The Western Division of Suffolk was a two-member constituency to 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 ...

established by the

1832 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 ...

and disestablished in 1885.

History

The seat was created under the

Reform Act 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, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...

as one of two divisions, together with the Eastern Division, of the Parliamentary County of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. This resulted in a more representative allocation, with a total of four MPs instead of two for the former entire county at large, which still allowed for double voting (or more) of those

Forty Shilling Freeholders Forty-shilling freeholders were those who had the parliamentary franchise to vote by virtue of possessing freehold property, or lands held directly of the king, of an annual rent of at least forty shillings (i.e. £2 or 3 marks), clear of all c ...

who also were householders or landlords of any particular boroughs within the county. This Act retained the four largest boroughs of the seven before 1832. With two heirs to their title serving the seat, the

Marquesses of Bristol A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

, the Hervey family, were major landowners in the county. The modern seat is at Ickworth, with part of its grand house now being a luxury hotel. Further sweeping changes took place as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 which saw the 2 two-member Suffolk divisions being replaced by five single-member constituencies. The Western Division was largely replaced by the North-Western or Stowmarket Division and the Southern or Sudbury Division. A small area in the east was included in the North-Eastern or Eye Division.

MPs

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

Logan's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Rushbrooke's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Hervey succeeded to the peerage, becoming 3rd Marquess of Bristol and causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

Hervey's death caused a by-election. Wilson's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

References

{{reflist Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1832 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885 Parliamentary constituencies in Suffolk (historic)