Dartmouth
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1351– 1868
Seats	two (1351–1832); one (1832–1868)
Replaced by	South Devon

Dartmouth, also sometimes called Clifton, Dartmouth and Hardness, was a parliamentary borough in Devon which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons in 1298 and to the Commons of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom from 1351 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1868, when the borough was disfranchised.

History

Clifton, Dartmouth and Hardness were three towns clustered round the mouth of the River Dart in southern Devon; all three are within the modern town of Dartmouth. The borough as first represented in 1298 seems to have included only the town of Dartmouth, but at the next return of members in 1350–1351 it also included Clifton; Hardness is first mentioned in 1553, though may have been included earlier. The boundaries by the 19th century included the whole of Dartmouth St Petrox and St Saviour parishes, and part of Townstall parish.

Dartmouth by the end of the 18th century was a prosperous small port, depending mainly on fishing but also with some shipbuilding interests; but the bulk of the inhabitants had little voice in the choice of its Members of Parliament. After a decision by Parliament that followed a disputed election in 1689, the right to vote in Dartmouth rested with the corporation, which appointed its own successors, and with the freemen of the borough, who were made by the corporation. This amounted to a total of 71 voters in 1832, although only 53 of these were resident; virtually all were officers of the custom house or other government employees.

This franchise meant that once control was gained of the borough it was easy to retain indefinitely. Around the turn of the 18th century, the Herne family had almost total control, but in the mid-to-late 18th and early 19th century, control had passed to the government and Dartmouth was considered a safe seat for the party in power, returning one member at the nomination of the Treasury and one of the Admiralty. (Even this control had its limits however – Namier and Brooke quote letters to show that when a vacancy arose in 1757, the government had to abandon their original intention of nominating a soldier, and instead acceded to the corporation's demand for a naval candidate.) ^[1] The Holdsworth family managed the government's interests in the borough, ^[2] and generally had first refusal on one of the seats. Indeed, the Holdsworths were sufficiently influential to defy the government on occasion, as in 1780 when Arthur Holdsworth arranged the re-election of the popular but opposition-supporting naval hero Lord Howe to one seat while taking the other for himself – no government candidates stood against them, and both Howe and Holdsworth voted with the opposition in the new Parliament.

At the time of the Great Reform Act, the 1831 census showed that there were 611 houses in the borough but a population of 4,447. Dartmouth was allowed to keep one of its two MPs, and the boundaries were extended slightly to include the whole of Townstall parish and part of Stoke Fleming, bringing the population up to 4,662.

The constituency was abolished at the next boundary revision, which came into effect at the general election of 1868, after which the towns were part of the Southern Devon county division.

Members of Parliament

1351–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1368	Richard Whitelegh [3]
1371	John Pasford [4]
1377	Thomas Raymond [5]
1386	Richard Whitelegh	Robert More [6]
1388 (Feb)	William Burlestone	John Lacche [6]
1388 (Sep)	William Bast	Roger Scoce [6]
1390 (Jan)	John Hawley	Thomas Asshenden I [6]
1390 (Nov)
1391	John William	John Brasuter [6]
1393	John Ellemede	John Hawley [6]
1394	William Damiet	John Hawley [6]
1395	John Bosom	Edmund Arnold [6]
1397 (Jan)	John Bosom	William Glover [6]
1397 (Sep)
1399
1401
1402	John Hawley (the elder)	Ralph North [6]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406	John Foxley	John White [6]
1407	Henry Bremeler	John Pille [6]
1410	John Hawley (the younger)	Edmund Arnold [6]
1411	John Hawley	John Corp [6]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	John Hawley	John Corp [6]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	John Hawley	Edmund Arnold [6]
1415–6 (Mar)	Edmund Arnold	Walter Wodeland [6]
1416 (Oct)
1417
1419
1420	Thomas Asshenden II	Walter Wodeland [6]
1421 (May)	John Hawley	Thomas Hankyn [6]
1421 (Dec)	John Burley	Henry Sadeler [6]
1510–1523	No names known [7]
1529	John Trevanion	William Holland, repl. 1534 by Nicholas Langmede [7]
1536	?
1539	John Ridgeway	William Holland [7]
1542	John Anthony	William Holland [7]
1545	Nicholas Bacon	John Ridgeway [7]
1547	Sir Peter Carew	Richard Duke [7]
1553 (Mar)	Nicholas Adams alias Bodrugan	Gilbert Roupe [7]
1553 (Oct)	Michael Adams	Michael Roope
Parliament of 1554	Nicholas Adams	Edmund Sture
Parliament of 1554–1555	John Petre	Nicholas Enis
Parliament of 1555	Sir John St Leger	James Courtenay
Parliament of 1558	Gregory Huckmore	Thomas Gurney
Parliament of 1559	Thomas Southcote	Edward Yarde
Parliament of 1563–1567	Sir John More	John Lovell
Parliament of 1571	John Vaughan	Thomas Gurney
Parliament of 1572–1581	William Cardinal	Thomas Gurney died and repl. 1576 by William Lyster
Parliament of 1584–1585	Hugh Vaughan	Thomas Ridgeway
Parliament of 1586–1587	Robert Petre	George Cary
Parliament of 1588–1589	Robert Papworth	Richard Drewe
Parliament of 1593	Nicholas Hayman	Thomas Holland
Parliament of 1597–1598	John Osborne [8](?) [9]	William Bastard [8]
Parliament of 1601	John Traherne	William Bastard
Parliament of 1604–1611	Thomas Holland	Thomas Gurney
Addled Parliament (1614)
Parliament of 1621–1622	Robert Matthew	William Nyell
Happy Parliament (1624–1625)	Richard Matthew	William Plumley
Useless Parliament (1625)	Roger Matthew	John Upton
Parliament of 1625–1626
Parliament of 1628–1629
No Parliament summoned 1629–1640

