Essex (UK Parliament constituency)

Essex was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1290 until 1832. It elected two MPs, traditionally referred to as Knights of the Shire, to the House of Commons. It was divided into two single member constituencies (Essex North and Essex South) in the Great Reform Act.

Essex
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
County	Essex
1290–1832
Number of members	Two
Replaced by	Essex North and Essex South

Area covered (current units)

• East of England
  • Essex
• London
  • Barking and Dagenham
  • Havering
  • Newham
  • Redbridge
  • Waltham Forest

Members of Parliament

1290-1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1290	John le Breton	John Fillol Henry Grapinel John de Beauchamp of Fifield [1]
1295	John Fillol	Ralph de Arderne [1]
1297	John Fillol	Henry Grapinel [1]
1298	Hugh le Blount	Jollan de Duresem [1]
1300	John Fillol	Hugh le Blount [1]
1301	John Fillol	Hugh le Blount [1]
1302	Ralph de Arderne	Jollan de Dureseme [1]
1305	John de Tany	William de Wauton [1]
1306	John de Sutton	Ralph le Bigod [1]
1307	John de Tany	John de la Lee [1]
1309	Sir Nicholas Barrington
1313	Sir Nicholas Barrington
1322	Thomas Gobion	Simon de Kynardesle
1330	Sir John Barrington
1334	Sir John de Coggeshall
1335	Sir John de Coggeshall
1336	Sir John de Coggeshall
1339	Sir John de Coggeshall
1343	Sir John de Coggeshall
c1355	Sir Thomas Tyrell (7 times)
1358	Sir John de Coggeshall
1377	Sir Robert Swinburne
1379	Sir Robert Swinburne
1380 (Jan)	Sir John Guildesborough	Richard Lyons
1380 (Nov)	Sir John Guildesborough
1382	Sir Robert Swinburne
1383 (Feb)	Sir John Guildesborough
1384	Sir Robert Swinburne
1385	Sir John Guildesborough
1386	Sir Robert Marney	Edmund Brokesbourne [2]
1388 (Feb)	Sir John Guildesborough	Thomas Coggeshall [2]
1388 (Sep)	Sir Alexander Walden	Sir John FitzSymond [2]
1390 (Jan)	Sir Robert Swinburne	Sir Robert Marney [2]
1390 (Nov)	Sir Alexander Walden	Thomas Bataill [2]
1391	Sir William Coggleshall	Sir Walter Lee [2]
1393	Sir Thomas Swinburne	Sir Walter Lee [2]
1394	Thomas Bataill	Sir Walter Lee [2]
1395	Thomas Coggeshall	John Doreward [2]
1397 (Jan)	Sir William Coggleshall	John Doreward [2]
1397 (Sep)	Sir John Howard	Robert Tey [2]
1399	Thomas Coggeshall	John Doreward [2]
1401	Sir William Coggleshall	Robert Tey [2]
1402	Sir William Coggleshall	Sir Gerard Braybrooke [2]
1404 (Jan)	Sir William Bourchier	John Doreward [2]
1404 (Oct)	Sir William Coggleshall	Sir Robert Litton [2]
1406	Helming Leget	Richard Baynard [2]
1407	Helming Leget	Sir William Marney [2]
1410
1411	Sir William Coggleshall	John Tyrell [2]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	John Doreward	John Tyrell [2]
1414 (Apr)	Sir William Coggleshall	John Doreward [2]
1414 (Nov)	William Swinburne	Richard Baynard[2]
1415
1416 (Mar)	Robert Darcy	John Tyrell[2]
1416 (Oct)
1417	Sir Gerard Braybrooke	John Tyrell [2]
1419	Robert Darcy	John Tyrell [2]
1420	Sir William Coggleshall	Lewis John [2]
1421 (May)	Robert Darcy	John Tyrell [2]
1421 (Dec)	Sir William Coggleshall	Richard Baynard [2]
1422	John Tyrell	Sir William Coggleshall
1423	Robert Darcy
1425	John Tyrell	Robert Darcy
1426	Lewis John	Robert Darcy
1429	John Tyrell
1431	Sir John Tyrell	Lewis John
1432	Robert Darcy
1433	Sir John Tyrell
1437	Sir John Tyrell	Lewis John
1439	Lewis John	Robert Darcy
1442	Thomas Tyrell
1445	Thomas Tyrell	Robert Darcy
1447	Thomas Tyrell
1449	Thomas Tyrell
1453	Thomas Thorpe [3]
1455	John Green
1459	Thomas Tyrell
1460	John Green
1495	Richard FitzLewis[4]
1510–1515	No names known [5]
1523	Sir John Marney	? [5]
1529	Thomas Bonham	Thomas Audley [5]
1536	?Richard Rich	? [5]
1539	Sir Richard Rich	Sir Thomas Darcy [5]
1542	?Sir Richard Rich	? [5]
1545	Sir Richard Rich	Sir Thomas Darcy [5]
1547	Sir William Petre	Sir Thomas Darcy, ennobled and replaced by Jan 1552 by John Gates [5]
1553 (Mar)	Sir John Gates	?Sir William Petre [5]
1553 (Oct)	Sir Robert Rochester	Sir William Petre [5]
1554 (Apr)	Sir Robert Rochester	Sir William Petre [5]
1554 (Nov)	Sir Robert Rochester	Sir William Petre [5]
1555	Sir Robert Rochester	Sir William Petre [5]
1558	Sir William Petre	Sir Edward Waldegrave [5]
1559 (Jan)	Sir William Petre	Sir Anthony Cooke[6]
1562/3	Sir William Petre	Sir Anthony Cooke [6]
1571	Sir Thomas Smith	Sir Thomas Mildmay [6]
1572 (Apr)	Sir Thomas Smith, died and replaced Feb 1581 by Robert Rich	Sir Thomas Barrington [6]
1584 (Nov)	Sir Thomas Heneage	John Petre, 1st Baron Petre [6]
1586	Sir Thomas Heneage	John Petre, 1st Baron Petre [6]
1588 (Nov)	Sir Thomas Heneage	Sir Henry Grey [6]
1593	Sir Thomas Heneage	Richard Warren [6]
1597 (Sep)	William Petre	John Wentworth [6]
1601 (Sep)	Henry Maynard	Sir Francis Barrington [6]
1604	Sir Edward Denny ennobled and replaced 1605 by Sir Gamaliel Capell	Sir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet
1614	Sir Robert Rich	Sir Richard Weston
1621-1622	Sir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet	Sir John Deane
1624	Sir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet	Sir Thomas Cheek
1625	Sir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet	Sir Arthur Harris
1626	Sir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet	Sir Harbottle Grimston
1628	Sir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet	Sir Harbottle Grimston
1629	Robert Rich, Lord Rich	Sir Harbottle Grimston
1629–1640	No Parliaments convened

