Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency)

Cumberland is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It 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. It was represented by two Knights of the Shire. It was divided between the constituencies of Cumberland East and Cumberland West in 1832. Mike Jenkinson, Conservative, served as the local MP in Workington from 2019 until the dissolution of parliament in 2024.

Cumberland
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1290–1832
Seats	two
Replaced by	Cumberland East and Cumberland West

Members of Parliament

• Constituency created 1290

MPs 1290–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1301	Sir John Wigton
1305	Sir John Wigton
1306	Sir John de Lucy
1312	Andrew Harclay
1313	Sir John Wigton
1316	John de Skelton
1324	Hugh de Lowther
1325	Robert Parning
1327	Robert Parning
1328	Robert Parning
1331	Robert Parning
1332	Robert Parning
1337	Thomas de Skelton
1342	Hugh de Lowther	Peter de Tylliol
1344	Hugh de Lowther	John de Orreton
1345	Hugh de Lowther	Henry de Malton
1368	James Pickering
1377	Richard de Sandys	Sir Richard Moubray
1377	John FitzHugh de Lowther
1378	Peter Tilliol
1380 (Jan)	Sir William Curwen
1380 (Nov)	Peter Tilliol
1383	John de Burgham	John de Kirby
1385	Sir Richard de Beaulieu	Sir Peter Tilliol
1386	Amand Monceaux	John Thirlwall[1]
1388 (Feb)	Sir John de Derwentwater	Sir John Ireby[1]
1388 (Sep)	Amand Monceaux	Sir Robert Muncaster[1]
1390 (Jan)	Amand Monceaux	William de Threlkeld[1]
1390 (Nov)	William Stapleton	Thomas Sands[1]
1391	Sir Peter Tilliol	Robert Lowther[1]
1393	Geoffrey Tilliol	William Lowther[1]
1394	Sir Clement Skelton	Robert Lowther[1]
1395	William Stapleton	Thomas Sands[1]
1397 (Jan)	Sir John Ireby	Sir Clement Skelton[1]
1397 (Sep)	Sir Peter Tilliol	William Osmundlaw[1]
1399	Sir William Leigh	Roland Vaux[1]
1401	Robert Lowther	William Stapleton[1]
1402	Sir Peter Tilliol	John Skelton[1]
1404 (Jan)	Sir Robert Lowther	William Lowther I[1]
1404 (Oct)	John More I	William Bewley[1]
1406	Sir Robert Lowther	Sir John Skelton[1]
1407	William Stapleton	William More[1]
1410	Sir Peter Tilliol	Christopher Moresby[1]
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	Sir Peter Tilliol	William Bewley[1]
1414 (Apr)	(Sir) Robert Lowther	Sir William Leigh[1]
1414 (Nov)	Sir Christopher Curwen	John Eaglesfield[1]
1415
1416 (Mar)	(Sir) John Lancaster	William Stapleton[1]
1416 (Oct)
1417	Sir Peter Tilliol	(Sir) Robert Lowther[1]
1419	Sir Peter Tilliol	Richard Restwold I[1]
1420	Sir Peter Tilliol	Thomas de la More[1]
1421 (May)	Sir John Lamplugh	Richard Restwold II[1]
1421 (Dec)	Sir Peter Tilliol	Sir Nicholas Radcliffe[1]
1422	Sir Peter Tilliol	Sir John Skelton
1423	Sir Christopher Curwen
1425	Sir Christopher Curwen	Sir Peter Tilliol
1426	Sir Peter Tilliol
1427	Sir Christopher Curwen	Sir Nicholas Ratcliffe of Derwentwater
1431	Sir Christopher Curwen
1432	Sir Christopher Curwen
1445	Sir Thomas Parr
1446	Sir John Penington
1467	Sir John Huddleston
1491	Sir Christopher Dacre
1510–1515	No Names Known [2]
1523	?Sir Christopher Dacre	? [2]
1529	Sir Christopher Dacre	John Lee I[2]
1536
1539
1542	?Sir Thomas Wharton	?Hon. Sir Thomas Wharton[2]
1545	Hon. Sir Thomas Wharton	Cuthbert Hutton[2]
1547	Hon. Sir Thomas Wharton	Richard Musgrave[2]
1553 (Mar)	(Sir) Richard Musgrave	Henry Curwen[2]
1553 (Oct)	Hon. Sir Thomas Wharton	Thomas Dacre[2]
1554 (Apr)	John Lee II	Robert Penruddock[2]
1554 (Nov)	John Lee II	Robert Penruddock[2]
1555	Thomas Threlkeld	Henry Curwen[2]
1558	Leonard Dacre	John Dalston [2]
1558–1559	Leonard Dacre	William Musgrave[3]
1563 (Jan)	Leonard Dacre	Henry Curwen[3]
1571	Sir Henry Percy, sat for Northumberland and repl. by ?	Sir Simon Musgrave [3]
1572	Sir Simon Musgrave	Edward Scrope, died and repl. Nov 1580 by Sir Thomas Boynton?[3]
1584	Thomas Scrope	Robert Bowes I[3]
1586	Robert Bowes I	Henry Leigh[3]
1588–9	Sir Thomas Scrope	Robert Bowes I[3]
1593	Nicholas Curwen	Wilfred Lawson[3]
1597	Joseph Pennington (MP)	Christopher Pickering[3]
1601 (Oct)	William Huddleston	Gerard Lowther II[3]
1604–1611	Sir Wilfred Lawson	Edward Musgrave
1614	Sir Wilfred Lawson	Sir Thomas Penruddock
1621–2	Sir George Dalston	Sir Henry Curwen
1624	Sir George Dalston	Ferdinando Huddleston
1625	Sir George Dalston	Patricius Curwen
1626	Sir George Dalston	Patricius Curwen
1628	Sir George Dalston	Sir Patricius Curwen, Bt
1629–1640	No Parliament summoned

