Dunwich (UK Parliament constituency)

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Dunwich
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1298–1832
Number of members Two
Replaced by East Suffolk

Dunwich was a parliamentary borough in Suffolk, one of the most notorious of all the rotten boroughs. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1298 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

History

In medieval times, when Dunwich was first accorded representation in Parliament, it was a flourishing port and market town about thirty miles from Ipswich. However, by 1670 the sea had encroached upon the town, destroying the port and swallowing up all but a few houses so that nothing was left but a tiny village. The borough had once consisted of eight parishes, but all that was left was part of the parish of All Saints, Dunwich - which by 1831 had a population of 232, and only 44 houses ("and half a church", as Oldfield recorded in 1816).

In fact, this made Dunwich by no means the smallest of England's rotten boroughs, but the symbolism of two Members of Parliament representing a constituency that was essentially underwater captured the imagination and made Dunwich one of the most frequently-mentioned examples of the absurdities of the unreformed system.

The right to vote was exercised by the freemen of the borough. Originally, these freemen could vote even if they did not live in the borough, and at times this was abused as elsewhere, notably in 1670 when 500 non-resident freemen were created to swamp the resident voters. From 1709, however, by a resolution of the House of Commons, the franchise was restricted to resident freemen who were not receiving alms. By the 19th century, the maximum number of freemen had been set at 32, of whom the two "patrons", Lord Huntingfield and Snowdon Barne, could nominate eight each, so that between them they controlled half of the votes and needed only one other voter to gain control of elections.

Earlier, in the 1760s, Sir Jacob Downing had been the sole patron, but in theory he also was considered to have only influence, rather than the absolute power to dictate the choice of the Members. Unsurprisingly, in 1754 Downing was able to occupy one seat himself and sell the choice of the other member to the Duke of Newcastle (then Prime Minister) for £1,000; it is not recorded whether he needed to share some of this largesse with his co-operative voters.

Dunwich was abolished as a constituency in 1832, when what remained of the village became part of the new Eastern Suffolk county division.

Members of Parliament

Before 1660

Parliament First member Second member
1306 Robert Codoun
1332 Geoffrey Cuddon
1372 Peter Cuddon I
1373 Peter Cuddon I
1383 Peter Cuddon I
1386 Peter Cuddon I Hugh Thorpe [1]
1388 (Feb) Augustine Knight William Woodward [1]
1388 (Sep) Peter Cuddon I John Bagge [1]
1390 (Jan) Peter Cuddon I Robert Runton [1]
1390 (Nov)
1391 Robert Runton William Havene [1]
1393 Robert Cook Augustine Knight [1]
1394
1395 Robert Cuddon I William Chock [1]
1397 (Jan) Peter Helmeth Nicholas Goodber [1]
1397 (Sep)
1399 Peter Cuddon II Peter Helmeth [1]
1401
1402
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406
1407
1410 Peter Cuddon II William Barber [1]
1411 Richard Griston Thomas Clerk [1]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May) Thomas Clerk Thomas Brantham [1]
1414 (Apr) Nicholas Barber Philip Canon [1]
1414 (Nov) Thomas James Philip Canon [1]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct) John Luke Philip Canon [1]
1417
1419 Nicholas Barber Philip Canon [1]
1420 John Luke Richard Russell[1]
1421 (May) William Barber Robert Cuddon II [1]
1421 (Dec) John Luke Nicholas Barber [1]
1467 William Rabett [2]
1510-1523 No names known [1]
1529 Sir William Rous Christopher Jenney [1]
1536 ?
1539 ?
1542 Robert Browne George Coppyn [1]
1545 Robert Browne Robert Coppyn [1]
1547 Robert Coppyn John Harrison alias Hall died and
was repl. Nov 1548 by
Thomas Heydon [1]
1553 (Mar) Francis Yaxley[3] Robert Coppyn [1]
1553 (Oct) Robert Coppyn Nicholas Hasborough [1]
1554 (Apr) Robert Browne George Jerningham [1]
1554 (Nov) Sir Edmund Rous Robert Coppyn [1]
1555 George Saxmundham Andrew Green [1]
1558 Thomas Pycto John Browne [1]
1558/9 Sir Edmund Rous Gregory Coppyn [4]
1562/3 Robert Hare Robert Coppyn [4]
1571 William Humberstone Arthur Hopton [4]
1572 Robert Coppyn, died
and repl.1576 by
Godfrey Foljambe
Richard Sone [4]
1584 Walter Dunch Anthony Wingfield [4]
1586 Anthony Wingfield Arthur Melles [4]
1588 Edward Honing Walter Dunch [4]
1593 Henry Savile Thomas Corbet [4]
1597 Arthur Atye Clipsby Gawdy [4]
1601 John Suckling Francis Myngate [4]
1604 Sir Valentine Knightley
elected to sit for Northamptonshire
and replaced by Thomas Smythe
Philip Gawdy
1614 Philip Gawdy Henry Dade
1621 Clement Coke Thomas Bedingfield
1624 Sir John Rous Sir Robert Brooke
1625 Sir Robert Brooke
1626 Thomas Bedingfield
1628 Sir Robert Brooke Francis Winterton
1629–1640 No Parliaments summoned

