Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 until 1707, then the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1801 and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1885 when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

Bedfordshire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1290–1885
Seats	two
Replaced by	Biggleswade and Luton

History

The constituency consisted of the historic county of Bedfordshire. (Although Bedfordshire contained the borough of Bedford, which elected two MPs in its own right, this was not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election.)

As in other county constituencies the franchise between 1430 and 1832 was defined by the Forty Shilling Freeholder Act 1430, which gave the right to vote to every man who possessed freehold property within the county valued at £2 or more per year for the purposes of land tax; it was not necessary for the freeholder to occupy his land, nor even in later years to be resident in the county at all.

At the time of the Great Reform Act 1832, Bedfordshire had a population of approximately 95,000, but under 4,000 votes were cast at the election of 1826, and under 3,000 in election of 1830, even though each voter could cast two votes. Although local landowners could never control a county the size of Bedfordshire in the way they could own a pocket borough, titled magnates still exercised considerable influence over deferential county voters, and the Duke of Bedford was regarded as the hereditary "patron" of the constituency.

Elections were held at a single polling place, Bedford, and voters from the rest of the county had to travel to the county town to exercise their franchise. In many other counties this could make the cost of a contested election prohibitive, since it was normal for voters to expect the candidates for whom they voted to meet their expenses in travelling to the poll; but this was less of a factor in a small county like Bedfordshire, and contested elections were not uncommon.

Under the terms of the Great Reform Act 1832, the county franchise was extended to occupiers of land worth £50 or more, as well as the forty-shilling freeholders, but Bedfordshire was otherwise left unchanged. Under the new rules, 3,966 were registered and entitled to vote at the general election of 1832. While Bedford remained the place of election, where nominations were taken and the result declared, polling also took place at Luton, Leighton Buzzard, Ampthill, Biggleswade and Sharnbrook.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency was abolished and the county divided into two single-member county constituencies, Biggleswade and Luton.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1290-1640 — MPs 1640-1885 — Elections — See also — Notes

MPs 1290–1640

• Constituency created (1290)

