Kendal was a parliamentary borough centred on the town of Kendal in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. It returned 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 o ...

(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. T ...

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 ...

, elected 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 thei ...

system.

History

The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1832 for the 1832 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election. The small Kendal parliamentary borough constituency created in 1832 was abolished in 1885 by the Reform Act 1884. James Cropper,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, being its last MP. The constituency after 1885 was a result of dividing the

constituency which up to then had two members since 1297. Thereafter it was the Kendal Division of Westmorland and the other being the Appleby Division. The two

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

members for the old constituency William Lowther and the

Earl of Bective Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

were reelected in the 1885 general election, Mr Lowther for the Appleby Division and the Earl of Bective for the Kendal Division. These two constituencies were recombined under one member John Wakefield Weston for the 1918 general election.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

Brougham's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Wood's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1880s

Whitwell's death caused a by-election.

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; *Unionist: John Weston *Liberal:

William Somervell William Henry Somervell (5 April 1860 – 26 September 1934) was an English businessman, philanthropist and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. Family and education William Somervell was born at Kendal in Westmorland on 5 April 1860, the so ...

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser 9 Jul 1914

References

* * Bulmer's Directory of Westmorland 1885 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kendal (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in North West England (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1832 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918 History of Westmorland