North Lancashire (UK Parliament constituency)

North Lancashire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented by two Members of Parliament. The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832 by the splitting of Lancashire constituency into Northern and Southern divisions.

North Lancashire
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Context: 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the central 'doubly' blue area crossing Morecambe Bay
1832–1885
Number of members	two
Replaced by	Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool, Chorley, Lancaster, and North Lonsdale
Created from	Lancashire

Great Reform Act of 1832

The Representation of the People Act 1832 reformed the distribution of seats in England and Wales. It introduced the principle of splitting the shire counties into divisions and returning two Members for each division rather than for the whole county and it also reformed the Parliamentary boroughs that were entitled to send Members to Parliament.8 Schedule A listed boroughs that were to be abolished and it included Newton. Schedule B listed boroughs to return a single Member to subsequent Parliaments and Clitheroe was listed.

Schedules C and D of the Act listed the newly created Parliamentary boroughs. Those in Schedule C were to return two Members and these included Manchester, Bolton, Blackburn and Oldham in Lancashire. Those in Schedule D were to become single seat boroughs and included Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury, Rochdale, Salford, and Warrington.

Schedule F of the Act listed the counties to be divided into two divisions, both of which would return two Members. Lancashire was one of those listed. The Boundary Commission proposals that followed the Act, published in 1832, made recommendations on the boundaries of the Parliamentary boroughs and divisions of counties that had been listed in Schedule F.9 These were then implemented by the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832.

The divisions of the county were based on the hundreds of Lancashire. The hundreds of Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland and Lonsdale were allocated to the Northern division, and the Salford and West Derby hundreds were allocated to the Southern division. The boundary of the two divisions extended approximately from Southport to Wigan, north to Chorley, and then east, passing south of Haslingden, to the Bacup area.

The result of these changes meant the total Parliamentary representation for Lancashire in the reformed House of Commons was 26, an increase of 12. Lancashire benefited more than any other county as a result of these reforms.

The constituency was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, being divided into five single member divisions of Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool, Chorley, Lancaster, and North Lonsdale.

Boundaries

1832–1868: The Hundreds of Lonsdale, Amounderness, Leyland and Blackburn.[1]

1868–1885: The Hundreds of Lonsdale, Amounderness and Leyland.[2]

Members of Parliament

• Constituency created (1832)

Election	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
1832		John Wilson-Patten	Tory[3]		Hon. Edward Stanley[4]	Whig[3]
1834			Conservative[3]
1837						Conservative[3]
1844 by-election					John Talbot Clifton	Conservative
1846			Peelite[5][6][7][8]
1847					James Heywood	Whig[9][10]
1852			Conservative
1857					Lord Cavendish of Keighley[11]	Whig[12][13]
1859						Liberal
1868					Hon. Frederick Stanley	Conservative
1874 by-election		Thomas Henry Clifton	Conservative
1880		Joseph Feilden	Conservative
1885	Constituency abolished (1885)

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: North Lancashire[14][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Whig	Edward Smith-Stanley	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,593
	Tory win (new seat)
	Whig win (new seat)

Smith-Stanley was appointed as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 12 April 1833: North Lancashire[14][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Edward Smith-Stanley	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1835: North Lancashire[14][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Whig	Edward Smith-Stanley	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,581
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

General election 1837: North Lancashire[14][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Conservative	Edward Smith-Stanley	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,691
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Conservative	Edward Smith-Stanley	Unopposed
Registered electors			10,031
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Smith-Stanley was appointed Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 21 September 1841: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Smith-Stanley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Smith-Stanley resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 20 September 1844: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Talbot Clifton	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Peelite	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Whig	James Heywood	Unopposed
Registered electors			11,846
	Peelite gain from Conservative
	Whig gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Whig	James Heywood	Unopposed
Registered electors			12,297
	Conservative gain from Peelite
	Whig hold

General election 1857: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Whig	Spencer Cavendish	Unopposed
Registered electors			12,352
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

General election 1859: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Liberal	Spencer Cavendish	Unopposed
Registered electors			12,183
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

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

By-election, 24 March 1863: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Spencer Cavendish	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 1865: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Liberal	Spencer Cavendish	Unopposed
Registered electors			13,006
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Cavendish was appointed Secretary of State for War, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 28 February 1866: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Spencer Cavendish	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Wilson-Patten was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 1 July 1867: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Stanley	6,832	36.3	N/A
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	6,681	35.5	N/A
	Liberal	Spencer Cavendish	5,296	28.2	N/A
Majority			1,385	7.3	N/A
Turnout			12,053 (est)	83.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			14,399
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Liberal

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wilson-Patten	Unopposed
	Conservative	Frederick Stanley	Unopposed
Registered electors			14,690
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Patten was elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Winmarleigh, causing a by-election.

By-election, 26 Mar 1874: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Henry Clifton	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Stanley was appointed Secretary of State for War, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 8 Apr 1878: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Stanley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Stanley	8,172	36.8	N/A
	Conservative	Joseph Feilden	7,505	33.8	N/A
	Liberal	Thomas Storey[15]	6,500	29.3	New
Majority			1,005	4.5	N/A
Turnout			14,672 (est)	86.0 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			17,057
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Stanley was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 2 Jul 1885: North Lancashire[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Stanley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Notes

1. "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. XLV: An Act to amend the Representation of the People in England and Wales". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 154–206. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
2. "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-07-27.
3. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 174. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
4. Styled Lord Stanley from 1834.
5. "Liverpool Mail". 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. Hawkins, Angus (2008). The Forgotten Prime Minister: The 14th Earl of Derby. Volume II: Achievement, 1851-1869. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-19-920441-0. LCCN 2007023084. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via Google Books.
7. The Spectator, Volume 20. F. C. Westley. 1847. p. 745. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via Google Books.
8. "Lancashire (North)". John Bull. 7 August 1847. p. 10. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "The Lancashire Elections". Morning Post. 9 August 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "The Courier". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 4 August 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. Styled Marquess of Hartington from 1858.
12. "Derby Mercury". 18 March 1857. p. 8. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. Parry, Jonathan (3 January 2008) [2004]. "Cavendish, Spencer Compton, marquess of Hartington and eighth duke of Devonshire (1833–1908)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32331. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
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. 408–409. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
15. "North Lancashire Liberal Association". Lancaster Gazette. 25 December 1880. p. 5. Retrieved 20 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 1)