Appleby (UK Parliament constituency)

Appleby was a parliamentary constituency in the former county of Westmorland in England. It existed for two separate periods: from 1295 to 1832, and from 1885 to 1918.

Appleby
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
County	Westmorland (now Cumbria)
Major settlements	Appleby-in-Westmorland
1885–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Westmorland
Created from	Westmorland
1295–1832
Number of members	two
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	Westmorland

Appleby was enfranchised as parliamentary borough in 1295, and abolished by the Great Reform Act of 1832. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) using the bloc vote system. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. Its best-known MP was William Pitt the Younger who became Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24.

For the 1885 general election the Redistribution of Seats Act created a county constituency of the same name, which returned a single MP elected by the first-past-the-post system. The county constituency was abolished at the 1918 general election.

History

The borough (1295–1832)

The parliamentary borough of Appleby consisted of the town of Appleby, the county town of Westmorland, and was consistently represented in the House of Commons from the Model Parliament of 1295 until the Reform Act.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

The right to vote rested with the occupiers of around a hundred burgage tenements. By the 18th century, the majority of the burgages were owned by the Lowther and Tufton families, which enabled them to put in reliable tenants at election time and ensure their complete control of who was elected. The seats were frequently kept for members of those families, but Appleby's other representatives included William Pitt the younger, who was MP for Appleby when he became Prime Minister in 1783 (although he stood down at the following general election when he was instead elected for Cambridge University).

A later member for Appleby was Viscount Howick, subsequently (as Earl Grey) the Prime Minister whose administration passed the Great Reform Act of 1832; but Grey's history as a former MP for the town did not save it from losing both its members under the Act. Appleby was regarded as a classic example of a pocket borough, completely in the control of its owners who were also the major local landowners, and with a population of only 1,233 at the 1831 census unlikely to be freed from their influence even by widening the franchise. Nevertheless, as the only county town to be disfranchised, Appleby was one of the more controversial cases in the debates on the reform bill, the opposition making unsuccessful attempts to amend the bill so as to save at least one of its MPs.

After abolition the borough was absorbed into the Westmorland county constituency.

The county constituency (1885–1918)

The Appleby constituency created for the 1885 election was, in full, "The Appleby or Northern Division of Westmorland", and was sometimes referred to as Westmorland North. It consisted of the whole of the northern half of the county, including the towns of Ambleside, Grasmere and Kirkby Stephen. It was abolished at the 1918 general election, the whole county henceforth being united in a single Westmorland constituency.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1660

