Lambeth (UK Parliament constituency)

Lambeth was a constituency 1832—1885 loosely equivalent in area to the later administrative units: the London Borough of Lambeth and the south-west and centre of the London Borough of Southwark. It returned two members of parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by the bloc vote version of the first-past-the-post system.

Lambeth
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	Greater London
1832–1885
Number of members	Two
Replaced by	Brixton, Camberwell North, Dulwich, Kennington, Lambeth North, Newington West, Norwood and Peckham, Newington Walworth
Created from	Surrey

History

Lambeth in the Metropolitan area, showing boundaries used from 1868 to 1885.

The constituency was among many created under the Great Reform Act (for the 1832 general election) and abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election when it was divided into eight single-member seats: Camberwell North, Camberwell Peckham, Lambeth Brixton, Lambeth Kennington, Lambeth North, Lambeth Norwood, Newington Walworth and Newington West.[1]

Boundaries

Under original proposals it would have been greater, taking all of Dulwich and Brixton and possibly two parishes to the east. The commissioners appointed to fix parliamentary boundaries attempted to equalise the seven new "metropolitan" constituencies of London in number of voters and in population. For this reason Bermondsey and Rotherhithe were assigned to Southwark. It was also decided not to include the entirety of the parishes of Camberwell and Lambeth: both were very large parishes running five or six miles south from the Thames. The portions closest to the river were heavily built up, but the southern sections were mainly rural. Dulwich and part of Brixton were therefore excluded, instead forming part of East Surrey.[2]

The boundaries were detailed in the schedules of the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832, and consisted of:

• The entire parish of St Mary Newington
• The parish of St Giles Camberwell (except for the Manor and Hamlet of Dulwich)
• The part of the parish of Lambeth north of a line defined in the act.[3]

The area was unchanged when parliamentary seats were next redistributed under the Reform Act 1867.[1]

Members of Parliament

Election	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
1832		Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt	Whig[4][5][6]		Benjamin Hawes	Whig[5][6]
1847					Charles Pearson	Radical[7][6]
1850 by-election					William Williams	Radical[8][9]
1852		William Arthur Wilkinson	Radical[10]
1857		William Roupell[11]	Radical[12]
1859			Liberal			Liberal
1862 by-election		Frederick Doulton[13]	Liberal
1865 by-election					James Lawrence	Liberal
1865					Thomas Hughes	Liberal
1868		Sir James Lawrence	Liberal		Sir William McArthur	Liberal
1885	constituency abolished: see Brixton, Camberwell North, Dulwich, Kennington, Lambeth North, Newington West, Norwood and Peckham, Newington Walworth

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Lambeth (2 seats)[14][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Charles Tennyson	2,716	46.4
	Whig	Benjamin Hawes	2,166	37.0
	Radical	Daniel Wakefield	819	14.0
	Radical	John Moore	155	2.6
Majority			1,347	23.0
Turnout			3,220	67.5
Registered electors			4,768
	Whig win (new seat)
	Whig win (new seat)

General election 1835: Lambeth (2 seats)[14][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Benjamin Hawes	2,008	40.7	+3.7
	Whig	Charles Tennyson	1,995	40.4	−6.0
	Conservative	Charles Farebrother	931	18.9	New
Majority			1,064	21.6	−1.4
Turnout			2,890	65.2	−2.3
Registered electors			4,435
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1837: Lambeth (2 seats)[14][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Benjamin Hawes	2,934	39.8	−0.9
	Whig	Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt	2,811	38.1	−2.3
	Conservative	Charles Baldwin	1,624	22.0	+3.1
Majority			1,187	16.1	−5.5
Turnout			4,497	63.9	−1.3
Registered electors			7,040
	Whig hold		Swing	−1.2
	Whig hold		Swing	−1.9

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Lambeth (2 seats)[14][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Benjamin Hawes	2,601	29.1	−10.7
	Whig	Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt	2,568	28.8	−9.3
	Conservative	Charles Baldwin	1,999	22.4	+11.4
	Conservative	Thomas Cabbell	1,763	19.7	+8.7
Majority			569	6.4	−9.7
Turnout			4,466 (est)	57.8 (est)	−6.1
Registered electors			7,731
	Whig hold		Swing	−10.4
	Whig hold		Swing	−9.7

General election 1847: Lambeth (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Charles Pearson	4,614	39.6	New
	Whig	Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt	3,708	31.8	+3.0
	Whig	Benjamin Hawes	3,344	28.7	−0.4
Turnout			5,833 (est)	42.0 (est)	−15.8
Registered electors			13,885
Majority			906	7.8	N/A
	Radical gain from Whig		Swing	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1850s

Pearson resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 7 August 1850: Lambeth[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Williams	3,834	68.5	N/A
	Radical	Charles Napier[15]	1,182	21.1	N/A
	Radical	John Hinde Palmer[16]	585	10.4	N/A
Majority			2,652	47.4	+39.4
Turnout			5,601	34.4	−7.6
Registered electors			16,284
	Radical hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1852: Lambeth (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Arthur Wilkinson	4,752	37.7	+18.9
	Radical	William Williams	4,022	31.9	+12.1
	Whig	Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt	3,829	30.4	−30.1
Majority			193	1.5	N/A
Turnout			8,216 (est)	45.3 (est)	+3.3
Registered electors			18,131
	Radical hold		Swing	+17.0
	Radical gain from Whig		Swing	+13.6

