Leicester (UK Parliament constituency)

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Leicester
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1295–1918
Number of members Two

Leicester was a parliamentary borough in Leicestershire, which elected two members of parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1918, when it was split into three single-member divisions.

History

Leicester sent burgesses to Parliament for the first time in 1295. Originally both Members were chosen by the whole 'commons' of the borough until at least 1407, when Thomas Denton and John Tonge were stated to have been chosen 'per totam communitatem tocius burgi'. At some unknown date before the middle of the 15th century, however, the 'commons', lost power within the borough and were restricted to the election of just one of the Members, the other being chosen by the mayor and 24 jurats (or aldermen). This situation was reversed by the middle of the sixteenth century.

Although most Members were citizens, usually officials, of the borough there was considerable influence and involvement by the two leading families, the Hastings and the Greys during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The constituency was abolished in 1918 and replaced by Leicester East, Leicester South and Leicester West.

Members of Parliament

1295–1640

Parliament First member Second member
1294 Ralph Norman Robert de Scarnford[1]
1299 Robert Knythtecote Roger de Glenne[1]
 ?1299 Richard Donnington Roger de Glenne[1]
1301 Ralph Tewe[1]
1304 Richard Soning Nicholas de Glenne[1]
1306 Ralph Norman Henry de Carleton[1]
1307 William Lyndrych William le Palmer[1]
1308 Henry Erdington Richard Eggbaston[1]
1310 William Lyndrych Peter de Kent[1]
1311 William Lyndrych Robert de Leicester[1]
1312 William Clowne Richard Leverych[1]
 ?1312 Robert Hereward Nicholas Mercer[1]
1313 Roger de Glenne John Stocton[1]
1314 William de Benham Simon de Lyndrych[1]
 ?1314 Roger Pickering William le Palmer[1]
1318 Thomas Fox William le Palmer, jnr[1]
 ?1318 Henry Palmer John Derby[1]
1321 Geoffrey de Staunton John Derby[1]
1322 Ralph Burton Walter Busseby[1]
1326 William Reddington William Jolly[1]
1327 John FitzHenry John Geryn[1]
1328 Richard Claver John Geryn[1]
 ?1328 John de Glenne Willim Petlyng[1]
1330 Richard de Bonyngton Robert de Gryndon[1]
 ?1330 John de Leverych Thomas Dawbenny[1]
1332 Henry Merlins Richard de Donnington[1]
 ?1332 John Leverych John FitzHenry[1]
1333 Richard Foxton Richard Clerk[1]
1335 John Leverych John Querndon[1]
 ?1336 William Rodington William le Palmer[1]
1337 Richard de Donnington Richard Leycester[1]
 ?1337 Richard de Donnington John Martyn[1]
1338 Richard de Donnington John Querndon[1]
 ?1338 Richard de Donnington John Turney[1]
 ?1338 William Palmer Thomas Fox[1]
 ?1338 John Harding Robert Bonyng[1]
1339 William Warryn Thomas Fitz Robert[1]
1340 Nicholas Radding William Fitz Richard[1]
 ?1340 Richard Walcote William Brad[1]
 ?1340 Ralph Burton John Blake[1]
1341 John le Clerk William Donnington[1]
1343 Walter Busseby William Reddington[1]
1346 Richard Walcot William Dunstable[1]
1347 Richard Beby Allan Sutton[1]
1348 John Recenour William Wakefield[1]
1350 William Dunstable Thomas Beby[1]
1351 William Dunstable Thomas Beby[1]
1354 John Martin John de Hodynges[1]
