Renfrewshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Former county constituency; for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	Renfrewshire
1708–1885
Seats	One
Replaced by	Renfrewshire East ; Renfrewshire West

Renfrewshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 until 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885.

Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Renfrewshire.

Boundaries

The constituency covered the county of Renfrewshire, minus the parliamentary burgh of Renfrew throughout the 1708 to 1885 period, and minus the parliamentary burgh of Port Glasgow and the Paisley and Greenock constituencies from 1832 to 1885.

The burgh of Renfrew was a component of Glasgow Burghs until 1832, when it became a component of Kilmarnock Burghs. Port Glasgow became a parliamentary burgh in 1832, and another component of Kilmarnock Burghs.

History

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was abolished in 1885.^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5]

In 1885 the Renfrewshire constituency area was divided into two new constituencies: Renfrewshire Eastern and Renfrewshire Western.

Members of Parliament

Election	Member	Party
1708	Sir John Shaw	Whig
1710	Sir Robert Pollock
1722	Thomas Cochrane
1727	Sir John Shaw	Whig
1734	Alexander Cunninghame
1742 by-election	William Mure
1761	Patrick Craufurd
1768	William McDowall
1774	John Craufurd
1780	John Shaw-Stewart
1783 by-election	William McDowall
1786 by-election	John Shaw-Stewart
1796	Boyd Alexander
1802	William McDowall
1810 by-election	Archibald Speirs
1818	John Maxwell	Whig^[6]
1830	Sir Michael Shaw-Stewart, 6th Baronet	Whig^[7]
1837 by-election	George Houstoun	Conservative^[7]
1841	Patrick Maxwell Stewart	Whig^[7]^[8]
1846 by-election	William Mure	Conservative
1855 by-election	Sir Michael Shaw-Stewart, 7th Baronet	Conservative
1865	Archibald Alexander Speirs	Liberal
1869 by-election	Henry Bruce	Liberal
1873 by-election	Archibald Campbell	Conservative
1874	William Mure	Liberal
1880 by-election	Alexander Crum	Liberal

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Renfrewshire^[7]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Michael Shaw-Stewart	Unopposed
Registered electors			143
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Renfrewshire^[7]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Michael Shaw-Stewart	Unopposed
Registered electors			143
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Renfrewshire^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Michael Shaw-Stewart	700	62.9
	Radical	Robert Cunninghame Bontine^[11]	412	37.1
Majority			288	25.8
Turnout			1,112	82.6
Registered electors			1,347
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Renfrewshire^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Michael Shaw-Stewart	528	43.3	−19.6
	Conservative	George Houstoun	460	37.8	New
	Radical	William Dixon	230	18.9	−18.2
Majority			68	5.5	−20.3
Turnout			1,218	82.3	−0.3
Registered electors			1,480
	Whig hold		Swing	−0.7

Shaw-Stewart's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 30 January 1837: Renfrewshire^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Houstoun	811	56.0	+18.2
	Whig	John Maxwell	637	44.0	+0.7
Majority			174	12.0	N/A
Turnout			1,448	73.2	−9.1
Registered electors			1,979
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+8.8

General election 1837: Renfrewshire^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Houstoun	821	53.8	+16.0
	Whig	Houston Stewart	704	46.2	+2.9
Majority			117	7.6	N/A
Turnout			1,525	77.1	−5.2
Registered electors			1,979
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+6.6

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Patrick Maxwell Stewart	959	50.4	+4.2
	Conservative	William Mure	945	49.6	−4.2
Majority			14	0.8	N/A
Turnout			1,904	83.2	+6.1
Registered electors			2,289
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.2

Stewart's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 9 December 1846: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Mure	Unopposed
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1847: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	William Mure	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,306
	Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	William Mure	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,450
	Conservative hold

Mure resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 14 May 1855: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Shaw-Stewart	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Michael Shaw-Stewart	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,649
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Michael Shaw-Stewart	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,877
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Archibald Alexander Speirs	938	52.9	*New*
	Conservative	Michael Shaw-Stewart	836	47.1	N/A
Majority			102	5.8	N/A
Turnout			1,774	77.9	N/A
Registered electors			2,276
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Archibald Alexander Speirs	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,571
	Liberal hold

Speirs' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 25 January 1869: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Bruce	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

Bruce was elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Aberdare and causing a by-election.

By-election, 13 Sep 1873: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Campbell	1,855	52.5	*New*
	Liberal	William Mure	1,677	47.5	N/A
Majority			178	5.0	N/A
Turnout			3,532	80.5	N/A
Registered electors			4,385
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

General election 1874: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Mure	1,991	51.1	*N/A*
	Conservative	Archibald Campbell	1,903	48.9	N/A
Majority			88	2.2	N/A
Turnout			3,894	85.2	N/A
Registered electors			4,572
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Mure	2,815	54.6	+3.5
	Conservative	Archibald Campbell	2,341	45.4	−3.5
Majority			474	9.2	+7.0
Turnout			5,156	85.4	+0.2
Registered electors			6,038
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.5

Mure's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 30 Nov 1880: Renfrewshire^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alexander Crum	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

References

^ "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
^ Jenkins, Terry. "MAXWELL, John (1791-1865), of Pollok House, Renfrew and 10 Duke Street, St. James's, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 209–210. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via Google Books.
^ "Election Proceedings". Fife Herald. 15 July 1841. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b Jenkins, Terry. "Renfrewshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 600–601. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^ "Page 4". Fife Herald. 27 December 1832. Retrieved 8 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

[HOP1690-1] "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[HOP1715-2] "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[HOP1754-3] "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[HOP1790-4] "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[HOP1820-5] "Renfrewshire". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 9 June 2019.

[hop1820-1832a-6] Jenkins, Terry. "MAXWELL, John (1791-1865), of Pollok House, Renfrew and 10 Duke Street, St. James's, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.

[stookssmith-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 209–210. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via Google Books.

[8] "Election Proceedings". Fife Herald. 15 July 1841. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[hop1820-1832-9] Jenkins, Terry. "Renfrewshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.

[craig1832-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 600–601. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

[11] "Page 4". Fife Herald. 27 December 1832. Retrieved 8 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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