East Gloucestershire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Context: 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the central, striped area.
CountyGloucestershire
1832–1885
SeatsTwo
Created fromGloucestershire
Replaced byTewkesbury
Cirencester
Stroud
Thornbury

East Gloucestershire, formally the Eastern division of Gloucestershire and often referred to as Gloucestershire Eastern, was a parliamentary constituency in Gloucestershire, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) using the bloc vote system.

The constituency was created when the Great Reform Act split Gloucestershire into eastern and western divisions, with effect from the 1832 general election.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, East Gloucestershire was abolished from the 1885 election, when the former eastern and western divisions were replaced by five new single-seat county constituencies: Cirencester, Forest of Dean, Stroud, Tewkesbury, and Thornbury.

Boundaries

1832–1885: The Hundreds of Crowthorne and Minety, Brightwell's Barrow, Bradley, Rapsgate, Bisley, Longtree, Whitstone, Kiftsgate, Westminster, Deerhurst, Slaughter, Cheltenham, Cleeve, Tibaldston, Tewkesbury, and Dudstone and King's Barton, and also the City and County of Gloucester and the Borough of Cirencester.[1]

The constituency was the eastern division of the historic county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.

The place of election was at Gloucester. This was where the hustings were situated and electors voted by spoken declaration in public, before the secret ballot was introduced in 1872.

The qualification to vote in county elections, in the period when this constituency operated, was to be a 40 shilling freeholder.

The parliamentary borough constituencies of Cheltenham, Cirencester, Gloucester, Stroud, and Tewkesbury were all located in East Gloucestershire. Qualified freeholders from those boroughs could vote in the county division. Bristol was a "county of itself", so its freeholders qualified to vote in the borough, not in any county division.

Members of Parliament

Election 1st member 1st party 2nd member 2nd party
1832, 21 December Sir Berkeley Guise, Bt[2] Whig[3] Hon. Henry Reynolds-Moreton Whig[3]
1834, 7 August Sir Christopher William Codrington[4] Tory[3]
1835, 10 January Conservative[3] Hon. Augustus Moreton Whig[3][5]
1841, 5 July Hon. Francis Charteris Conservative[3]
1846, 27 February Henry Somerset[6] Conservative
1854, 9 January Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt[7] Conservative
1854, 19 December Robert Stayner Holford[8] Conservative
1864, 12 July Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt Conservative
1872, 11 March John Yorke Conservative
1885 constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

By-election, 1 Jul 1885: East Gloucestershire[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Hicks Beach Unopposed
Conservative hold
General election 1880: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Hicks Beach Unopposed
Conservative John Yorke Unopposed
Registered electors 8,579
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

By-election, 17 Mar 1874: East Gloucestershire[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Hicks-Beach Unopposed
Conservative hold
General election 1874: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Hicks-Beach Unopposed
Conservative John Yorke Unopposed
Registered electors 9,157
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
By-election, 11 Mar 1872: East Gloucestershire[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Yorke Unopposed
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Hicks-Beach Unopposed
Conservative Robert Stayner Holford Unopposed
Registered electors 8,858
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
General election 1865: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Hicks-Beach Unopposed
Conservative Robert Stayner Holford Unopposed
Registered electors 7,515
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
By-election, 12 July 1864: East Gloucestershire[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Hicks-Beach Unopposed
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher William Codrington Unopposed
Conservative Robert Stayner Holford Unopposed
Registered electors 7,816
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
General election 1857: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher William Codrington Unopposed
Conservative Robert Stayner Holford Unopposed
Registered electors 7,891
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
By-election, 19 December 1854: East Gloucestershire[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Stayner Holford Unopposed
Conservative hold
By-election, 9 January 1854: East Gloucestershire[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Hicks-Beach 3,363 58.9 N/A
Whig Edward Holland[10] 2,344 41.1 New
Majority 1,019 17.8 N/A
Turnout 5,707 72.2 N/A
Registered electors 7,906
Conservative hold
General election 1852: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher William Codrington Unopposed
Conservative Henry Somerset Unopposed
Registered electors 7,986
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher William Codrington Unopposed
Conservative Henry Somerset Unopposed
Registered electors 7,803 −2.1
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
East Gloucestershire by-election, 27 February 1846
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Somerset Unopposed
Conservative hold
General election 1841: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Francis Charteris Unopposed
Conservative Christopher William Codrington Unopposed
Registered electors 7,971 +4.9
Conservative hold
Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[3][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher William Codrington Unopposed
Whig Augustus Morton Unopposed
Registered electors 7,598 +16.5
Conservative hold
Whig hold
General election 1835: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[3][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher William Codrington Unopposed
Whig Augustus Morton Unopposed
Registered electors 6,521 −0.7
Conservative gain from Whig
Whig hold
By-election, 14 August 1834: East Gloucestershire[3][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Tory Christopher William Codrington 2,779 50.6 +21.5
Whig Thomas Leigh[11] 2,709 49.4 −21.4
Majority 70 1.2 N/A
Turnout 5,488 83.5 −5.9
Registered electors 6,569 +2.1
Tory gain from Whig
General election 1832: East Gloucestershire (2 seats)[3][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Berkeley Guise 3,311 36.1
Whig Henry Reynolds-Moreton 3,184 34.7
Tory Christopher William Codrington 2,672 29.1
Majority 512 5.6
Turnout 5,753 89.4
Registered electors 6,437
Whig win (new seat)
Whig win (new seat)

References

  1. ^ "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. ^ Died 23 July 1834.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 114. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
  4. ^ Died 24 June 1864.
  5. ^ Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 161. Retrieved 18 April 2019 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Succeeded as the 8th Duke of Beaufort, 17 November 1853.
  7. ^ Died 29 November 1854.
  8. ^ Vacated seat 1872.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 389–390. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  10. ^ "East Gloucestershire Election". Herts Guardian, Agricultural Journal, and General Advertiser. 14 January 1854. p. 5. Retrieved 3 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Gloucester Election". Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. 14 August 1834. p. 4. Retrieved 1 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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