Weymouth and Melcombe Regis 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 represented in the
English House of Commons, later in
that
''That'' is an English language word used for several grammatical purposes. These include use as an adjective, conjunction, pronoun, adverb, and intensifier; it has distance from the speaker, as opposed to words like ''this''. The word did not ori ...
of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
, and finally in 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 suprem ...
. It was formed by an Act of Parliament of 1570 which amalgamated the existing boroughs of
Weymouth and
Melcombe Regis. Until 1832, the combined borough continued to elect the four Members of Parliament (MPs) to which its constituent parts had previously been entitled; 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 ...
reduced its representation to two Members, and the constituency was abolished altogether in 1885, becoming part of the new
South Dorset constituency.
Members of Parliament
Members for Weymouth (1348–1570)
Members for Melcombe Regis (1319–1570)
Members for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (1570–1885)
1570–1629
1640–1832
1832–1885
Election results
Elections in the 1830s
Weyland was also elected for and opted to sit there, causing a by-election.
Representation reduced to two members.
Elections in the 1840s
On petition the result was overturned on 4 April 1842 and the opponents, Bernal and Christie, were seated in their place.
Christie resigned by accepting the office of
Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Elections in the 1860s
A late compromise between the Conservatives and Liberals, whereby Mr Brooks and Mr Gridley would be elected, came too late to cancel the election.
The 1867 by-election followed the
resignation
Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...
of
Henry Gillett Gridley
Captain Henry Gillett Gridley (12 November 1820 – 25 January 1891) was a Barrister and a British Liberal politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis at the 1865 general election, but resigned his seat ...
.
Elections in the 1870s
Elections in the 1880s
In Literature
In the
Aubrey-Maturin novels by
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and cent ...
the constituency of Melcombe in Dorset is the Parliamentary seat for Jack Aubreys father who holds it for the Whigs. On his fathers death Jack Aubrey is offered and takes up the seat for the Torys.
Notes
References
* Robert Beatson, ''A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807
*F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885'' (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
* ''Grey's Debates of the House of Commons: volume 8'' (1769), pp. 373–38
* Maija Jansson (ed.), ''Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons)'' (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
* J E Neale, ''The Elizabethan House of Commons'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
* J Holladay Philbin, ''Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
*Henry Stooks Smith, ''The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847'' (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
*{{rayment-hc, w, 3, date=March 2012
Parliamentary constituencies in Dorset (historic)
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1570
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885
History of Weymouth, Dorset