1355 Thomas Beby[1]
1357 John de Petlyng Thomas de Crom.[1]
1360 Thomas Beby Roger Belgrave[1]
 ?1360 Roger Knyghton Thomas Beby[1]
1362 Richard Knyghton William Burton[1]
1363 John Peterburgh Roger Kilby[1]
1365 William Tabb John Stafford[1]
1368 Walter Lynd Roger de Belgrave[1]
1369 William Burton William atte Greene[1]
1371 William Taillard Richard de Knyghton[1]
1372 William atte Greene Roger Beby[1]
1373 John Stafford John Peterburgh[1]
1375 Henry de Petlyng Henry de Clipstone[1]
1377 William Huntedon John Stafford[1]
 ?1377 William Humberstone William de Thornton[1]
1378 John Chapman Andrew Glasewright[1]
1379 John de Stafford William Ferrour[1]
1380 John Sherote Richard Boyes[1]
1381 Stephen Chambre Robert Norton[1]
1382 John Stafford Thomas Wakefield[1]
 ?1382 Roger Belgrave Richard Braunston[1]
1383 Geoffrey Clerk John Fode[1]
1386 Geoffey Clerk William Morton[1]
1388 (Feb) Geoffrey Clerk William Morton[2]
1388 (Sep) Geoffrey Clerk John Cook[2]
1390 (Jan)  ?Geoffrey Clerk[2]
1390 (Nov)
1391 Geoffrey Clerk Henry Beeby[2]
1393 Thomas Wakefield John Houghton[2]
1394  ?Geoffrey Clerk Henry Beeby[2]
1395 Robert Skillington Henry Beeby[2]
1397 (Jan) Thomas Wakefield Roger Humberston[2]
1397 (Sep) Thomas Bailly Richard Falconer[2]
1399 William Bispham John Church[2]
1401 John London Peter Clerk[2]
1402
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406 John Donyngton Roger Goldsmith[2]
1407 Thomas Denton John Tonge[2]
1410 Robert Evington John Church[2]
1411 Robert Evington Ralph Brasier[2]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May) John Hewet John Church[2]
1414 (Apr) Ralph Brasier Thomas Denton[2]
1414 (Nov) Henry Forster Robert Evington[2]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417
1419 Henry Forster Ralph Brasier[2]
1420 John Pykwell John Church[2]
1421 (May) Ralph Brasier John Church[2]
1421 (Dec) Henry Forster John Nightingale[2]
1423 Ralph Brasier [3]
1426 Ralph Brasier [4]
1432 Ralph Brasier [5]
1455–1456 Thomas Dalton
1510–1515 No names known[6]
1523 William Bolt Roger Wigston[6]
1529 Thomas Brokesby Robert Harward[6]
1536  ?
1539 John Beaumont William Wigston[6]
1542 Robert Burdett ?John Beaumont[6]
1545 Edward Hastings John Throckmorton[6]
1547 George Swillington Ralph Skinner[6]
1553 (Mar) George Swillington Robert Cotton[6]
1553 (Oct) William Faunt Thomas Farnham[6]
1554 (Apr) Francis Farnham Thomas Jenkinson[6]
1554 (Nov) Francis Farnham Hugh Aston[6]
1555 Francis Farnham  ?[6]
1558 Robert Breham Maurice Tyttell[6]
1559 (Jan) John Hastings Robert Breham[7]
1562/1563 Robert Breham Rubert Brokesby[7]
1571 Thomas Cave Stephen Hales[7]
1572 (Apr) Robert Breham John Stanford I[7]
1584 (Nov) Henry Skipwith Thomas Johnson[7]
1586 (Oct) Henry Skipwith Thomas Johnson[7]
1588 (Oct) John Chippendale Robert Heyrick[7]
1593 John Stanford I James Clarke[7]
1597 (Sep) George Parkins John Stanford II[7]
1601 (Oct) George Belgrave William Herrick[7]
1604 William Skipwith, died 1610
and replaced by
Henry Rich)
Henry Beaumont
1614 Henry Rich Sir Francis Leigh
1621–1622 Sir Richard Moryson Sir William Herrick
1624 Sir Humphrey May William Ive
1625 Thomas Jermyn Sir Humphrey May, sat for Lancaster
and repl. by
Sir George Hastings)
1626 Sir Humphrey May Sir George Hastings
1628 Sir Humphrey May Sir John Stanhope
1629–1640 No parliaments summoned

