Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)

The county constituency of Northamptonshire, in the East Midlands of England was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832 and was represented in Parliament by two MPs, traditionally known as Knights of the Shire.

Northamptonshire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1290–1832
Seats	two

After 1832 the county was split into two new constituencies, North Northamptonshire and South Northamptonshire.

Boundaries

The constituency consisted of the historic county of Northamptonshire. Although the county contained a number of parliamentary boroughs, each of which elected one or two MPs in its own right for parts of the period when Northamptonshire was a constituency, these areas were not excluded from the county constituency. Owning freehold property of the required value, within such boroughs, could confer a vote at the county election. (After 1832, only non-resident owners of forty shilling freeholds situated in borough seats could qualify for a county vote on the basis of that property.)

Members of Parliament

1290–1640

Constituency created (1290)

Parliament	First member	Second member
1305 (Feb)	Oliver la Zouch[1]	John de Seyton[1]
1319	John de Longeville[1]	William Trussell[1]
1324	Henry de Trailly
1330 (Nov)	Robert de Daventry[1]	Edmund Trussell[1]
1337	John de Seyton
1343	Sir William Brabazon[1]
1351	Sir Peter Mallore
1369	John de Verdon	William de Quenton
1380 (Jan)	John Tyndale
1382 (Oct)	John Wydeville	John Tyndale
1383 (Feb)	John Wydeville	John Tyndale
1383 (Oct)	John Wydeville
1384 (Apr)	Roger de la Chamber	John Tyndale
1384 (Nov)	Roger de la Chamber	John Tyndale
1385	Sir Giles Mallore
1386	Roger de la Chamber	John Tyndale[2]
1388 (Feb)	Sir Giles Mallore	John Wydeville[2]
1388 (Sep)	John Harrowden	John Mulsho[2]
1390 (Jan)	Roger de la Chamber	John Mulsho[2]
1390 (Nov)	John Wydeville	John Mulsho[2]
1391	Roger de la Chamber	Sir Nicholas Lilling[2]
1393	Sir Giles Mallore	John Tyndale[2]
1394	Sir Henry Green	Sir Giles Mallor4[2]
1395	Roger de la Chamber	Robert Chiselden[2]
1397 (Jan)	Sir Henry Green	John Cope[2]
1397 (Sep)	Hugh Northborough	John Mulsho[2]
1399	John Cope	Robert Chiselden[2]
1401	Sir Giles Mallore	John Warwick[2]
1402	Sir Giles Mallore	John Cope[2]
1404 (Jan)	Sir John Trussell	Ralph Parles[2]
1404 (Oct)	Ralph Green	John Cope[2]
1406	Ralph Parles / John Cope	John Warwick[2]
1407	John Tyndale	Thomas Wake[2]
1410	Sir John St. John	Ralph Green[2]
1411	Sir John St. John	William Huddlestone [2]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	Nicholas Merbury	Thomas Wake[2]
1414 (Apr)	Thomas Wydeville	Nicholas Merbury[2]
1414 (Nov)	Sir John Trussell	John Mortimer[2]
1415
1416 (Mar)	Sir John St. John	William Huddlestone[2]
1416 (Oct)
1417	Thomas Mulsho	Thomas Wake[2]
1419	Thomas Strange	John Boseno[2]
1420	Sir John Beaufo	Richard Knightley[2]
1421 (May)	Sir John St. John	Thomas Strange [2]
1421 (Dec)	Sir John Knyvet	Simon Kynnesman[2]
1423	William Tresham	Richard Knightley
1425	John Catesby
1427	William Tresham
1429	William Tresham	John Catesby
1431	?
1432	William Tresham
1433	William Tresham
1435	William Tresham
1437	?
1439	William Tresham	Richard Knightley
1442	William Tresham
1445	William Tresham
1447	William Tresham	Henry Green
1449 (Feb)	William Tresham	William Catesby
1449 (Oct)	William Tresham	Thomas Thorpe
1450 (Nov)	Thomas Mulsho
1453	Sir Thomas Tresham	William Catesby
1459	Sir Thomas Tresham
1484	William Catesby
1486	Sir Thomas Lovell
1491	Richard Empson	Davy Philip
1510–1512	No names known[3]
1515	?Sir Nicholas Vaux	? [3]
1523
1529	Sir William Parr	Richard Knightley[3]
1536
1539	Sir William Parr	Sir Thomas Tresham[3]
1542	Sir Thomas Tresham	Sir William Newenham[3]
1545
1547	Henry Williams	Sir John Cope[3]
1553 (Mar)	Sir Nicholas Throckmorton	Robert Lane[3]
1553 (Oct)	Sir John Fermor	William Chauncy[3]
1554 (Apr)	Sir Thomas Tresham	Sir John Spencer[3]
1554 (Nov)	Sir Thomas Tresham	William Chauncy[3]
1555	Sir John Fermor	William Chauncy[3]

As there were sometimes significant gaps between Parliaments, the dates of first assembly and dissolution are given for those up to 1640. Where the name of the member has not yet been ascertained or is not recorded in a surviving document, the entry unknown is entered in the table.