General election 1857: Lambeth (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Roupell	9,318	46.1	N/A
	Radical	William Williams	7,648	37.9	+6.0
	Radical	William Arthur Wilkinson	3,234	16.1	−21.6
Majority			4,414	21.8	+20.3
Turnout			10,100 (est)	49.8 (est)	+4.5
Registered electors			20,276
	Radical hold		Swing	N/A
	Radical hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Lambeth (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Roupell	Unopposed
	Liberal	William Williams	Unopposed
Registered electors			21,737
	Liberal hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

Roupell resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 5 May 1862: Lambeth[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick Doulton	5,124	82.3	N/A
	Conservative	William Sleigh	754	12.1	New
	Liberal	William Arthur Wilkinson	347	5.6	N/A
Majority			4,370	70.2	N/A
Turnout			6,225	26.4	N/A
Registered electors			23,542
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Williams' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 9 May 1865: Lambeth[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Lawrence	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 1865: Lambeth (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Hughes	6,373	35.6	N/A
	Liberal	Frederick Doulton	6,280	35.1	N/A
	Liberal	James Lawrence	4,743	26.5	N/A
	Conservative	James Haig	514	2.9	N/A
Majority			1,537	8.6	N/A
Turnout			11,584 (est)	41.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			27,754
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: Lambeth (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Lawrence	15,051	41.1	+14.6
	Liberal	William McArthur	14,553	39.7	N/A
	Conservative	John Morgan Howard	7,043	19.2	+16.3
Majority			7,510	20.5	+11.9
Turnout			21,845 (est)	65.4 (est)	+23.7
Registered electors			33,377
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Election in the 1870s

General election 1874: Lambeth (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Lawrence	12,175	34.6	−6.5
	Liberal	William McArthur	11,788	33.5	−6.2
	Conservative	John Morgan Howard	11,201	31.9	+12.7
Majority			587	1.6	-18.9
Turnout			23,183 (est)	57.8 (est)	−7.6
Registered electors			40,103
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.4
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.3

Election in the 1880s

General election 1880: Lambeth (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Lawrence	19,315	35.1	+0.5
	Liberal	William McArthur	18,983	34.5	+1.0
	Conservative	John Morgan Howard	16,701	30.4	-1.5
Majority			2,282	4.1	+2.5
Turnout			36,016 (est)	71.3 (est)	+13.5
Registered electors			50,541
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.9

Notes

1. "Electoral areas in the parliamentary boroughs in Surrey". Surrey County Council. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
2. Commissioners on Proposed Division of Counties and Boundaries of Boroughs (1832). Parliamentary representation: further return to an address to His Majesty, dated 12 December, 1831; for copies of instructions given by the Secretary of State for the Home department with reference to Parliamentary representation; likewise copies of letters of reports received by the Secretary of state for the Home department in answer to such instructions. London. pp. 125–126.
3. "From the Point at which the Road from London to Dulwich by Red Post Hill leaves the Road from London over Herne Hill in a straight Line to Saint Matthews Church at Brixton; thence in a straight Line to a Point in the Boundary between the respective Parishes of Lambeth and Clapham One hundred and fifty Yards South of the Middle of the Carriageway along Acre Lane." Britain, Great (1832). The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.72. London. p. 360. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
4. Mosse, Richard B (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 160. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
5. 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. p. 68. Retrieved 22 October 2018 – via Google Books.
6. "General Election". Windsor and Eton Express. 31 July 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 22 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Norfolk Chronicle". 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 22 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Latest Intelligence". Gloucester Journal. 10 August 1850. p. 3. Retrieved 22 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Imperial Parliament". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 10 August 1850. p. 8. Retrieved 22 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. Cobden, Richard (2010). Howe, Anthony (ed.). The Letters of Richard Cobden: Volume II: 1848-1853. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780199211968. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
11. Resigned 4 February 1862 (Harris (2001) p.119)
12. Beckett, Ian F. W. (2007). Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859-1908. Pen and Sword. p. 144. ISBN 9781844156122.
13. Elected byelection 5 May 1862 (Harris (2001) p.119)
14. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) |format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
15. Thomas, Joseph (2010). The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology: Iac - Pro. Cosimo, Inc. p. 653. ISBN 9781616400736. Retrieved 29 March 2018 – via Google Books.
16. Griffin, Ben (2012). The Politics of Gender in Victorian Britain: Masculinity, Political Culture and the Struggle for Women's Rights. Cambridge University Press. p. 93. ISBN 9781107015074. Retrieved 29 March 2018 – via Google Books.

Bibliography

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 1)
• Harris, J. (2001). The Roupells of Lambeth. London: The Streatham Society. ISBN 1-873520-37-9.
• Hill, George (1879). The Electoral History of the Borough of Lambeth since its Enfranchisement in 1832. London: Stanford.