Sudbury was a parliamentary constituency which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

History

A parliamentary borough consisting of the town of Sudbury in Suffolk, the constituency elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election to the House of Commons of England from 1559 to 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until it was disenfranchised for corruption in 1844, after which it was absorbed into the Western Division of Suffolk. It was probably enfranchised through lobbying from Ambrose Cave the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who had interests in the area and could influence the choice of MPs. Sudbury had in the 18th century been seen as a particularly expensive seatPage 50, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957) but not under the influence of any patronPage 105, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957) and in the 1761 general election Horace Walpole the cousin of the outgoing MP, Thomas Walpole, had claimed that Sudbury had openly advertised itself for saleLetter 736, 3rd March 1761, Full text of "The letters of Horace Walpole, fourth earl of Orford with the new MP, John Henniker having to spend £5,500 from the Duke of Newcastle's funds.Page 320, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957) but not under the influence of any patron The Sudbury election of 1835, which Charles Dickens reported for the Morning Chronicle, is thought by many experts to be the inspiration for the famous Eatanswill election in his novel Pickwick Papers.

The seat was re-established as one of five single-member county divisions of the Parliamentary County of Suffolk by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, electing one MP by the first past the post voting system. It was abolished for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries and boundary changes 1885–1918 The part of the Municipal Borough of Sudbury in the county of Suffolk; The Sessional Divisions of Boxford, Cosford, Melford, and Risbridge; and Parts of the Sessional Divisions of Newmarket, and Thingoe and Thedwestry.

The county division was formed from part of the abolished Western Division and included the towns of Sudbury, Hadleigh and Haverhill.

1918–1950 The Municipal Borough of Sudbury; The Urban Districts of Glemsford, Hadleigh, and Haverhill; The Rural Districts of Clare, Cosford, and Melford; and Parts of the Rural Districts of Moulton and Thingoe.

Marginal changes to boundaries.

On abolition, western and northern parts, including Haverhill, transferred to Bury St Edmunds.  Central, southern and western parts, including Sudbury and Hadleigh, formed part of the new county constituency of Sudbury and Woodbridge.

