Kirkcudbright Stewartry (UK Parliament constituency)

Kirkcudbright Stewartry, later known as Kirkcudbright or Kirkcudbrightshire, was a Scottish constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was represented by one Member of Parliament (MP).

Kirkcudbright Stewartry
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
1708–1918
Seats	One
Created from	Kirkcudbrightshire
Replaced by	Galloway

Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Kirkcudbright Stewartry. The first election in the stewartry was in 1708. In 1707–08, members of the 1702-1707 Parliament of Scotland were co-opted to serve in the 1st Parliament of Great Britain. See Scottish representatives to the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, for further details.

Boundaries

The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright was a Scottish stewartry (later considered to be a county and sometimes called Kirkcudbrightshire), which had been represented by two commissioners in the former Parliament of Scotland. The constituency included the whole stewartry, except for the Royal burghs of Kirkcudbright (which formed part of the Dumfries Burghs constituency) and New Galloway (which between 1708 and 1885 was included in the Wigtown Burghs district). In 1918 the area was combined with Wigtownshire to form the Galloway constituency.

History

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was abolished in 1918.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	25 June 1708	John Stewart
	17 February 1715	Alexander Murray
	14 September 1727	Patrick Heron
	22 May 1741	Basil Hamilton
	31 December 1742	John Maxwell
	30 July 1747	John Ross Mackye
	19 April 1768	James Murray
	2 November 1774	William Stewart
	9 October 1780	Peter Johnston
	6 April 1781	John Gordon
	6 February 1782	Peter Johnston
	16 August 1786	Alexander Stewart
	23 March 1795	Patrick Heron	Whig
	10 May 1803	Montgomery Granville John Stewart	Conservative
	2 November 1812	James Dunlop
	1826	Robert Cutlar Fergusson	Whig[6][7]
	1838	Alexander Murray	Whig[6][8]
	1845	Thomas Maitland	Whig[9][10][11]
	1850	John Mackie	Whig[12][13]
	1857	James Mackie	Whig[14]
	1859		Liberal
	1868	Wellwood Herries Maxwell	Liberal
	1874	John Maitland	Liberal
	1880	John Heron-Maxwell	Liberal
	1885	Sir Mark MacTaggart-Stewart	Conservative
	1906	Gilbert McMicking	Liberal
	Jan 1910	Sir Mark MacTaggart-Stewart	Conservative
	Dec 1910	Gilbert McMicking	Liberal
1918		constituency abolished

Elections

Decades:

1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s

Galloway constituencies election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[6][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Cutlar Fergusson	Unopposed
Registered electors			161
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[6][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Cutlar Fergusson	Unopposed
Registered electors			161
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Cutlar Fergusson	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,059
	Whig hold

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

By-election, 3 July 1834: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Cutlar Fergusson	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Cutlar Fergusson	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,079
	Whig hold

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

By-election, 2 May 1835: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Cutlar Fergusson	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Cutlar Fergusson	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,119
	Whig hold

Fergusson's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 31 December 1838: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Alexander Murray	Unopposed
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Alexander Murray	672	73.0	N/A
	Conservative	Thomas Maxwell	249	27.0	New
Majority			423	46.0	N/A
Turnout			921	69.1	N/A
Registered electors			1,326
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

Murray's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 20 August 1845: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Maitland	486	58.6	−14.4
	Conservative	James McDouall[17]	344	41.4	+14.4
Majority			142	17.2	−28.8
Turnout			830	61.5	−7.6
Registered electors			1,349
	Whig hold		Swing	−14.4

Maitland was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 17 July 1846: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Maitland	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General Election 1847: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Maitland	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,351
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

Maitland resigned after being appointed a senator of the College of Justice, becoming Lord Dundrennan and causing a by-election.

By-election, 20 February 1850: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Mackie	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1852: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Mackie	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,326
	Whig hold

General election 1857: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Mackie	365	52.4	N/A
	Independent Whig	George Maxwell[18]	332	47.6	N/A
Majority			33	4.8	N/A
Turnout			697	53.1	N/A
Registered electors			1,312
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Mackie	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,573
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Mackie	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,353
	Liberal hold

