East Norfolk was a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

in the county of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

that returned 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 ...

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. ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

until 1868. A namesake was created in 1885 with representation of one member. That seat was abolished in 1950.

History

The constituency was first created by the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

for the 1832 general election, and abolished for the 1868 general election. In that period the Parliamentary County of Norfolk was split into two divisions – Eastern Norfolk and Western Norfolk, each returning two members. Further to the Reform Act of 1867, Norfolk was reorganised into the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and West divisions, with each of the three divisions again returning two members. The Eastern division was replaced by the bulk of the North and South Divisions. Under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

, the three two-member county divisions were replaced with six single-member divisions. The second version of this constituency was one of the single-member seats. It was abolished under the

Representation of the People Act 1948 The Representation of the People Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections. It is noteworthy for abolishing plural voting for parliamentary elections, including ...

, which came into effect for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1832–1868: The Hundreds of Blofield, Clavering, Depwade, Diss, Earsham, North Erpingham, South Erpingham, Eynesford, East Flegg, West Flegg, Forehoe, Happing, Henstead, Humbleyard, Loddon, Taversham, Tunstead and Walsham. 1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Blofield and Walsham, East and West Flegg, Taversham and Tunstead, and Happing, the part of the Borough of Great Yarmouth in the county of Norfolk, and part of the Sessional Division of South Erpingham. As Great Yarmouth formed a separate Parliamentary Borough, only non-resident freeholders of the Borough were entitled to vote in this constituency. 1918–1950: The Urban District of North Walsham, and the Rural Districts of Blofield, East and West Flegg, Loddon and Clavering, St Faith's, and Smallburgh. The division was expanded to the south, with the addition of eastern parts of the Southern Division of Norfolk (

Loddon and Clavering Rural District Loddon and Clavering Rural District was a rural district in Norfolk, England from 1894 to 1935., continuing, with very slight boundary changes, as Loddon Rural District until 1974. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the ...

). Also gained small area to the west from the Northern Division. On its abolition, the contents of the seat were distributed as follows: North Walsham and the Rural District of Smallburgh to

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a ...

; area to the north and east of Norwich, mostly comprising the (former) Rural District of St Faiths, to the new County Constituency of Central Norfolk; most of the (combined) Rural District of Blofield and Flegg to the new County Constituency of

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

; and the Rural District of Loddon and Clavering (renamed Loddon) back to

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 197 ...

Members of Parliament

1832–1868

1885–1950

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

Wodehouse resigned via accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Hempholme, causing a by-election. Buxton's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

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; *Liberal: Robert Price *Unionist:

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1939–40 Until the parliament elected in 1935 was extended, another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties made preparations for an election to take place, and by the autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected; *Liberal National:

Frank Medlicott Brigadier Sir Frank Medlicott CBE (10 November 1903 – 9 January 1972) was a National Liberal Party and later Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom. He first stood for parliament as a Liberal, contesting Acton in 1929. He was elected ...

*Labour: Norman Reeve TillettReport of the Annual Conference 1939 *Independent Conservative: James F. Wright (Secretary, Norfolk Farmers Union)

Elections in the 1940s

References

* ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977) {{DEFAULTSORT:Norfolk East Parliamentary constituencies in Norfolk (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1832 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1868 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1950