This is a list of changes made to constituencies of
England and Wales by the
Reform Act 1832. Boundaries of the constituencies were defined by the
Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832.
Reduced representation
Disenfranchised and rotten boroughs
The following 56
parliamentary boroughs, in England, were completely disenfranchised by the Act.
[1] They had all returned two members except for Higham Ferrers, which was a single member constituency. The disenfranchised boroughs lost all independent legislative representation; instead the inhabitants could vote only as part of the county electorate.[
citation needed]
-
Aldborough, North Riding of Yorkshire
-
Aldeburgh, Suffolk
-
Amersham, Buckinghamshire
-
Appleby, Westmorland
-
Beeralston, Devon
-
Bishop's Castle, Shropshire
-
Bletchingley, Surrey
-
Boroughbridge, North Riding of Yorkshire
-
Bossiney, Cornwall
-
Brackley, Northamptonshire
-
Bramber, Sussex
-
Callington, Cornwall
-
Camelford, Cornwall
-
Castle Rising, Norfolk
-
Corfe Castle, Dorset
-
Downton, Wiltshire
-
Dunwich, Suffolk
-
East Grinstead, Sussex
-
East Looe, Cornwall
-
Fowey, Cornwall
-
Gatton, Surrey
-
Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire
-
Haslemere, Surrey
-
Hedon, East Riding of Yorkshire
-
Heytesbury, Wiltshire
-
Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire
-
Hindon, Wiltshire
-
Ilchester, Somerset
|
-
Lostwithiel, Cornwall
-
Ludgershall, Wiltshire
-
Milborne Port, Somerset
-
Minehead, Somerset
-
Mitchell, or St Michael's, Cornwall
-
New Romney, Kent
-
Newport, Cornwall
-
Newton, Lancashire
-
Newtown, Isle of Wight
-
Okehampton, Devon
-
Old Sarum, Wiltshire
-
Orford, Suffolk
-
Plympton Erle, Devon
-
Queenborough, Kent
-
Saltash, Cornwall
-
Seaford, Sussex
-
St Germans, Cornwall
-
St Mawes, Cornwall
-
Steyning, Sussex
-
Stockbridge, Hampshire
-
Tregony, Cornwall
-
West Looe, Cornwall
-
Wendover, Buckinghamshire
-
Weobley, Herefordshire
-
Whitchurch, Hampshire
-
Winchelsea, Sussex
-
Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire
-
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
|
Halved representation
The following thirty boroughs were reduced from two MPs to one. The applicable county or well-recognised part of a county in 1832 (in the case of the Ridings of Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight, which was part of Hampshire) is given. Some places were moved to other administrative counties in the 1973-74 local-government changes—e.g., Christchurch moved from Hampshire to Dorset.[
citation needed]
-
Arundel, Sussex
-
Ashburton, Devon
-
Calne, Wiltshire
-
Christchurch, Hampshire
-
Clitheroe, Lancashire
-
Dartmouth, Devon
-
Droitwich, Worcestershire
-
Eye, Suffolk
-
Grimsby, Lincolnshire
-
Helston, Cornwall
-
Horsham, Sussex
-
Hythe, Kent
-
Launceston, Cornwall
-
Liskeard, Cornwall
-
Lyme Regis, Dorset
|
-
Malmesbury, Wiltshire
-
Midhurst, Sussex
-
Morpeth, Northumberland
-
Northallerton, North Riding of Yorkshire
-
Petersfield, Hampshire
-
Reigate, Surrey
-
Rye, Sussex
-
Shaftesbury, Dorset
-
St Ives, Cornwall
-
Thirsk, North Riding of Yorkshire
-
Wallingford, Berkshire
-
Wareham, Dorset
-
Westbury, Wiltshire
-
Wilton, Wiltshire
-
Woodstock, Oxfordshire
|
Weymouth & Melcombe Regis, Dorset had jointly elected 4 MPs; this was reduced to 2.[
citation needed]
New enfranchisements in England
The following boroughs were enfranchised:
English boroughs given one MP (19)
-
Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire
-
Bury, Lancashire
-
Chatham, Kent
-
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
-
Dudley, Worcestershire
-
Frome, Somerset
-
