Yorkshire

Yorkshire County constituency
Created:	1290 (1290)
Abolished:	1832 (1832)
Type:	House of Commons
Members:	2 until 1826, then 4

Yorkshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1826, when the county benefited from the disfranchisement of Grampound by taking an additional two members.

The constituency was split into its three historic ridings, for Parliamentary purposes, under the Reform Act 1832. Each riding returned two MPs. The county was then represented by the Yorkshire East Riding, Yorkshire North Riding and Yorkshire West Riding constituencies.

Contents 1 Boundaries 2 Members of Parliament 2.1 1290-1660 2.2 1660-1826 2.3 1826-1832 3 Elections 3.1 Elections in the eighteenth century 3.2 Elections in the 1800s 3.3 Elections in the 1810s and 1820s 3.4 Elections in the 1830s 4 See also 5 References

Boundaries

Yorkshire was the largest of the historic counties of England. The constituency comprised the whole county. Yorkshire also contained several boroughs which each returned two members to Parliament. These were Aldborough, Beverley, Boroughbridge, Hedon, Kingston-upon-Hull, Knaresborough, Malton, Northallerton, Pontefract, Richmond, Ripon, Scarborough, Thirsk and York.

Members of Parliament

1290-1660

• 1555: Sir John Constable
• 1588-1589: Sir Henry Constable
• 1593: Sir George Savile
• 1601: Thomas Fairfax, Edward Stanhope
• 1624: Thomas Savile
• 1626: Sir William Constable
• 1629: Sir Henry Savile

Short Parliament

• 1640: Sir William Savile
• 1640: ?

Long Parliament

• 1640-1648: Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax (Parliamentarian) - died March 1648
• 1640-1642: Henry Belasyse (Royalist) - disabled to sit, September 1642

(Although writs were issued to fill both these vacancies, no elections seem to have been held and the seats remained vacant to the end of the Parliament)

Barebones Parliament (Nominated members)

• 1653: Lord Eure, Walter Strickland, Francis Lascelles, John Anlaby, Thomas Dickenson, Thomas St. Nicholas, Roger Coats, Edward Gill

First Protectorate Parliament (Fourteen members elected for the three Ridings)

• 1654-1655: East Riding: Hugh Bethell, Richard Robinson, Walter Strickland, Sir William Strickland; North Riding: Lord Eure, Francis Lascelles, Thomas Harrison, George Smithson; West Riding: Lord Fairfax, John Lambert, Henry Tempest, John Bright, Edward Gill, Martin Lister

Second Protectorate Parliament (Fourteen members elected for the three Ridings)

• 1656-1658: East Riding: Hugh Bethell, Richard Darley, Henry Darley, Sir William Strickland; North Riding: Lord Eure, Francis Lascelles, Major General Robert Lilburne, Luke Robinson; West Riding: John Lambert, Colonel Henry Tempest, Edward Gill, Francis Thorpe, Henry Arthington, John Stanhope

Third Protectorate Parliament

• 1659: Lord Fairfax, Thomas Harrison

Long Parliament (restored) Both seats vacant

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

1660-1826

Year			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		1660	Thomas, Lord Fairfax		Sir John Dawnay
		1661	Conyers Darcy		Sir John Goodricke
		1670			Sir Thomas Slingsby
		1679	Viscount Dungarvan		Henry, Lord Fairfax
		1685			Sir John Kaye
		1689	Thomas, Lord Fairfax
		1698			The Viscount Downe
		January 1701			Sir John Kaye
		December 1701			The Viscount of Irvine
		1702	Marquess of Hartington		Sir John Kaye
		January 1707			Thomas, Lord Fairfax
		December 1707	The Viscount Downe		Conyers Darcy
		1708			Sir William Strickland
		1710			Sir Arthur Kaye
		February 1727			Cholmley Turner
		August 1727	Sir Thomas Watson-Wentworth
		1728	Sir George Savile
		1734	Sir Miles Stapylton
		1741			Charles Howard, Viscount Morpeth
		1742			Cholmley Turner
		1747			Sir Conyers Darcy
		1750	The Viscount Downe[1]
		1759			Sir George Savile	Whig
		1761	Edwin Lascelles	Tory
		1780	Henry Duncombe	Tory
		January 1784			Francis Ferrand Foljambe	Whig
		April 1784			William Wilberforce	Tory
		1796	Hon. Henry Lascelles	Tory
		1806	Walter Ramsden Fawkes	Whig
		1807	Viscount Milton	Whig
		1812			Hon. Henry Lascelles	Tory
		1818			James Stuart-Wortley	Tory
1826			representation increased to 4 members