1640–1832

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640		Andrew Voysey			John Upton [10]
November 1640		Roger Matthew	Royalist
1641					Samuel Browne	Parliamentarian
February 1644	Matthew disabled from sitting – seat vacant
1646		Thomas Boone
December 1648				Browne excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant
1653	Dartmouth was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Thomas Boone		Dartmouth had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656		Edward Hopkins
January 1659		Thomas Boone			Colonel John Clarke
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
1660		John Frederick			John Hale
1661		William Harbord			Thomas Southcote
1664					Thomas Kendall
1667					Walter Yonge
1670					William Gould (1640–1671) of Floyer Hayes, Exeter
1673					Josiah Child
February 1679		Sir Nathaniel Herne			John Upton
August 1679		Edward Yarde
1685		Roger Pomeroy			Arthur Farwell
January 1689		Charles Boone			William Hayne
September 1689		George Booth [11]
November 1689		Sir Joseph Herne
1698					Frederick Herne
1699		? [12]
1701		Nathaniel Herne
1713		Sir William Drake
1714					John Fownes
1715		Joseph Herne			John Fownes (junior)
1722		George Treby III			Thomas Martyn
1727		George Treby II	Whig		Walter Carey	Whig
1742		Lord Archibald Hamilton
1747		John Jeffreys	Whig
1757					Captain the Hon. Richard Howe [13]
1766		Richard Hopkins
1780		Arthur Holdsworth
1782					Charles Brett	Rockingham Whig
1784					Richard Hopkins
1787		Edmund Bastard
1790					John Charles Villiers
1802			Tory [14]		Arthur Howe Holdsworth	Tory [14]
1812		Edmund Pollexfen Bastard	Tory [14]
1816		John Bastard	Tory [14]
1820					Charles Milner Ricketts	Tory [14]
1822					James Hamilton Stanhope	Tory [14]
1825					Sir John Hutton Cooper	Tory [14]
1829					Arthur Howe Holdsworth	Tory [14]
1832	Representation reduced to one member

1832–1868

Year		Member	Party
1832		(Sir) John Seale [15]	Whig [14] [16]
1844		Joseph Somes	Conservative
1845		George Moffatt	Radical [17] [18] [19]
1852		Sir Thomas Herbert	Conservative
1857		James Caird	Peelite [20] [21]
April 1859		Edward Wyndham Harrington Schenley [22]	Liberal
August 1859		John Dunn	Conservative
1860		John Hardy	Conservative
1868	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Dartmouth (2 seats) ^{[14] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	John Bastard	21	7.5	N/A
	Tory	Arthur Howe Holdsworth	21	7.5	N/A
	Whig	Henry Willoughby	119	42.5	N/A
	Whig	John Henry Seale	119	42.5	N/A
Majority			−98	−35.0	N/A
Turnout			21 (eligible)	c. 48.8	N/A
Registered electors			c. 43
	Tory hold		Swing	N/A
	Tory hold		Swing	N/A

The 119 votes for Willoughby and Seale were declared void as they were placed by ineligible householders.

General election 1831: Dartmouth (2 seats) ^{[14] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	John Bastard	Unopposed
	Tory	Arthur Howe Holdsworth	Unopposed
Registered electors			43
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

General election 1832: Dartmouth ^{[24] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Henry Seale	Unopposed
Registered electors			243
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1835: Dartmouth ^{[24] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Henry Seale	Unopposed
Registered electors			240
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Dartmouth ^{[24] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Henry Seale	Unopposed
Registered electors			257
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Henry Seale	Unopposed
Registered electors			276
	Whig hold

Seale's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 27 December 1844: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joseph Somes	125	51.4	New
	Radical	George Moffatt	118	48.6	N/A
Majority			7	2.8	N/A
Turnout			243	86.2	N/A
Registered electors			282
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

Somes' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 3 July 1845: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	George Moffatt	125	53.0	N/A
	Conservative	Henry Thoby Prinsep	111	47.0	N/A
Majority			14	6.0	N/A
Turnout			236	83.7	N/A
Registered electors			282
	Radical gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

General election 1847: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	George Moffatt	Unopposed
Registered electors			376
	Radical gain from Whig

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Herbert	146	52.0	New
	Whig	William Schaw Lindsay [25] [26]	135	48.0	N/A
Majority			11	4.0	N/A
Turnout			281	93.0	N/A
Registered electors			302
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Peelite	James Caird	127	57.5	N/A
	Whig	Charles Seale-Hayne [27] [28]	94	42.5	−5.5
Majority			33	15.0	N/A
Turnout			221	82.2	−10.8
Registered electors			269
	Peelite gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.5

General election 1859: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Wyndham Harrington Schenley	123	51.5	+9.0
	Conservative	Thomas Herbert	116	48.5	-9.0
Majority			7	3.0	−12.0
Turnout			239	93.0	+10.8
Registered electors			257
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

The election was declared void on petition due to bribery and corruption, causing a by-election. ^[29]

By-election, 8 August 1859: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Dunn	Unopposed
	Conservative gain from Liberal

Elections in the 1860s

Dunn's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 3 November 1860: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hardy	112	50.5	+2.0
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne [30]	110	49.5	−2.0
Majority			2	1.0	N/A
Turnout			222	90.2	−2.8
Registered electors			246
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.0

General election 1865: Dartmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hardy	Unopposed
Registered electors			282
	Conservative gain from Liberal

Notes

References

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [2]
• D. Brunton and D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [3]
• Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
• T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
• J. Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Robert Walcott, English Politics in the Early Eighteenth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956)
• Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. p.  1.
• Frederic A. Youngs Jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol. I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 1)