Elected	Assembled	Dissolved	First Member	Second Member
1558	20 January 1558	17 November 1558	Sir Walter Mildmay	Sir John Spencer
1559	23 January 1559	8 May 1559		Edward Montagu
1563	11 January 1563	2 January 1567		Sir William Cecil
1571	2 April 1571	29 May 1571		Sir Robert Lane
1572	8 May 1572	19 April 1583		(Sir) Christopher Hatton
1584	23 November 1584	14 September 1585
1586	15 October 1586	23 March 1587
1588	4 February 1589	29 March 1589		Sir Richard Knightley
1593	18 February 1593	10 April 1593	Sir Thomas Cecil	Christopher Yelverton
1597	24 October 1597	9 February 1598		Sir Richard Knightley
1601	27 October 1601	19 December 1601	Sir John Stanhope	Sir William Lane
1604	19 March 1604	9 February 1611	Sir Valentine Knightley	Sir Edward Montagu
1614	5 April 1614	7 June 1614	Sir William Tate[4]
1620	16 January 1621	8 February 1622	Sir William Spencer
(1621)				Richard Knightley[5]
1624	12 February 1624	27 March 1625
1625	17 May 1625	12 August 1625
1626	6 February 1626	15 June 1626		Sir John Pickering
1628	17 March 1628	10 March 1629	Francis Nicolls	Richard Knightley
1629–1640	No Parliaments convened

1640–1832

Election			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
Northamptonshire was represented by 2 elected Knights of the Shire
		1640, April	John Crew		Sir Gilbert Pickering, Bt
		1640, November	Sir Gilbert Pickering, Bt	Parliamentarian	Sir John Dryden, Bt	Parliamentarian
Northamptonshire was represented by 2 nominated MPs in Barebones Parliament
		1653 [6]	Sir Gilbert Pickering, Bt		Thomas Brooke
Northamptonshire's representation was increased to 6 elected MPs in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
		1654	(1) Sir Gilbert Pickering, Bt		(2) John Crew[7]
			(3) Sir John Norwich, Bt		(4) John Claypole, senior
			(5) Sir John Dryden, Bt		(6) Thomas Brooke
		1656	(1) Sir Gilbert Pickering, Bt		(2) John Claypole[8]
			(3) William Boteler		(4) James Langham
			(5) Thomas Crew		(6) Alexander Blake
Northamptonshire's representation was decreased to 2 MPs in the Third Parliament of the Protectorate and thereafter
		1659, January	Richard Knightley		Philip Holman
		1659, May	Sir Gilbert Pickering, Bt		vacant
		1660, April 22	John Crew		Sir Henry Yelverton, Bt
		21 March 1661	Sir Justinian Isham, 2nd Bt		George Clerke
		29 April 1675	Lord Burghley
		28 February 1678	Miles Fleetwood
		6 February 1679	Sir Roger Norwich, Bt		John Parkhurst
		21 August 1679	Miles Fleetwood
		12 May 1685	Sir Roger Norwich, Bt		Edward Montagu	Tory
		14 January 1689	Edward Harby	Whig
		13 June 1689	Sir Thomas Samwell, Bt
		20 February 1690	Sir St Andrew St John, Bt	Whig	John Parkhurst	Whig
		14 November 1695			Thomas Cartwright	Tory
		21 July 1698	Sir Justinian Isham, 4th Bt	Tory	John Parkhurst	Whig
		4 December 1701			Thomas Cartwright	Tory
		21 May 1730	Sir Justinian Isham, 5th Bt
		31 March 1737	Sir Edmund Isham, Bt
		14 April 1748			Valentine Knightley
		26 December 1754			William Cartwright
		31 March 1768			Sir William Dolben, Bt
		14 January 1773	Lucy Knightley
		18 October 1774			Thomas Powys
		15 April 1784	Sir James Langham, Bt
		23 June 1790	Francis Dickins
		2 August 1797			William Ralph Cartwright	Tory
		12 November 1806	Viscount Althorp	Whig
		23 May 1831			Viscount Milton	Whig
Constituency abolished 1832: see North Northamptonshire and South Northamptonshire.

Notes

1. Members of Parliament 1213-1702. London: House of Commons. 1878.
2. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 8 September 2011.
3. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 8 September 2011.
4. "TATE, Sir William (1559/60-1617), of Delapré Abbey, Northants". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
5. Elected following the elevation of Sir Edward Montagu to the peerage in 1621
6. From: 'List of members nominated for Parliament of 1653', Diary of Thomas Burton esq, volume 4: March - April 1659 (1828), pp. 499-500. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36965. Date accessed: 27 January 2008.
7. Appointed to Cromwell's Upper House, which first sat on 20 January 1658.
8. Claypole was also elected for Carmarthenshire and chose Northamptonshire.

Elections

See also

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

References

• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
• The House of Commons 1690-1715, by Eveline Cruickshanks, Stuart Handley and D.W. Hayton (Cambridge University Press 2002)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• 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))
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 3)