Cardiff (UK Parliament constituency)

Cardiff was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Cardiff in South Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1918 general election.

Cardiff
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1542–1918
Seats	one
Replaced by	Cardiff Central, Cardiff East and Cardiff South

Boundaries

Under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, most Welsh shire towns returned one MP, including Cardiff as the shire town of Glamorgan; however, other ancient boroughs in the shire contributed to the expense of the borough MP and in return gained a share in the vote.^[1] In the case of Cardiff, the relevant "contributory boroughs" were Llantrisant and Cowbridge, and until 1832 also Swansea, Loughor, Neath, Aberavon, and Kenfig.^[2] Elections were often held at Bridgend, which was not a contributory borough but was conveniently central in Glamorgan.^[3] The Reform Act 1832 separated the contributory boroughs other than Llantrisant and Cowbridge into the new Swansea District of Boroughs. As proposed in 1830, the reform bill would have added Llandaff, Aberdare, and Merthyr Tydfil as Cardiff contributory boroughs, but in the event Merthyr and Aberdare became a separate borough while Llandaff remained part of Glamorgan county constituency, which gained a second seat.^[4] The Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 extended the boundary of the Cardiff District of Boroughs constituency to include those parts of the Cardiff parishes of St Mary's and St. John outside the old borough boundary.^[5] The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 extended the parliamentary boundary to Cardiff's enlarged municipal borough boundary.^[6]

Members of Parliament

MPs 1542–1645

Parliament	Member
1542	John Bassett
1545	Unknown
1547	John Cock, sat for Calne, repl. by Sir Philip Hoby
1553 (Mar)	?David Evans
1553 (Oct)	David Evans
1554 (Apr)	David Evans
1554 (Nov)	William Colchester
1555	William Herbert
1558	Lleisan Pryce
1559	David Evans
1562–3	Henry Lewes
1571	Henry Morgan
1572	David Roberts
1584	Nicholas Herbert
1586	George Lewis
1588	Gabriel Lewys
1593	David Roberts
1597	Nicholas Hawkins
1601	William Lewis
1604	Matthew Davies
1614	Matthew Davies
1621	William Herbert
1624	William Price
1625	William Price
1626	William Price
1628	Lewis Morgan
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
1640	William Herbert killed at Battle of Edgehill 1642
1642–1645	Not represented

MPs 1645–1832

Year		Member	Party
	1645	Algernon Sidney
	1653	Not represented in Barebones Parliament
	1654	John Price
	1656
	1659
	1660	Bussy Mansell Double return, Herbert Evans disallowed
	1661	Sir Richard Lloyd Elected to sit for Radnorshire
	1661	William Bassett Election voided by Parliament on petition
	1661	Robert Thomas
	1679 Feb	Robert Thomas
	1679 Sep	Robert Thomas
	1681	Bussy Mansell
	1685	Francis Gwyn
	1689	Thomas Mansel	Tory
	1698	Sir Edward Stradling, Bt
	1701	Thomas Mansel
	1706	Sir John Aubrey, Bt
	1710	Sir Edward Stradling, Bt
	1722	Edward Stradling
	1727	Bussy Mansel	Tory
	1734	Herbert Windsor
	1739	Herbert Mackworth
	1741	Herbert Mackworth
	1747	Herbert Mackworth
	1754	Herbert Mackworth
	1761	Herbert Mackworth
	1766	Herbert Mackworth
	1768	Herbert Mackworth
	1774	Herbert Mackworth
	1780	Sir Herbert Mackworth
	1784	Sir Herbert Mackworth
	1790	Lord Mount Stuart	Tory
	1794	Lord Evelyn Stuart	Tory
	1802	Lord William Stuart	Tory
	1814	Lord Evelyn Stuart	Tory
	1818	Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart
	1820	Wyndham Lewis	Tory[7]
	1826	Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart	Whig[7]
1832		Franchise extended under Reform Act 1832

MPs 1832–1918

Election		Member	Party
	1832	John Iltyd Nicholl	Conservative
	1852	Walter Coffin	Radical[8][9][10]
	1857	James Crichton-Stuart	Whig[11]
	1859		Liberal
	1880	Sir Edward Reed	Liberal
	1895	James Mackenzie Maclean	Unionist
	1900	Sir Edward Reed	Liberal
	1904		Liberal Unionist
	1906	Ivor Guest	Liberal
	1910 (Jan)	D. A. Thomas	Liberal
	1910 (Dec)	Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart	Unionist
	1915 by-election	Sir James Cory, 1st Baronet	Conservative
1918		constituency abolished: see Cardiff Central, Cardiff East and Cardiff South

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General Election 1830: Cardiff Boroughs^[7][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Patrick Crichton-Stuart	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General Election 1831: Cardiff Boroughs^[7][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Patrick Crichton-Stuart	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General Election 1832: Cardiff Boroughs^[7][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	John Iltyd Nicholl	342	64.2
	Whig	Patrick Crichton-Stuart	191	35.8
Majority			151	28.4
Turnout			533	77.6
Registered electors			687
	Tory gain from Whig

General Election 1835: Cardiff Boroughs^[7][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Iltyd Nicholl	Unopposed
Registered electors			672
	Conservative hold

Nicholl was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, causing a by-election.

