King's Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)

King's Lynn
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1918–February 1974
Number of members	one
Replaced by	North West Norfolk
1298–1918
Number of members	two (1298–1885), one (1885–1918)
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

King's Lynn was a constituency in Norfolk, known as Lynn or Bishop's Lynn prior to 1537, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885, and one member thereafter. Until 1918 it was a parliamentary borough, after which the name was transferred to a county constituency. It was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister, was an MP for the constituency for almost the entirety of his parliamentary career, from 1702 to 1742.

Members of Parliament

MPs before 1640

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

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	Edmund Beleyeter	Thomas Morton [1]
1388 (Feb)	Henry Betley	Thomas Morton [1]
1388 (Sep)	Edmund Beleyeter	Thomas Drew [1]
1390 (Jan)	Robert Waterden	John Wace [1]
1390 (Nov)	John Wentworth	Thomas Waterden [1]
1391	Robert Botkesham	John Kepe [1]
1393	Thomas Morton	Thomas Brigge [1]
1394	Thomas Morton	Thomas Drew [1]
1395	Thomas Waterden	John Brandon [1]
1397 (Jan)	Thomas Drew	John Brandon [1]
1397 (Sep)	John Wentworth	Roger Rawlin [1]
1399	Robert Botkesham	Thomas Waterden [1]
1401	Robert Botkesham	Thomas Waterden [1]
1402	Thomas Fawkes	Robert Bruhham [1]
1404 (Jan)	Thomas Drew	John Wentworth [1]
1404 (Oct)	John Brandon	Thomas Drew [1]
1406	Thomas Brigge	Thomas Derham [1]
1407	William Lok	John Wesenham [1]
1410	John Spicer	John Brown [1]
1411	Bartholomew Sistern	Philip Frank [1]
1413 (Feb)	William Halyate	John Tilney [1]
1413 (May)	William Halyate	John Tilney [1]
1414 (Apr)	John Bilney	John Tilney [1]
1414 (Nov)	John Spicer	Andrew Swanton [1]
1415	Thomas Brigge	John Tilney [1]
1416 (Mar)	John Spicer	Thomas Brigge [1]
1416 (Oct)	William Herford	John Warner [1]
1417	Robert Brunham	Thomas Hunt [1]
1419	Philip Frank	Walter Curson [1]
1420	Thomas Brigge	Andrew Swanton [1]
1421 (May)	Bartholomew Sistern	John Parmenter [1]
1421 (Dec)	John Waterden	Robert Brandon [1]
1510	Thomas Gibbon	Francis Monford[2]
1512	Francis Monford	Thomas Wythe [2]
1515	Robert Soome	Thomas Wythe [2]
1523	Thomas Miller	Richard Bewcher [2]
1529	Thomas Miller	Richard Bewcher replaced Oct 1535 by Robert Southwell [2]
1536	Robert Southwell	William Coningsby [2]
1539	Thomas Waters	Robert Southwell [2]
1542	Thomas Waters	Thomas Miller [2]
1545	Edmund Grey	Thomas Miller [2]
1547	Thomas Gawdy	William Overend replaced Jan 1549 by George Amyas [2]
1553 (Mar)	Sir Richard Corbet	John Walpole [2]
1553 (Oct)	John Walpole	Thomas Waters [2]
1554 (Apr)	Thomas Waters	William Overend [2]
1554 (Nov)	Sir Thomas Moyle	Thomas Waters[2]
1555	Sir Nicholas L'Estrange	Thomas Waters [2]
1558	Ambrose Gilberd, died and replaced Sep 1558 by William Telverton	Thomas Waters [2]
1558/9	Thomas Hogan	Thomas Waters [3]
1562/3	(Sir) Robert Bell	Richard L'Estrange [3]
1571	(Sir) Robert Bell	John Kynne [3]
1572	(Sir) Robert Bell, died and replaced Jan 1580 by John Peyton	John Pell [3]
1584 (Mar)	John Peyton	Richard Clarke [3]
1586 (Oct)	Richard Clarke	Thomas Oxborough [3]
1588/9	Richard Clarke	Thomas Boston [3]
1593	Sir John Peyton	William Lewis [3]
1597 (Sep)	Thomas Oxborough	Nathaniel Bacon [3]
1601	Sir Robert Mansell	Thomas Oxborough [3]
1604	Thomas Oxborough	Robert Hitcham
1614	Matthew Clerke	Thomas Oxborough
1621–1622	Matthew Clerke	John Wallis
1624	John Wallis	William Doughty
1625	Thomas Gurling	John Cooke
1626	Thomas Gurling	John Cooke
1628	William Doughty	Sir John Hare
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1885

