Haverfordwest (UK Parliament constituency)

Haverfordwest
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1545–1885
Seats	one
Replaced by	Pembroke and Haverfordwest

Haverfordwest was a parliamentary constituency. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

History

The constituency was enfranchised in 1545, as the second borough constituency in the historic county of Pembrokeshire. In the previous election of 1542, the first at which Wales is known to have sent members to the Parliament of England, this borough was one of the ancient boroughs contributing to the wages and being in some sense represented by the member for Pembroke.

During the eighteenth century, Haverfordwest was considered to be little more than a pocket borough for the Philipps family of Picton Castle.^[1]

From 1832 to 1885, it was a district of boroughs constituency, consisting of the three boroughs of Haverfordwest, Fishguard and Narberth.^[2]

The constituency was abolished for the 1885 general election, and merged into the newly created constituency of Pembroke and Haverfordwest.

Members of Parliament

1543–1660

Parliament	Member
1547	Richard Howell^[3]
1553 (Mar)	Richard Howell^[3]
1553 (Oct)	Richard Taylor^[3]
1554 (Apr)	Richard Howell^[3]
1554 (Nov)	Richard Howell^[3]
1555	John Bolton or Button^[3]
1558	Thomas ab Owen^[3]
1559	Hugh Harris^[4]
1562–3	Rice Morgan^[4]
1571	John Garnons (Alban Stepneth cheated of seat by Sheriff) ^[4]
1572	Alban Stepneth^[4]
1584	Alban Stepneth^[4]
1586	Alban Stepneth^[4]
1588	Sir John Perrot^[4]
1593	Sir Nicholas Clifford^[4]
1597	Sir James Perrot^[4]
1601	John Canon^[4]
1604-1611	Sir James Perrot
1614	Sir James Perrot
1621-22	Sir James Perrot
1624	Lewis Powell
1625	Sir Thomas Canon
1626	Sir James Perrot
1628	Sir James Perrot
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
1640 (Apr)	Hugh Owen
1640 (Nov)	Sir John Stepney, 3rd Baronet, disabled 1643
1645	Sir Robert Needham, secluded 1648
1653	Not represented in Barebones Parliament
1654	Not represented in 1st Protectorate Parliament
1656	John Upton
1659	John Upton
1660	William Philipps

1660–1885

Election		Member	Party
	1660 (Apr)	William Philipps, election declared void, June 1660 ^[5]
	1660 (Aug)	William Philipps re-elected^[5]
	1661	Isaac Lloyd, election declared void, May 1663 ^[5]
	1663 (c.Jun)	Sir William Morton, made judge^[5]
	1666	Sir Frederick Hyde, died^[5]
	1667	Sir Herbert Perrott^[5]
	1679	William Wogan ^[5]
	1679	Thomas Owen ^[5]
	1681	Thomas Howard^[5]
	1685	William Wogan^[5]^[6]
	1701 (Jan)	William Wheeler^[6]
	1702	John Laugharne, died^[6]^[7]
	1715	John Barlow, died^[6]^[7]
	1718	Sir John Philipps, 4th Baronet^[7]
	1722	Francis Edwardes, died^[7]
	1726	Sir Erasmus Philipps, died^[7]
	1743	George Barlow^[7]
	1747	William Edwardes (Baron Kensington from 1776)^[7]
	1780	William Edwardes (Baron Kensington from 1776)^[7]	Whig^[8]
	1784	The Lord Milford
	1786	The Lord Kensington	Whig^[8]
	1801	Seat vacant
	1802	The Lord Kensington	Whig^[8]
	1818	William Henry Scourfield	Tory^[8]
	1826	Richard Philipps	Whig^[8]^[9]
	1835	William Henry Scourfield	Conservative^[8]
	1837	Sir Richard Philipps, Bt	Whig^[8]^[9]
	1847	John Evans	Whig^[10]
	1852	John Scourfield	Conservative^[11]
	1868	Hon. William Edwardes (Baron Kensington from 1872)	Liberal^[11]
Constituency seat abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Haverfordwest^[8]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Richard Philipps	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 500
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Haverfordwest^[8]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Richard Philipps	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 500
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Haverfordwest^[8]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Richard Philipps	Unopposed
Registered electors			723
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Haverfordwest^[8]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	William Henry Scourfield	241	65.8
	Whig	Jonathan Haworth Peel	125	34.2
Majority			116	31.6
Turnout			366	68.0
Registered electors			538
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1837: Haverfordwest^[8]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Richard Philipps	247	60.0	+25.8
	Conservative	William Henry Scourfield	165	40.0	−25.8
Majority			82	20.0	N/A
Turnout			412	58.4	−9.6
Registered electors			706
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+25.8

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Richard Philipps	Unopposed
Registered electors			667
	Whig hold

General election 1847: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	John Evans	Unopposed
Registered electors			667
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Philipps	297	59.4	*New*
	Whig	John Evans	203	40.6	N/A
Majority			94	18.8	N/A
Turnout			500	73.3	N/A
Registered electors			682
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Philipps	258	50.2	−9.2
	Radical	William Rees^[13]^[14]	256	49.8	+9.2
Majority			2	0.4	−18.4
Turnout			514	69.5	−3.8
Registered electors			740
	Conservative hold		Swing	−9.2

General election 1859: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Philipps	Unopposed
Registered electors			777
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Scourfield	314	58.6	*N/A*
	Liberal	William Edwardes	222	41.4	New
Majority			92	17.2	N/A
Turnout			536	80.1	N/A
Registered electors			669
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Edwardes	638	56.2	+14.8
	Conservative	Samuel Pitman^[15]	497	43.8	−14.8
Majority			141	12.4	N/A
Turnout			1,135	74.4	−5.7
Registered electors			1,526
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+14.8

Elections in the 1870s

Edwardes was appointed a Groom in Waiting, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 26 Nov 1873: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Edwardes	609	52.2	−4.0
	Conservative	Xavier de Castanos Royds Peel	558	47.8	+4.0
Majority			51	4.4	−8.0
Turnout			1,167	73.3	−1.1
Registered electors			1,592
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.0

General election 1874: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	William Edwardes	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,357
	Liberal hold

The election was declared void on petition, causing a by-election, after a separate potential candidate, Mr Davis, had been refused his nomination by the local sheriff without a deposit for security of costs.^[16] However, in the resulting by-election, Davis did not stand and Edwardes was re-elected.

By-election, 12 Jun 1874: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	William Edwardes	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,357
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Edwardes	686	56.8	*N/A*
	Conservative	Edward Denman Thornburgh-Cropper	522	43.2	New
Majority			164	13.6	N/A
Turnout			1,208	78.3	N/A
Registered electors			1,543
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Edwardes was appointed Comptroller of the Household, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 12 May 1880: Haverfordwest^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Edwardes	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

References

^ Williams 1960, p. 39.
^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 506. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l 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. 198–199. Retrieved 22 August 2018 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer. p. 182. Retrieved 13 August 2019 – via Google Books.
^ "Members Returned". Norfolk News. 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 506. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^ ^a ^b Escott, Margaret. "Haverfordwest". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
^ "Election Intelligence". Globe. 7 March 1857. p. 3. Retrieved 22 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Glasgow Sentinel". 21 March 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 22 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "To the Electors of Haverfordwest". Potter's Electric News. 25 November 1868. p. 1. Retrieved 16 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Member of Parliament is unseated". Bolton Evening News. 3 June 1874. p. 2. Retrieved 31 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

Williams, David (1960). "The Pembrokeshire Elections of 1831" (PDF). Welsh History Review. 1 (1): 37–64. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 2)

This page was last edited on 12 December 2023, at 01:56

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