Parliament	First member	Second member
1382	William Soulby[1]
1385	William Soulby[1]
1386	Robert Overdo I	John Overdo [1]
1388 (Feb)	William Soulby	Adam Crosby [1]
1388 (Sep)
1390 (Jan)
1390 (Nov)
1391	William Soulby	John Sowerby [1]
1393
1394
1395	Robert Gare	William Savage [1]
1397 (Jan)	John Helton	John Sowerby [1]
1397 (Sep)	Christopher Curwen	Thomas Chamberlain [1]
1399	Thomas Warcop	William Crackenthorpe I [1]
1401
1402	Robert Gare	Robert Overdo II [1]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406	John Ninezergh	William Crackenthorpe II [1]
1407	John Sagher	John Pray [1]
1410
1411	John Helton	John Sowerby [1]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	Robert Sandford	Thomas Stockdale [1]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	Robert Crackenthorpe	John Birkrig [1]
1415	Roland Thornburgh	John Birkrig [1]
1416 (Mar)	Richard Bristowe	Thomas Ma[nningham] [1]
1416 (Oct)
1417	Thomas Stockdale	John Birkrig [1]
1419	Richard Wharton	Thomas Pety [1]
1420	William Lowther	Nicholas Stanshawe [1]
1421 (May)	William Scalby	Nicholas Stanshawe [1]
1421 (Dec)	John Booth	Nicholas Stanshawe [1] 1436-1427 Thomas Wharton
1510–1523	No names known[3]
1529	Sir Richard Tempest	Sir Thomas Wharton [3]
1536	?
1539	?
1542	Cuthbert Horsley	Thomas Jolye [3]
1545	Thomas Jolye	Robert Wheatley [3]
1547	Thomas Jolye, died and replaced Jan 1552 by George Clifford	Robert Wheatley [3]
1553 (Mar)	?
1553 (Oct)	George Clifford	James Bankes [3]
1554 (Apr)	John Eltoftes	William Danby [3]
1554 (Nov)	John Eltoftes	William Danby [3]
1555	?
1558	John Eltoftes	Nicholas Purslow [3]
1559 (Jan)	John Eltoftes	Christopher Monckton[4]
1562/3	Christopher Monckton	Robert Atkinson [4]
1571	John Layton	Richard Wroth [4]
1572 (Apr)	George Frevile	Robert Bowes [4]
1584 (Nov)	George Ireland	Henry Macwilliam [4]
1586	James Ryther	Robert Constable [4]
1588	Laurence Lister	Thomas Musgrave Robert Warcop Anthony Felton Election declared void, 11 Feb 1589
1589	Ralph Bowes	Thomas Posthumous Hoby [4]
1593	Thomas Posthumous Hoby	Cuthbert Reynolds [4]
1597 (Sep)	James Colbrand	John Lyly [4]
1601 (Oct)	John Morice	Thomas Caesar [4]
1604	John Morice	Sir William Bowyer
1614	Sir George Savile, junior	Sir Henry Wotton
1621	Sir Arthur Ingram	Thomas Hughes
1624	Sir Arthur Ingram	Thomas Hughes
1625	Sir John Hotham sat for Beverley – not replaced	Thomas Hughes
1626	Sir William Slingsby	William Ashton
1628	William Ashton	Richard Lowther
1629–1640	No Parliaments convened
1640 (Apr)	Richard Boyle	Richard Lowther
1640 (Nov)	Sir John Brooke (Royalist) – disabled March 1643	Richard Boyle (Royalist) ennobled, September 1642
1645	Richard Salway	Henry Ireton
1648	Richard Salway	Henry Ireton died November 1651
1653	Appleby unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654	Appleby unrepresented in the First Parliament of the Protectorate
1656	Appleby unrepresented in the Second Parliament of the Protectorate
1659	Adam Baynes	Nathaniel Redding

MPs 1660–1832

Year			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		1660	Sir Henry Cholmley		Christopher Clapham
		1661	John Lowther		John Dalston
		1668	Thomas Tufton	Tory
		1679	Richard Tufton		Anthony Lowther
		January 1681	Sackville Tufton
		February 1681			Sir John Bland
		1685			Philip Musgrave
		January 1689	Richard Lowther
		July 1689			William Cheyne
		1690	Hon. Charles Boyle
		1694	Sir John Walter
		1695	Sir William Twysden		Sir Christopher Musgrave
		1697	Sir John Walter
		1698			Gervase Pierrepont
		1701	Wharton Dunch
		1702	James Grahme
		1705			William Harvey
		1708	Nicholas Lechmere		Edward Duncombe
		1710	Thomas Lutwyche
		1713			Sir Richard Sandford, Bt.
		1722	Sackville Tufton	Tory
		1723 by-election [lower-alpha 1]			James Lowther	Whig
		1727 by-election			John Ramsden	Ind. Whig
		1730 by-election [lower-alpha 2]	Walter Plumer	Whig
		1741	George Dodington [lower-alpha 3]	Whig
		1742 by-election [lower-alpha 3]	Sir Charles Wyndham, Bt
		1747	Randle Wilbraham
		1754 [lower-alpha 4]	William Lee		Philip Honywood
		1756 by-election [lower-alpha 4]	Fletcher Norton
		1761	John Stanwix
		1767 by-election [lower-alpha 5]	Charles Jenkinson	Whig
		1773 by-election [lower-alpha 6]	Fletcher Norton the younger
		1774	George Johnstone	Independent
		1780	William Lowther [lower-alpha 7]	Tory
		1781 by-election [lower-alpha 7]	Hon. William Pitt	Independent Whig
		1784	Hon. John Leveson-Gower		Richard Penn
		1790	Hon. Robert Jenkinson [lower-alpha 8]	Tory	Richard Ford	Tory
		January 1791 by-election [lower-alpha 8]	Hon. William Grimston
		May 1791 by-election [lower-alpha 9]			Hon. John Rawdon
		1796	Hon. John Tufton		John Courtenay
		1799 by-election [lower-alpha 10]	Robert Adair	Whig
		1802	Sir Philip Francis	Whig
		May 1807	Charles Grey	Whig	James Cuthbert	Whig
		July 1807 by-election [lower-alpha 11]	Nicholas Ridley-Colborne	Whig
		October 1812	James Lowther	Tory	John Courtenay	Whig
		December 1812 by-election [lower-alpha 12]			George Tierney	Whig
		1818	George Fludyer	Tory	Lucius Concannon	Whig
		1819 by-election [lower-alpha 13]	Adolphus Dalrymple	Tory
		March 1820			George Tierney [lower-alpha 14]	Whig
		May 1820 by-election [lower-alpha 14]			Thomas Creevey	Whig
		1826	Hon. Henry Tufton	Whig[13]	James Maitland	Tory[14]
		May 1832 by-election [lower-alpha 15]	Charles Henry Foster Barham	Whig[15]
		1832	Constituency abolished by the Great Reform Act

