Sudbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Sudbury was a parliamentary constituency which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Sudbury
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1559–1844
Seats	two

Sudbury
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1950
Seats	one
Created from	Western Division of Suffolk
Replaced by	Sudbury and Woodbridge

History

A parliamentary borough consisting of the town of Sudbury in Suffolk, the constituency elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election to the House of Commons of England from 1559 to 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until it was disenfranchised for corruption in 1844, after which it was absorbed into the Western Division of Suffolk. It was probably enfranchised through lobbying from Ambrose Cave the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who had interests in the area and could influence the choice of MPs.^[1] Sudbury had in the eighteenth Century been seen as a particularly expensive seat^[2] but not under the influence of any patron^[3] and in the 1761 general election Horace Walpole the cousin of the outgoing MP, Thomas Walpole, had claimed that Sudbury had openly advertised itself for sale^[4] with the new MP, John Henniker having to spend £5,500 from the Duke of Newcastle's funds.^[5] but not under the influence of any patron^[3] The Sudbury election of 1835, which Charles Dickens reported for the Morning Chronicle, is thought by many experts to be the inspiration for the famous Eatanswill election in his novel Pickwick Papers.^[6]

The seat was re-established as one of five single-member county divisions of the Parliamentary County of Suffolk by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, electing one MP by the first past the post voting system. It was abolished for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1885–1918

• The part of the Municipal Borough of Sudbury in the county of Suffolk;
• The Sessional Divisions of Boxford, Cosford, Melford, and Risbridge; and
• Parts of the Sessional Divisions of Newmarket, and Thingoe and Thedwestry.^[7]

The county division was formed from part of the abolished Western Division and included the towns of Sudbury, Hadleigh and Haverhill.

1918–1950

• The Municipal Borough of Sudbury;
• The Urban Districts of Glemsford, Hadleigh, and Haverhill;
• The Rural Districts of Clare, Cosford, and Melford; and
• Parts of the Rural Districts of Moulton and Thingoe.^[8]

Marginal changes to boundaries.

On abolition, western and northern parts, including Haverhill, transferred to Bury St Edmunds.  Central, southern and western parts, including Sudbury and Hadleigh, formed part of the new county constituency of Sudbury and Woodbridge.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1559–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1559	Clement Throckmorton	Henry Fortescue[1]
1563	John Heigham	Thomas Andrews[1]
1571	John Hunt	John Gurdon[1]
1572	Richard Eden	Martin Cole[1]
1584	Edward Waldegrave	Henry Blagge[1]
1586	Henry Blagge	Geoffrey Rusham[1]
1588	Thomas Eden	Thomas Jermyn[1]
1593	William Fortescue	Dudley Fortescue[1]
1597	George Waldegrave	John Clapham[1]
1601	Philip Gawdy	Edward Glascock[1]
1604–1611	Sir Thomas Beckingham	Thomas Eden, jnr
1614	Robert Crane	Henry Binge
1621	Edward Osborne	Brampton Gurdon
1624	Robert Crane	Sir William Pooley
1625	Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston	Robert Crane
1626	Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston	Thomas Smith
1628	Sir Robert Crane	Sir William Pooley
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1844

