Bridport was a
parliamentary borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, England, which elected two
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
from 1295 until 1868, and then one member from 1868 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.
History
Bridport was continuously represented in Parliament from the first. The medieval borough consisted of the parish of
Bridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and withi ...
, a small port and market town, where the main economic interests were sailcloth and rope-making, as well as some fishing. (For some time in the 16th century, the town had a monopoly of making all cordage for the navy.) By 1831, the population of the borough was 4,242, and the town contained 678 houses.
The right to vote was at one period reserved to the town corporation (consisting of two bailiffs and 13 "capital burgesses"), but from 1628 it was exercised by all inhabitant householders paying
scot and lot
Scot and lot is a phrase common in the records of English, Welsh and Irish medieval boroughs, referring to local rights and obligations.
The term ''scot'' comes from the Old English word ''sceat'', an ordinary coin in Anglo-Saxon times, equivalen ...
. This was a relatively liberal franchise for the period but nevertheless meant that only a fraction of the townsmen could vote: in
1806
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
** The Kingdom of Bavaria is established by Napoleon.
* January 5 – The body of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, lies in state in the Painted Hall ...
, the general election at which Bridport had the highest turnout in the last few years before the
Reform Act
In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
, a total of 260 residents voted.
Bridport never reached the status of a
pocket borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...
with an openly recognised "patron": the voters retained their freedom of choice and generally expected to extort a price for their votes, so much so that Oldfield recorded of one election in the early 19th century that ''"several candidates left them at the last election, in consequence of their demanding payment beforehand"''. Nevertheless, at various periods the borough came under the influence of local grandees and would usually return at least one of their nominees as MPs: the Russells (
Dukes of Bedford
Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV of England, ...
) in the
Elizabethan period
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...
and the Sturts in the latter half of the 18th century could normally rely on choosing one member. In 1572 the then
Earl of Bedford
Earl of Bedford is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England and is currently a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Bedford. The first creation came in 1138 in favour of Hugh de Beaumont. He appears to have been degraded fr ...
made use of this influence to have his oldest son elected in defiance of the convention that the heirs of peers could not be members of the House of Commons; the only previous instance had been that of the Earl himself, who had remained an MP when he became heir to the Earldom in 1555. By vote of the House, the young
Lord Russell was allowed to keep his seat for Bridport, and the precedent allowed other peers' heirs to sit from that point onwards.
Bridport retained both its seats under the Reform Act, the boundaries being extended to give it the requisite population - parts of the neighbouring parishes of
Bradpole
Bradpole is a village and civil parish in south west Dorset, England, in the Brit valley, outside Bridport. In the 2011 census the population of the parish was 2,339.
In 1651 Charles II passed through Bradpole in his efforts to evade captur ...
,
Allington and
Waldich, as well as Bridport Harbour, were brought in, increasing the population to about 6,000; in the
election of 1832, the first after Reform, the registered electorate was 425. However, the constituency was too small to survive for long. One of its members was removed after the
election of 1868 by the Second Reform Act; and the borough was abolished altogether in 1885, the town being incorporated into the
Western Dorset county division.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1295–1640
* ''Constituency created'' (1295)
MPs 1640–1868
MPs 1868–1885
Elections
Elections in the 1830s
Elections in the 1840s
Warburton resigned by accepting the office of
Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds
Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds is a procedural device to allow Members of Parliament to resignation from the British House of Commons, resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. S ...
, causing a by-election.
Baillie-Cochrane resigned by accepting the office of
Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds
Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds is a procedural device to allow Members of Parliament to resignation from the British House of Commons, resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. S ...
in order to seek re-election as a supporter of
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
.
After scrutiny, Baillie-Cochrane's election was declared void and Romilly was declared elected on 28 April 1846.
Martin withdrew his name early into polling.
Elections in the 1850s
Elections in the 1860s
The seat was reduced to one member.
Elections in the 1870s
Mitchell's death caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1880s
References
Sources
*
*
*Concise Dictionary of National Biography (1930)
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*{{Rayment-hc, b, 5, date=March 2012
Parliamentary constituencies in Dorset (historic)
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885
Bridport