Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Borough constituency
Created:	1295 (1295)
Abolished:	1918 (1918)
Type:	House of Commons
Members:	two

Newcastle-upon-Tyne was a Borough constituency in the county of Northumberland of the House of Commons for the Parliament of England to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was represented by two Members of Parliament.

The constituency was abolished in 1918, being split into four divisions; Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central, Newcastle-upon-Tyne East, Newcastle-upon-Tyne North and Newcastle-upon-Tyne West.

Contents 1 Boundaries 2 Members of Parliament 3 Elections 3.1 Elections of the 1710s 3.2 Elections of the 1720s 3.3 Elections of the 1730s 3.4 Elections of the 1740s 3.5 Elections of the 1750s 3.6 Elections of the 1760s 3.7 Elections of the 1770s 3.8 Elections of the 1780s 3.9 Elections of the 1790s 3.10 Elections of the 1800s 3.11 Elections of the 1810s 3.12 Elections of the 1820s 3.13 Elections of the 1830s 3.14 The January 1906 General Election 4 Notes 5 References

Boundaries

The constituency was based upon the town, later city, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; in the historic county of Northumberland in North East England. In 1848, the constituency boundaries were described in A Topographical Dictionary of England ^[1]

The borough first exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd of Edward the First, since which time it has returned two members to parliament: the present electoral limits are co-extensive with those of the county of the town, comprising 5730 acres; the old boundaries, which were abrogated in 1832, included 2700 acres only.

When the House of Commons debated the boundaries to be used from 1832, the Tory Party suggested including Gateshead (to the south) and South Shields (to the east) within the Newcastle-upon-Tyne constituency. The Whigs resisted this idea, so these two neighbouring settlements were not incorporated into this seat. ^[2]

The boundaries of the parliamentary borough, as defined by the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 (2 and 3 Wm. 4, c. 64), remained unchanged from 1832 until the area was divided into single member constituencies in 1918. ^[3] These were not necessarily identical to the boundaries used for local government purposes.

In the period after 1885, the constituency was surrounded by Wansbeck to the west and north, Tyneside to the north ease and east, Jarrow to the south east, Gateshead to the south, and Chester-le-Street to the south west. ^[4]

Members of Parliament

Party affiliations are derived from Stook Smith and Craig (see reference section below). Tory is used prior to the 1835 general election and Conservative from that time. Liberal candidates (as listed by Craig) before the formal creation of the party, shortly after the 1859 general election, are listed as Whig or Radical if the information is available in the work by Stooks Smith.

MPs, who were known by the same name, are distinguished in the table below and the election results by a number in brackets after the name. It is not suggested that such numbers were used by contemporaries of the individuals so numbered.

Election	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
1622		William Calverley			unascertained
1660		Robert Ellison			Sir Francis Anderson
1661		Sir John Marlay
1673		Sir William Blackett, Bt (1)
1679					Sir Ralph Carr
1680		Sir Nathaniel Johnson
1685					Sir William Blackett, Bt (2)
1689		Sir Ralph Carr
1690					William Carr (1)
1695		Sir William Blackett, Bt (2)
1700		Sir Henry Liddell, Bt
1705		Sir William Blackett, Bt (2)
1706		Sir Henry Liddell, Bt
1710		Sir William Blackett, Bt (3) died 1728; declared not duly elected in 1727, in 1729			William Wrightson
1722					William Carr (2)
1727 [5]					Nicholas Fenwick
1729 on petition		William Carr (2)
1734		Sir Walter Calverley Blackett, Bt
1747					Matthew Ridley
1774					Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (1)
1777		Sir John Trevelyan, Bt
1780		Andrew Robinson Bowes
1784		Charles Brandling	Tory			Whig
1798		Charles John Brandling	Tory
1812		Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (2)	Whig		Cuthbert Ellison	Whig
1830					John Hodgson	Tory
1835					William Ord	Whig
1836		John Hodgson Hinde John Hodgson until August 1836	Conservative
1847		Thomas Emerson Headlam	Whig
1852					John Fenwick Burgoyne Blackett	Liberal
1856					George Ridley	Liberal
1859 change			Liberal
1860					Somerset Archibald Beaumont	Liberal
1865					Sir Joseph Cowen (1)	Liberal
1874					Joseph Cowen (2)	Liberal
1874		Charles Frederic Hamond	Conservative
1880		Ashton Wentworth Dilke	Liberal
1883		John Morley	Liberal
1885						Independent Liberal
1886					James Craig	Liberal
1892					Sir Charles Frederic Hamond	Conservative
1895		William Donaldson Cruddas	Conservative
1900		Sir Walter Richard Plummer	Conservative		George Renwick	Conservative
1906		Walter Hudson	Labour		Thomas Cairns	Liberal
1908					George Renwick	Conservative
1910 (January)					Edward Shortt	Liberal
1918	Constituency abolished

Elections

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The bloc vote electoral system was used in elections to fill two seats and first past the post for single member by-elections. Each voter had up to as many votes as there were seats to be filled. Votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration, in public, at the hustings (until the secret ballot was introduced in 1872).

Note on percentage change calculations: Where there was only one candidate of a party in successive elections, for the same number of seats, change is calculated on the party percentage vote. Where there was more than one candidate, in one or both successive elections for the same number of seats, then change is calculated on the individual percentage vote (if applicable).

The reference to some candidates as Non Partisan does not, necessarily, mean that they did not have a party allegiance. It means that the sources consulted did not specify a party allegiance.

