew Halley
1463	Sir John Say
1467	Sir John Say
1472	Sir John Say
January 1478	Sir John Say	John Sturgeon
1491	Sir William Say
1495	Sir William Say
1510–1523	No names known[4]
1529	Henry Barley	Philip Butler [4]
1536
1539	Sir Henry Parker	Sir Philip Butler [4]
1542	Sir Ralph Sadler	Edward Brocket or John Brocket, snr [4]
1545	Sir Richard Lee	John Cock [4]
1547	Sir Anthony Denny, died and repl. October 1549 by Sir Henry Parker, died and repl. January 1552 by John Cock	Sir Ralph Rowlett [4]
1553 (Mar)	Sir Ralph Sadler	John Cock [4]
1553 (Oct)	Sir John Butler	Sir John Brocket, snr [4]
1554 (Apr)	John Cock	Francis Southwell [4]
1554 (Nov)	John Cock	Edward Brocket [4]
1555	Sir John Brocket, snr	John Cock [4]
1558	John Foster	John Purvey [4]
1559 (Jan)	Sir Thomas Parry	Sir Ralph Sadler[5]
1562/3	Sir Ralph Sadler	Henry Capell[5]
1571	Sir Ralph Sadler	Sir George Carey [5]
1572 (Apr)	Sir Ralph Sadler	Sir John Brocket, jnr [5]
1584 (Nov)	Sir Ralph Sadler	Sir Henry Cocke [5]
1586 (Oct)	Sir Ralph Sadler	Sir Henry Cocke [5]
1588 (Oct)	Robert Cecil	Sir Philip Butler [5]
1593	Sir Robert Cecil	Sir Henry Cocke [5]
1597 (Sep)	Sir Robert Cecil	Rowland Lytton [5]
1601 (Oct)	Sir Robert Cecil	Sir Henry Cary [5]
1604	Sir Henry Cary	Rowland Lytton
1614	Sir Henry Cary	Ralph Coningsby
1621	Sir Henry Cary[6]	Sir Charles Morrison, 1st Baronet
1624	Sir Charles Morrison, 1st Baronet	Sir William Lytton
1625	John Boteler	Sir John Boteler
1626		Sir Thomas Dacres
1628	Sir William Lytton	Sir Thomas Dacres
1629–1640	No Parliament summoned

MPs 1640–1653

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640		Arthur Capel	Royalist		Sir William Lytton
November 1640					Sir William Lytton	Parliamentarian
August 1641		Sir Thomas Dacres	Parliamentarian
December 1648	Dacres and Lytton excluded in Pride's Purge - both seats vacant
1653		Henry Lawrence			William Reeve

MPs 1654–1658

First Protectorate Parliament: representation increased to 5 members
Year		First member	Second member	Third member	Fourth member	Fifth member
1654		Henry Lawrence	Sir Richard Lucy, Bt	John Wittewrong	The Earl of Salisbury	Thomas Nicholl
1656		Sir John Gore				Rowland Lytton

MPs 1659-1832

Third Protectorate Parliament: representation reverted to 2 members
Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
January 1659		Richard Galston			Rowland Lytton
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Henry Caesar			Rowland Lytton
1661		Sir Richard Franklin			Sir Thomas Fanshawe
1666					Sir Henry Caesar
1668					Viscount Cranborne
1669					William Hale
February 1679		Silius Titus
August 1679		Sir Jonathan Keate			Sir Charles Caesar
1681		William Hale
1685		Ralph Freman			Thomas Halsey
1689		Sir Thomas Pope Blount			Sir Charles Caesar
1690					Ralph Freman
1695					Thomas Halsey
1697		Ralph Freman, junior
1705					Sir John Spencer, Bt
1708					Thomas Halsey
1715					Sir Thomas Sebright, Bt
1727		Charles Caesar
1734		William Plumer
1736					Charles Caesar
1741		Jacob Houblon			Charles Gore
1747		Paggen Hale
1755		William Plumer
1761		Thomas Plumer Byde			Jacob Houblon
1768		William Plumer			Thomas Halsey
1784					The Viscount Grimston
1790					William Baker
1802					Hon. Peniston Lamb
1805					William Baker	Tory
1807		Hon. Thomas Brand			Sir John Sebright, Bt	Whig
1819		Hon. William Lamb	Whig
1826		Nicolson Calvert	Whig
1832	Representation increased to three members

MPs 1832–1885

Election		First member	First party		Second member	Second party		Third member	Third party
1832		Sir John Sebright, Bt	Whig		Nicolson Calvert	Whig		Viscount Grimston	Conservative
1835		Abel Smith, senior	Conservative		Rowland Alston	Whig
1841					Hon. Granville Ryder	Conservative
1846 by-election								Thomas Plumer Halsey	Conservative
1847		Sir Henry Meux, Bt	Conservative		Thomas Brand [7]	Whig
1852					Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Bt	Conservative
1854 by-election								Abel Smith, junior	Conservative
1857								Christopher William Puller	Whig
1859		Abel Smith, junior	Conservative						Liberal
1864 by-election								Henry Edward Surtees	Conservative
1865		Hon. Henry Cowper	Liberal
1866 by-election					Abel Smith, junior	Conservative
1868								Henry Brand	Liberal
1874								Frederick Halsey	Conservative
1885	Constituency abolished

Notes

1. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 398–399. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
2. "LEE, Sir Walter (c.1350-1395), of Albury, Herts.". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
3. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-09-14.
4. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-09-14.
5. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-09-14.
6. Knighted 1616|| created The Viscount Falkland (in the Peerage of Scotland), November 1620
7. Later adopted the surname Trevor

References

• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• John Cannon, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• Peter Jupp, British and Irish Elections 1784-1831 (Newton Abbott: David & Charles, 1973)
• Lewis Namier & John Brooke, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754-1790 (London: HMSO, 1964)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Reform 1640-1832 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Robert Walcott, English Politics in the Early Eighteenth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956)
• British History Online - Parliamentary papers
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)