Woodstock (UK Parliament constituency)

Woodstock, sometimes called New Woodstock, was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom named after the town of Woodstock in the county of Oxfordshire.

Oxfordshire, Mid or Woodstock Division
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Seats	one

Woodstock
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1553–1885
Seats	two to 1832, then one
Replaced by	Banbury and Henley

History

The Parliamentary Borough comprised the town of Woodstock and (from 1832) the surrounding countryside and villages.^[1] It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from its re-enfranchisement in 1553 until 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801. Under the Great Reform Act 1832, the representation of the borough was reduced to one member.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the borough was abolished and was reconstituted as the Mid or Woodstock Division of Oxfordshire when the three-member Parliamentary County of Oxfordshire was divided into the three single-member constituencies of Banbury, Woodstock and Henley. It comprised the middle part of Oxfordshire, including Witney and Bicester as well as the abolished borough.

The constituency was abolished under the Representation of the People Act 1918.  The western half, including Witney and Woodstock, was added to the Banbury Division and the eastern half, including Bicester, to the Henley Division.

Boundaries

1885–1918

• The Municipal Borough of Oxford;
• The Sessional Divisions of Bampton East, Bampton West, Ploughley, and Wooton South; and
• Part of the Sessional Division of Bullingdon.^[2]

Only non-resident freeholders of the Parliamentary Borough of Oxford (which included the Municipal Borough thereof) were entitled to vote.

Members of Parliament

1553–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1553 (Oct)	William Cooke	Sir Ralph Chamberlain[3]
1554 (Apr)	Sir Ralph Chamberlain	William Johnson[3]
1554 (Nov)	Anthony Restwold	George Chamberlain[3]
1571	Thomas Peniston	Martin Johnson[4]
1572	George Whiton	Martin Johnson[4]
1584	Lawrence Tanfield	Henry Unton[4]
1586	Lawrence Tanfield	Francis Stonor[4]
1588	Lawrence Tanfield	John Lee[4]
1593	Lawrence Tanfield	John Lee[4]
1597	Lawrence Tanfield	John Lee[4]
1601	Lawrence Tanfield	William Scott[4]
1604	Sir Richard Lee	Thomas Spencer
1609	Sir James Whitelocke
1614	Sir James Whitelocke	Sir Philip Cary
1621	Sir James Whitelocke	Sir Philip Cary
1624	Sir Philip Cary	William Lenthall
1625	Sir Philip Cary	Sir Gerard Fleetwood
1626	Edward Tavernor	Sir Gerard Fleetwood
1628	Edward Tavernor	Sir Miles Fleetwood
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

1640–1832

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640		William Lenthall	Parliamentarian		William Fleetwood
November 1640					Hon. William Herbert[5]	Royalist
December 1640					Sir Robert Pye	Parliamentarian
December 1648				Pye excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant
1653	Woodstock was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Lieutenant General Charles Fleetwood		Woodstock had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656		Major General William Packer
January 1659		Sir Jerome Sankey			Miles Fleetwood
May 1659		William Lenthall		One seat vacant
April 1660		Sir Thomas Spencer			Edward Atkyns
1661					Sir William Fleetwood
1674					Thomas Howard
1679		Sir Littleton Osbaldeston			Nicholas Bayntun
1681		Henry Bertie
1685		Richard Bertie			Sir Littleton Osbaldeston
1689		Sir Thomas Littleton			Sir John D'Oyly
1690					Thomas Wheate
1695					James Bertie
1702		Sir William Glynne
1705		Lieutenant General William Cadogan	Whig		Hon. Charles Bertie
1708					Sir Thomas Wheate
1716		William Clayton
1721					Charles Crisp
1722		Samuel Trotman			Sir Thomas Wheate
1727					Marquess of Blandford	Whig
1732					Hon. John Spencer
1734		James Dawkins
1746					Hon. John Trevor, KC
1747		John Bateman
1753					Anthony Keck
1767					Hon. William Gordon
1768		Lord Robert Spencer
1771		John Skynner
1774					William Eden
1777		Viscount Parker	Tory
1784		Sir Henry Dashwood	Tory		Francis Burton
1790					Lord Henry Spencer
1795					The Lord Lavington
1799					Charles Moore
1802					Charles Abbot	Speaker
1806					Hon. William Eden
1810					Hon. George Eden	Whig
1812					William Thornton
1813					Hon. George Eden	Whig
1814					William Thornton
1818					Lord Robert Spencer
1820		John Gladstone	Tory[6]		James Langston	Whig[6]
1826		Marquess of Blandford	Tory[6]		Lord Ashley	Tory[6]
1830					Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill	Tory[6]
1831		Viscount Stormont	Tory[6]
1832	Constituency abolished