Parliament	First member	Second member
Parliament of 1295	Sir David Flitwick[1]
Parliament of 1313 (Jul)	Peter de Loring	David Flitwick, K.B.[1]
Parliament of 1313 (Sep)	Sir Peter de Loring	Sir David Flitwick, K.B.[1]
Parliament of 1316	Roger Dakeney
Parliament of 1322 (Sep)	John Morice or Moriz
Good Parliament (1376)	Johannes Trayle
Parliament of Jan 1377	Sir Gerard Braybrooke I
Parliament of 1379	William Mordaunt
Parliament of 1381	Johannes Trayle
Parliament of 1385	Reynold Ragon
Parliament of 1386	Ralph Fitzrichard	John Hervey
Parliament of Feb 1388	Sir Gerard Braybrooke II	Robert Digswell
Parliament of Sep 1388	William Terrington	Ralph Walton
Parliament of Jan 1390		Baldwin Pigot
Parliament of Nov 1390	Sir Gerard Braybrooke I	Thomas Zouche
Parliament of 1391	William Terrington	Ralph Walton
Parliament of 1393		John Worship
Parliament of 1394	Reynold Regan
Parliament of 1395	Philip Walwyn	Giles Daubeney
Parliament of Jan 1397	William Terrington	John Worship
Parliament of Sep 1397	Sir Baldwin Pigot
Parliament of 1399	Sir Gerard Braybrooke II	Sir Roger Beauchamp
Parliament of 1401	Sir Baldwin Pigot	Giles Daubeney
Parliament of 1402	Reynold Ragon	John Worship
Parliament of Jan 1404		William Terrington
Parliament of Oct 1404	Thomas Durant	William Wenlock
Parliament of 1406		Hugh Hasilden
Parliament of 1407	William Bosom	John Worship
Parliament of 1409	Returns lost
Parliament of 1411	Returns lost
Parliament of May 1413	William Bosom	Thomas Waweton
Parliament of Apr 1414	John Goldington
Parliament of Nov 1414	John Enderby	Roger Hunt
Parliament of Mar 1416	William Bosom
Parliament of 1417		Thomas Roxton
Parliament of 1419	John Enderby	Sir Thomas Waweton
Parliament of 1420	Robert Scott	Roger Hunt
Parliament of May 1421	John Goldington II	Thomas Mordaunt
Parliament of Dec 1421	Thomas Manningham	Henry Cockayne
Parliament of 1424	Sir Thomas Waweton
Parliament of 1431
Parliament of 1433	John Wenlock
Parliament of 1436
Parliament of 1437
Parliament of 1439
Parliament of 1455	Sir John Wenlock
Parliament of 1529	Sir William Gascoigne	George Acworth (died 1532) Sir John St John
Parliament of 1536
Parliament of 1539	Sir John St John	John Gostwick
Parliament of 1542		Sir John Gascoigne
Parliament of 1545	John Gostwick, died 1545	Edmund Conquest
Parliament of 1547–1552	Oliver St John	Lewis Dyve
Parliament of March 1553	Sir Humphrey Radclyffe
Parliament of October 1553	Sir John Gascoigne	Sir John Mordaunt
Parliament of 1554	Sir Humphrey Radclyffe
Parliament of 1554-1555
Parliament of 1555
Parliament of 1558		Sir John Gascoigne
Parliament of 1559	John St John	Thomas Pigott
Parliament of 1563–1567	Hon. John St John	Lewis Mordaunt
Parliament of 1571	George Rotheram	Thomas Snagge
Parliament of 1572–1583		Sir Henry Cheyne (1572 - created a peer) John Thomson (1572-1583)
Parliament of 1584–1585		Nicholas Luke
Parliament of 1586–1587		Thomas Snagge
Parliament of 1588–1589	Hon. Oliver St John	Edward Radclyffe
Parliament of 1593		George Rotheram
Parliament of 1597–1598	Sir Edward Radclyffe	Nicholas Luke
Parliament of 1601		Hon. Oliver St John
Parliament of 1604–1611
Addled Parliament (1614)	Sir Henry Grey	Sir Oliver Luke
Parliament of 1621-1622	Sir Beauchamp St John
Happy Parliament (1624-1625)	Oliver St John
Useless Parliament (1625)
Parliament of 1625-1626
Parliament of 1628-1629	Oliver St John
No Parliament summoned 1629-1640

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MPs 1640–1885

Year			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		April 1640	The Lord Wentworth[2]	Royalist	Sir Oliver Luke	Parliamentarian
		1641	Roger Burgoyne	Parliamentarian
		December 1648	Burgoyne and Luke excluded in Pride's Purge - both seats vacant
		1653	Nathaniel Taylor		Edward Cater

Representation increased to five members in First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
Year	First member	Second member	Third member	Fourth member	Fifth member
1654	Sir William Boteler	John Harvey	Edmund Wingate	John Neale	Samuel Bedford
1656			Richard Wagstaffe	Richard Edwards

