Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Woodbridge was a county constituency centred on the town of Woodbridge in Suffolk. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Woodbridge
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
CountySuffolk
Major settlementsWoodbridge, Felixstowe
1885–1950
SeatsOne
Created fromEast Suffolk
Replaced bySudbury and Woodbridge and Eye

History

The South-Eastern or Woodbridge Division was one of five single-member county divisions of the Parliamentary County of Suffolk created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 to replace the existing two 2-member divisions for the 1885 general election. It was formed from parts of the Eastern Division of Suffolk. It was abolished under the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election when it was largely replaced by the new Sudbury and Woodbridge constituency.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1885–1918
  • The Municipal Borough of Woodbridge;
  • The Sessional Divisions of Bosmere and Claydon, Samford, and Woodbridge; and
  • The Corporate Town of Aldeburgh.[1]

1918–1950
  • The Municipal Borough of Aldeburgh;
  • The Urban Districts of Felixstowe and Woodbridge:
  • The Rural Districts of Bosmere and Claydon, Samford, and Woodbridge; and
  • Part of the Rural District of Plomesgate.[2]

Lost areas which had been annexed by the County Borough of Ipswich to the Parliamentary Borough thereof.

On abolition, southern parts, which comprised the majority of the seat, including Felixstowe and Woodbridge, formed part of the new county constituency of Sudbury and Woodbridge. Northern parts, including Aldeburgh, were transferred to Eye.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMemberParty
1885 Robert Lacey Everett Liberal
1886 Robert Hamilton Lloyd-Anstruther Conservative
1892 Robert Lacey Everett Liberal
1895 E. G. Pretyman Conservative
1906 Robert Lacey Everett Liberal
Jan. 1910 Robert Francis Peel Conservative
1920 Sir Arthur Churchman, Bt Conservative
1929 Clavering Fison Conservative
1931 Walter Ross-Taylor Conservative
1945 Hon. John Hare Conservative
1950 constituency abolished: see Sudbury and Woodbridge

Elections

Elections in the 1880s
General election 1885: Woodbridge[3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Everett 4,978 50.9
Conservative Frederick Thellusson 4,810 49.1
Majority 168 1.8
Turnout 9,788 80.7
Registered electors 12,126
Liberal win (new seat)
General election 1886: Woodbridge[3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Lloyd-Anstruther 4,854 51.7 +2.6
Liberal Robert Everett 4,541 48.3 −2.6
Majority 313 3.4 N/A
Turnout 9,395 77.5 −3.2
Registered electors 12,126
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +2.6

Elections in the 1890s
General election 1892: Woodbridge[3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Everett 5,223 53.8 +5.5
Conservative Robert Lloyd-Anstruther 4,485 46.2 −5.5
Majority 738 7.6 N/A
Turnout 9,708 82.1 +4.6
Registered electors 11,823
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +5.5
E.G. Pretyman
General election 1895: Woodbridge[5][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative E. G. Pretyman 5,410 53.1 +6.9
Liberal Robert Everett 4,778 46.9 −6.9
Majority 632 6.2 N/A
Turnout 10,188 84.5 +2.4
Registered electors 12,053
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +6.9

Elections in the 1900s
Pretyman
General election 1900: Woodbridge[5][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative E. G. Pretyman 5,089 53.4 +0.3
Liberal Robert Everett 4,437 46.6 −0.3
Majority 652 6.8 +0.6
Turnout 9,526 78.9 −5.6
Registered electors 12,077
Conservative hold Swing +0.3
By-election, 1900: Woodbridge[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative E. G. Pretyman Unopposed
Conservative hold
General election 1906: Woodbridge[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Everett 5,527 50.8 +4.2
Conservative E. G. Pretyman 5,348 49.2 −4.2
Majority 179 1.6 N/A
Turnout 10,875 86.8 +7.9
Registered electors 12,528
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +4.2

Elections in the 1910s
General election January 1910: Woodbridge[6][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Peel 6,120 53.9 +4.7
Liberal Charles Sydney Buxton 5,226 46.1 −4.7
Majority 894 7.8 N/A
Turnout 11,346 88.6 +1.8
Registered electors 12,808
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +4.7
General election December 1910: Woodbridge[6][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Peel 5,704 52.6 −1.3
Liberal William Elliston 5,144 47.4 +1.3
Majority 560 5.2 −2.6
Turnout 10,848 84.7 −3.9
Registered electors 12,808
Conservative hold Swing −1.3

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Robert Peel
General election 1918: Woodbridge[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Robert Peel 8,654 55.8 +3.2
Liberal William Elliston 6,842 44.2 −3.2
Majority 1,812 11.6 +6.4
Turnout 15,496 51.0 −33.7
Unionist hold Swing +3.2
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s
1920 Woodbridge by-election[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Arthur Churchman 9,898 53.2 -2.6
Labour Henry Harben 8,707 46.8 New
Majority 1,191 6.4 -5.2
Turnout 18,605 61.4 +10.4
Unionist hold Swing
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.
General election 1922: Woodbridge[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Churchman 12,396 56.7 +0.9
Labour E. J. C. Neep 9,476 43.3 N/A
Majority 2,920 13.4 +1.8
Turnout 21,872 69.1 +7.7
Unionist hold Swing +3.4
General election 1923: Woodbridge[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Churchman 10,606 46.7 -10.0
Liberal William Elliston 7,328 32.2 New
Labour E. J. C. Neep 4,810 21.1 -22.2
Majority 3,278 14.5 +1.1
Turnout 22,744 70.9 +1.8
Unionist hold Swing N/A
General election 1924: Woodbridge[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Churchman 13,419 54.9 +8.2
Liberal William Elliston 7,008 28.7 -3.5
Labour Sylvain Mayer 3,998 16.4 -4.7
Majority 6,411 26.2 +11.7
Turnout 24,425 74.3 +3.4
Unionist hold Swing +5.8
General election 1929: Woodbridge[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Clavering Fison 15,231 48.1 -6.8
Liberal Roger Fulford 10,904 34.5 +5.8
Labour Leonard Spero 5,507 17.4 +1.0
Majority 4,327 13.6 -12.6
Turnout 31,642 73.3 -1.0
Unionist hold Swing -6.3

Elections in the 1930s
General election 1931: Woodbridge[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Ross-Taylor 25,654 81.3 +33.2
Labour Ida Mary Nussey Keeble 5,885 18.7 +1.3
Majority 19,769 62.6 +49.0
Turnout 31,539 70.6 -2.7
Conservative hold Swing N/A
General election 1935: Woodbridge[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Ross-Taylor 22,715 72.1 -9.2
Labour A V Smith 8,808 27.9 +9.2
Majority 13,907 44.2 -18.4
Turnout 31,523 67.5 +4.9
Conservative hold Swing -9.2

General Election 1939–40:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1940s
General election 1945: Woodbridge[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Hare 16,073 47.0 -25.1
Labour John M. Stewart 11,380 33.3 +5.4
Liberal Douglas Burch Law 6,740 19.7 New
Majority 4,693 13.7 -30.5
Turnout 34,193 71.4 +3.9
Conservative hold Swing

Sources
  1. Great Britain, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. The public general acts. unknown library. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports, 1884.
  2. S., Craig, Fred W. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0900178094. OCLC 539011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  4. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  5. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
  6. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
  7. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  8. The Liberal Magazine, 1939
  9. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
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