Mackie's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 30 January 1868: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wellwood Herries Maxwell	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wellwood Herries Maxwell	932	57.0	N/A
	Liberal	Robert Hannay[19]	703	43.0	N/A
Majority			229	14.0	N/A
Turnout			1,635	84.3	N/A
Registered electors			1,940
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Maitland	835	50.1	N/A
	Conservative	Horatio Granville Murray Stewart[20]	831	49.9	New
Majority			4	0.2	−13.8
Turnout			1,666	83.5	−0.8
Registered electors			1,996
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Heron-Maxwell	982	50.5	+0.4
	Conservative	Horatio Granville Murray Stewart[20]	961	49.5	−0.4
Majority			21	1.0	+0.8
Turnout			1,943	88.2	+4.7
Registered electors			2,204
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.4

General election 1885: Kirkcudbrightshire ^[21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark MacTaggart-Stewart	2,526	50.3	+0.8
	Liberal	Alexander Young	2,492	49.7	−0.8
Majority			34	0.6	N/A
Turnout			5,018	87.7	−0.5
Registered electors			5,720
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+0.8

General election 1886: Kirkcudbrightshire^[22][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark MacTaggart-Stewart	2,471	50.7	+0.4
	Liberal	Alexander Young	2,406	49.3	−0.4
Majority			65	1.4	+0.8
Turnout			4,877	85.3	−2.4
Registered electors			5,720
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Kirkcudbrightshire^[22][23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Stewart	2,485	50.3	−0.4
	Liberal	Alexander Young	2,454	49.7	+0.4
Majority			31	0.6	−0.8
Turnout			4,939	86.6	+1.3
Registered electors			5,700
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.4

General election 1895: Kirkcudbrightshire^[22][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark MacTaggart-Stewart	2,664	51.6	+1.3
	Liberal	John Archibald Duncan	2,494	48.4	−1.3
Majority			170	3.2	+2.6
Turnout			5,158	88.3	+1.7
Registered electors			5,842
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.3

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Kirkcudbrightshire^[22][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark MacTaggart-Stewart	2,784	56.1	+4.5
	Liberal	Robert Hippisley Cox	2,181	43.9	−4.5
Majority			603	12.2	+9.0
Turnout			4,965	84.9	−3.4
Registered electors			5,846
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.5

McMicking

General election 1906: Kirkcudbrightshire^[22][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gilbert McMicking	2,715	52.9	+9.0
	Conservative	Mark MacTaggart-Stewart	2,418	47.1	−9.0
Majority			297	5.8	N/A
Turnout			5,133	88.1	+3.2
Registered electors			5,829
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.0

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Kirkcudbrightshire^[22][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark MacTaggart-Stewart	2,661	50.4	+3.3
	Liberal	Gilbert McMicking	2,620	49.6	−3.3
Majority			41	0.8	N/A
Turnout			5,281	89.8	+1.7
Registered electors			5,963
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.3

General election December 1910: Kirkcudbrightshire^[22][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gilbert McMicking	2,817	51.8	+2.2
	Conservative	Ronald McNeill	2,625	48.2	−2.2
Majority			192	3.6	N/A
Turnout			5,442	91.3	+1.5
Registered electors			5,963
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.2

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;

• Liberal: Gilbert McMicking
• Unionist:

References

1. "Kirkcudbright Stewartry". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
2. "Kirkcudbright Stewartry". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
3. "Kirkcudbright Stewartry". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
4. "Kirkcudbright Stewartry". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
5. "Kirkcudbright Stewartry". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
6. Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 206. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via Google Books.
7. Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer. p. 90. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via Google Books.
8. "Limerick Chronicle". 2 January 1839. p. 2. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Stewartry Kirkcudbright". Leeds Intelligencer. 30 August 1845. p. 6. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Kirkcudbright". Hereford Journal. 27 August 1845. p. 2. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. The Economist, Volume 3, Part 2. Economist Newspaper Limited. 1845. p. 794 – via Google Books.
12. "Carlisle Journal". 15 February 1850. p. 2. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "The Recent Election in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright". Liverpool Daily Post. 18 April 1857. p. 8. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. "Election Intelligence". Wells Journal. 28 March 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
15. fISHER, David R. "Kirkcudbright Stewartry". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
16. 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.
17. "Carlisle Journal". 16 August 1845. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
18. "Scotch Elections". Banffshire Journal and General Advertiser. 24 March 1857. p. 8. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
19. "Election News". Greenock Advertiser. 10 September 1868. p. 4. Retrieved 20 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
20. "Banquet". Edinburgh Evening News. 5 May 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 3 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
21. Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889
22. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
23. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
24. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
25. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
26. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)