1826-1832

Year					First member	Party	Second member	Party	Third member	Party	Fourth Member	Party
Representation increased to 4 members
				1826	Viscount Milton	Whig	William Duncombe	Tory	Richard Fountayne Wilson	Tory	John Marshall	Whig
				1830	Viscount Morpeth	Whig		Ultra-Tory	Richard Bethell	Tory	Henry Brougham[2]	Whig
				1830							Sir John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone	Whig
				1831			George Strickland	Whig	John Charles Ramsden	Whig
1832					Constituency abolished: see North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire and West Yorkshire

Notes

1. ^ Died December 1760
2. ^ Brougham was also elected for Knaresborough; he was elevated to the House of Lords before having chosen which constituency he would represent in the Commons

Elections

The county franchise, from 1430, was held by the owners of freehold land valued at 40 shillings or more. Each voter had as many votes as there were seats to be filled. Votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration, in public, at the hustings, which took place in the county town of York. The expense and difficulty of voting at only one location in the (very large) county, together with the lack of a secret ballot contributed to the corruption and intimidation of voters, which was widespread in the unreformed British political system.

The expense, to candidates, of contested elections encouraged the leading families of the county to agree on the candidates to be returned unopposed whenever possible. Contested county elections were therefore unusual.

Elections in the eighteenth century

Only two elections in the eighteenth century were contested.

General Election 1734: Yorkshire (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Miles Stapylton	7,896		N/A
	Whig	Cholmley Turner	7,879		N/A
	Whig	Rowland Winn	7,699		N/A
	Whig	Edward Wortley Montagu	5,898		N/A
Turnout			23,007	N/A	N/A

Yorkshire by-election, 1741 (1 seat)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Cholmley Turner	8,005	53.2	N/A
		George Fox	7,049	46.8	N/A
Turnout			15,054	N/A	N/A

At the UK general election, 1784, the seat was initially contested, but the two Whig candidates Francis Ferrand Foljambe and William Weddell conceded without calling for a poll.

Elections in the 1800s

At the UK general election, 1802, William Wilberforce and Henry Lascelles were elected unopposed.

At the UK general election, 1806, William Wilberforce and Walter Ramsden Fawkes were elected unopposed.

General Election 1807: Yorkshire (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	William Wilberforce	11,806		N/A
	Whig	Viscount Milton	11,177		N/A
	Tory	Henry Lascelles	10,989		N/A
	Whig	Walter Ramsden Fawkes	2		N/A
Turnout			23,007	N/A	N/A

Elections in the 1810s and 1820s

At the UK general election, 1812, Viscount Milton and Henry Lascelles were elected unopposed.

At the 1818 and 1820 UK general elections, Viscount Milton and James Stuart Wortley were elected unopposed.

At the UK general election, 1826, Richard Fountayne Wilson, John Marshall, William Duncombe and Viscount Milton were elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1830s

General Election 1830: Yorkshire (4 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Viscount Morpeth	1,464		N/A
	Whig	Henry Brougham	1,295		N/A
	Tory	William Duncombe	1,123		N/A
	Tory	Richard Bethell	1,065		N/A
	Whig	Martin Stapyllton	94		N/A
Turnout				N/A	N/A

Yorkshire by-election, 1830 (1 seat)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone	361	77.6	N/A
	Whig	George Strickland	104	22.4	N/A
Turnout			465	N/A	N/A

At the UK general election, 1831, George Strickland, John Charles Ramsden, John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone and Viscount Morpeth were elected unopposed.

See also

• Yorkshire election 1807

References

• 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) originally published in 1844-50, so out of copyright

• List of former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies
• Unreformed House of Commons