Notes

1. The by-election in 1723 was due to the death of Sir Richard Sandford, Bt.
2. The by-election in 1730 was due to Tufton succeeding to the peerage as Earl of Thanet
3. In 1741, Dodington was also elected for Bridgwater, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Appleby
4. At the 1754 election, Lee and Honywood defeated Sir John Ramsden and Fletcher Norton, but this election was subsequently declared void and a by-election held in February 1756, at which Norton rather than Lee was elected
5. The 1767 by-election was due to the death of Stanwix, who was drowned while returning from Ireland
6. The 1773 by-election was due to the resignation of Jenkinson
7. In 1780, Lowther was also elected for Carlisle, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Appleby, causing a by-election in 1781
8. Jenkinson was also elected for Rye, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Appleby
9. The May 1791 by-election was caused by the resignation of Richard Ford
10. The 1799 by-election was caused by the death of Hon. John Tufton
11. The July 1807 by-election was caused by the resignation of Charles Grey to contest a vacancy in Tavistock
12. The December 1812 by-election was caused by the resignation of John Courtenay
13. The 1819 by-election was caused by the resignation of George Fludyer
14. Tierney was also elected for Knaresborough, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Appleby
15. The by-election in May 1832was due to Henry Tufton succeeding to the perage as Earl of Thanet

MPs 1885–1918

Year		Member	Party
	1885	Hon. William Lowther	Conservative
	1892	Sir Joseph Savory	Conservative
	1900	Richard Rigg	Liberal
	1905	Leif Jones	Liberal
	1910	Lancelot Sanderson	Conservative
	1915	Cecil Lowther	Conservative
	1918	constituency abolished

Election results 1885–1918

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Appleby [16][17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Lowther	2,694	50.1
	Liberal	James Whitehead	2,684	49.9
Majority			10	0.2
Turnout			5,378	89.3
Registered electors			6,022
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: Appleby [16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Lowther	2,748	51.8	+1.7
	Liberal	James Whitehead	2,562	48.2	−1.7
Majority			186	3.6	+3.4
Turnout			5,310	88.2	−1.1
Registered electors			6,022
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.7

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Appleby [16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joseph Savory	2,963	56.8	+5.0
	Liberal	Alfred Charles Tufton	2,256	43.2	−5.0
Majority			707	13.6	+10.0
Turnout			5,219	80.5	−7.7
Registered electors			6,481
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.0

General election 1895: Appleby [16][17][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joseph Savory	2,950	58.7	+1.9
	Liberal	Theodore Wilfrid Fry	2,077	41.3	−1.9
Majority			873	17.4	+3.8
Turnout			5,027	79.6	−0.9
Registered electors			6,316
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

Elections in the 1900s

Rigg

General election 1900: Appleby [16][17][19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Rigg	2,835	55.7	+14.4
	Conservative	Joseph Savory	2,256	44.3	−14.4
Majority			579	11.4	N/A
Turnout			5,091	75.5	−4.1
Registered electors			6,744
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+14.4