By-election, 20 March 1835: Cardiff Boroughs^[7][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Iltyd Nicholl	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General Election 1837: Cardiff Boroughs^[7][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Iltyd Nicholl	Unopposed
Registered electors			635
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General Election 1841: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Iltyd Nicholl	Unopposed
Registered electors			765
	Conservative hold

Nicholl was appointed Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 17 September 1841: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Iltyd Nicholl	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General Election 1847: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Iltyd Nicholl	Unopposed
Registered electors			797
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General Election 1852: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Walter Coffin	490	51.4	New
	Conservative	John Iltyd Nicholl	464	48.6	N/A
Majority			26	2.8	N/A
Turnout			954	98.6	N/A
Registered electors			2,072
	Radical gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Crichton-Stuart	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,640
	Whig gain from Radical

General election 1859: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Crichton-Stuart	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,793
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Crichton-Stuart	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,072
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Crichton-Stuart	2,501	54.9	N/A
	Conservative	Hardinge Giffard	2,055	45.1	New
Majority			446	9.8	N/A
Turnout			4,556	84.6	N/A
Registered electors			5,388
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Crichton-Stuart	2,780	50.1	−4.8
	Conservative	Hardinge Giffard	2,771	49.9	+4.8
Majority			9	0.2	−9.6
Turnout			5,551	83.4	−1.2
Registered electors			6,656
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.8

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Cardiff Boroughs^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Reed	3,831	53.1	+3.0
	Conservative	Arthur Guest	3,383	46.9	−3.0
Majority			448	6.2	+6.0
Turnout			7,214	86.4	+3.0
Registered electors			8,350
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.0

General election 1885: Cardiff Boroughs^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Reed	5,569	50.6	−2.5
	Conservative	Henry Harben (businessman)	5,429	49.4	+2.5
Majority			140	1.2	−5.0
Turnout			10,998	87.3	+0.9
Registered electors			12,605
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.5

Reed was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 27 Feb 1886: Cardiff Boroughs^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Reed	5,708	54.1	+3.5
	Conservative	John Dillwyn-Llewelyn	4,845	45.9	−3.5
Majority			863	8.2	+7.0
Turnout			10,553	83.7	−3.6
Registered electors			12,605
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.5

Brand

General election 1886: Cardiff Boroughs^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Reed	5,307	51.7	+1.1
	Liberal Unionist	Henry Brand	4,965	48.3	−1.1
Majority			342	3.4	+2.2
Turnout			10,272	81.5	−5.8
Registered electors			12,605
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.1

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Cardiff Boroughs^[14][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Reed	7,226	52.5	+0.8
	Liberal Unionist	Sir John Gunn	6,540	47.5	−0.8
Majority			686	5.0	+1.6
Turnout			13,766	81.5	0.0
Registered electors			16,886
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.8

General election 1895: Cardiff Boroughs^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Mackenzie Maclean	8,386	52.6	+5.1
	Liberal	Edward Reed	7,562	47.4	−5.1
Majority			824	5.2	N/A
Turnout			15,948	82.4	+0.9
Registered electors			19,358
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.1

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Cardiff Boroughs^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Reed	9,342	52.2	+4.8
	Conservative	Joseph Lawrence	8,541	47.8	−4.8
Majority			801	4.4	N/A
Turnout			17,883	80.0	−2.4
Registered electors			22,361
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.8

Guest

General election 1906: Cardiff Boroughs^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ivor Guest	12,434	56.9	+4.7
	Conservative	James Fortescue-Flannery	9,429	43.1	−4.7
Majority			3,005	13.8	+9.4
Turnout			21,863	80.8	+0.8
Registered electors			27,057
	Liberal hold		Swing	+4.7

Elections in the 1910s

Thomas

General election January 1910: Cardiff Boroughs^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	D. A. Thomas	13,207	53.1	−3.8
	Conservative	Ninian Crichton-Stuart	11,652	46.9	+3.8
Majority			1,555	6.2	−7.6
Turnout			24,859	86.5	+5.7
	Liberal hold		Swing	-3.8

Crichton-Stuart

General election December 1910: Cardiff Boroughs^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ninian Crichton-Stuart	12,181	50.6	+3.7
	Liberal	Clarendon Hyde	11,882	49.4	−3.7
Majority			299	1.2	N/A
Turnout			24,068	83.8	−2.7
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.7

1915 Cardiff by-election^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	James Cory	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

References

1. "Constituencies 1509–1558". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
2. Fuidge, N. M. "Cardiff Boroughs 1509–1558". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
3. Bowen, Lloyd; Healy, Simon. "Cardiff Boroughs 1604–1629". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
4. Escott, Margaret (2009). "Cardiff Boroughs". In Fisher, D.R. (ed.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820-1832. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 29 July 2019 – via History of Parliament Online.
5. "2 & 3 Will.4 c.64, §35 and Schedule O. No.48". The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. His Majesty's Statute and Law Printers. 1832. p. 375. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
6. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Schedule 5
7. 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. 192–193. Retrieved 4 May 2020 – via Internet Archive.
8. "The General Election". Morning Post. 7 July 1852. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Cardiff". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 10 July 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Cardiff Boroughs". Monmouthshire Beacon. 10 July 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Windsor and Eton Express". 28 March 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. Escott, Margaret. "Cardiff Boroughs". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
13. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
14. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
15. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
16. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1896

• W R Williams The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)

Bibliography

• Morgan, Kenneth O. (1960). "Democratic Politics in Glamorgan, 1884–1914". Morgannwg. 4: 5–27.