East Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency)

East Suffolk was a county constituency in Suffolk, England. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the bloc vote system of election.

East Suffolk
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Context of 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the easternmost 'doubly' blue land.
County	Suffolk
1832–1885
Seats	Two
Created from	Aldeburgh, Dunwich, Orford and Suffolk
Replaced by	Eye, Lowestoft and Woodbridge

History

The seat was created under the Reform Act 1832 as one of two divisions, together with the Western Division, of the Parliamentary County of Suffolk. This resulted in a more representative allocation, with a total of four MPs instead of two for the former entire county at large, which still allowed for double voting (or more) of those Forty Shilling Freeholders who also were householders or landlords of any particular boroughs within the county. This Act retained the four largest boroughs of the seven before 1832, with the three abolished boroughs of Aldeburgh, Dunwich and Orford being absorbed into the Eastern Division.

Further sweeping changes took place as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 which saw the 2 two-member Suffolk divisions being replaced by five single-member constituencies. The Eastern Division was largely replaced by the Northern or Lowestoft Division, the North-Eastern or Eye Division and the South-Eastern or Woodbridge Division.

Boundaries

1832–1885: The part of the county of Suffolk not included in the West Suffolk constituency, i.e. the Hundreds of Blything, Bosmere and Claydon, Carlford, Colneis, Hoxne, Loes, Mutford and Lothingland, Plomesgate, Samford, Thredling, Wangford, and Wilford, and the Liberty of Ipswich.^[1]

Members of Parliament

Election	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
1832		John Henniker-Major	Tory[2]		Robert Newton Shawe	Whig[2][3]
1834			Conservative[2]
1835					Charles Broke Vere	Conservative[2]
1843 by-election					The Lord Rendlesham	Conservative[2]
1846 by-election		Sir Edward Gooch, Bt	Conservative
1852 by-election					Fitzroy Kelly	Conservative
1856 by-election		John Henniker-Major	Conservative
1866 by-election		Hon. John Henniker-Major	Conservative		Sir Edward Kerrison, Bt	Conservative
1867 by-election					Frederick Snowdon Corrance	Conservative
1870 by-election		Arthur Stanhope	Conservative
1874					Frederick Thellusson	Conservative
1876 by-election		Frederick St John Barne	Conservative
1885	constituency abolished: see Eye, Lowestoft, Stowmarket, Sudbury and Woodbridge

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: East Suffolk^[4][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	John Henniker-Major, Sr.	2,030	35.0
	Whig	Robert Newton Shawe	1,990	34.3
	Tory	Charles Broke Vere	1,784	30.7
Turnout			3,826	89.7
Registered electors			4,265
Majority			40	0.7
	Tory win (new seat)
Majority			206	3.6
	Whig win (new seat)

General election 1835: East Suffolk^[4][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henniker-Major, Sr.	2,452	36.0	+1.0
	Conservative	Charles Broke Vere	2,321	34.1	+3.4
	Whig	Robert Newton Shawe	2,029	29.8	−4.5
Majority			292	4.3	N/A
Turnout			4,345	86.3	−3.4
Registered electors			5,034
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+2.8

General election 1837: East Suffolk^[4][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Henniker-Major, Sr.	Unopposed
	Conservative	Charles Broke Vere	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,278
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: East Suffolk^[4][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henniker-Major, Sr.	3,279	39.8	N/A
	Conservative	Charles Broke Vere	3,178	38.5	N/A
	Whig	Robert Adair	1,787	21.7	New
Majority			1,391	16.8	N/A
Turnout			4,983	72.1	N/A
Registered electors			6,915
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Vere's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 18 April 1843: East Suffolk^[4][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Thellusson	2,952	61.9	−16.4
	Whig	Robert Adair	1,818	38.1	+16.4
Majority			1,134	23.8	+7.0
Turnout			4,770	70.3	−1.8
Registered electors			6,786
	Conservative hold		Swing	−16.4

Henniker-Major resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead, causing a by-election.

By-election, 19 February 1846: East Suffolk^[4][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Gooch	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Gooch	Unopposed
	Conservative	Frederick Thellusson	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,673
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

Thellusson's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 1 May 1852: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Fitzroy Kelly	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1852: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Gooch	Unopposed
	Conservative	Fitzroy Kelly	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,343
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Gooch's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 26 December 1856: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henniker-Major, Sr.	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henniker-Major, Sr.	Unopposed
	Conservative	Fitzroy Kelly	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,907
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Kelly was appointed Attorney-General for England and Wales, causing a by-election.

By-election, 6 March 1858: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Fitzroy Kelly	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henniker-Major, Sr.	2,677	37.8	N/A
	Conservative	Fitzroy Kelly	2,517	35.6	N/A
	Liberal	Robert Adair	1,883	26.6	New
Majority			634	9.0	N/A
Turnout			4,480 (est)	76.8 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			5,837
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henniker-Major (senior)	Unopposed
	Conservative	Fitzroy Kelly	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,769
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Henniker-Major was elevated to a UK peerage, becoming Lord Hartismere, and Kelly resigned after being appointed Chief Justice of the Court of the Exchequer, causing a by-election for both seats.

By-election, 25 July 1866: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henniker-Major (junior)	Unopposed
	Conservative	Edward Kerrison	Unopposed
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Kerrison resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 20 February 1867: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Snowdon Corrance	2,489	54.0	N/A
	Liberal	Robert Adair	2,120	46.0	New
Majority			369	8.0	N/A
Turnout			4,609	68.1	N/A
Registered electors			6,769
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henniker-Major (junior)	3,650	26.8	N/A
	Conservative	Frederick Snowdon Corrance	3,620	26.5	N/A
	Liberal	Robert Adair	3,321	24.4	N/A
	Liberal	Thomas Western	3,045	22.3	N/A
Majority			299	2.1	N/A
Turnout			6,818 (est)	75.6 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			9,024
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

Henniker-Major succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Hartismere.

By-election, 1 Jun 1870: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Stanhope	3,456	51.3	−2.0
	Liberal	Robert Adair	3,285	48.7	+2.0
Majority			171	2.6	+0.5
Turnout			6,741	74.7	−0.9
Registered electors			9,024
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.0

General election 1874: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Thellusson	4,136	37.4	+10.6
	Conservative	Arthur Stanhope	3,896	35.3	+8.8
	Liberal	George Tomline[5]	3,014	27.3	−19.4
Majority			882	8.0	+5.9
Turnout			7,030 (est)	74.1 (est)	−1.5
Registered electors			9,484
	Conservative hold		Swing	+10.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.3

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

By-election, 20 Mar 1874: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Stanhope	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Stanhope succeeded to the peerage, becoming Earl Stanhope and causing a by-election.

By-election, 24 Feb 1876: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick St John Barne	3,659	57.5	−15.2
	Liberal	Charles Easton[6]	2,708	42.5	+15.2
Majority			951	15.0	+7.0
Turnout			6,367	66.6	−7.5
Registered electors			9,558
	Conservative hold		Swing	−15.2

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: East Suffolk^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Thellusson	4,239	37.3	−0.1
	Conservative	Frederick St John Barne	3,618	31.8	−3.5
	Liberal	Robert Lacey Everett	3,504	30.8	+3.5
Majority			114	1.0	−7.0
Turnout			7,433 (est)	77.1 (est)	+3.0
Registered electors			9,635
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.6

References

1. "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
2. 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. p. 52. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via Google Books.
3. "Bury and Norwich Post". 19 December 1832. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 461–462. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
5. "The late East Suffolk Election". Framlingham Weekly News. 22 August 1874. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Election News". The Scotsman. 3 February 1876. p. 6. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 461–462. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.