Jones

1905 Appleby by-election[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leif Jones	2,922	52.0	−3.7
	Conservative	George Noble	2,702	48.0	+3.7
Majority			220	4.0	−7.4
Turnout			5,624	84.3	+8.8
Registered electors			6,670
	Liberal hold		Swing	−3.7

General election 1906: Appleby [16][17][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leif Jones	2,890	50.1	−5.6
	Conservative	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice	2,882	49.9	+5.6
Majority			8	0.2	−11.2
Turnout			5,785	88.4	+8.9
Registered electors			6,528
	Liberal hold		Swing	−5.6

• Figures are those following a recount

Elections in the 1910s

Sanderson

General election January 1910: Appleby [16][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lancelot Sanderson	3,335	53.8	+3.9
	Liberal	Leif Jones	2,868	46.2	−3.9
Majority			467	7.6	N/A
Turnout			6,203	93.2	+4.8
Registered electors			6,656
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.9

Wilson

General election December 1910: Appleby [16][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lancelot Sanderson	3,258	54.9	+1.1
	Liberal	Philip Wilson	2,679	45.1	−1.1
Majority			579	9.8	+2.2
Turnout			5,937	89.2	-4.0
Registered electors			6,656
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.1

General Election 1914/15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Lancelot Sanderson
• Liberal:

1915 Appleby by-election [16][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Cecil Lowther (politician)	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

Election results before 1832

Elections in the 1830s

By-election, 24 May 1832: Appleby[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Charles Henry Foster Barham	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 99
	Whig hold

• Caused by Tufton's succession to the peerage, becoming 11th Earl of Thanet

General election, 3 May 1831: Appleby[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Henry Tufton	Unopposed
	Tory	James Maitland	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 99
	Whig hold
	Tory hold

General election, 5 August 1830: Appleby[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Henry Tufton	Unopposed
	Tory	James Maitland	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Tory hold

Elections in the 18th century

Election results taken from the History of Parliament Trust series.

General election 1715: Appleby (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Thomas Lutwyche	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Richard Sandford	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 1722: Appleby (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sackville Tufton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Richard Sandford	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Death of Sandford

By-Election 2 May 1723: Appleby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	James Lowther	99	53.80	N/A
	Non Partisan	Trevor Hill	85	46.20	N/A

General election 1727: Appleby (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Sackville Tufton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	John Ramsden	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Succession of Tufton as 7th Earl of Thanet

By-Election 24 January 1730: Appleby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Walter Plumer	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 1734: Appleby (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Walter Plumer	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	John Ramsden	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 1741: Appleby (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	George Dodington	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	John Ramsden	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Dodington chose to sit for Bridgwater

By-Election 1 January 1742: Appleby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Charles Wyndham	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General election 1747: Appleby (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Randle Wilbraham	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	John Ramsden	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

References

1. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1386–1421). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
2. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1422–1504). Retrieved 27 March 2019. (currently unavailable)
3. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1509–1558). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
4. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1558–1603). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
5. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1604–1629). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
6. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1640–1660). Retrieved 27 March 2019.(currently unavailable )
7. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1660–1690). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
8. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1690–1715). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
9. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1715–1754). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
10. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1754–1790). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
11. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1790–1820). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
12. "Appleby". History of Parliament Online (1820–1832). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
13. Escott, Margaret. "TUFTON, Hon. Henry (1775-1849)". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
14. Escott, Margaret. "MAITLAND, James, Visct. Maitland (1784-1860)". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
15. Escott, Margaret; Spencer, Howard. "FOSTER BARHAM, Charles Henry (1808-1878), of Trecwn, Pemb. and Stockbridge, Hants". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
16. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918, FWS Craig
17. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
18. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
19. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
20. Liberal Year Book 1908
21. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916

• Michael Brock, The Great Reform Act (London: Hutchinson, 1973)
• D Brunton & D H Pennington, “Members of the Long Parliament” (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
• J Holladay Philbin, "Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales" (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 2)