North Northumberland
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Form 1832-1868 and this area was left intact until 1885. Extract from 1837 result: the striped area which has the much longer coast than the striped South division.
1832–1885
Seatstwo
Created fromNorthumberland
Replaced byBerwick-upon-Tweed
Hexham
Wansbeck

North Northumberland (formally the "Northern Division of Northumberland") was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented by two Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by the bloc vote system.

The area was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832 by the splitting of Northumberland constituency into Northern and Southern divisions.

It was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when Northumberland was divided into four single member divisions: Berwick-upon-Tweed, Hexham, Tyneside and Wansbeck.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be re-established for the next general election.[1] It will comprise the (to be abolished) constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed, together with the town of Morpeth, transferred from the (to be abolished) Wansbeck seat.

Boundaries

1832–1885: The Wards of Bamborough, Coquetdale, Glendale and Morpeth, and the Berwick Bounds.[2][3]

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the re-established constituency will be composed of the following electoral divisions of the County of Northumberland (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

Alnwick; Amble; Amble West with Warkworth; Bamburgh; Berwick East; Berwick North; Berwick West with Ord; Druridge Bay; Longhoughton; Lynemouth; Morpeth Kirkhill; Morpeth North; Morpeth Stobhill; Norham and Islandshires; Pegswood; Rothbury; Shilbottle; Wooler.[4]

The seat will comprise virtually the whole of the (to be abolished) constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed, plus the Pegswood and the three Morpeth divisions from the (to be abolished) constituency of Wansbeck.

Members of Parliament

Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party
1832 Viscount Howick Whig[5][6] Lord Ossulston Conservative[5]
1841 Addison Cresswell Conservative[5]
1847 Sir George Grey, Bt Whig[7][8][9][10]
1852 Lord Lovaine Conservative
1859 Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt Conservative
1865 Lord Henry Percy Conservative
1868 Earl Percy Conservative Matthew White Ridley[11] Conservative
1885 Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: North Northumberland[5][12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Bennet Unopposed
Whig Henry Grey Unopposed
Registered electors 2,322
Tory win (new seat)
Whig win (new seat)
General election 1835: North Northumberland[5][12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Charles Bennet Unopposed
Whig Henry Grey Unopposed
Registered electors 2,367
Conservative hold
Whig hold

Grey was appointed as Secretary at War, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 1 May 1835: North Northumberland[5][12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Henry Grey Unopposed
Whig hold
General election 1837: North Northumberland[5][12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Charles Bennet Unopposed
Whig Henry Grey Unopposed
Registered electors 2,786
Conservative hold
Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: North Northumberland[5][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Bennet 1,216 34.9 N/A
Conservative Addison Cresswell 1,163 33.4 N/A
Whig Henry Grey 1,101 31.6 N/A
Majority 62 1.8 N/A
Turnout 2,188 79.4 N/A
Registered electors 2,756
Conservative hold Swing N/A
Conservative gain from Whig Swing N/A
General election 1847: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig George Grey 1,366 35.5 +3.9
Conservative Charles Bennet 1,247 32.4 −2.5
Conservative Algernon Percy 1,237 32.1 −1.3
Majority 119 3.1 N/A
Turnout 2,608 (est) 86.1 (est) +6.7
Registered electors 3,030
Whig gain from Conservative Swing +3.9
Conservative hold Swing −2.2

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Algernon Percy 1,414 34.9 +2.8
Conservative Charles Bennet 1,335 33.0 +0.6
Whig George Grey 1,300 32.1 −3.4
Majority 35 0.9 N/A
Turnout 2,675 (est) 86.0 (est) −0.1
Registered electors 3,111
Conservative hold Swing +2.3
Conservative gain from Whig Swing +1.2
General election 1857: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Algernon Percy Unopposed
Conservative Charles Bennet Unopposed
Registered electors 3,296
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Percy was appointed a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 11 March 1858: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Algernon Percy Unopposed
Conservative hold

Percy was appointed Vice-President of the Board of Trade, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 10 March 1859: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Algernon Percy Unopposed
Conservative hold
General election 1859: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Algernon Percy Unopposed
Conservative Matthew White Ridley Unopposed
Registered electors 3,280
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Percy Unopposed
Conservative Matthew White Ridley Unopposed
Registered electors 3,109
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
General election 1868: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Percy Unopposed
Conservative Matthew White Ridley Unopposed
Registered electors 3,612
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Percy Unopposed
Conservative Matthew White Ridley Unopposed
Registered electors 3,480
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Percy was appointed Treasurer of the Household, causing a by-election.

By-election, 17 Mar 1874: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Percy Unopposed
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: North Northumberland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Percy 2,163 38.1 N/A
Conservative Matthew White Ridley 2,001 35.3 N/A
Liberal John Clay[13] 1,509 26.6 New
Majority 492 8.7 N/A
Turnout 3,591 (est) 82.1 (est) N/A
Registered electors 4,376
Conservative hold Swing N/A
Conservative hold Swing N/A
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: North Northumberland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Natalie Younes[14]
Majority
Turnout

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "North East | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  2. ^ "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. p. 309. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  3. ^ "HMSO Boundary Commission Report 1832, Northumberland".
  4. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 4 North East region.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 239. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
  6. ^ Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 100. Retrieved 26 May 2019 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Creighton, Mandell (1890). "Grey, George (1799-1882)" . In Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney (eds.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 23. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  8. ^ Crosby's Parliamentary Record of Elections in Great Britain and Ireland. Leeds: George Crosby. 1847. p. 122. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "The Age". Melbourne, Victoria. 13 September 1882. p. 4. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  10. ^ "The Excluded Whigs". Leeds Intelligencer. 22 January 1853. p. 3. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ Known as Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bt, from 1877.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 435–436. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  13. ^ "North Northumberland Election". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 7 April 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 21 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ^ "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. Retrieved 23 January 2024.

Sources

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