Jump to content

List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies (1832–1868)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Constituencies in 1801–1832 | 1832 MPs | 1835 MPs | 1837 MPs | 1841 MPs | 1847 MPs | 1852 MPs | 1857 MPs | 1859 MPs | 1865 MPs | Constituencies in 1865–1868

This is a list of parliamentary constituencies which were used for elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1865.

These constituencies were defined by the Representation of the People Act 1832 (commonly known as the Reform Act 1832), and with the exception of the changes listed below they remained in effect until the next round of revisions in 1867 and 1868, when three pieces of legislation restructured the constituencies:

Types of constituency

[edit]

There were three types of constituency, each with different arrangements for the franchise:

  • Counties, which covered the whole of a county. In some cases they were divided into two or more divisions
  • University constituencies, which had no geographical basis. Their electorate comprised the graduates of the university
  • Parliamentary boroughs, known in Scotland as burghs, which comprised a town and in some cases some areas outside the town boundaries.
    • Districts of burghs (in Scotland) and districts of boroughs (in Wales) were a type of borough constituency in which several boroughs jointly elected one Member of Parliament. The areas were not geographically contiguous, and in some cases the boroughs were in different counties

Numbers by type

[edit]

This table lists the number of each type of constituency in use in 1832, in the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom:

Country Borough
constituencies
County
constituencies
University
constituencies
Total
constituencies
Borough
MPs
County
MPs
University
MP
Total
MPs
England 186 68 2 256 322 142 4 468
Wales 15 13 0 28 15 17 0 32
Scotland 21 30 0 51 23 30 0 53
Ireland 33 32 1 66 39 64 2 105
Total 255 143 3 401 399 253 6 658

Changes

[edit]
Year Change New
total constituencies
New
total MPs
1844 Sudbury (2 seats) disenfranchised for corruption 400 656
1852 St Albans (2 seats) disenfranchised for corruption 399 654
1861 Birkenhead (1 seats) enfranchised 400 656
South Lancashire (2 seats) awarded 1 extra seat for a total of 3
1865 West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats) divided into:
  Northern West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats)
  Southern West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats)
400 658