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
1640 (Apr)		William Doughty			Thomas Gurling
1640 (Nov)		John Perceval	Parliamentarian		Thomas Toll	Parliamentarian
1644	Perceval died – seat vacant
1646		Edmund Hudson
July 1647	Hudson expelled – seat vacant
1649		William Cecil (The Earl of Salisbury) [4]
1653	King's Lynn was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Major-General Philip Skippon			Guybon Goddard
1656					Major-General John Desborough [5]
January 1659		Griffith Lloyd			Thomas Toll
May 1659		William Cecil (The Earl of Salisbury)		One seat vacant
April 1660		Sir Ralph Hare			Edward Walpole
1661		Sir William Hovell
1668					Robert Wright
1670		John Coke
1673		Sir Francis North
1675		Robert Coke
1679		John Turner			Sir Simon Taylor
1681		Sir Henry Hobart	Whig
1685		Sir John Turner
1689					Sigismund Trafford
1690					Daniel Bedingfeld
1695					Sir Charles Turner
1702		Sir Robert Walpole [6]	Whig
1712		John Turner
1713		Sir Robert Walpole	Whig
1739					Sir John Turner
1742		Edward Bacon
1747		Horatio Walpole, junior	Whig
1757		Hon. Horace Walpole
1768		Hon. Thomas Walpole
1774					Crisp Molineux
1784		Hon. Horatio Walpole [7]
1790					Sir Martin Browne ffolkes
1809		Lord Walpole
January 1822					Marquess of Titchfield
June 1822		John Walpole
1824					Marquess of Titchfield
1826					Lord William Bentinck	Whig
1828					Lord George Bentinck	Whig
1831		Lord William Pitt Lennox	Whig
1832						Conservative
1835		Sir Stratford Canning	Conservative
1842 by-election		Viscount Jocelyn	Conservative
1848 by-election					Hon. Edward Stanley [8]	Conservative
1854 by-election		John Henry Gurney	Whig
1859			Liberal
1865		Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton	Liberal
1868		Hon. Robert Bourke	Conservative
1869 by-election					Lord Claud Hamilton	Conservative
1880					Sir William Hovell Browne ffolkes	Liberal
1885	Representation reduced to one Member

MPs 1885–1974

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Hon. Robert Bourke, later Baron Connemara	Conservative
	1886 by-election	Alexander Weston Jarvis	Conservative
	1892	Thomas Gibson Bowles	Conservative
	1906	Carlyon Wilfroy Bellairs	Liberal
	1906		Conservative
	January 1910	Thomas Gibson Bowles	Liberal
	December 1910	Holcombe Ingleby	Conservative
	1918	Sir Neville Paul Jodrell	Conservative
	1923	George Graham Woodwark	Liberal
	1924	Edmund Burke Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy	Conservative
	1935	Somerset Arthur Maxwell	Conservative
	1943	Edmund Burke Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy	Conservative
	1945	Frederick John Wise	Labour
	1951	Ronald Scott-Miller	Conservative
	1959	Denys Bullard	Conservative
	1964	Derek Page	Labour
	1970	Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler	Conservative
1974		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

• representation reduced to one member

Sir William ffolkes

General Election 1885: King's Lynn [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Robert Bourke	1,472	53.1
	Liberal	Sir William Hovell Browne ffolkes	1,302	46.9
Majority			170	6.2
Turnout				89.7
	Conservative win (new seat)

General Election 1886: King's Lynn [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Robert Bourke	1,417	55.3	+2.2
	Liberal	John James Briscoe	1,146	44.7	-2.2
Majority			271	10.6	+4.4
Turnout				82.8	-6.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.2

King's Lynn by-election, 1886 [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Weston Jarvis	1,423	54.9
	Liberal	J H Sanders	1,168	45.1
Majority			255	9.8
Turnout				83.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: King's Lynn [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,319	50.2	-4.7
	Liberal	Thomas R. Kemp	1,308	49.8	+4.7
Majority			11	0.4	-9.4
Turnout				88.5	+4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.7

General Election 1895: King's Lynn [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,395	51.3	+1.1
	Liberal	Hubert George Beaumont	1,326	48.7	-1.1
Majority			69	2.6	+2.2
Turnout				91.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.1

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: King's Lynn [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,499	52.9	+1.6
	Liberal	Frederick Handel Booth	1,332	47.1	-1.6
Majority			167	5.8	+3.2
Turnout				88.2	-3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6

C.W. Bellairs

General Election 1906: King's Lynn [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Carlyon Wilfroy Bellairs	1,506	43.8
	Independent Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,164	33.8	n/a
	Conservative	Alan Hughes Burgoyne	772	22.4	n/a
Majority			342	10.0
Turnout				93.2
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: King's Lynn [10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,900
	Conservative	Hon. Edward Cecil George Cadogan	1,638
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election December 1910: King's Lynn [10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Holcombe Ingleby	1,765
	Liberal	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,668
Majority
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

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: Holcombe Ingleby
• Liberal:

General Election 1918
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Neville Paul Jodrell	10,146	50.9
	Labour	Robert Barrie Walker	9,780	49.1
Majority			366	1.8
Turnout				59.7
	Unionist hold		Swing