Members of Parliament MPs 1559–1640 ParliamentFirst memberSecond member 1559 Clement Throckmorton Henry Fortescue 1563 John Heigham Thomas Andrews 1571 John Hunt John Gurdon 1572 Richard Eden Martin Cole 1584 Edward Waldegrave Henry Blagge 1586 Henry Blagge Geoffrey Rusham 1588 Thomas Eden Thomas Jermyn 1593 William Fortescue Dudley Fortescue 1597 George Waldegrave John Clapham 1601 Philip Gawdy Edward Glascock 1604–1611 Sir Thomas Beckingham Thomas Eden, jnr 1614 Robert Crane Henry Binge 1621 Edward Osborne Brampton Gurdon 1624 Robert Crane Sir William Pooley 1625 Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston Robert Crane 1626 Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston Thomas Smith 1628 Sir Robert Crane Sir William Pooley 1629–1640 No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1844 YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond partyApril 1640Sir Robert Crane Parliamentarian Richard Pepys November 1640 (Sir) Simonds d'EwesCreated a baronet, July 1641 ParliamentarianFebruary 1643Crane died – seat left vacant1645Brampton Gurdon ParliamentarianDecember 1648D'Ewes ceased sitting after Pride's Purge1653Sudbury was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament1654John Fothergill Sudbury had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate1656January 1659Samuel HasselMay 1659Not represented in the restored RumpApril 1660 John Gurdon Parliamentarian Joseph Brand 1661 Thomas Waldegrave Isaac Appleton 1662 Sir Robert Cordell Whig 1677 Sir Gervase Elwes WhigFebruary 1679 Gervase Elwes September 1679 Sir Gervase Elwes Whig 1685 Sir John Cordell Tory Sir George Wenyeve Tory 1689 Sir John Poley Tory Philip Gurdon WhigFebruary 1690 John Robinson WhigOctober 1690 Sir Thomas Barnardiston Whig 1698 Samuel Kekewich 1699 John Gurdon Tory 1700 Sir Gervase Elwes WhigJanuary 1701 Sir John Cordell ToryDecember 1701 Joseph Haskin Stiles Whig 1703 George Dashwood Tory 1705 Philip Skippon Whig 1706 Sir Hervey Elwes Whig 1710 John Mead Tory Lieutenant-General Robert Echlin Tory 1713 Sir Hervey Elwes Whig 1715 Thomas Western 1722 John Knight Whig Colonel William Windham 1727 Carteret Leathes January 1734 Richard Jackson April 1734 Richard Price Edward Stephenson 1741 Thomas Fonnereau Carteret Leathes 1747 Richard Rigby Whig 1754 Thomas Walpole 1761 John Henniker 1768 (Sir) Patrick BlakeCreated a baronet, September 1772 (Sir) Walden HanmerCreated a baronet, May 1774 1774 On petition, the result of the election of 1774 was overturned: Fonnereau and Crespigny were declared not to have been duly elected and their opponents, Blake and Hanmer, were seated in their place Thomas Fonnereau Philip Champion Crespigny Whig 1775 Sir Patrick Blake, Bt Sir Walden Hanmer 1780 Philip Champion CrespignyOn petition, Crespigny was declared not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Marriott was seated in his place Whig 1781 Sir James Marriott 1784 William Smith Whig John Langston 1790 John Hippisley Whig Thomas Champion Crespigny 1796 William Smith Whig Sir James Marriott 1802 Sir John Hippisley Whig John Pytches Whig 1807 Emanuel Felix Agar Tory 1812 Charles Wyatt Tory 1818 William Heygate Tory John Broadhurst Whig 1820 Charles Augustus Tulk Whig 1826 John Wilks Whig Bethel Walrond Whig 1828 John Norman Macleod Tory 1830 Sir John Walsh Tory 1831 Digby Cayley Wrangham Tory 1832 Michael Angelo Taylor Whig Jul. 1834 Sir Edward BarnesElected on the casting vote of the returning officer after a tie in votes. His opponent petitioned against the decision, denying that the returning officer was entitled to a casting vote, but Parliament was dissolved before the issue had been settled. Tory Dec. 1834 Conservative Conservative 1835 John Bagshaw Whig Benjamin Smith WhigJuly 1837 Sir James Hamilton Conservative Sir Edward Barnes ConservativeDecember 1837 Joseph Bailey Conservative 1838 Sir John Walsh Conservative 1840 George Tomline Conservative 1841The 1841 election was declared void on petition and a Royal Commission was appointed to investigate, which eventually led to the disfranchisement of the constituency Frederick Villiers Meynell Whig David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre Whig29 July 1844 Constituency disfranchised for corruption and incorporated into Western Suffolk

MPs 1885–1950 ElectionMemberParty 1885 Sir William Quilter Liberal 1886 Sir William Quilter Liberal Unionist 1906 William Heaton-Armstrong Liberal 1910 (January) Sir Cuthbert Quilter Conservative 1918 Stephen Howard Coalition Liberal Jan 1922 National Liberal Nov 1922 Herbert Mercer Conservative 1923 Frederick Loverseed Liberal 1924 Henry Walter Burton Conservative 1945 Roland Hamilton Labour1950 constituency abolished

Elections Elections in the 1830s

Taylor's death caused a by-election.

Both candidates received the same number of votes, but the mayor's vote was added in favour of Barnes

Hamilton's resignation caused a by-election.

Barnes' death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s Walsh resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds in order to contest a by-election at Radnorshire, which caused a by-election in Sudbury.

After an election petition was lodged, a Royal Commission found proof of extensive bribery and the writ was suspended in 1844. The constituency was absorbed into West Suffolk.

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; Unionist: Cuthbert Quilter Liberal: Stephen HowardCambridge Independent Press 16 Jan 1914

some records describe Hicks as an 'Agriculture' candidate

Elections in the 1920s

compared to combined 1922 Liberal vote.

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1940s 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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected; Conservative: Henry Burton Liberal: Frederic Sellers Labour: Roland Hamilton

Notes

References

Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)

Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988) H G Nicholas, To The Hustings: Election scenes from English fiction (London, Cassell & Co., 1956)