List of constituencies

[edit]
Constituency Members Type Country County Notes
Aberdeen 1 Borough Scotland Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire 1 County Scotland Aberdeenshire
Abingdon 1 Borough England Berkshire
Andover 2 Borough England Hampshire
Anglesey 1 County Wales Anglesey
Antrim 2 County Ireland Antrim
Argyllshire 1 County Scotland Argyllshire
Armagh 1 Borough Ireland Armagh
County Armagh 2 County Ireland Armagh
Arundel 1 Borough England Sussex
Ashburton 1 Borough England Devon
Ashton-under-Lyne 1 Borough England Lancashire
Athlone 1 Borough Ireland Westmeath & Roscommon
Aylesbury 2 Borough England Buckinghamshire
Ayr Burghs 1 District Scotland Ayrshire
Ayrshire 1 County Scotland Ayrshire
Banbury 1 Borough England Oxfordshire
Bandon 1 Borough Ireland Cork
Banffshire 1 County Scotland Banffshire
Barnstaple 2 Borough England Devon
Bath 2 Borough England Somerset
Beaumaris Boroughs 1 District Wales Anglesey
Bedford 2 Borough England Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire 2 County England Bedfordshire
Belfast 2 Borough Ireland Antrim
Berkshire 3 County England Berkshire
Berwickshire 1 County Scotland Berwickshire
Berwick-upon-Tweed 2 Borough England Northumberland
Beverley 2 Borough England East Riding of Yorkshire
Bewdley 1 Borough England Worcestershire
Birmingham 2 Borough England Warwickshire
Blackburn 2 Borough England Lancashire
Bodmin 2 Borough England Cornwall
Bolton 2 Borough England Lancashire
Boston 2 Borough England Lincolnshire
Bradford 2 Borough England West Riding of Yorkshire
Brecon 1 Borough Wales Breconshire
Breconshire 1 County Wales Breconshire
Bridgnorth 2 Borough England Shropshire
Bridgwater 2 Borough England Somerset
Bridport 2 Borough England Dorset
Brighton 2 Borough England Sussex
Bristol 2 Borough England Gloucestershire/Somerset
Buckingham 2 Borough England Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire 3 County England Buckinghamshire
Bury 1 Borough England Lancashire
Bury St Edmunds 2 Borough England Suffolk
Buteshire 1 County Scotland Buteshire
Caernarvon Boroughs 1 District Wales Caernarvonshire
Caernarvonshire 1 County Wales Caernarvonshire
Caithness 1 County Scotland Caithness
Calne 1 Borough England Wiltshire
Cambridge 2 Borough England Cambridgeshire
Cambridge University 2 University England Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire 3 County England Cambridgeshire
Canterbury 2 Borough England Kent
Cardiff District 1 District Wales Glamorganshire
Cardigan District 1 District Wales Cardiganshire
Cardiganshire 1 County Wales Cardiganshire
Carlisle 2 Borough England Cumberland
Carlow 1 Borough Ireland Carlow
County Carlow 2 County Ireland Carlow
Carmarthen 1 District Wales Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire 2 County Wales Carmarthenshire
Carrickfergus 1 Borough Ireland Antrim
Cashel 1 Borough Ireland Tipperary
Cavan 2 County Ireland Cavan
Chatham 1 Borough England Kent
Cheltenham 1 Borough England Gloucestershire
Cheshire Northern 2 County England Cheshire
Cheshire Southern 2 County England Cheshire
Chester 2 Borough England Cheshire
Chichester 2 Borough England Sussex
Chippenham 2 Borough England Wiltshire
Christchurch 1 Borough England Hampshire
Cirencester 2 Borough England Gloucestershire
Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire 1 County Scotland Clackmannanshire
Clare 2 County Ireland Clare
Clitheroe 1 Borough England Lancashire
Clonmel 1 Borough Ireland Tipperary
Cockermouth 2 Borough England Cumberland
Colchester 2 Borough England Essex
Coleraine 1 Borough Ireland Londonderry
Cork City 2 Borough Ireland Cork
County Cork 2 County Ireland Cork
Cornwall Eastern 2 County England Cornwall
Cornwall Western 2 County England Cornwall
Coventry 2 Borough England Warwickshire
Cricklade 2 Borough England Wiltshire
Cumberland Eastern 2 County England Cumberland
Cumberland Western 2 County England Cumberland
Dartmouth 1 Borough England Devon
Denbigh Boroughs 1 District Wales Denbighshire
Denbighshire 2 County Wales Denbighshire
Derby 2 Borough England Derbyshire
Derbyshire Northern 2 County England Derbyshire
Derbyshire Southern 2 County England Derbyshire
Devizes 2 Borough England Wiltshire
Devonport 2 Borough England Devon
Devon Northern 2 County England Devon
Devon Southern 2 County England Devon
Donegal 2 County Ireland Donegal
Dorchester 2 Borough England Dorset
Dorset 3 County England Dorset
Dover 2 Borough England Kent
Down 2 County Ireland Down
Downpatrick 1 Borough Ireland Down
