West Surrey (formally the Western division of Surrey) 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 ...

in the county of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, which 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 ...

(MPs) 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 ...

, elected by the bloc vote system. It was created under 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 1885 general election.

Boundaries

1832–1885: The Hundreds of

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, Copthorne, Effingham, Elmbridge, Farnham,

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...

, Godley and Chertsey, Woking and Wotton. The constituency was therefore the more extensive and more rural of the two divisions of Surrey established in 1832. Its main existing towns were urbanising with railway stations built; Woking became a town towards the end of its existence. Elections were conducted at

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

; other most populous towns were

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leathe ...

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a suburban area with a village centre in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, approximately south of central London and northeast of Epsom. In the 2011 Census, the settlement had a population of 34,872, a majority of wh ...

, Farnham,

, Haslemere,

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in the ...

Egham Egham ( ) is a university town in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. First settled in the Bronze Age, the town was under the control of Chertsey Abbey for much of the Middle Ages. In 1215, Magna ...

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

and Woking. Guildford was a parliamentary borough represented in its own right, but those of its freeholders not qualifying for a vote as such could vote for the county division MPs.

Subdivision in 1885

On its abolition in 1885 its contents made up all or some of four single-member seats and the overlapping seat (1295-1867 a constituency returning two members), Guildford parliamentary borough, was abolished. The outcome was as follows: * The North-Western division of Surrey or Chertsey (i.e. Bisley; Byfleet; Chertsey; Chobham; Egham; Horsell; Pyrford; Thorpe; Weybridge; Windlesham; Ash, East Clandon, West Clandon, East Horsley, West Horsley, Merrow, Ockham, Pirbright, Send and Ripley, Wanborough, Windlesham, Wisley, Woking and Worplesdon.)CHERTSEY PETTY SESSIONAL DIVISION: RECORDS (summary of PS1-PS7 of Surrey History Centre, 7 Petty Sessional Divisions scope
''The National Archives'': Browse records of other archives: 176 Surrey History Centre. Accessed 2019-12-04Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Appendix D - county constituencies *

Epsom (UK Parliament constituency) Epsom was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. From its creation in 1885 until its abolition i ...

drew on Mid Surrey as to Tolworth, New Malden, Malden, Worcester Park, Surbiton, Hook, Coombe and Long Ditton in the Kingston Hundred and Sessional Division. Took: Ashtead; Banstead; Great Bookham; Little Bookham; Cheam; Chessington; Cuddington; Epsom; Ewell; Fetcham; Headley; Leatherhead; Sutton; Walton on the Hill; Cobham; Thames Ditton; Esher; East Molesey; West Molesey; Stoke D'Abernon; and Walton on Thames.Combined petty sessional division: Kingston and Elmbridge as dealt with under heading Kingston sessional division in the 1885 Act
''Dickens's Dictionary of London'', Charles Dickens, Jr., 1879 - "Petty Sessional Divisions" *

Reigate (UK Parliament constituency) Reigate () is a constituency in Surrey represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Crispin Blunt of the Conservative Party. Constituency profile The seat is predominantly in the London commuter belt with good rail ser ...

drew, approximately equally, on Mid and East Surrey. Took: Abinger; Capel; Dorking; Dorking Rural (reached South Holmwood); Newdigate; Ockley; Wotton. * The South-Western division of Surrey or Guildford as to the rest

Members of Parliament

''The Times'' obituary of Leech reads:

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

Elections in the 1840s

Perceval (of the with-heirs-male inheritee branch of the Earls of Egmont) was in 1802 given his peerage becoming Lord Arden which caused a by-election. Denison's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Drummond's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

Briscoe's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

References

* *F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885'' (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989) * Frederic A Youngs, jr, ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol II'' (London:

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

, 1991) {{DEFAULTSORT:Surrey West Politics of Surrey History of Surrey Parliamentary constituencies in South East England (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1832 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885