St Andrews Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

56.285°N 3.019°W / 56.285; -3.019

St Andrews Burghs
Former district of Burghs constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	Fife
1832–1918
Seats	One
Created from	Perth Burghs and Anstruther Burghs
Replaced by	East Fife

St Andrews Burghs was a district of burghs constituency, representing various burghs of Fife, Scotland, in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1832 to 1918.

Area covered

The constituency comprised the burghs of St Andrews, Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester, Crail, Cupar, Kilrenny and Pittenweem, all in the county of Fife. St Andrews and Cupar had previously been part of Perth Burghs, and the other burghs part of Anstruther Burghs.

In 1918 the constituency was abolished, and the burghs were thereafter represented as part of the East Fife constituency.

Members of Parliament

Year		Member [1]	Party
	1832	Andrew Johnston	Whig[2]
	1837	Edward Ellice	Whig[2][3][4][5]
	1859		Liberal
	1880	Stephen Williamson	Liberal
	1885	Sir Robert Anstruther	Independent Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1886	Henry Torrens Anstruther	Liberal Unionist
	1903	Edward Charles Ellice	Liberal
	1906	William Anstruther-Gray	Liberal Unionist
	1910	James Duncan Millar	Liberal
	1910	William Anstruther-Gray	Liberal Unionist
	1912		Unionist
	1918	constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: St Andrews Burghs^[6][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Andrew Johnston	331	62.3
	Tory	Sir Ralph Abercromby Anstruther, 4th Baronet	200	37.7
Majority			131	24.6
Turnout			531	85.5
Registered electors			621
	Whig win (new seat)

General election 1835: St Andrews Burghs^[6][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Andrew Johnston	Unopposed
Registered electors			669
	Whig hold

General election 1837: St Andrews Burghs^[6][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	290	52.6
	Conservative	David Maitland Makgill[7]	261	47.4
Majority			29	5.2
Turnout			551	79.4
Registered electors			694
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: St Andrews Burghs^[6][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	366	58.7	+6.1
	Conservative	George Makgill	258	41.3	−6.1
Majority			108	17.4	+12.2
Turnout			624	74.7	−4.7
Registered electors			835
	Whig hold		Swing	+6.1

General election 1847: St Andrews Burghs^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	Unopposed
Registered electors			768
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: St Andrews Burghs^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	Unopposed
Registered electors			680
	Whig hold

General election 1857: St Andrews Burghs^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	357	63.9	N/A
	Peelite	Francis Brown Douglas[8][9][10][11]	202	36.1	N/A
Majority			155	27.8	N/A
Turnout			559	78.3	N/A
Registered electors			714
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: St Andrews Burghs^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Ellice	Unopposed
Registered electors			742
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: St Andrews Burghs^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Ellice	Unopposed
Registered electors			839
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: St Andrews Burghs^[6][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Ellice	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,847
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: St Andrews Burghs^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Ellice	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,108
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: St Andrews Burghs^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Stephen Williamson	1,258	58.5	N/A
	Liberal	James Lindsay Bennet[13]	892	41.5	N/A
Majority			366	17.0	N/A
Turnout			2,150	84.6	N/A
Registered electors			2,542
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1885: St Andrews Burghs^[14][15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	Robert Anstruther	1,257	50.0	New
	Liberal	Stephen Williamson	1,255	50.0	−8.5
Majority			2	0.0	N/A
Turnout			2,512	88.5	+0.9
Registered electors			2,837
	Independent Liberal gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

The original count put the two 1885 candidates at 1,256 votes and, as the returning officer was not a constituent, he was unable to cast the deciding vote and declared both elected. After scrutiny, Anstruther gained two additional votes and lost one, while Williamson lost one also.^[16]

Brassey

General election 1886: St Andrews Burghs^[14][15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Henry Torrens Anstruther	1,132	61.3	N/A
	Liberal	Thomas Brassey	716	38.7	−11.3
Majority			416	22.6	N/A
Turnout			1,848	65.1	−23.4
Registered electors			2,837
	Liberal Unionist gain from Independent Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: St Andrews Burghs^[17][15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Henry Torrens Anstruther	1,066	52.8	−8.5
	Liberal	Martin White	954	47.2	+8.5
Majority			112	5.6	−17.0
Turnout			2,020	79.6	+14.5
Registered electors			2,537
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	−8.5

General election 1895: St Andrews Burghs^[18][15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Henry Torrens Anstruther	1,185	54.5	+1.7
	Liberal	John Paton	989	45.5	−1.7
Majority			196	9.0	+3.4
Turnout			2,174	81.1	+1.5
Registered electors			2,679
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	+1.7

Elections in the 1900s

Annand

General election January 1900: St Andrews Burghs^[19][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Henry Torrens Anstruther	1,148	51.2	−3.3
	Liberal	James Annand	1,094	48.8	+3.3
Majority			54	2.4	−6.6
Turnout			2,242	76.0	−5.1
Registered electors			2,951
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	−3.3

1903 St Andrews Burghs by-election^[19][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Ellice	1,324	50.7	+1.9
	Liberal Unionist	William Anstruther-Thomson	1,288	49.3	−1.9
Majority			36	1.4	N/A
Turnout			2,612	82.6	+6.6
Registered electors			3,162
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+1.9

General election January 1906: St Andrews Burghs^[19][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	William Anstruther-Gray	1,495	50.4	−0.8
	Liberal	Edward Ellice	1,472	49.6	+0.8
Majority			23	0.8	−1.6
Turnout			2,967	91.4	+15.4
Registered electors			3,247
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	−0.8

Elections in the 1910s

Duncan Millar

General election January 1910: St Andrews Burghs^[20][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Duncan Millar	1,507	50.6	+1.0
	Liberal Unionist	William Anstruther-Gray	1,469	49.4	−1.0
Majority			38	1.2	N/A
Turnout			2,976	92.8	+1.4
Registered electors			3,206
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+1.0

General election December 1910: St Andrews Burghs^[20][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	William Anstruther-Gray	1,675	50.7	+1.3
	Liberal	James Duncan Millar	1,626	49.3	−1.3
Majority			49	1.4	N/A
Turnout			3,301	94.8	+2.0
Registered electors			3,481
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+1.3

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: William Anstruther-Gray
• Liberal: Henry Jackson^[21]

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 1)
2. Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 211. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
3. Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 82. Retrieved 4 September 2018 – via Google Books.
4. "Rt. Hon. Edward Ellice". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
5. Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 167. Retrieved 4 September 2018 – via Google Books.
6. 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.
7. "Scotland". Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser. 15 July 1837. p. 3. Retrieved 7 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "The Return of Mr Brown Douglas — To Edinburgh". Falkirk Herald. 2 April 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 4 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Caledonian Mercury". 7 February 1856. p. 4. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "South Eastern Gazette". 5 February 1856. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "English and Scotch News". Dublin Evening Packet and Correspondent. 2 February 1856. p. 3. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. Debrett's House of Commons 1870
13. "St Andrews Burghs". Fife Herald. 15 April 1880. p. 1. Retrieved 10 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
15. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
16. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
17. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
18. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
19. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
20. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
21. Dundee Courier 9 Jan 1914