Gateshead, County Durham
-
Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire
-
Kendal, Westmorland
-
Kidderminster, Worcestershire
|
|
English boroughs given two MPs (22)
-
Birmingham, Warwickshire
-
Blackburn, Lancashire
-
Bolton, Lancashire
-
Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire
-
Brighton, Sussex
-
Devonport, Devon
-
Finsbury, Middlesex
-
Greenwich, Kent
-
Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire
-
Lambeth, Surrey
-
Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire
|
-
Macclesfield, Cheshire
-
Manchester, Lancashire
-
Marylebone, Middlesex
-
Oldham, Lancashire
-
Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire
-
Stockport, Cheshire
-
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
-
Stroud, Gloucestershire
-
Sunderland, County Durham
-
Tower Hamlets, Middlesex
-
Wolverhampton, Staffordshire
|
English counties given two divisions (26)
The following county constituencies were divided into two districts, each with two MPs:
-
Cheshire, divided between
Cheshire Northern and
Cheshire Southern
-
Cornwall, divided between
Cornwall Eastern and
Cornwall Western
-
Cumberland, divided between
Cumberland Eastern and
Cumberland Western
-
Derbyshire, divided between
Derbyshire Northern and
Derbyshire Southern
-
Devon, divided between
Devon Northern and
Devon Southern
-
Durham County, divided between
Durham Northern and
Durham Southern
-
Essex, divided between
Essex Northern and
Essex Southern
-
Gloucestershire, divided between
Gloucestershire Eastern and
Gloucestershire Western
-
Hampshire, divided between
Hampshire Northern and
Hampshire Southern
-
Kent, divided between
Kent Eastern and
Kent Western
-
Lancashire, divided between
Lancashire Northern and
Lancashire Southern
-
Leicestershire, divided between
Leicestershire Northern and
Leicestershire Southern
-
Lincolnshire, divided between
Lincolnshire Parts of Kesteven and Holland and
Lincolnshire Parts of Lindsey
-
Norfolk, divided between
Norfolk Eastern and
Norfolk Western
-
Northamptonshire, divided between
Northamptonshire Northern and
Northamptonshire Southern
-
Northumberland, divided between
Northumberland Northern and
Northumberland Southern
-
Nottinghamshire, divided between
Nottinghamshire Northern and
Nottinghamshire Southern
-
Shropshire, divided between
Shropshire Northern and
Shropshire Southern
-
Somerset, divided between
Somerset Eastern and
Somerset Western
-
Staffordshire, divided between
Staffordshire Northern and
Staffordshire Southern
-
Suffolk, divided between
Suffolk Eastern and
Suffolk Western
-
Surrey, divided between
Surrey Eastern and
Surrey Western
-
Sussex, divided between
Sussex Eastern and
Sussex Western
-
Warwickshire, divided between
Warwickshire Northern and
Warwickshire Southern
-
Wiltshire, divided between
Wiltshire Northern and
Wiltshire Southern
-
Worcestershire, divided between
Worcestershire Eastern and
Worcestershire Western
|
Other changes to English counties
The
Isle of Wight, having had two of its three small boroughs disenfranchised, was given its first single MP for the whole area. It had formed part of
Hampshire.[
citation needed]
Yorkshire, which had four MPs, was given two MPs for each of the three
ridings,
East Riding of Yorkshire,
North Riding of Yorkshire and
West Riding of Yorkshire.[
citation needed]
Berkshire,
Buckinghamshire,
Cambridgeshire,
Dorset,
Herefordshire,
Hertfordshire and
Oxfordshire were now to have three MPs instead of two.[
citation needed]
Wales
Carmarthenshire,
Glamorganshire and
Denbighshire increased from 1 seat each to 2.
Swansea and
Merthyr Tydfil became new (one-member) Boroughs.
References