Year	First member		First party	Second member		Second party
April 1640		Sir Robert Crane	Parliamentarian		Richard Pepys
November 1640					(Sir) Simonds d'Ewes[9]	Parliamentarian
February 1643	Crane died – seat left vacant
1645		Brampton Gurdon	Parliamentarian
December 1648				D'Ewes ceased sitting after Pride's Purge
1653	Sudbury was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		John Fothergill		Sudbury had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656
January 1659					Samuel Hassel
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		John Gurdon	Parliamentarian		Joseph Brand
1661		Thomas Waldegrave			Isaac Appleton
1662					Sir Robert Cordell
1677		Sir Gervase Elwes	Whig
February 1679		Gervase Elwes
September 1679					Sir Gervase Elwes	Whig
1685		Sir John Cordell	Tory		Sir George Wenyeve	Tory
1689		Sir John Poley	Tory[10]		Philip Gurdon	Whig[10]
February 1690		John Robinson	Whig[11]
October 1690					Sir Thomas Barnardiston	Whig
1698		Samuel Kekewich
1699					John Gurdon	Tory[11]
1700		Sir Gervase Elwes	Whig
January 1701					Sir John Cordell	Tory[11]
December 1701					Joseph Haskin Stiles	Whig[11]
1703					George Dashwood	Tory[11]
1705					Philip Skippon	Whig[11]
1706		Sir Hervey Elwes	Whig
1710		John Mead	Tory[11]		Lieutenant-General Robert Echlin	Tory[11]
1713		Sir Hervey Elwes	Whig
1715					Thomas Western
1722		John Knight	Whig		Colonel William Windham
1727					Carteret Leathes
January 1734		Richard Jackson
April 1734		Richard Price			Edward Stephenson
1741		Thomas Fonnereau			Carteret Leathes
1747					Richard Rigby	Whig
1754					Thomas Walpole
1761					John Henniker
1768		(Sir) Patrick Blake[12]			(Sir) Walden Hanmer[13]
1774 [14]		Thomas Fonnereau			Philip Champion Crespigny	Whig
1775		Sir Patrick Blake, Bt			Sir Walden Hanmer
1780					Philip Champion Crespigny[15]	Whig
1781					Sir James Marriott
1784		William Smith	Whig		John Langston
1790		John Hippisley	Whig		Thomas Champion Crespigny
1796		William Smith	Whig		Sir James Marriott
1802		Sir John Hippisley	Whig[16]		John Pytches	Whig[16]
1807					Emanuel Felix Agar	Tory[16]
1812					Charles Wyatt	Tory[16]
1818		William Heygate	Tory[16]		John Broadhurst	Whig[16]
1820					Charles Augustus Tulk	Whig[16]
1826		John Wilks	Whig[16]		Bethel Walrond	Whig[16]
1828		John Norman Macleod	Tory[16]
1830		Sir John Walsh	Tory[16]
1831					Digby Cayley Wrangham	Tory[16]
1832					Michael Angelo Taylor	Whig[16]
Jul. 1834					Sir Edward Barnes[17]	Tory[16]
Dec. 1834			Conservative[16]			Conservative[16]
1835		John Bagshaw	Whig[18][19][20][21][16]		Benjamin Smith	Whig[16]
July 1837		Sir James Hamilton	Conservative[16]		Sir Edward Barnes	Conservative[16]
December 1837		Joseph Bailey	Conservative[16]
1838					Sir John Walsh	Conservative[16]
1840					George Tomline	Conservative[16]
1841[22]		Frederick Villiers Meynell	Whig[16][23]		David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre	Whig[16][23]
29 July 1844	Constituency disfranchised for corruption and incorporated into Western Suffolk

MPs 1885–1950

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Sir William Quilter	Liberal
	1886	Sir William Quilter	Liberal Unionist
	1906	William Heaton-Armstrong	Liberal
	1910 (January)	Sir Cuthbert Quilter	Conservative
	1918	Stephen Howard	Coalition Liberal
	1922	Herbert Mercer	Conservative
	1923	Frederick Loverseed	Liberal
	1924	Henry Walter Burton	Conservative
	1945	Roland Hamilton	Labour
1950		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Sudbury^[16][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Bethel Walrond	Unopposed
	Tory	John Walsh	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Tory gain from Whig

General election 1831: Sudbury^[16][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	John Walsh	544	46.0
	Tory	Digby Cayley Wrangham	400	33.8
	Whig	William Windham	239	20.2
Majority			161	13.6
Turnout			656	c. 65.6
Registered electors			c. 1,000
	Tory hold
	Tory gain from Whig

General election 1832: Sudbury^[16][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Michael Angelo Taylor	263	33.0	+22.9
	Tory	John Walsh	253	31.8	−14.2
	Tory	Digby Cayley Wrangham	234	29.4	−4.4
	Whig	John Bagshaw	46	5.8	−4.3
Turnout			474	93.1	c. +27.5
Registered electors			509
Majority			29	3.6	N/A
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	+16.1
Majority			19	2.4	−11.2
	Tory hold		Swing	−12.8

Taylor's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 25 July 1834: Sudbury^[16][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Edward Barnes	264	50.1	−11.1
	Whig	John Bagshaw	263	49.9	+11.1
Majority			1	0.2	−2.2
Turnout			527	96.3	+3.2
Registered electors			547
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	−11.1

• Both candidates received the same number of votes, but the mayor's vote was added in favour of Barnes

General election 1835: Sudbury^[16][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Bagshaw	285	28.4	−4.6
	Whig	Benjamin Smith	251	25.0	+19.2
	Conservative	Edward Barnes	241	24.0	−7.8
	Conservative	Stephens Lyne-Stephens	227	22.6	−6.8
Majority			10	1.0	−2.6
Turnout			527	95.1	+2.0
Registered electors			554
	Whig hold		Swing	+1.4
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.3