MPs 1640–1832

Year			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		April 1640	Sir Patricius Curwen, Bt		Sir George Dalston
		November 1640			Sir George Dalston	Royalist
		March 1643	Curwen and Dalston disabled to sit – both seats vacant
		1646	William Armine[4]		Richard Tolson
		December 1648			Tolson excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant
		1653	Cumberland was not separately represented in the Barebones Parliament. The following were nominated for The Four Northern Counties collectively: Major-General Charles Howard, Robert Fenwick, Henry Dawson, Henry Ogle
		1654	Colonel William Briscoe		Major-General Charles Howard
		1656
		January 1659			Sir Wilfrid Lawson
		May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump, Armine having died in the interim
		April 1660	Sir Wilfrid Lawson		Charles Howard
		1661	Sir Patricius Curwen, Bt		Sir George Fletcher, Bt
		1665	Sir John Lowther, Bt
		February 1679			Richard Lamplugh
		August 1679			Viscount Morpeth
		1681			Sir George Fletcher, Bt
		1685			The Viscount Preston
		1689			Sir George Fletcher, Bt
		January 1701	Richard Musgrave		Gilfrid Lawson
		December 1701	Sir Edward Hasell		George Fletcher	Whig
		1702	Richard Musgrave		Gilfrid Lawson
		1705			George Fletcher	Whig
		1708	James Lowther		Gilfrid Lawson
		1722	Sir Christopher Musgrave, Bt
		1727	James Lowther
		1734			Sir Joseph Pennington, Bt
		1745			Sir John Pennington, Bt
		1755	Sir William Lowther, Bt
		1756	Sir William Fleming
		1757	Sir James Lowther, Bt
		1761	Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Bt
		1762	Sir James Lowther, Bt	Tory
		March 1768			Henry Curwen	Whig
		December 1768	Sir Henry Fletcher, Bt[5]	Whig
		1774			Sir James Lowther, Bt	Tory
		1784			Sir William Lowther, Bt	Tory
		1790			Humphrey Senhouse	Tory
		1796			John Lowther[6]	Tory
		1806	Viscount Morpeth	Tory
		1820	John Christian Curwen	Whig
		1829	Sir James Graham, Bt	Whig
		1831			William Blamire	Whig

• Constituency abolished (1832)

Notes

1. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 1 September 2011.
2. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 1 September 2011.
3. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 1 September 2011.
4. Sir William Armine, Bt., from 1651
5. At the general election of 1768, Lowther defeated Fletcher by two votes, but on petition the result was overturned and Fletcher declared elected
6. Created a baronet as Sir John Lowther, 1824

Elections

The county franchise, from 1430, was held by the adult male owners of freehold land valued at 40 shillings or more. Each elector 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 town of Cockermouth. The expense and difficulty of voting at only one location in the county, together with the lack of a secret ballot contributed to the corruption and intimidation of electors, 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.

Election results

Election results taken from the History of Parliament Trust series.

Elections in the 18th century

General election 1715: Cumberland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	James Lowther	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Gilfrid Lawson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 1722: Cumberland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Christopher Musgrave	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Gilfrid Lawson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 1727: Cumberland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	James Lowther	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Gilfrid Lawson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Note: James Lowther succeeded his brother as baronet in 1731

General election 1734: Cumberland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	James Lowther	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Joseph Pennington	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 1741: Cumberland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	James Lowther	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Joseph Pennington	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Death of Pennington

By-Election 8 January 1745: Cumberland

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	John Pennington	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 1747: Cumberland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	James Lowther	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Nonpartisan	John Pennington	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• incomplete

General election 1768: Cumberland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Henry Curwen	2,139	26.8	N/A
	Tory	James Lowther	1,977	24.8	N/A
	Whig	Henry Fletcher	1,975	24.7	N/A
	Tory	Humphrey Senhouse	1,891	23.7	N/A

• On petition, Fletcher returned in place of Lowther, 16 December 1768

General election 1774: Cumberland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	James Lowther	976	45.2	N/A
	Whig	Henry Fletcher	876	40.6	N/A
	Tory	Joseph Pennington	305	14.1	N/A

• incomplete

General election 1820: Cumberland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	John Lowther	166	41.5	N/A
	Whig	John Christian Curwen	138	34.5	N/A
	Tory	George Howard	96	24.0	N/A

See also

• Cumbria portal

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

References

• D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by F. W. S. Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
• House of Commons records at British History Online
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)