Surrey (UK Parliament constituency)

UK former constituency infobox
Name = Surrey
Type = County
Year = 1290
Abolition = 1832
members = two

Surrey was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832.

The constituency was split into two two-member divisions, for Parliamentary purposes, in 1832. The county was then represented by the East Surrey and West Surrey constituencies.

Boundaries

Surrey is one of the historic counties of England, located south of the River Thames, in south east England. The constituency comprised the whole county. (Although Surrey contained eight towns which were boroughs for at least part of the time the county was a constituency - Bletchingley, Farnham, Gatton, Guildford, Haslemere, Kingston upon Thames, Reigate and Southwark - each of which elected two MPs in their own right, these were not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the boroughs could confer a vote at the county election.)

Members of Parliament

1290-1640

* 1529-1536: Sir William Fitzwilliam
* 1553-1554: Sir Thomas Cawarden

1640-1832

Notes

Elections

The county franchise, from 1430, was held by the owners of freehold land valued at 40 shillings or more. Each voter had as many votes as there were seats to be filled. Votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration, in public, at the hustings, which took place in the county town of Guildford. The expense and difficulty of voting at only one location in the county, together with the lack of a secret ballot contributed to the corruption and intimidation of voters, which was widespread in the unreformed British political system.

The expense, to candidates, of contested elections encouraged the leading families of the county to agree on the candidates to be returned unopposed whenever possible. Contested county elections were therefore unusual.

Where there was only one candidate of a party in successive elections, for the same number of seats, change is calculated on the party vote. Where there was more than one candidate, in one or both successive elections for the same number of seats, then change is calculated on the individual percentage vote.

Parliament of the United Kingdom 1801-1832

Election box begin
title=General Election 1802: Surrey (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = Lord William Russell
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = Sir John Frederick, Bt
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A"
* "Seat vacated on appointment of Russell as a Lord of the Admiralty 10 February 1806"

Election box begin
title=By-Election 22 February 1806: SurreyElection box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = Lord William Russell
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A"Election box hold with party link
winner = British Whig Party
swing = "N/A"
* Note (1806 by-election): (Source: The Times edition of 24 February 1806)

Election box begin
title=General Election 1806: Surrey (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = Lord William Russell
votes = 315
percentage = 43.45
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = Samuel Thornton
votes = 246
percentage = 33.93
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = Sir John Frederick, Bt
votes = 164
percentage = 22.62
change = "N/A"
* Note (1806): Poll 2 days. "Although Mr. Thornton had lost his election for Hull, he resigned on the second day in favour of Sir J. Frederick, who was last on the poll". (Source: Stooks Smith)

Election box begin
title=General Election 1807: Surrey (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = Samuel Thornton
votes = 1,471
percentage = 52.48
change = +18.55Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = George Holme Sumner
votes = 994
percentage = 35.46
change = +35.46Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = Lord William Russell
votes = 338
percentage = 12.06
change = -31.39

Election box begin
title=General Election 1812: Surrey (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = George Holme Sumner
votes = 1,924
percentage = 40.66
change = +5.20Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = Sir Thomas Sutton
votes = 1,791
percentage = 37.85
change = +37.85Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = Sir Thomas Turton, Bt
votes = 1,017
percentage = 21.49
change = +21.49
* Note (1807): Poll 9 days; 3,296 freeholders cast 4,732 votes. (Source: Stooks Smith)
* Death of Sutton

Election box begin
title=By-Election November 1813: SurreyElection box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = Samuel Thornton
votes = 1,133
percentage = 69.04
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = Sir Thomas Turton, Bt
votes = 508
percentage = 30.96
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 625
percentage = 38.09
change = "N/A"Election box hold with party link
winner = Tory Party
swing = "N/A"
* Note (1813 by-election): Poll 4 days; 1,641 freeholders voted. (Source: Stooks Smith)

Election box begin
title=General Election 1818: Surrey (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = George Holme Sumner
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A" Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = William Joseph Denison
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A"

Election box begin
title=General Election 1820: Surrey (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = George Holme Sumner
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A" Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = William Joseph Denison
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A"

Election box begin
title=General Election 1826: Surrey (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = William Joseph Denison
votes = 2,309
percentage = 40.23
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = Charles Nicholas Pallmer
votes = 2,056
percentage = 35.82
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = George Holme Sumner
votes = 1,375
percentage = 23.95
change = "N/A"
* Note (1826): Poll 5 days; 3,743 freeholders cast 5,740 votes. (Source: Stooks Smith)

Election box begin
title=General Election 1830: Surrey (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = William Joseph Denison
votes = 2,159
percentage = 44.08
change = +3.85Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = John Ivatt Briscoe
votes = 1,487
percentage = 30.36
change = +30.36Election box candidate with party link
party = Tory Party
candidate = Hylton Jolliffe
votes = 1,252
percentage = 25.56
change = +1.61
* Note (1830): Poll 3 days; 2,977 freeholders cast 4,898 votes. (Source: Stooks Smith)

Election box begin
title=General Election 1831: Surrey (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = William Joseph Denison
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A" Election box candidate with party link
party = British Whig Party
candidate = John Ivatt Briscoe
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A"
* "Constituency abolished - county split into two divisions (1832)"

ee also

*List of former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies
*Unreformed House of Commons

References

*Robert Beatson, "A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament" (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [http://books.google.com/books?vid=024wW9LmFc5kXY0FI2&id=Gh2wKY2rkDUC&printsec=toc&dq=Return+of+Members+of+Parliament&as_brr=1&sig=SK5GVtGLfWQ9ovZDbyZObAyIO5I#PPP9,M1]
*D Brunton & 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) [http://www2.odl.ox.ac.uk/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=p-000-00---0modhis06--00-0-0-0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-en-50---20-about---00001-001-1-1isoZz-8859Zz-1-0&a=d&cl=CL1]
* Maija Jansson (ed.), "Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons)" (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988) [http://books.google.com/books?id=L9GqTX0uoT8C&pg=PR9&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0&sig=UkEf4ZrrR7tKn1fYUF0yU1YkPwc#PPR5,M1]
* J E Neale, "The Elizabethan House of Commons" (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
* J Holladay Philbin, "Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales" (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
* Henry Stooks Smith, "The Parliaments of England", 1st edition published in three volumes (1844-50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973) "out of copyright"
* Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
*