Before the Representation of the People Act 1832, the borough had an electorate limited to its freemen. There were about 2,500 voters in the second half of the eighteenth century. ^[6]

1710s – 1720s – 1730s – 1740s – 1750s – 1760s – 1770s – 1780s – 1790s – 1800s – 1810s – 1820s – 1830s

Elections of the 1710s

General Election 1710: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sir William Blackett, Bt (3)	1,177	44.0	N/A
	Non Partisan	William Wrightson	886	33.2	N/A
	Non Partisan	William Carr (2)	609	22.8	N/A
Turnout			2,672	N/A	N/A

General Election 1715: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sir William Blackett, Bt (3)	639	44.0	...
	Non Partisan	William Wrightson	550	37.9	+4.7
	Non Partisan	James Clavering	263	18.1	N/A
Turnout			1,452	N/A	N/A

Elections of the 1720s

General Election 1722: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	William Carr (2)	1,264	38.3	N/A
	Non Partisan	Sir William Blackett, Bt (3)	1,158	35.9	-8.1
	Non Partisan	William Wrightson	831	25.8	-12.1
Turnout			3,223	N/A	N/A

General Election 1727: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sir William Blackett, Bt (3)	1,202	39.9	+4.0
	Non Partisan	Nicholas Fenwick	1,189	39.5	N/A
	Non Partisan	William Carr (2)	620	20.6	-17.7
Turnout			3,011	N/A	N/A

• Death of Blackett, in 1728
• On petition Carr vice Blackett

Elections of the 1730s

General Election 1734: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Walter Calverley Blackett	1,354	42.9	N/A
	Non Partisan	Nicholas Fenwick	1,083	34.3	-5.2
	Non Partisan	William Carr (2)	716	22.7	-2.1
Turnout			3,153 (1,795 electors)	N/A	N/A

Elections of the 1740s

General Election 1741: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Walter Calverley Blackett	1,453	32.3	-10.6
	Non Partisan	Nicholas Fenwick	1,231	27.4	-6.9
	Non Partisan	Matthew Ridley	1,131	25.1	N/A
	Non Partisan	William Carr (2)	683	15.2	-7.5
Turnout			4,498 (2,391 electors)	N/A	N/A

General Election 1747: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Walter Calverley Blackett	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Matthew Ridley	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Elections of the 1750s

General Election 17 April 1754: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sir Walter Calverley Blackett, Bt	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Matthew Ridley	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Elections of the 1760s

General Election 27 March 1761: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sir Walter Calverley Blackett, Bt	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Matthew Ridley	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 21 March 1768: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sir Walter Calverley Blackett, Bt	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Matthew Ridley	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Elections of the 1770s

General Election 11 October 1774: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sir Walter Calverley Blackett, Bt	1,432	33.2	N/A
	Non Partisan	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (1)	1,411	32.7	N/A
	Non Partisan	Constantine John Phipps	795	18.4	N/A
	Non Partisan	Thomas Delaval	677	15.7	N/A
Turnout			4,315 (2,162 electors)	N/A	N/A

• Death of Blackett

By-Election 27 February 1777: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sir John Trevelyan, Bt	1,163	52.1	N/A
	Non Partisan	Andrew Robinson Bowes	1,068	47.9	N/A
Majority			95	4.3	N/A
Turnout			2,231	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan hold		Swing	N/A

Elections of the 1780s

General Election 11 September 1780: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (1)	1,408	38.8	+6.1
	Non Partisan	Andrew Robinson Bowes	1,135	31.3	N/A
	Non Partisan	Thomas Delaval	1,085	29.9	+14.2
Turnout			3,628 (2,245 electors)	N/A	N/A

General Election 26 April 1784: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (1)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Charles Brandling	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Elections of the 1790s

General Election 1790: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (1)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Charles Brandling	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 1796: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (1)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Charles Brandling	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Resignation of Brandling in December 1797

By-Election 1798: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Charles John Brandling	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory hold		Swing	N/A

Elections of the 1800s

General Election 1802: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (1)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Charles John Brandling	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 1806: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (1)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Charles John Brandling	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 1807: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (1)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Charles John Brandling	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Elections of the 1810s

General Election 1812: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Matthew White Ridley (2)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	Cuthbert Ellison	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Ridley succeeded as the 3rd Baronet, upon the death of his father (and predecessor as MP) in 1813

General Election 1818: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (2)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	Cuthbert Ellison	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 1818: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (2)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	Cuthbert Ellison	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Elections of the 1820s

General Election 1820: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (2)	616	47.0	N/A
	Whig	Cuthbert Ellison	477	36.4	N/A
	Tory	Hon. W.H. John Scott	217	16.6	N/A
Turnout			1,310 (731 electors)	N/A	N/A

General Election 1826: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (2)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	Cuthbert Ellison	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

Elections of the 1830s

General Election 1830: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (2)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	John Hodgson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 1831: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (2)	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	John Hodgson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 1832: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (2)	2,112	43.2	N/A
	Tory	John Hodgson	1,686	34.5	N/A
	Radical	Charles Attwood	1,092	22.3	N/A
Turnout			4,890 (2,850 electors)	73.0	N/A
Registered Electors			3,905

General Election 1835: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Ord	1,843	33.0	N/A
	Whig	Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt (2)	1,499	26.8	-16.4
	Conservative	John Hodgson	1,254	22.5	-12.0
	Radical	James Aytoun	988	17.7	-4.6
Turnout			5,584 (3,107 electors)	76.6	+3.6
Registered Electors			4,054

The January 1906 General Election

The result of the election was as follows: (Labour) 18,869 (Liberal) 18,423 (Conservative) 11,942 and 11,223 The Labour and Liberal candidates were duly elected.

Notes

References

• 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)
• Electoral Reform in England and Wales, by Charles Seymour (David & Charles Reprints 1970)
• The House of Commons 1754-1790, by Sir Lewis Namier and John Brooke (HMSO 1964)
• The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
• 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)

• Historical list of MPs

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