Representation reverted to two members in Third Protectorate Parliament
Year			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		January 1659	Major Richard Wagstaffe		Colonel John Okey
		May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
		9 April 1660	Lord Bruce of Whorlton		Samuel Browne
		10 April 1661			Sir Humphrey Winch, 1st Bt
		2 May 1664	Sir John Napier, 4th Bt
		18 February 1679	Lord Russell	Whig	Sir Humphrey Monoux, 2nd Bt
		1 September 1679
		14 February 1681
		10 March 1685	Sir Villiers Chernock, 2nd Bt		William Boteler
		11 January 1689	Lord Edward Russell	Whig	William Duncombe	Whig
		27 February 1690			Thomas Browne
		2 November 1695			William Duncombe	Whig
		20 July 1698			Sir William Gostwick, 4th Bt	Whig
		c. January 1701
		11 December 1701
		22 July 1702
		23 May 1705	Sir Pynsent Chernock, 3rd Bt	Tory
		19 May 1708	Lord Edward Russell	Whig
		5 October 1710
		2 September 1713	Sir Pynsent Chernock, 3rd Bt	Tory	John Harvey	Tory
		16 February 1715	William Hillersden	Whig
		19 July 1715			John Cater[3]	Whig
		4 April 1722	Hon. Charles Leigh	Tory	Sir Rowland Alston, 4th Bt	Whig
		1 September 1727	Hon. Pattee Byng
		16 February 1733	Charles Leigh	Tory
		24 April 1734	Hon. John Spencer[4]
		26 February 1735	Sir Roger Burgoyne, 6th Bt	Whig
		18 May 1741			Sir John Chester, 6th Bt	Tory
		6 July 1747	Sir Danvers Osborn, 3rd Bt	Tory[5]	Thomas Alston[6]	Tory[5]
		5 December 1753	The Earl of Upper Ossory	Whig[5]
		24 April 1754
		13 December 1758	Henry Osborn	Tory[5]
		1 April 1761	Marquess of Tavistock	Whig[5]	Robert Henley-Ongley[7]	Tory[5]
		7 April 1767	The Earl of Upper Ossory	Whig[5]
		28 March 1768
		21 October 1774
		27 September 1780			Hon. St Andrew St John	Whig[5]
		19 April 1784
		1 July 1784			The Lord Ongley[8]	Tory[5]
		19 May 1785			Hon. St Andrew St John[9]	Whig[5]
		28 June 1790
		15 September 1794	John Osborn	Tory[5]
		31 May 1796
		10 July 1802
		5 July 1806			Francis Pym	Whig[5]
		11 May 1807	Hon. Richard FitzPatrick	Whig[5]
		14 October 1812	Marquess of Tavistock	Whig
		23 June 1818			Sir John Osborn, 5th Bt	Tory[5]
		21 March 1820			Francis Pym	Whig[5]
		15 June 1826			Thomas Potter Macqueen	Tory[5]
		9 August 1830			William Stuart	Tory[5]
		5 May 1831			Peter Payne	Whig[5]
		1832	Lord Charles Russell	Whig[5][10][11]	William Stuart	Tory[5]
		1834				Conservative[5]
		1835			Viscount Alford	Conservative[5]
		1841	William Astell	Conservative[5]
		March 1847	Lord Charles Russell	Whig[5][10][11]
		August 1847	Francis Russell	Whig[12][13]
		1851			Sir Richard Gilpin, 1st Bt[14]	Conservative
		1859		Liberal
		1872	Francis Bassett	Liberal
		1875	Marquess of Tavistock	Liberal
		1880			James Howard	Liberal
1885			constituency divided: see Luton and Biggleswade

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Elections

1810s — 1820s — 1830s — 1840s — 1850s — 1860s — 1870s — 1880s — See also — Notes

Elections in the 1800s

^[15]

• 1802: John Osborn (Tory) and Hon. St Andrew St John (Whig) elected unopposed
• 1806: Following the elevation of Hon. St Andrew St John to the House of Lords, Francis Pym (Whig) elected unopposed
• 1806: John Osborn (Tory) and Francis Pym (Whig) elected unopposed

General election 1807: Bedfordshire^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Francis Pym	1,138	34.6	N/A
	Whig	Hon. Richard FitzPatrick	1,084	32.9	N/A
	Tory	John Osborn	1,069	32.5	N/A
Majority			15	0.4	N/A
Registered electors			c. 2,000
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Tory

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Elections in the 1810s

• 1812: Marquess of Tavistock and Francis Pym (both Whig) elected unopposed
• 1818: Marquess of Tavistock (Whig) and Sir John Osborn, 5th Bt (Tory) elected unopposed