General election 1837: Sudbury^[16][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Barnes	372	42.1	+18.1
	Conservative	Sir James Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, of Woodbrook	342	38.7	+16.1
	Whig	William Abel Smith	151	17.1	−11.3
	Whig	Sir Thomas Edward Michell Turton, 2nd Baronet	19	2.1	−22.9
Majority			191	21.6	N/A
Turnout			502	83.8	−11.3
Registered electors			599
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+17.6
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+16.6

Hamilton's resignation caused a by-election.

By-election, 12 December 1837: Sudbury^[16][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joseph Bailey	303	54.3	−26.5
	Whig	James Morrison	255	45.7	+26.5
Majority			48	8.6	−13.0
Turnout			558	92.7	+8.9
Registered electors			602
	Conservative hold		Swing	−26.5

Barnes' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 27 March 1838: Sudbury^[16][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Walsh	293	52.4	−28.4
	Whig	John Bagshaw	266	47.6	+28.4
Majority			27	4.8	−16.8
Turnout			559	92.9	+9.1
Registered electors			602
	Conservative hold		Swing	−28.4

Elections in the 1840s

Walsh resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds in order to contest a by-election at Radnorshire, causing a by-election.

By-election, 5 June 1840: Sudbury^[25][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Tomline	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1841: Sudbury^[25][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Frederick Villiers Meynell	284	25.5	+8.4
	Whig	David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre	281	25.2	+23.1
	Conservative	David Jones	274	24.6	−17.5
	Conservative	Charles Taylor	274	24.6	−14.1
Majority			7	0.6	N/A
Turnout			557	92.4	+8.6
Registered electors			603
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+12.1
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+19.5

After an election petition was lodged, a Royal Commission found proof of extensive bribery and the writ was suspended in 1844. The constituency was absorbed into West Suffolk.

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Sudbury^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Cuthbert Quilter	4,913	58.7
	Conservative	Thomas Weller Poley [27]	3,461	41.3
Majority			1,452	17.4
Turnout			8,374	79.6
Registered electors			10,522
	Liberal win (new seat)

General election 1886: Sudbury^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Cuthbert Quilter	Unopposed
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Sudbury^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Cuthbert Quilter	5,111	63.8	N/A
	Liberal	Arthur Graeme Ogilvie	2,905	36.2	New
Majority			2,206	27.6	N/A
Turnout			8,016	75.4	N/A
Registered electors			10,638
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1895: Sudbury^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Cuthbert Quilter	Unopposed
	Liberal Unionist hold

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Sudbury^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Cuthbert Quilter	Unopposed
	Liberal Unionist hold

Heaton-Armstrong

General election 1906: Sudbury^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Heaton-Armstrong	4,201	50.8	New
	Liberal Unionist	Cuthbert Quilter	4,065	49.2	N/A
Majority			136	1.6	N/A
Turnout			8,266	81.7	N/A
Registered electors			10,121
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

Hirst

General election January 1910: Sudbury^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Cuthbert Quilter	5,026	55.9	+6.7
	Liberal	Francis Hirst	3,958	44.1	−6.7
Majority			1,068	11.8	N/A
Turnout			8,984	89.5	+7.8
Registered electors			10,036
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.7

General election December 1910: Sudbury^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Cuthbert Quilter	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

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 and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Cuthbert Quilter
• Liberal: Stephen Howard^[28]

Howard

General election 1918: Sudbury^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Stephen Howard	6,656	52.1	New
C	Unionist	Richard George Proby	5,746	44.9	N/A
	Labour	Joseph Rouse Hicks*	390	3.0	New
Majority			910	7.2	N/A
Turnout			12,792	48.4	N/A
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

* some records describe Hicks as an 'Agriculture' candidate

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Sudbury^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Herbert Mercer	7,298	47.0	+2.1
	National Liberal	Stephen Howard	5,410	34.9	−17.2
	Liberal	Ernest William Tanner	2,813	18.1	−34.0
Majority			1,888	12.1	N/A
Turnout			15,521	59.3	+10.9
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

General election 1923: Sudbury^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick Loverseed	8,813	52.0	* −1.0
	Unionist	Herbert Mercer	8,148	48.0	+1.0
Majority			665	4.0	N/A
Turnout			16,961	63.8	+4.5
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	-1.0

* compared to combined 1922 Liberal vote.

