North Essex was a

parliamentary 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 (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

represented in 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 ...

between 1997 and 2010. It elected one

Member 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) by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

system of election. The name was also used for the Northern Division of Essex, electing two members from 1832 until

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

History

The Northern Division of Essex was one of two Divisions, along with the Southern Division, created from the undivided Parliamentary County of Essex by the

Reform Act of 1832 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 ...

. The constituency was abolished under the

Reform Act 1867 The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...

(as amended by the Boundaries Act 1868) which divided Essex into three two-member Divisions (

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

, South and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

). The North Essex constituency was created for the 1997 general election following the Fourth Periodic Review of parliamentary constituencies, mostly replacing the former seat of Colchester North. This was abolished for the 2010 general election by the Fifth Review, when it was largely replaced by the new constituency of

Harwich and North Essex Harwich and North Essex is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Bernard Jenkin of the Conservative Party since its creation in 2010. History The seat was created for the 2010 general election follow ...

Boundaries

1832–1868: The Hundreds of Clavering, Dunmow, Freshwell, Hinckford, Lexden, Tendring, Thurstable, Uttlesford, Winstree and Witham. On abolition, the Hundreds of Hinckford, Lexden, Tendring, Thurstable, Winstree and Witham were included in the new East Division of Essex; the Hundreds of Clavering, Dunmow, Freshwell and Uttlesford were included in the new West Division. 1997–2010: The Borough of Colchester wards of Birch Messing and Copford, Boxted and Langham, Dedham, East Donyland, Fordham, Great and Little Horkesley, Great Tey, Marks Tey, Pyefleet, Tiptree, West Bergholt and Eight Ash Green, West Mersea, Winstree, and Wivenhoe, and the District of Tendring wards of Alresford, Thorrington and Frating, Ardleigh, Bradfield, Wrabness and Wix, Brightlingsea East, Brightlingsea West, Elmstead, Great Bentley, Great Bromley, Little Bromley and Little Bentley, Lawford and Manningtree, Mistley, St Osyth, and Tendring and Weeley. The new constituency comprised rural areas of the Borough of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, including

West Mersea West Mersea is a town and electoral ward in Essex, England. It is the larger (in terms of population) of two settlements on Mersea Island, south of Colchester. History Roman buildings and tesselated pavements close to the quayside have led to ...

and

Wivenhoe Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parish in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two ...

, and western parts of the District of Tendring, including

Brightlingsea Brightlingsea is a coastal town and an electoral ward in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, on Brightlingsea Creek. At the 2011 Census, it had a popu ...

. Formed primarily from parts of the abolished County Constituencies of North Colchester and South Colchester and Maldon, with a small slice of the western part of the County Constituency of

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

, including St Osyth.

The new Harwich and North Essex constituency

On abolition in 2010, rural area to the south-west of Colchester were transferred to the new County Constituency of

Witham Witham () is a town in the county of Essex in the East of England, with a population ( 2011 census) of 25,353. It is part of the District of Braintree and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands between the city of Che ...

. The remainder formed the new County Constituency of

, together with the town of Harwich and surrounding areas, previously part of the abolished County Constituency of

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1868

MPs 1997-2010

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1860s

* Caused by Du Cane's appointment as a

Civil Lord of the Admiralty The Civil Lord of the Admiralty formally known as the Office of the Civil Lord of Admiralty also referred to as the Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty was a member of the Board of Admiralty who was responsible for managing the Royal N ...

Elections in the 1850s

* Caused by Beresford's appointment as

Secretary at War The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. Afte ...

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1830s

* Caused by Baring's elevation to the peerage, becoming 1st

Baron Ashburton Baron Ashburton, of Ashburton, Devon, Ashburton in the County of Devon, is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1835, the title has been held by members ...

Boundary changes

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essex North Parliamentary constituencies in Essex (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 1997 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010