Malton
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1640–1885
Replaced byThirsk and Malton
Buckrose

Malton, also called New Malton, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England in 1295 and 1298, and again from 1640, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1868, among them the political philosopher Edmund Burke, and by one member from 1868 to 1885.

The constituency was divided between the new Thirsk and Malton division of the North Riding of Yorkshire and the Buckrose division of the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1885.

Boundaries

The constituency consisted of parts of the St Leonard's and St Michael's parishes of New Malton in the North Riding until the Great Reform Act of 1832; the borough at that point included 791 houses and had a population of 4,173 in the 1831 census. The Reform Act expanded the boundaries to include the whole of those two parishes, as well as that of Old Malton and of the adjoining town of Norton in the East Riding, increasing the population to 7,192 and encompassing 1,401 houses.

Franchise

The right of election in Malton was vested in the scot and lot householders of the borough, of whom there were about 800 in 1832. In practice the seats were generally in the gift of the landowner, Earl Fitzwilliam (and were frequently held by one of that family, often by the heir to the Earldom who had the courtesy title Viscount Milton); at an earlier period the borough was similarly dominated by the Watson-Wentworth family, and was used as a form of government patronage when the Marquess of Rockingham was Prime Minister.

Members of Parliament

New Malton re-enfranchised by Parliament in November 1640

MPs 1640–1868

Year First member First party Second member Second party
November 1640 Thomas Hebblethwaite Royalist Henry Cholmley Parliamentarian
November 1644 Hebblethwaite disabled to sit - seat vacant
1645 Richard Darley
December 1648 Cholmley excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653 Malton was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654,1656 Malton was unrepresented in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659[a] Philip Howard George Marwood
May 1659 Richard Darley One seat vacant
April 1660 Thomas Hebblethwaite Philip Howard
April (?) 1661 Thomas Danby
December 1661 Sir Thomas Gower
1668 William Palmes
1673 James Hebblethwaite
1679 Sir Watkinson Payler
1685 Hon. Thomas Fairfax Thomas Worsley
1689 William Palmes Junto Whig Sir William Strickland Junto Whig
1698 Thomas Worsley
1701 Sir William Strickland Junto Whig
1708 William Strickland Whig
1713 Thomas Watson-Wentworth
1715 Thomas Watson-Wentworth (the younger)
1722 Sir William Strickland Whig
1724 by-election Henry Finch
1727 Wardell Westby
1731 by-election Sir William Wentworth
May 1741 Lord James Cavendish
Dec 1741 by-election John Mostyn
1761 by-election Savile Finch Whig[1]
1768 The Viscount Downe
1774 Edmund Burke[b] Rockinghamite Whig[1]
1775 by-election William Weddell Whig[1]
1780 by-election Edmund Burke Whig[1]
April 1784 Sir Thomas Gascoigne Whig[1]
Aug 1784 by-election William Weddell Whig[1]
1792 by-election Hon. George Damer[c] Whig
1794 by-election Richard Burke (died 1794) Whig[1]
1795 by-election William Baldwin Whig[1]
1798 by-election Bryan Cooke Whig[1]
1798 by-election Charles Lawrence Dundas Whig[1]
1805 by-election Henry Grattan Whig[1]
1806 Viscount Milton Whig
1807 Hon. Charles Winn-Allanson [d] Tory[1] Robert Lawrence Dundas Whig[1]
Mar 1808 by-election Bryan Cooke Whig[1]
1812 John Ramsden Whig[1] Viscount Duncannon Whig[1]
1826 Viscount Normanby Canningite Tory[1]
1830 Sir James Scarlett Whig[e][1]
April 1831 by-election Francis Jeffrey[f] Whig[1]
May 1831 Henry Gally Knight Whig[1]
Jul 1831 by-election William Cavendish Whig[1]
Sep. 1831 by-election Charles Pepys Whig[1]
1832 William Fitzwilliam [g] Whig[1]
1833 by-election John Ramsden Whig[1]
1836 by-election John Walbanke-Childers Whig[1][2][3][4]
1837 by-election Viscount Milton [h] Whig[1][5][6][7]
1841 Evelyn Denison Whig[1][8][9][2][3]
1846 by-election Viscount Milton Whig[1][5][6][7]
1847 John Walbanke-Childers Whig[1][2][3][4]
1852 Hon. Charles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam Whig[10][11]
1857 James Brown Whig
1859 Liberal Liberal
1868 Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1868–1885

Year Member Party
1868 Hon. Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam Liberal
1885 constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Malton[1][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Charles Ramsden Unopposed
Whig James Scarlett Unopposed
Registered electors c. 500
Whig hold
Whig hold

Scarlett resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 6 April 1831: Malton[1][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Francis Jeffrey Unopposed
Registered electors c. 500
Whig hold
General election 1831: Malton[1][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Francis Jeffrey Unopposed
Whig Henry Gally Knight Unopposed
Registered electors c. 500
Whig hold
Whig hold

Jeffrey was also elected for Perth Burghs and opted to sit there, causing a by-election.

