Calais (dated, Cales ) was a former constituency of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

. The

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

town of Calais was under

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rule from 1347 until 7 January 1558. During part of that time it was represented in the Parliament of England by two members. In 1360 the

Treaty of Brétigny The Treaty of Brétigny was a treaty, drafted on 8 May 1360 and ratified on 24 October 1360, between Kings Edward III of England and John II of France. In retrospect, it is seen as having marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years ...

assigned

Guînes Guînes (; vls, Giezene, lang; pcd, Guinne) is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. Historically it was spelt ''Guisnes''. On 7 January 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French pioneer in hydrogen-balloon flight, comple ...

, Marck and Calais – collectively the " Pale of Cales" – to English rule in perpetuity, but in a daring raid during the rule of

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

, was retaken by France. In 1363 the town was made a staple port.

Reforms in the representation of the town

King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

decided to modify the arrangements for the government of Calais. A statute (27 Hen. VIII, c. 63) made provision for two members to be returned to the Parliament of England. One member was to be nominated, elected and chosen by the Deputy (the King's representative in the town) and his Council. The other member was to be nominated, elected and chosen by the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and his Council. Under the provisions of the statute, members were elected to ten Parliaments. On 6 December 1557 a writ was issued for the election of members to an eleventh Parliament, but before it met Calais had fallen to the French.

Members of Parliament 1536-1558

References

Constituencies: Calais
''The House of Commons 1509-1558'', by S.T. Bindoff (Secker & Warburg 1982) {{coord missing, France 1536 establishments in England 1558 disestablishments in England History of Calais Political history of France Constituencies in the Parliament of England Constituencies established in 1536 Constituencies disestablished in 1558