1832–1918

Year		Member	Party
1832		George Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford	Conservative[6]
1835		Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill	Conservative
1837		Henry Peyton	Conservative[6]
1838		George Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford	Conservative[6]
1840		Frederic Thesiger	Conservative[6]
1844		John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford	Conservative[6]
May 1845		John Loftus, Viscount Loftus	Conservative
December 1845		Lord Alfred Spencer-Churchill	Conservative
1847		John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford	Conservative
1857		Lord Alfred Spencer-Churchill	Conservative
1865		Henry Barnett	Conservative
1874		Lord Randolph Churchill	Conservative
1885		Francis William Maclean	Liberal
1886			Liberal Unionist
1891		George Herbert Morrell	Conservative
1892		Godfrey Benson	Liberal
1895		George Herbert Morrell	Conservative
1906		Ernest Bennett	Liberal
January 1910		Alfred Hamersley	Conservative
1918	Constituency abolished

Elections

Decades:

1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Woodstock^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Charles Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
	Tory	George Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 200
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Woodstock^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Charles Spencer-Churchill	81	46.8
	Tory	William Murray	74	42.8
	Whig	James Silk Buckingham	12	6.9
	Whig	Charles Richardson	6	3.5
Majority			62	35.9
Turnout			c. 87	c. 43.5
Registered electors			c. 200
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

• Buckingham and Richardson each received 138 householder votes, but these were declared ineligible

General election 1832: Woodstock^[8][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	George Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
Registered electors			317
	Tory hold

General election 1835: Woodstock^[8][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Charles Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
Registered electors			306
	Conservative hold

General election 1837: Woodstock^[8][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Henry Peyton	126	51.9
	Whig	Charles Spencer-Churchill	117	48.1
Majority			9	3.8
Turnout			243	73.6
Registered electors			330
	Conservative hold

Peyton resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 11 May 1838: Woodstock^[8][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Spencer-Churchill	160	50.8	−1.1
	Whig	Henry John Spencer-Churchill	155	49.2	+1.1
Majority			5	1.6	−2.2
Turnout			315	81.8	+8.2
Registered electors			385
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.1

Elections in the 1840s

Spencer-Churchill succeeded to the peerage, becoming 6th Duke of Marlborough and causing a by-election.

By-election, 20 March 1840: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederic Thesiger	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1841: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederic Thesiger	Unopposed
Registered electors			356
	Conservative hold

Thesiger was appointed Solicitor-General for England and Wales and decided to contest Abingdon, causing a by-election.

By-election, 22 April 1844: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Spencer-Churchill resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 1 May 1845: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Loftus	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Loftus succeeded to the peerage, becoming 3rd Marquess of Ely and causing a by-election.

By-election, 18 December 1845: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
Registered electors			404
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
Registered electors			347
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
Registered electors			336
	Conservative hold

Spencer-Churchill succeeded to the peerage, becoming 7th Duke of Marlborough and causing a by-election.