By-election, 13 July 1831: Malton[1][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig William Cavendish Unopposed
Registered electors c. 500
Whig hold

Cavendish resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 30 September 1831: Malton[1][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Pepys Unopposed
Registered electors c. 500
Whig hold
General election 1832: Malton[1][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig William Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam Unopposed
Whig Charles Pepys Unopposed
Registered electors 667
Whig hold
Whig hold

Wentworth-FitzWilliam resigned in order to contest a by-election at North Northamptonshire, causing a by-election.

By-election, 8 March 1833: Malton[1][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Charles Ramsden Unopposed
Whig hold

Pepys was appointed as Solicitor General for England and Wales, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 4 March 1834: Malton[1][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Pepys Unopposed
Whig hold
General election 1835: Malton[1][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Charles Ramsden Unopposed
Whig Charles Pepys Unopposed
Registered electors 616
Whig hold
Whig hold

Pepys was appointed as First Lord Commissioner for the Custody of the Great Seal, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 19 May 1835: Malton[1][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Pepys Unopposed
Whig hold

Pepys resigned after being appointed as Lord Chancellor and being elevated to the peerage, becoming 1st Earl of Cottenham, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 12 February 1836: Malton[1][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Walbanke-Childers Unopposed
Whig hold

Ramsden's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 27 January 1837: Malton[1][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam Unopposed
Whig hold
General election 1837: Malton[1][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Walbanke-Childers Unopposed
Whig William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam Unopposed
Registered electors 603
Whig hold
Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Walbanke-Childers Unopposed
Whig Evelyn Denison Unopposed
Registered electors 572
Whig hold
Whig hold

Childers resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 15 April 1846: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam Unopposed
Whig hold
General election 1847: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Walbanke-Childers Unopposed
Whig Evelyn Denison Unopposed
Registered electors 535
Whig hold
Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam Unopposed
Whig Evelyn Denison Unopposed
Registered electors 539
Whig hold
Whig hold
General election 1857: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam Unopposed
Whig James Brown Unopposed
Registered electors 594
Whig hold
Whig hold
General election 1859: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam Unopposed
Liberal James Brown Unopposed
Registered electors 595
Liberal hold
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam Unopposed
Liberal James Brown Unopposed
Registered electors 600
Liberal hold
Liberal hold

Seat reduced to one member

General election 1868: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam Unopposed
Registered electors 1,218
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam 603 56.0 N/A
Conservative Robert Hartley Bower[14] 474 44.0 New
Majority 129 12.0 N/A
Turnout 1,077 86.9 N/A
Registered electors 1,240
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Malton[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam 809 64.5 +8.5
Conservative William Worsley[15] 445 35.5 −8.5
Majority 364 29.0 +17.0
Turnout 1,254 90.9 +4.0
Registered electors 1,379
Liberal hold Swing +8.5

Notes

Footnotes
  1. ^ The Returning Officer made a double return after a dispute over the franchise: the Committee of Elections and Privileges ruled in favour of Howard and Marwood, and against their opponents Luke Robinson and Robert Lilburne on the grounds that Old Malton as well as New Malton was entitled to vote. (House of Commons Journal, 7 March 1659 [1])
  2. ^ In 1774 Burke was also elected for Bristol, and did not sit for Malton in this Parliament
  3. ^ Styled Viscount Milton from 1792
  4. ^ Dundas and Winn-Allanson won in a contested election in which Bryan Cooke came third. On petition, Winn-Allanson's election was declared void and a by-election held at which Cooke was elected.
  5. ^ Scarlett took the Chiltern Hundreds in April 1831, after switching from the Whigs to the Tories
  6. ^ Jeffrey was also elected for Perth District of Burghs at the 1831 general election and chose to represent that constituency
  7. ^ Fitzwilliam became Viscount Milton in 1833 when his father succeeded as Earl Fitzwilliam, and resigned to contest his father's Northamptonshire, Northern seat)
  8. ^ Not the same Viscount Milton who held the seat in 1806-7 or in 1833
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 156–158. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c Crosby's Political Record of Parliamentary Elections in Great Britain and Ireland with Select Biographical Notices and Speeches of Distinguished Statesmen. York: George Crosby. 1843. pp. 256–257. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Ollivier, John (1842). "Alphabetical List of the House of Commons". Ollivier's parliamentary and political director. pp. 19, 20. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b "General Election, 1841". Morning Post. 29 June 1841. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ a b Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 160. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 208. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ a b Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 195. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Biography of John Evelyn Denison, Viscount Ossington (1800–1873)". Manuscripts and Special Collections. University of Nottingham. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  9. ^ Harratt, Simon; Farrell, Stephen (2009). "DENISON, John Evelyn (1800–1873), of Ossington Hall, Notts". The History of Parliament.
  10. ^ Rix, Kathryn (28 November 2014). "MP of the Month: the Fitzwilliams of Wentworth Woodhouse". The Victorian Commons. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  11. ^ Howe, Anthony; Morgan, Simon; Banneman, Gordon, eds. (2010). The Letters of Richard Cobden: Volume II ~ 1848–1853. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-19-921196-8. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d e Casey, Martin. "Malton". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  14. ^ "Conservative Banquet at Malton". Leeds Mercury. 11 April 1874. p. 7. Retrieved 6 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ "Malton". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 13 March 1880. p. 5. Retrieved 20 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

References

Categories