1640–1918

Year First member First party Second member Second party
April 1640 Thomas Coke Simon Every
November 1640 Thomas Coke Royalist Lord Grey of Groby Parliamentarian
January 1644 Coke disabled from sitting – seat vacant
1645 Peter Temple
1653 Leicester was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654 Sir Arthur Hesilrige William Stanley
1656
January 1659
May 1659 Peter Temple One seat vacant through the death of Lord Grey of Groby
1660 Thomas Armeston John Grey
1661 Sir William Hartopp Sir John Pretyman
1677 John Grey
1679 Sir Henry Beaumont
1685 Thomas Babington
1689 Lawrence Carter
1690 Sir Edward Abney
1695 Archdale Palmer
1698 Sir William Villiers Lawrence Carter
1701 James Winstanley Lawrence Carter
1702 Sir George Beaumont
1719 Thomas Noble
1722 (Sir) Lawrence Carter
January 1727 Thomas Boothby-Skrymsher
August 1727 George Wrighte
1737 James Wigley
1765 Anthony James Keck
1766 John Darker
1768 Hon. Booth Grey Eyre Coote
1774 John Darker
February 1784 Shukburgh Ashby
April 1784 John Macnamara Charles Loraine-Smith
1790 Thomas Boothby Parkyns Samuel Smith
1800 Thomas Babington
1818 John Mansfield Thomas Pares
1826 Sir Charles Abney-Hastings Robert Otway-Cave
1830 William Evans Whig
1831 Wynne Ellis Whig
1835 Edward Goulburn Conservative Thomas Gladstone Conservative
1837 Samuel Duckworth Whig Sir John Easthope Whig
1839 Wynne Ellis Whig
1847 [notes 1] Sir Joshua Walmsley Whig Richard Gardner Whig
1848 John Ellis Whig Richard Harris Whig
1852 Sir Joshua Walmsley Whig Richard Gardner Whig
1856 John Biggs Whig
1857 John Dove Harris Whig
1859 Joseph William Noble Liberal Liberal
1861 William Unwin Heygate Conservative
1862 Peter Alfred Taylor Liberal
1865 John Dove Harris Liberal
1874 Alexander McArthur Liberal
1884 James Allanson Picton Liberal
1892 Sir James Whitehead Liberal
1894 Henry Broadhurst Liberal Walter Hazell Liberal
1900 Sir John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston Conservative
January 1906 Ramsay Macdonald Labour
March 1906 Franklin Thomasson Liberal
1910 Eliot Crawshay-Williams Liberal
1913 Sir Gordon Hewart Liberal
1918 Constituency abolished: see Leicester East, Leicester South, Leicester West

Notes

  1. The election of 1847 was declared void on petition and a by-election was held

Election results

Elections in the 1890s

At the 1892 UK general election, James Allanson Picton and James Whitehead were elected unopposed.

File:Walter Hazell.jpg
Walter Hazell
Leicester by-election, 1894[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Lib-Lab Henry Broadhurst 9,464 33.8 n/a
Liberal Walter Hazell 7,184 25.6 n/a
Conservative John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston 6,967 24.9 n/a
Ind. Labour Party Joseph Burgess 4,402 15.7 n/a
Turnout 77.2 n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a
Joseph Burgess
General Election 1895: Leicester
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Lib-Lab Henry Broadhurst 9,792 33.6 -0.2
Liberal Walter Hazell 7,753 26.5 +0.9
Conservative John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston 7,654 26.2 +1.3
Ind. Labour Party Joseph Burgess 4,009 13.7 n/a
Turnout 77.2 +5.9
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1900s

Henry Broadhurst
General Election 1900: Leicester[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Broadhurst 10,385 32.3 -1.3
Conservative Sir John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston 9,066 28.2 +2.0
Liberal Walter Hazell 8,528 26.5 +0.0
Labour James Ramsay MacDonald 4,164 13.0 n/a
Turnout 83.3 +5.1
Liberal hold Swing
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
General Election 1906: Leicester[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Broadhurst 14,745 39.9 +7.6
Labour James Ramsay MacDonald 14,685 39.8 +26.8
Conservative Sir John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston 7,504 20.3 -7.9
Turnout 88.9 +5.6
Liberal hold Swing
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Leicester by-election, 1906[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Franklin Thomasson 10,766 59.9 n/a
Conservative John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston 7,206 40.1 n/a
Turnout 71.5 -17.4
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Leicester[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Eliot Crawshay-Williams 14,643 32.0 n/a
Labour James Ramsay MacDonald 14,337 31.4 n/a
Conservative J. Foster Fraser 8,548 18.7 n/a
Turnout 91.8 +20.3
Liberal hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
General Election December 1910[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Eliot Crawshay-Williams 13,238 39.2 +7.2
Labour James Ramsay MacDonald 12,998 38.5 +7.1
Conservative Alured Myddelton Wilshere 7,547 22.3 +3.6
Turnout 83.5 -8.3
Liberal hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Gordon Hewart
Leicester by-election, 1913[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Gordon Hewart 10,863 47.8 +8.6
Unionist Alured Myddelton Wilshere 9,279 40.8 +18.5
British Socialist Party Edward Robertshaw Hartley 2,580 11.4 n/a
Turnout 84.2 +0.7
Liberal hold Swing -4.9

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.50 1.51 1.52 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.59 1.60 1.61 1.62 1.63 1.64 1.65 1.66 1.67 1.68 1.69 1.70 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/brasier-ralph
  4. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/brasier-ralph
  5. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/brasier-ralph
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. David Howell, British workers and the Independent Labour Party, 1888–1906, p.233
  9. David Howell, British workers and the Independent Labour Party, 1888–1906, p.237
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Liberal Yearbook 1916, p.287
  11. 11.0 11.1 The New Hazell Annual (1917), p.191
  • D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • 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 E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
  • 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 "L" (part 2)[self-published source][better source needed]