Drogheda 1 Borough Ireland Louth
Droitwich 1 Borough England Worcestershire
Dublin 2 Borough Ireland Dublin
County Dublin 2 County Ireland Dublin
Dublin University 2 University Ireland Dublin
Dudley 1 Borough England Worcestershire
Dumfries Burghs 1 District Scotland Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire 1 County Scotland Dumfriesshire
Dunbartonshire 1 County Scotland Dunbartonshire
Dundalk 1 Borough Ireland Louth
Dundee 1 Borough Scotland Forfarshire
Dungannon 1 Borough Ireland Tyrone
Dungarvan 1 Borough Ireland Waterford
Durham City 2 Borough England Durham
Durham Northern 2 County England Durham
Durham Southern 2 County England Durham
East Retford 2 Borough England Nottinghamshire
Edinburgh 2 Borough Scotland Midlothian
Elgin 1 District Scotland Elginshire
Elginshire and Nairnshire 1 County Scotland Elginshire/Nairnshire
Ennis 1 Borough Ireland Clare
Enniskillen 1 Borough Ireland Fermanagh
Essex Northern 2 County England Essex
Essex Southern 2 County England Essex
Evesham 2 Borough England Worcestershire
Exeter 2 Borough England Devon
Eye 1 Borough England Suffolk
Falkirk Burghs 1 District Scotland Stirlingshire
Fermanagh 2 County Ireland Fermanagh
Fife 1 County Scotland Fife
Finsbury 2 Borough England Middlesex
Flint Boroughs 1 District Wales Flintshire
Flintshire 1 County Wales Flintshire
Forfarshire 1 County Scotland Forfarshire
Frome 1 Borough England Somerset
Galway Borough 2 Borough Ireland Galway
County Galway 2 County Ireland Galway
Gateshead 1 Borough England Durham
Glamorganshire 2 County Wales Glamorganshire
Glasgow 2 Borough Scotland Lanarkshire
Gloucester 2 Borough England Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire Eastern 2 County England Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire Western 2 County England Gloucestershire
Grantham 2 Borough England Lincolnshire
Great Yarmouth 2 Borough England Norfolk
Great Marlow 2 Borough England Buckinghamshire
Greenock 1 Borough Scotland Renfrewshire
Greenwich 2 Borough England Kent
Great Grimsby 1 Borough England Lincolnshire
Guildford 2 Borough England Surrey
Haddington Burghs 1 District Scotland Haddingtonshire
Haddingtonshire 1 County Scotland Haddingtonshire
Halifax 2 Borough England West Riding of Yorkshire
Hampshire Northern 2 County England Hampshire
Hampshire Southern 2 County England Hampshire
Harwich 2 Borough England Essex
Hastings 2 Borough England Sussex
Haverfordwest Boroughs 1 District Wales Pembrokeshire
Helston 1 Borough England Cornwall
Hereford 2 Borough England Herefordshire
Herefordshire 3 County England Herefordshire
Hertford 2 Borough England Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire 3 County England Hertfordshire
Honiton 2 Borough England Devon
Horsham 1 Borough England Sussex
Huddersfield 1 Borough England West Riding of Yorkshire
Huntingdon 2 Borough England Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire 2 County England Huntingdonshire
Hythe 1 Borough England Kent
Inverness Burghs 1 District Scotland Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire 1 County Scotland Inverness-shire
Ipswich 2 Borough England Suffolk
Isle of Wight 1 County England Hampshire
Kendal 1 Borough England Westmorland
Kent Eastern 2 County England Kent
Kent Western 2 County England Kent
Kerry 2 County Ireland Kerry
Kidderminster 1 Borough England Worcestershire
Kildare 2 County Ireland Kildare
Kilkenny City 1 Borough Ireland Kilkenny
County Kilkenny 2 County Ireland Kilkenny
Kilmarnock Burghs 1 District Scotland Ayrshire
Kincardineshire 1 County Scotland Kincardineshire
King's County 2 County Ireland King's County
King's Lynn 2 Borough England Norfolk
Kingston upon Hull 2 Borough England East Riding of Yorkshire
Kinsale 1 Borough Ireland Cork
Kirkcaldy District of Burghs 1 Burghs Scotland Fife
Kirkcudbright Stewartry 1 County Scotland Kirkcudbright Stewartry
Knaresborough 2 Borough England West Riding of Yorkshire
Lambeth 2 Borough England Surrey
Lanarkshire 1 County Scotland Lanarkshire
Lancashire Northern 2 County England Lancashire
Lancashire Southern 2 County England Lancashire
Lancaster 2 Borough England Lancashire
Launceston 1 Borough England Cornwall
Leeds 2 Borough England West Riding of Yorkshire
Leicester 2 Borough England Leicestershire
Leicestershire Northern 2 County England Leicestershire
Leicestershire Southern 2 County England Leicestershire
Leith Burghs 1 District Scotland Midlothian
Leitrim 2 County Ireland Leitrim
Leominster 2 Borough England Herefordshire
