The first elections to

Kesteven County Council Kesteven County Council was the county council of Parts of Kesteven in the east of England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 1974. The county council was based at the County Offices in Sleaford. It was amalgama ...

were held on Thursday, 17 January 1889. Kesteven was one of three divisions of the historic county of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

in England; it consisted of the ancient

wapentakes A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...

(or hundreds) of Aswardhurn,

Aveland Aveland was a Wapentake of Kesteven from the time of the Danelaw until the Local Government Act 1888. Its meeting place was The Aveland at in the parish of Aslackby. Origins Aveland was probably established as an administrative unit soon after ...

Beltisloe Beltisloe is a Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln in England, and a former Wapentake. The Wapentake of Beltisloe was established as ancient administrative division of the English county of Lincolnshire before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Boothby Graffoe Boothby Graffoe is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 223. It is situated approximately south from the city and county town of Lincoln, ...

, Flaxwell, Langoe,

Loveden Loveden is a Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln, England, and a former Wapentake. Loveden is located broadly to the North of Grantham and includes the villages from Long Bennington in the west to Culverthorpe in the east, and from Welby in th ...

Ness Ness or NESS may refer to: Places Australia * Ness, Wapengo, a heritage-listed natural coastal area in New South Wales United Kingdom * Ness, Cheshire, England, a village * Ness, Lewis, the most northerly area on Lewis, Scotland, UK * Cuspate ...

, and Winnibriggs and Threo. The

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

established Kesteven as an

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

, governed by a Council; elections were held every three years from 1889, until it was abolished by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, which established

Lincolnshire County Council Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

in its place. The forty-six electoral divisions of the new Council were outlined in December 1888. All but two returned one candidate: Sleaford and Quarrington and Bourne and Morton returned two each. The town of Grantham was represented across seven divisions, while Stamford had four. Twenty-one candidates (including both for Sleaford) were returned unopposed. The remainder were informed of the result on the day after polling. Votes were counted in one of the court rooms in Lincoln; the Sheriff of Lincolnshire, A. S. Leslie-Melville, was the presiding officer, while R. A. Stephens was his deputy for Kesteven.

Results by division

Ancaster

Barrowby

Bassingham

Bennington

Billingborough

Billinghay

Bourne and Morton

*= Two seats

Bracebridge

Branston

Bytham

Caythorpe

Claypole

Colsterworth

Corby

Deeping

Gonerby

Grantham no. 1

Grantham no. 2

Grantham no. 3

Grantham no. 4

Grantham no. 5

Grantham no. 6

Grantham no. 7

Heckington

Heighington

Helpringham

Kyme

Martin

Metheringham

Navenby

Osbournby

Ponton

Rippingale

Ropsley

Ruskington

Skellingthorpe

Sleaford and Quarrington

* = Two seats

Stamford (All Saints)

Stamford (St George's)

Stamford (St Michael's and St John's)

Stamford (St Martin's and St Mary's)

Thurlby

Uffington

Waddington

Wellingore

Wilsford

By-elections in February 1889

The Council held its first meeting on 31 January, where it elected a

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and sixteen

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

. If a councillor were elected an alderman, he had to forfeit his seat. Eleven members of the Council were elected to the aldermanic bench, which meant that their seats became vacant, triggering by-elections. Colonel Willson, who had been returned for Wilsford at the first round of elections, was disqualified because he held a paid commission in the armed forces; this triggered a by-election. All twelve were held on 18 February; four candidates stood unopposed.

Grantham no. 2

Barrowby

Ponton

Corby

Sleaford

Wilsford

Bourne

Helpringham

Billingborough

Branston

Billinghay

Wellingore

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 1889

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...

Kesteven The Parts of Kesteven ( or ) are a traditional division of Lincolnshire, England. This division had long had a separate county administration (quarter sessions), along with the two other Parts of Lincolnshire, Lindsey and Holland. Etymology Th ...

19th century in Lincolnshire January 1889 events