Wolverhampton (UK Parliament constituency)

Wolverhampton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Wolverhampton
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1832–1885
SeatsTwo
Created fromStaffordshire
Replaced byWolverhampton East, Wolverhampton South and Wolverhampton West

History

The constituency was created under the Great Reform Act, and first used at the 1832 general election. It was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when it was replaced for the 1885 general election by three new single-member constituencies: Wolverhampton East, Wolverhampton South and Wolverhampton West.

Members of Parliament
Election1st Member1st Party2nd Member2nd Party
1832 William Wolryche-Whitmore Whig[1][2] Richard Fryer Whig[1][3]
1835 Charles Pelham Villiers Radical[4][5][3] Thomas Thornely Radical[6][7]
1859 Liberal Sir Richard Bethell Liberal
1861 by-election Thomas Matthias Weguelin Liberal
1880 Henry Fowler Liberal
1885 constituency divided: see Wolverhampton East, Wolverhampton South and Wolverhampton West.

Election results

Elections in the 1830s
General election 1832: Wolverhampton[8][1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig William Wolryche-Whitmore 850 32.3
Whig Richard Fryer 810 30.8
Tory Francis Holyoake 615 23.4
Radical John Nicholson 358 13.6
Majority 195 7.4
Turnout 1,463 86.1
Registered electors 1,700
Whig win (new seat)
Whig win (new seat)
General election 1835: Wolverhampton[8][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Charles Pelham Villiers 776 30.0 N/A
Radical Thomas Thornely 776 30.0 N/A
Conservative Dudley Fereday 658 25.5 +2.1
Radical John Nicholson 374 14.5 +0.9
Majority 118 4.5 N/A
Turnout 1,498 81.5 −4.6
Registered electors 1,839
Radical gain from Whig Swing N/A
Radical gain from Whig Swing N/A
General election 1837: Wolverhampton[8][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Charles Pelham Villiers 1,068 32.1 +2.1
Radical Thomas Thornely 1,024 30.8 +0.8
Conservative Ryder Burton[9] 623 18.7 +6.0
Conservative John Benbow 613 18.4 +5.7
Majority 401 12.1 +7.6
Turnout 1,675 77.2 −4.3
Registered electors 2,170
Radical hold Swing −1.9
Radical hold Swing −3.3

Elections in the 1840s
General election 1841: Wolverhampton[8][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Charles Pelham Villiers Unopposed
Radical Thomas Thornely Unopposed
Registered electors 2,571
Radical hold
Radical hold
General election 1847: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Charles Pelham Villiers Unopposed
Radical Thomas Thornely Unopposed
Registered electors 2,692
Radical hold
Radical hold

Elections in the 1850s
General election 1852: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Charles Pelham Villiers Unopposed
Radical Thomas Thornely Unopposed
Registered electors 3,587
Radical hold
Radical hold

Villiers was appointed Judge-Advocate-General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 4 January 1853: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Charles Pelham Villiers Unopposed
Radical hold
General election 1857: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Charles Pelham Villiers Unopposed
Radical Thomas Thornely Unopposed
Registered electors 3,611
Radical hold
Radical hold
General election 1859: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Pelham Villiers Unopposed
Liberal Richard Bethell Unopposed
Registered electors 3,821
Liberal hold
Liberal hold

Bethell was appointed Attorney General for England and Wales, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 27 June 1859: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Richard Bethell Unopposed
Liberal hold

Villiers was appointed President of the Poor Law Board, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 9 July 1859: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Pelham Villiers Unopposed
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

Bethell resigned after being appointed Lord Chancellor, causing him to become Lord Westbury and a by-election to be called.

By-election, 3 July 1861: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Thomas Matthias Weguelin 1,363 48.7 N/A
Liberal Samuel Griffiths[10] 772 27.6 N/A
Conservative Alexander Staveley Hill[11] 665 23.8 New
Majority 591 21.1 N/A
Turnout 2,800 68.1 N/A
Registered electors 4,110
Liberal hold Swing N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1865: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Pelham Villiers 1,623 50.9 N/A
Liberal Thomas Matthias Weguelin 1,519 47.6 N/A
Conservative Thomas Thornycroft[12] 47 1.5 N/A
Majority 1,472 46.1 N/A
Turnout 1,618 (est) 33.5 (est) N/A
Registered electors 4,830
Liberal hold Swing N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1868: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Pelham Villiers Unopposed
Liberal Thomas Matthias Weguelin Unopposed
Registered electors 15,772
Liberal hold
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s
General election 1874: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Pelham Villiers 10,358 43.1 N/A
Liberal Thomas Matthias Weguelin 10,036 41.8 N/A
Conservative Walter Williams[13] 3,628 15.1 New
Majority 6,408 26.7 N/A
Turnout 13,825 (est) 59.4 (est) N/A
Registered electors 23,257
Liberal hold Swing N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1880s
General election 1880: Wolverhampton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Pelham Villiers 12,197 41.1 −2.0
Liberal Henry Fowler 11,606 39.1 −2.7
Conservative Alfred Hickman 5,874 19.8 +4.7
Majority 5,732 19.3 −7.4
Turnout 17,776 (est) 77.9 (est) +18.5
Registered electors 22,821
Liberal hold Swing −2.2
Liberal hold Swing −2.5

See also

References
  1. 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. 50–51. Retrieved 10 February 2019 – via Google Books.
  2. Hyman, Anthony (1985). Charles Babbage: Pioneer of the Computer. Princeton University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-691-08303-2. LCCN 81-48078 – via Google Books.
  3. Swift, Roger (2017). Charles Pelham Villiers: Aristocratic Victorian Radical. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 47, 148. ISBN 978-1-315-26797-5. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  4. Howe, A. C. (8 October 2009) [2004]. "Villiers, Charles Pelham (1802–1898)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28286. Retrieved 22 July 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. "District News". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 26 June 1841. p. 3. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. The Christian Reform; Or, Unitarian Magazine and Review: New Series, Vol. XVIII. London: Edward T. Whitfield. 1862. pp. 361–384. Retrieved 23 July 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  7. Turner, Michael J. (2014). Liberty and Liberticide: The Role in Nineteenth-Century British Radicalism. Lanham: Lexington Books. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7391-7817-1. Retrieved 23 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 338–339. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-02349-3. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  9. "Page 1". Wolverhampton Chronicle and Staffordshire Advertiser. 12 July 1837. Retrieved 30 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Advertisements & Notices". Birmingham Daily Post. 2 July 1861. p. 1. Retrieved 24 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "To the Electors of the Borough of Wolverhampton". Staffordshire Advertiser. 29 June 1861. p. 4. Retrieved 24 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "Wolverhampton". Evening Mail. 14 July 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 25 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "Wolverhampton Borough Election". Birmingham Daily Post. 4 February 1874. p. 1. Retrieved 23 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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