Lewes 2 Borough England Sussex
Lichfield 2 Borough England Staffordshire
Limerick City 2 Borough Ireland Limerick
County Limerick 2 County Ireland Limerick
Lincoln 2 Borough England Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire Northern 2 County England Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire Southern 2 County England Lincolnshire
Linlithgowshire 1 County Scotland Linlithgowshire
Lisburn 1 Borough Ireland Antrim
Liskeard 1 Borough England Cornwall
Liverpool 2 Borough England Lancashire
The City of London 4 Borough England Middlesex
Londonderry 1 Borough Ireland Londonderry
County Londonderry 2 County Ireland Londonderry
County Longford 2 County Ireland Longford
County Louth 2 County Ireland Louth
Ludlow 2 Borough England Shropshire
Lyme Regis 1 Borough England Dorset
Lymington 2 Borough England Hampshire
Macclesfield 2 Borough England Cheshire
Maidstone 2 Borough England Kent
Maldon 2 Borough England Essex
Mallow 1 Borough Ireland Cork
Malmesbury 1 Borough England Wiltshire
Malton 2 Borough England North Riding of Yorkshire/East Riding of Yorkshire
Manchester 2 Borough England Lancashire
Marlborough 2 Borough England Wiltshire
Marylebone 2 Borough England Middlesex
Mayo 2 County Ireland Mayo
Meath 2 County Ireland Meath
Merionethshire 1 County Wales Merionethshire
Merthyr Tydvil 1 Borough Wales Glamorganshire
Middlesex 2 County England Middlesex
Midhurst 1 Borough England Sussex
Midlothian 1 County Scotland Midlothian
Monaghan 2 County Ireland Monaghan
Monmouth Boroughs 1 District??? Wales Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire 2 County Wales Monmouthshire
Montgomery Boroughs 1 District Wales Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire 1 County Wales Montgomeryshire
Montrose Burghs 1 District Scotland Forfarshire
Morpeth 1 Borough England Northumberland
Newark-on-Trent 2 Borough England Nottinghamshire
Newcastle-under-Lyme 2 Borough England Staffordshire
Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2 Borough England Northumberland
Newport 2 Borough England Hampshire
New Ross 1 Borough Ireland Wexford
Newry 1 Borough Ireland Armagh/Down
New Shoreham 2 Borough England Sussex
Norfolk Eastern 2 County England Norfolk
Norfolk Western 2 County England Norfolk
Northallerton 1 Borough England North Riding of Yorkshire
Northampton 2 Borough England Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire Northern 2 County England Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire Southern 2 County England Northamptonshire
Northumberland Northern 2 County England Northumberland
Northumberland Southern 2 County England Northumberland
Norwich 2 Borough England Norfolk
Nottingham 2 Borough England Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire Northern 2 County England Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire Southern 2 County England Nottinghamshire
Oldham 2 Borough England Lancashire
Orkney and Shetland 1 County Scotland Orkney & Shetland
Oxford 2 Borough England Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire 3 County England Oxfordshire
Oxford University 2 University England Oxfordshire
Paisley 1 Borough Scotland Renfrewshire
Peeblesshire 1 County Scotland Peeblesshire
Pembroke Boroughs 1 District Wales Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire 1 County Wales Pembrokeshire
Penryn and Falmouth 2 Borough England Cornwall
Perth 1 Borough Scotland Perthshire
Perthshire 1 County Scotland Perthshire
Peterborough 2 Borough England Northamptonshire
Petersfield 1 Borough England Hampshire
Plymouth 2 Borough England Devon
Pontefract 2 Borough England West Riding of Yorkshire
Poole 2 Borough England Dorset
Portarlington 1 Borough Ireland Queen's County/King's County
Portsmouth 2 Borough England Hampshire
Preston 2 Borough England Lancashire
Queen's County 2 County Ireland Queen's County
Radnor Boroughs 1 District Wales Radnorshire
Radnorshire 1 County Wales Radnorshire
Reading 2 Borough England Berkshire
Reigate 1 Borough England Surrey
Renfrewshire 1 County Scotland Renfrewshire
Richmond 2 Borough England North Riding of Yorkshire
Ripon 2 Borough England West Riding of Yorkshire
Rochdale 1 Borough England Lancashire
Rochester 2 Borough England Kent
Roscommon 2 County Ireland Roscommon
Ross and Cromarty 1 County Scotland Ross-shire/Cromartyshire
Roxburghshire 1 County Scotland Roxburghshire
Rutland 2 County England Rutland
Rye 1 Borough England Sussex
St Albans 2 Borough England Hertfordshire Disenfranchised for corruption in 1852