1640-1832

• Apr 1640: Sir Thomas Barrington, Sir Harbottle Grimston
• Nov 1640: Lord Rich; Sir William Masham
• 1641: Rich elevated to the House of Lords - replaced by Sir Martin Lumley
• 1648: Lumley excluded under Pride's Purge
• 1653: Joachim Matthews; Henry Barrington; John Brewster; Christopher Earl; Dudley Templer
• 1654: Sir William Masham Bt; Sir Richard Everard, 1st Baronet of Much Waltham; Sir Thomas Honeywood; Sir Thomas Bowes; Henry Mildmay (of Graces); Thomas Coke (of Pebmarsh); Carew Mildmay; Dionysius Wakering; Edward Turnor; Richard Cutts; Oliver Raymond; Herbert Pelham
• 1656-1658: Sir Harbottle Grimston; Sir Richard Everard, 1st Baronet of Much Waltham; Sir Thomas Honeywood; Sir Thomas Bowes; Henry Mildmay (of Graces); Robert Barrington; Carew Mildmay; Dionysius Wakering; Edward Turnor; Dudley Temple; Oliver Raymond; Hezekiah Haynes; John Archer

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
1659		Lord Rich			Edward Turnor
April 1660		John Bramston			Edward Turnor
1661					Sir Benjamin Ayloffe
1663					Banastre Maynard
February 1679		Sir Eliab Harvey			Henry Mildmay
August 1679		John Lamotte Honywood
1685		Sir William Maynard			Sir Thomas Fanshawe
1689		Henry Mildmay			John Wroth
1690					Sir Francis Masham	Whig
1693		John Lamotte Honywood
1694		Sir Charles Barrington	Tory
1698					Edward Bullock
1701					Sir Francis Masham	Whig
1705		Lord Walden	Whig
1707		Thomas Middleton
1710					Sir Richard Child
1713		Sir Charles Barrington	Tory
February 1715		Thomas Middleton
May 1715		William Harvey
1716		Robert Honywood
1722					William Harvey
1727		The Viscount Castlemaine			Sir Robert Abdy	Tory
1734		Thomas Bramston	Tory
1747		William Harvey
1748					Sir John Abdy	Tory
1759					Sir William Maynard
1763		John Luther
1772					John Conyers
1775					William Harvey
1779					Thomas Berney Bramston
1784		Colonel John Bullock
1802					Eliab Harvey
1810		John Archer-Houblon
1812					Charles Callis Western
1820		Sir Eliab Harvey
March 1830		Thomas Gardiner Bramston
August 1830		Sir John Tyssen Tyrell
1831		William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley
1832	Constituency abolished: see Northern Essex, Southern Essex

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 2)

1. "Essex Knights and the Parliaments of Edward I". Retrieved 22 August 2011.
2. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 14 September 2011.
3. "Thorpe, Thomas, speaker of the House of Commons". Oxford DNB. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
4. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/fitzlewis-%28fitzlowys%29-sir-richard-1453-1528
5. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 14 September 2011.
6. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 14 September 2011.