Lewisham
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Lewisham in London
1885–1918
Seatsone
Created fromWest Kent
Replaced byLewisham East and Lewisham West

Lewisham was a borough constituency in the Lewisham district of London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

History

The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election. It was replaced by the new Lewisham East and Lewisham West constituencies.

During its existence Lewisham was a safe Conservative seat. In Lewisham, between 1885 and 1906, the electorate more than doubled and over this period the population of poorer people in the constituency grew.[1] Over the six general elections of 1885, 1886, 1892, 1906 and January and December 1910 the average Conservative share of the vote in Lewisham was 63.0%.[1]

Boundaries

1885–1918: The parishes of Lewisham and Lee.[2]

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1885 William Legge Conservative
1891 John Penn Conservative
1903 Sir Edward Coates Conservative
1918 constituency abolished: see Lewisham East and Lewisham West

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

1885 general election: Lewisham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Legge 4,244 58.4
Liberal Benjamin Whitworth 3,019 41.6
Majority 1,225 16.8
Turnout 7,263 78.3
Registered electors 9,280
Conservative win (new seat)
1886 general election: Lewisham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Legge 3,839 69.5 +11.1
Liberal George Offor 1,688 30.5 -11.1
Majority 2,151 39.0 +22.2
Turnout 5,527 59.6 -18.7
Registered electors 9,280
Conservative hold Swing +11.1

Legge was appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 11 Aug 1886: Lewisham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Legge Unopposed
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

Penn
1891 Lewisham by-election[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Penn 4,585 61.3 −8.2
Liberal George Septimus Warmington 2,892 38.7 +8.2
Majority 1,693 22.6 −16.4
Turnout 7,477 64.2 +4.6
Registered electors 11,650
Conservative hold Swing −8.2
1892 general election: Lewisham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Penn 5,309 64.7 −4.8
Liberal George Alfred Harvey 2,895 35.3 +4.8
Majority 2,414 29.4 −9.6
Turnout 8,204 69.3 +9.7
Registered electors 11,834
Conservative hold Swing −4.8
1895 general election: Lewisham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Penn Unopposed
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: Lewisham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Penn Unopposed
Conservative hold
Cleland
1903 Lewisham by-election[4][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Coates 7,709 57.5 N/A
Liberal James William Cleland 5,697 42.5 New
Majority 2,012 15.0 N/A
Turnout 13,406 71.7 N/A
Registered electors 18,708
Conservative hold
1906 general election: Lewisham [4][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Coates 9,689 54.8 N/A
Liberal Frederick Wilkins Aveling 8,006 45.2 N/A
Majority 1,683 9.6 N/A
Turnout 17,695 79.6 N/A
Registered electors 22,243
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: Lewisham [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Coates 12,690 58.6 +3.8
Liberal Felix Rosenheim 8,960 41.4 -3.8
Majority 3,730 17.2 +7.6
Turnout 25,021 86.5 +6.9
Conservative hold Swing +3.8
O'Malley
December 1910 general election: Lewisham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Coates 11,179 62.2 +3.6
Liberal Edward Loughlin O'Malley 6,792 37.8 -3.6
Majority 4,387 24.4 +7.2
Turnout 25,021 71.8 -14.7
Conservative hold Swing +3.6

Notes

  1. ^ a b Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections, 1885-1910 (Macmillan, 1967), p. 35.
  2. ^ "Chap. 23. Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885". The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1885. pp. 111–198.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  4. ^ a b c "Flowing Tide for Unionism - Lewisham". Sheffield Telegraph. 18 January 1910. Retrieved 5 January 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.

References

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