General election 1924: Sudbury^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Henry Burton	10,579	53.6	+5.6
	Liberal	Frederick Loverseed	9,168	46.4	−5.6
Majority			1,411	7.2	N/A
Turnout			19,747	73.3	+9.5
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.6

General election 1929: Sudbury^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Henry Burton	9,715	40.2	−13.4
	Liberal	Alan Sainsbury	8,309	34.4	−12.0
	Labour	W. Jack Shingfield	6,147	25.4	New
Majority			1,406	5.8	−1.4
Turnout			24,171	75.9	+2.6
	Unionist hold		Swing	-0.7

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Sudbury^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Burton	13,500	55.3	+15.1
	Liberal	Alan Sainsbury	10,929	44.7	+10.3
Majority			2,571	10.6	+4.8
Turnout			24,429	76.7	+0.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.4

General election 1935: Sudbury^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Burton	11,700	49.3	−6.0
	Liberal	Alan Sainsbury	8,344	35.2	−9.5
	Labour	Horace Denton	3,670	15.5	New
Majority			3,356	14.1	+3.5
Turnout			23,714	74.4	−2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.7

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: Henry Burton
• Liberal: Frederic Sellers
• Labour: Roland Hamilton

General election 1945: Sudbury^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Roland Hamilton	9,906	40.3	+24.8
	Conservative	Henry Burton	9,659	39.2	−10.1
	Liberal	Margaret Hitchcock	5,045	20.5	−14.7
Majority			247	1.1	N/A
Turnout			24,610	69.5	−4.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

References

1. Hasler, P. W., ed. (1981). "Sudbury". The House of Commons 1558–1603. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
2. Page 50, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
3. Page 105, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
4. Letter 736, 3rd March 1761, Full text of "The letters of Horace Walpole, fourth earl of Orford
5. Page 320, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
6. M.C. Rintoul (1993). Dictionary of Real People and Places in Fiction. Taylor & Francis. p. 872. ISBN 9780415059992.
7. Great Britain, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. The public general acts. unknown library. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports, 1884.
8. S., Craig, Fred W. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885–1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0900178094. OCLC 539011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
9. Created a baronet, July 1641
10. Paula Watson (1983). "Sudbury". In Henning, B. D. (ed.). The House of Commons 1660–1690. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
11. D. W. Hayton (2002). "Sudbury". In Hayton, David; Cruickshanks, Eveline; Handley, Stuart (eds.). The House of Commons 1690–1715. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
12. Created a baronet, September 1772
13. Created a baronet, May 1774
14. On petition, the result of the election of 1774 was overturned: Fonnereau and Crespigny were declared not to have been duly elected and their opponents, Blake and Hanmer, were seated in their place
15. On petition, Crespigny was declared not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Marriott was seated in his place
16. Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 61–63. Retrieved 12 December 2018 – via Google Books.
17. Elected on the casting vote of the returning officer after a tie in votes. His opponent petitioned against the decision, denying that the returning officer was entitled to a casting vote, but Parliament was dissolved before the issue had been settled.
18. The Spectator, Volume 7. F. C. Westley. 1834. p. 702. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
19. The Spectator, Volume 10. F. C. Westley. 1837. p. 651. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
20. Sperling, Charles Frederick Denne (1896). A short history of the borough of Sudbury, in the county of Suffolk, compiled from materials collected by W.W. Hodson. Sudbury: Sudbury, Printed by B.R. Marten. pp. 162, 259. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
21. "General Intelligence". Coventry Standard. 24 June 1853. p. 2. Retrieved 13 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
22. The 1841 election was declared void on petition and a Royal Commission was appointed to investigate, which eventually led to the disfranchisement of the constituency
23. "Electoral Decisions". Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser. 3 July 1841. p. 24. Retrieved 12 December 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
24. Margaret Escott (2009). "Sudbury". In Fisher, David (ed.). The House of Commons 1820–1832. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
25. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
26. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 394. ISBN 9781349022984.
27. ‘WELLER-POLEY, Thomas’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 22 Sept 2017
28. Cambridge Independent Press 16 Jan 1914
29. British parliamentary election results, 1918–1949 (Craig)

• 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.
• Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
• H G Nicholas, To The Hustings: Election scenes from English fiction (London, Cassell & Co., 1956)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)