Bossiney was one of a number of small
parliamentary boroughs established in Cornwall during the
Tudor period, and was not a town of any importance even when first enfranchised. The borough consisted of the hamlet of
Bossiney itself and the nearby village of
Trevena, both in the parish of
Tintagel on the North Cornwall coast. In 1831, the borough contained only 67 houses, and had a population of 308.
The right to vote was vested in the
mayor and
freemen of the borough, collectively called the
burgesses; the freedom of the borough was hereditary, passing to the eldest son of any burgess possessing
freehold property within the borough. The number of burgesses was always small, with only 25 being entitled to vote in 1831. In 1816 Oldfield recorded that there were only nine voters, eight of whom belonged to the same family.
Like most of the tiny boroughs, Bossiney was completely under the control of its "patrons", who had such influence over the voters that they could in practice choose whoever they wanted as MPs. From the middle of the 18th century, the patrons were the
Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and the Wortley family. Usually they chose one member each and, indeed, a formal agreement to that effect, dated 3 July 1752, survives. In Bossiney, the patrons habitually secured their interests by obtaining for the burgesses lucrative appointments in the
customs-house at
Padstow. In 1758, there was a dispute between
Lord Edgcumbe and
Samuel Martin, patron of nearby
Camelford, over a commissionership of customs that both wanted for one of their constituents; a Camelford man was appointed, and at the election that followed in 1761 Edgcumbe was unable to secure the election of his candidate.[1]
The abuse of government patronage was considered a scandal even in the 18th century, and in 1782 an
act of Parliament was passed to disqualify the holders of certain posts, including
customs officers, from voting. While the new law was not aimed specifically at Bossiney it had a more dramatic effect there than anywhere else: the borough established an unbeatable record at the
general election of 1784, when so many of the burgesses were disqualified that there was only a single qualified voter (the
vicar, Arthur Wade) to return the two MPs.
^Most sources state that Bossiney was first represented in the first Parliament of 1553, which some (e.g. Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832, p. 22) refer to as the Parliament of 1552–53 since it assembled on 1 March 1553 (
New Style)/1 March 1552
Old Style. Peter Dyer suggests that MPs were elected before 1552, naming William Carnsew and John Withypoll as those for 1547. (Dyer, Peter, Tintagel: A Portrait of a Parish. Cambridge: Cambridge Books, 2005.
ISBN0-9550097-0-7; pp. 500–01).
^"Bossiney". History of Parliament Online.
Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
^This name is given as Ambrose Mannington in Cobbett's Parliamentary History.
^Clotworthy was re-elected to serve in the Long Parliament but had also been elected for
Maldon, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bossiney again.
^Tregagle was re-elected in 1700, but following a petition alleging bribery and diversion of Duchy of Cornwall revenues, the election was declared void and a new writ issued.
^Robartes was also elected for
Bodmin, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Bossiney in this Parliament.
^Sabine and Tower won the election of 1741, but on petition they were unseated and their defeated opponents, Liddell and Foster, declared elected in their place.
^Wortley was also elected for
Peterborough, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Bossiney.
Dyer, Peter (2005) Tintagel: a portrait of a parish. Cambridge: Cambridge Books.
ISBN0-9550097-0-7 A full list of the MPs is given as an appendix.
Jansson, Maija (ed.) (1988), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society
[1]
Oldfield, T. H. B. (1816) The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy.
Philbin, J. Holladay (1965) Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales New Haven: Yale University Press.
Porritt, Edward; Porritt, Annie G. (1903) The Unreformed House of Commons Cambridge University Press.
Smith, Henry Stooks (1973) The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847, 2nd ed., edited by F. W. S. Craig. Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications.