West Essex (UK Parliament constituency)

West Essex, formally known as the West Division of Essex was a parliamentary constituency in the English county of Essex. From 1868 to 1885, it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, using the bloc vote system of election.

West Essex
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
County	Essex
1868–1885
Seats	Two
Created from	North Essex South Essex
Replaced by	Saffron Walden Chelmsford Epping

History and boundaries

West Essex was created by the Reform Act 1867 for the 1868 general election as one of three two-member divisions of Essex (East, South and West), replacing the two divisions which had been created by the Reform Act 1832 (Northern and Southern). Initially named as the North West Division, it was renamed the West Division under the Boundaries Act 1868. The seat was created from parts of both South Essex and North Essex.^[1][2]

The boundaries were defined as:

• The Hundreds of Freshwell, Uttlesford, Clavering, Dunmow, Harlow, Waltham, Ongar, and Chelmsford.^[3][4]

The first four of these hundreds had been part of the abolished Northern division, with the remainder transferred from the Southern Division.

See map on Vision of Britain website.^[5]

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the three two-member divisions of Essex were abolished and replaced by eight single-member divisions. West Essex was replaced by the Epping Division and parts of the Saffron Walden and Chelmsford Divisions.

Members of Parliament

The constituency was represented throughout its existence by the same two MPs, both of whom were Conservatives.^[6]

Election	Member		Party	Member		Party
1868		Lord Eustace Cecil	Conservative		Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson	Conservative
1874
1880
1885	Constituency abolished. See Saffron Walden and Chelmsford

Election results

General election 1868: Essex Western^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Selwin-Ibbetson	Unopposed
	Conservative	Eustace Cecil	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,479
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1874: Essex Western^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Selwin-Ibbetson	Unopposed
	Conservative	Eustace Cecil	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,889
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

The only contested election in Western Essex was in 1880, when the former King's Lynn MP Sir Thomas Buxton failed to win a seat for the Liberal Party.

General election 1880: Essex Western^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Selwin-Ibbetson	2,664	39.0	N/A
	Conservative	Eustace Cecil	2,397	35.1	N/A
	Liberal	Thomas Buxton	1,772	25.9	New
Majority			625	9.2	N/A
Turnout			4,436 (est)	77.4	N/A
Registered electors			5,732
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

References

1. "Boundary Commission Report 1868". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
2. "Boundary Commission Report 1832". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
3. "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). Retrieved 27 July 2017.
4. "A Collection of the Public General Statutes: 1867/68. Cap. XLVI. An Act to settle and describe the Limits of certain Boroughs and the Divisions of certain Counties in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1868. pp. 119–166. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
5. "HMSO Boundary Commission Report 1868, Essex".
6. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 388. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.

Sources

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

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by North Essex	UK Parliament constituency 1868 – 1885	Succeeded by Saffron Walden
		Succeeded by Chelmsford