Denbighshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Former county constituency; for the House of Commons
Preserved county	Denbighshire
1542–1885
Seats	1542–1832: One; 1832–1885: Two
Replaced by	East Denbighshire; West Denbighshire

Denbighshire was a county constituency in Denbighshire, in north Wales, from 1542 to 1885.

History

From 1542, it returned one Member of Parliament (MP), traditionally known as the knight of the shire, to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then to the Parliament of Great Britain until 1800, and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801. These MPs were elected by the first past the post voting system.

Under the Reform Act 1832, the constituency's representation was increased to two members, elected by the bloc vote system.

The constituency was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, when Denbighshire was split into two single-member constituencies: the Eastern and Western divisions, each returning one Member of Parliament.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1542–1604

Parliament	First member
1542	John Salusbury the elder^[1]
1545	John Salusbury the younger^[1]
1547	Sir John Salusbury the younger^[1]
1553 (Mar)	Robert Puleston^[1]
1553 (Oct)	Sir John Salusbury the younger^[1]
1554 (Apr)	Sir John Salusbury the younger^[1]
1554 (Nov)	Sir John Salusbury the younger^[1]
1555	Edward Almer^[1]
1558	Sir John Salusbury the younger^[1]
1558–1559	John Salusbury the younger ^[1]
1562–1563	Simon Thelwall^[1]
1571	Robert Puleston^[1]
1572	William Almer^[1]
1584	Evan Lloyd^[1]
1586	Robert Salesbury^[1]
1588–1589	John Edwards / William Almer^[1]
1593	Roger Puleston^[1]
1597	John Lloyd^[1]
1601	Sir John Salusbury^[1]

MPs 1604–1832

Year		Member	Party
	1604	Peter Mutton
	1614	Simon Thelwall
	1621	Sir John Trevor
	1624	Sir Eubulus Thelwall
	1625	Thomas Myddelton
	1626	Sir Eubulus Thelwall
	1628	Sir Eubulus Thelwall
	1629–1640	No Parliaments convened
	April 1640	Sir Thomas Salusbury, 2nd Baronet
	November 1640	Sir Thomas Myddelton

Year	First Member	Second Member
1653	Not represented in Barebones Parliament
Two members in first and second protectorate parliaments
1654	Simon Thelwall	John Carter
1656	John Carter	John Jones Lumley Thelwall

Year		Member	Party
	1659	John Carter
	1659	Not represented
	1660	Sir Thomas Myddelton
	1661	Sir Thomas Myddelton, 1st Baronet
	1664	John Wynne
	1679	Sir Thomas Myddelton, 2nd Baronet
	1681	Sir John Trevor	Tory
	1685	Sir Richard Myddelton, 3rd Baronet	Tory
	1716	Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet	Tory
	1727	Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet	Tory
	1741	John Myddelton
	1742	Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet	Tory
	1749	Sir Lynch Cotton, 4th Baronet
	1774	Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet
	1789	Robert Watkin Wynne
	1796	Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Baronet	Tory^[2]
1832		Great Reform Act: representation increased to two members

MPs 1832–1885

Election	First member		First party		Second party
1832		Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Baronet	Tory^[2]	Robert Myddleton-Biddulph	Whig^[2]^[3]^[4]
1834			Conservative^[2]	Robert Myddleton-Biddulph	Whig^[2]^[3]^[4]
1835			Conservative^[2]	William Bagot	Conservative^[2]
1840		Hugh Cholmondeley	Conservative^[2]
1841		Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 6th Baronet	Conservative^[2]
1852				Robert Myddleton-Biddulph	Whig^[2]^[3]^[4]
1859				Robert Myddleton-Biddulph	Liberal
1868				George Osborne Morgan	Liberal
May 1885		Sir Herbert Williams-Wynn, 7th Baronet	Conservative	George Osborne Morgan	Liberal
Nov. 1885	Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished: see East Denbighshire and West Denbighshire

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Denbighshire^[2]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 2,500
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Denbighshire^[2]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 2,500
	Tory hold

General election 1832: Denbighshire^[2]^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Watkin Williams-Wynn	2,528	47.7
	Whig	Robert Myddelton Biddulph	1,479	27.9
	Tory	Lloyd Kenyon	1,291	24.4
Turnout			3,050	89.7
Registered electors			3,401
Majority			1,049	19.8
	Tory hold
Majority			188	3.5
	Whig win (new seat)

General election 1835: Denbighshire^[2]^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	2,378	46.2	−1.5
	Conservative	William Bagot	1,512	29.4	+5.0
	Whig	Robert Myddelton Biddulph	1,256	24.4	−3.5
Majority			256	5.0	−14.8
Turnout			2,793	82.4	−7.3
Registered electors			3,395
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.1
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+3.4

General election 1837: Denbighshire^[2]^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
	Conservative	William Bagot	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,689
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

Williams-Wynn's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 30 January 1840: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hugh Cholmondeley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1841: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
	Conservative	William Bagot	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,024
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Williams-Wynn was appointed Steward of the Queen's Lordships and Manors of Bromfield and Yale, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 7 May 1845: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	2,055	41.3	*N/A*
	Conservative	William Bagot	1,530	30.7	*N/A*
	Whig	Robert Myddleton Biddulph	1,394	28.0	New
Majority			136	2.7	N/A
Turnout			2,490 (est)	63.2 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			3,901
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	2,135	40.5	−0.8
	Whig	Robert Myddleton Biddulph	1,611	30.5	+2.5
	Conservative	William Bagot	1,532	29.0	−1.7
Turnout			2,639 (est)	67.6 (est)	+4.4
Registered electors			3,901
Majority			524	10.0	+7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.0
Majority			79	1.5	N/A
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.5

General election 1857: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Robert Myddleton Biddulph	Unopposed
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,506
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Robert Myddleton Biddulph	Unopposed
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,508
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Robert Myddleton Biddulph	Unopposed
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,333
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	3,355	39.5	*N/A*
	Liberal	George Osborne Morgan	2,720	32.0	*N/A*
	Liberal	Robert Myddleton Biddulph	2,412	28.4	N/A
Majority			635	7.5	N/A
Turnout			5,921 (est)	77.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			7,623
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	George Osborne Morgan	Unopposed
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,323
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	George Osborne Morgan	Unopposed
	Conservative	Watkin Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,469
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

Morgan was appointed Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 14 May 1880: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Osborne Morgan	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Wynn's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 27 May 1885: Denbighshire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Williams-Wynn	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "History of Parliament". The History of Parliament Trust 1964–2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 187–188.
^ ^a ^b Davies, John (2007). A History of Wales. Penguin UK. p. 426. ISBN 9780141926339.
^ ^a ^b "The General Election". The Spectator. 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b Escott, Margaret. "Denbighshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 523–524. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

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

[HoP-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "History of Parliament". The History of Parliament Trust 1964–2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.

[stookssmith-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 187–188.

[histwales-3] Davies, John (2007). A History of Wales. Penguin UK. p. 426. ISBN 9780141926339.

[spec1847-4] "The General Election". The Spectator. 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 29 August 2018.

[hop1820-1832-5] Escott, Margaret. "Denbighshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 6 May 2020.

[craig1832-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 523–524. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

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