1660-1832

Year First member First party Second member Second party
1640 (Apr) Henry Coke Anthony Bedingfield
1640 (Nov) Henry Coke- disabled Anthony Bedingfield
1645 Anthony Bedingfield Gen. Robert Brewster
1648 (Rump) Gen. Robert Brewster One seat only
1653 (Barebones) Dunwich not represented in Barebones Parliament
1654 (1st Protectorate) Gen. Robert Brewster One seat only
1656 (2nd Protectorate) Francis Brewster One seat only
1658 (3rd Protectorate) Robert Brewster John Barrington
1660 Sir John Rous Henry Bedingfield
1661 Richard Coke
1670 Sir John Pettus
1671 William Wood
1678 Thomas Allin
February 1679 Sir Philip Skippon
September 1679 Sir Robert Kemp, Bt
1685 Roger North Tory Thomas Knyvett Tory
1689 Sir Philip Skippon Sir Robert Rich, Bt Whig
1691 John Bence
1695 Henry Heveningham
1700 Sir Charles Blois, Bt
1701 Robert Kemp, Bt
1705 John Rous
1708 Robert Kemp
1709 Sir Richard Allin, Bt Daniel Harvey
1710 Sir George Downing, Bt Richard Richardson
1713 Sir Robert Kemp, Bt
1715 Sir Robert Rich, Bt Charles Long
March 1722 Sir George Downing, Bt Edward Vernon
December 1722 Sir John Ward
1726 John Sambrooke
1727 Thomas Wyndham
1734 Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Bt
1738 William Morden
1741 Jacob Garrard Downing
1747 Miles Barne
1749 Sir Jacob Garrard Downing, Bt
1754 Soame Jenyns
1758 Alexander Forrester
1761 Henry Fox Eliab Harvey
1763 Sir Jacob Garrard Downing, Bt
1764 Miles Barne
1768 Gerard Vanneck
1777 Barne Barne
1790 The Lord Huntingfield
1791 Miles Barne
1796 Snowdon Barne
1812 Michael Barne
1816 The Lord Huntingfield Tory
1819 William Alexander Mackinnon
1820 George Henry Cherry
1826 Andrew Arcedeckne
1830 Frederick Barne
1831 Earl of Brecknock Tory
1832 Viscount Lowther Tory
1832 Constituency abolished

In popular culture

Dunwich is satirised in an episode of the British television show Blackadder the Third titled "Dish and Dishonesty". Named Dunny-on-the-Wold, it has a population of three cows, a dachshund called "Colin", and "a small hen in its late forties"; only one person lives there and he is the voter. After an obviously rigged election (in which it is revealed that Blackadder is both the constituency's returning officer and voter, after both his predecessors had died in highly suspicious "accidents"), Baldrick is made an MP having received all 16,472 of the votes cast.

References

Notes

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