St Andrews Burghs 1 District Scotland Fife
St Ives 1 Borough England Cornwall
Salford 1 Borough England Lancashire
Salisbury 2 Borough England Wiltshire also known as New Sarum
Sandwich 2 Borough England Kent
Scarborough 2 Borough England North Riding of Yorkshire
Selkirkshire 1 County Scotland Selkirkshire
Shaftesbury 1 Borough England Dorset
Sheffield 2 Borough England West Riding of Yorkshire
Shrewsbury 2 Borough England Shropshire
Shropshire Northern 2 County England Shropshire
Shropshire Southern 2 County England Shropshire
Sligo 1 Borough Ireland Sligo
County Sligo 2 County Ireland Sligo
Somerset Eastern 2 County England Somerset
Somerset Western 2 County England Somerset
Southampton 2 Borough England Hampshire
South Shields 1 Borough England Durham
Southwark 2 Borough England Surrey
Stafford 2 Borough England Staffordshire
Staffordshire Northern 2 County England Staffordshire
Staffordshire Southern 2 County England Staffordshire
Stamford 2 Borough England Lincolnshire
Stirling Burghs 1 District Scotland Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire 1 County Scotland Stirlingshire
Stockport 2 Borough England Cheshire
Stoke-upon-Trent 2 Borough England Staffordshire
Stroud 2 Borough England Gloucestershire
Sudbury 2 Borough England Suffolk Disenfranchised for corruption in 1844
Suffolk Eastern 2 County England Suffolk
Suffolk Western 2 County England Suffolk
Sunderland 2 Borough England Durham
Surrey Eastern 2 County England Surrey
Surrey Western 2 County England Surrey
Sussex Eastern 2 County England Sussex
Sussex Western 2 County England Sussex
Sutherland 1 County Scotland Sutherland
Swansea District 1 District Wales Glamorganshire
Tamworth 2 Borough England Staffordshire/Warwickshire
Taunton 2 Borough England Somerset
Tavistock 2 Borough England Devon
Tewkesbury 2 Borough England Gloucestershire
Thetford 2 Borough England Norfolk
Thirsk 1 Borough England North Riding of Yorkshire
Tipperary 2 County Ireland Tipperary
Tiverton 2 Borough England Devon
Totnes 2 Borough England Devon
Tower Hamlets 2 Borough England Middlesex
Tralee 1 Borough Ireland Kerry
Truro 2 Borough England Cornwall
Tynemouth and North Shields 1 Borough England Northumberland
Tyrone 2 County Ireland Tyrone
Wakefield 1 Borough England West Riding of Yorkshire
Wallingford 1 Borough England Berkshire
Walsall 1 Borough England Staffordshire
Wareham 1 Borough England Dorset
Warrington 1 Borough England Lancashire
Warwick 2 Borough England Warwickshire
Warwickshire Northern 2 County England Warwickshire
Warwickshire Southern 2 County England Warwickshire
Waterford City 2 Borough Ireland Waterford
County Waterford 2 County Ireland Waterford
Wells 2 Borough England Somerset
Wenlock 2 Borough England Shropshire
Westbury 1 Borough England Wiltshire
Westmeath 2 County Ireland Westmeath
Westminster 2 Borough England Middlesex
Westmorland 2 County England Westmorland
Wexford 1 Borough Ireland Wexford
County Wexford 2 County Ireland Wexford
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis 2 Borough England Dorset
Whitby 1 Borough England North Riding of Yorkshire
Whitehaven 1 Borough England Cumberland
Wick Burghs 1 District Scotland Caithness
Wicklow 2 County Ireland Wicklow
Wigan 2 Borough England Lancashire
Wigtown Burghs 1 District Scotland Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire 1 County Scotland Wigtownshire
Wilton 1 Borough England Wiltshire
Wiltshire Northern 2 County England Wiltshire
Wiltshire Southern 2 County England Wiltshire
Winchester 2 Borough England Hampshire
Windsor 2 Borough England Berkshire
Wolverhampton 2 Borough England Staffordshire
Woodstock 1 Borough England Oxfordshire
Worcester 2 Borough England Worcestershire
Worcestershire Eastern 2 County England Worcestershire
Worcestershire Western 2 County England Worcestershire
Wycombe 2 Borough England Buckinghamshire
York 2 Borough England Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire 2 County England East Riding of Yorkshire
North Riding of Yorkshire 2 County England North Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire 2 County England West Riding of Yorkshire divided in 1865: see Northern West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats) and Southern West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats)
Youghal 1 Borough Ireland Cork

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Sources

[edit]
  • Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.