• endorsed by the Coalition Government

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: King's Lynn
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Sir Neville Paul Jodrell	9,862	37.2	-13.7
	Labour	Robert Barrie Walker	8,683	32.7	-16.4
	Liberal	George Graham Woodwark	7,970	30.1	n/a
Majority			1,179	4.5	+2.7
Turnout				75.5
	Unionist hold		Swing	+1.3

General Election 1923: King's Lynn
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Graham Woodwark	9,943	38.7	+8.6
	Unionist	Sir Neville Paul Jodrell	9,266	36.1	-1.7
	Labour	John Stevenson	6,488	25.2	-6.9
Majority			677	2.6	7.1
Turnout				71.9	-3.6
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+5.2

General Election 1924: King's Lynn
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Lord Fermoy	11,710	41.6
	Liberal	George Graham Woodwark	9,184	32.6
	Labour	John Stevenson	7,280	25.8
Majority			2,526	9.0
Turnout				77.6
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1929: King's Lynn
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Lord Fermoy	14,501	40.7	-0.9
	Liberal	William Bertram Mitford	10,806	30.3	-2.3
	Labour	Sir Herbert John Maynard	10,356	29.0	+3.2
Majority			3,695	10.4	+1.4
Turnout				79.1	+1.5
	Unionist hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lord Fermoy	23,687	70.2
	Labour	David Freeman	10,054	29.8
Majority			13,633	40.4
Turnout			33,741	72.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1935
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Somerset Arthur Maxwell	17,492	50.0
	Labour	F Emerson	12,062	34.5
	Liberal	Frank Ongley Darvall	5,418	15.5
Majority			5,430	15.5
Turnout			34,972	71.7
	Conservative hold		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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Somerset Arthur Maxwell
• Labour: Frederick Wise
• Liberal: R H Kerkham
• British Union: A E Ilett

King's Lynn by-election, 1943
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lord Fermoy	10,696	54.2	+4.2
	Independent Labour	Maj. Frederick John Wise	9,027	45.8	N/A
Majority			1,669	8.4	−7.1
Turnout			9,723	39.8	−31.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1945
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maj. Frederick John Wise	18,202	48.7
	Conservative	William Donald Hamilton McCullough	14,928	39.9
	Liberal	Alexander Peckover Doyle Penrose	3,796	10.2
	Independent	Com. Geoffrey Bowles	444	1.2
Majority			3,274	8.8
Turnout				73.3
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: King's Lynn[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maj. Frederick John Wise	19,399	45.33	-3.37
	Conservative	Ronald Scott-Miller	19,129	44.70	+4.80
	Liberal	Richard Arden Winch	4,266	9.97	-0.23
Majority			270	0.63	-8.17
Turnout			42,794	83.84	+10.54
Registered electors			51,043
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.09

General Election 1951: King's Lynn[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ronald Scott-Miller	21,954	51.09	+6.39
	Labour	Maj. Frederick John Wise	21,017	48.91	+3.58
Majority			937	2.18	N/A
Turnout			42,791	82.77	-1.07
Registered electors			51,914
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+1.41

General Election 1955: King's Lynn[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ronald Scott-Miller	20,949	51.65	+0.56
	Labour	Hugh McDowall Lawson	19,611	48.35	-0.56
Majority			1,338	3.30	+1.12
Turnout			40,560	78.20	-4.57
Registered electors			51,867
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.56

General Election 1959: King's Lynn[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Denys Gradwell Bullard	21,671	52.12	+0.47
	Labour	George Colin Jackson	19,906	47.88	-0.47
Majority			1,765	4.25	+0.95
Turnout			41,577	79.76	+1.56
Registered electors			52,125
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.47

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: King's Lynn[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Derek Page	21,460	50.12	+2.24
	Conservative	Denys Bullard	21,356	49.88	-2.24
Majority			104	0.24	N/A
Turnout			42,816	80.50	+0.74
Registered electors			53,186
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.24

General Election 1966: King's Lynn[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Derek Page	23,324	52.26	+2.14
	Conservative	Denys Bullard	21,305	47.74	-2.14
Majority			2,019	4.52	+4.28
Turnout			44,629	82.90	+2.40
Registered electors			53,832
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.14

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: King's Lynn[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler	23,822	50.03	+2.29
	Labour	John Derek Page	23,789	49.97	-2.29
Majority			33	0.07	N/A
Turnout			47,611	78.23	-4.67
Registered electors			60.857
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+2.29

References

1. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
2. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-10-11.
3. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-10-11.
4. Salisbury had been a peer, sitting in the House of Lords, since 1612, but became eligible to sit in the Commons after the House of Lords was abolished
5. Desborough was also elected for Somerset
6. Walpole was expelled from the House of Commons in January 1712 for "a high Breach of trust and notorious corruption". He was re-elected at the ensuing by-election, but the Commons resolved that having been expelled he was not capable of being re-elected to the House in the same session. Rather than awarding the election to his opponent, the election was declared void and a new writ was issued.
7. Styled Lord Walpole from 1806
8. Styled Lord Stanley from 1851
9. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
10. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
11. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
12. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
13. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
14. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
15. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
16. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
17. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.

• 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)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
• The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)