By-election, 24 July 1857: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Spencer-Churchill	Unopposed
Registered electors			310
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Barnett	143	54.6	N/A
	Liberal	Mitchell Henry	119	45.4	New
Majority			24	9.2	N/A
Turnout			262	91.6	N/A
Registered electors			286
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Barnett	502	51.1	−3.5
	Liberal	George Charles Brodrick	481	48.9	+3.5
Majority			21	2.2	−7.0
Turnout			983	87.2	−4.4
Registered electors			1,127
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.5

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Randolph Churchill	569	58.5	+7.4
	Liberal	George Charles Brodrick[9]	404	41.5	−7.4
Majority			165	17.0	+14.8
Turnout			973	90.8	+3.6
Registered electors			1,071
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.4

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Randolph Churchill	512	53.1	−5.4
	Liberal	William Hall[10]	452	46.9	+5.4
Majority			60	6.2	−10.8
Turnout			964	90.9	+0.1
Registered electors			1,060
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.4

Churchill was appointed Secretary of State for India, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 6 July 1885: Woodstock^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Randolph Churchill	532	56.8	+3.7
	Liberal	Corrie Grant	405	43.2	−3.7
Majority			127	13.6	+7.4
Turnout			937	86.4	−4.5
Registered electors			1,084
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.7

General election 1885: Woodstock^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis William Maclean	4,327	51.1	+4.2
	Conservative	Arthur Annesley	4,138	48.9	−4.2
Majority			189	2.2	N/A
Turnout			8,465	84.5	−6.4
Registered electors			10,012
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.2

General election 1886: Woodstock^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Francis William Maclean	Unopposed
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal

Elections in the 1890s

Maclean resigned after being appointed a Master in Lunacy.

Morrell

By-election, 21 Apr 1891: Woodstock^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Herbert Morrell	4,448	54.2	N/A
	Liberal	Godfrey Benson	3,760	45.8	New
Majority			688	8.4	N/A
Turnout			8,208	84.4	N/A
Registered electors			9,725
	Conservative hold

General election 1892: Woodstock^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Godfrey Benson	4,278	50.7	N/A
	Conservative	George Herbert Morrell	4,167	49.3	N/A
Majority			111	1.4	N/A
Turnout			8,445	86.6	N/A
Registered electors			9,756
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	N/A

General election 1895: Woodstock^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Herbert Morrell	4,669	55.5	+6.2
	Liberal	Godfrey Benson	3,740	44.5	−6.2
Majority			929	11.0	N/A
Turnout			8,409	86.1	−0.5
Registered electors			9,767
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.2

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Woodstock^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Herbert Morrell	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1906: Woodstock^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Bennett	4,585	52.5	New
	Conservative	George Herbert Morrell	4,144	47.5	N/A
Majority			441	5.0	N/A
Turnout			8,729	87.4	N/A
Registered electors			9,985
	Liberal gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Woodstock^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Hamersley	5,098	53.8	+6.3
	Liberal	Ernest Bennett	4,378	46.2	−6.3
Majority			720	7.6	12.6
Turnout			9,476	90.0	+2.6
Registered electors			10,525
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.3

General election December 1910: Woodstock ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Hamersley	4,773	52.1	−1.7
	Liberal	Ernest Bennett	4,381	47.9	+1.7
Majority			392	4.2	−3.4
Turnout			9,154	87.0	−3.0
Registered electors			10,525
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.7

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: Henderson
• Liberal:

References

1. "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1832, New Woodstock". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
2. Great Britain, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. The public general acts. unknown library. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports, 1884.
3. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
4. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
5. Herbert was also elected for Monmouthshire, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Woodstock
6. 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. pp. 9–12. Retrieved 10 February 2019 – via Google Books.
7. Fisher, David R. "New Woodstock". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
8. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 340–341. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
9. "Advertisements & Notices". Oxford Journal. 7 February 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 23 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Liberal Meeting at Kidlington". Oxford Journal. 20 March 1880. p. 7. Retrieved 15 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 371. ISBN 9781349022984.

Sources

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
• The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 5)