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Elections in the 1820s

General election 1820: Bedfordshire^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Marquess of Tavistock	1,458	36.6	N/A
	Whig	Francis Pym	1,308	32.9	N/A
	Tory	Sir John Osborn, 5th Bt	1,214	30.5	N/A
Majority			94	2.4	N/A
Turnout			3,980		N/A
Registered electors			c. 2,800
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1826: Bedfordshire^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Thomas Potter Macqueen	1,515	39.6	+9.1
	Whig	Marquess of Tavistock	1,273	33.3	−3.3
	Whig	Francis Pym	1,040	27.2	−5.7
Majority			233	6.1	+3.7
Turnout			2,546	c.90.9
Registered electors			c. 2,800
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	+7.4
	Whig hold		Swing	−6.2

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Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Bedfordshire^[5][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Francis Russell	Unopposed
	Tory	William Stuart	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 2,800
	Whig hold
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Bedfordshire^[16][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Francis Russell	1,137	39.2
	Whig	Peter Payne (MP)	1,073	37.0
	Tory	William Stuart	690	23.8
Majority			383	13.2
Turnout			c. 1,450	c. 51.8
Registered electors			c. 2,800
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1832: Bedfordshire^[17][18][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Charles Russell	1,937	34.8	−4.4
	Tory	William Stuart	1,871	33.6	+9.8
	Whig	Peter Payne (MP)	1,756	31.6	−5.4
Turnout			3,478	87.7	c. +35.9
Registered electors			3,966
Majority			66	1.2	−12.0
	Whig hold		Swing	−4.7
Majority			115	2.0	N/A
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	+9.8

General election 1835: Bedfordshire^[18][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Charles Russell	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Egerton	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,015
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1837: Bedfordshire^[18][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Charles Russell	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Egerton	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,134
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

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Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Astell	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Egerton	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,333
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Astell's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 30 March 1847: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Charles Russell	Unopposed
	Whig gain from Conservative

General election 1847: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Egerton	Unopposed
	Whig	Francis Russell	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,339
	Conservative hold
	Whig gain from Conservative

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Elections in the 1850s

Egerton's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 24 February 1851: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Gilpin	1,562	73.7	N/A
	Radical	John Houghton[19][20]	558	26.3	N/A
Majority			1,004	47.4	N/A
Turnout			2,120	52.1	N/A
Registered electors			4,071
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1852: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Francis Russell	Unopposed
	Conservative	Richard Gilpin	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,513
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Francis Russell	1,564	28.3	N/A
	Conservative	Richard Gilpin	1,374	24.9	N/A
	Whig	William Bartholomew Higgins[21]	1,343	24.3	N/A
	Conservative	William Stuart	1,246	22.5	N/A
Turnout			2,764 (est)	65.3 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			4,231
Majority			190	3.4	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			31	0.6	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Gilpin	2,027	37.2	−10.2
	Liberal	Francis Russell	1,837	33.7	+5.4
	Liberal	William Bartholomew Higgins	1,583	29.1	+4.8
Majority			190	3.5	+2.9
Turnout			3,737 (est)	79.5 (est)	+14.2
Registered electors			4,701
	Conservative hold		Swing	−10.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5.3

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Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Russell	Unopposed
	Conservative	Richard Gilpin	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,845
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Russell	Unopposed
	Conservative	Richard Gilpin	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,680
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

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Elections in the 1870s

Russell succeeded to the peerage, becoming Duke of Bedford and causing a by-election.

By-election, 27 Jun 1872: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Bassett	2,450	52.1	N/A
	Conservative	William Stuart	2,250	47.9	N/A
Majority			200	4.2	N/A
Turnout			4,700	71.4	N/A
Registered electors			6,580
	Liberal hold

General election 1874: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Bassett	Unopposed
	Conservative	Richard Gilpin	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,874
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

Bassett's resignation caused a by-election.

By-election, 28 Apr 1875: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Russell	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

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Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Bedfordshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Howard	3,143	36.0	N/A
	Liberal	George Russell	3,088	35.4	N/A
	Conservative	William Stuart	2,500	28.6	N/A
Majority			588	6.8	N/A
Turnout			5,643 (est)	79.1 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			7,133
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

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See also

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