Cockermouth (UK Parliament constituency)

Cockermouth division of Cumberland
Cockermouth division of Cumberland
Former County constituency; for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Created from	West Cumberland and Cockermouth
Replaced by	Workington and Penrith and Cockermouth
1641–1885
Created from	Cumberland
Replaced by	Cockermouth
1295–1295
Created from	Cumberland
Replaced by	Cumberland

Cockermouth was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England in 1295, and again from 1641, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was a parliamentary borough represented by two Members of Parliament until 1868, and by one member from 1868 to 1885. The name was then transferred to a county constituency electing one MP from 1885 until 1918.

Notable MPs have included the regicide, Francis Allen.

The borough constituency (until 1885)

Until the Great Reform Act of 1832, the constituency consisted solely of the market town of Cockermouth in Cumberland. It first returned members to the Model Parliament of 1295, but its franchise then seems to have lapsed until 1641, when the Long Parliament passed a resolution (15 February 1641) to restore its ancient privileges.

The right of election in Cockermouth was vested in the burgage tenants of the borough, of whom there were about 300 in 1832. Cockermouth was considered a pocket borough, with the vast majority of the voters being under the influence of the Lowther family.

At the time of the 1831 census, the borough included just over 1,000 houses and had a population of 4,536. The Reform Act expanded the boundaries to bring in the neighbouring parishes of Eaglesfield, Brigham, Papcastle and Bridekirk, and part of Dovenby, increasing the population to 6,022 and encompassing 1,325 houses. This made the borough big enough to retain both its members. However, in the next wave of reform, introduced at the 1868 general election, one of Cockermouth's two seats was withdrawn, and in 1885 the borough was abolished altogether, although the name was transferred to the surrounding county constituency.

The county constituency (1885-1918)

The Cockermouth constituency created in 1885, strictly speaking The Cockermouth Division of Cumberland, was a compact division stretching westwards from Cockermouth to the sea, and including the much larger town of Workington. There was a significant Irish vote, and the Conservative victory in 1885 and subsequent Liberal gain of the seat in 1886 have been attributed to Parnell's shift of support from the one party to the other.

The constituency was divided between the new Workington and Penrith and Cockermouth divisions of Cumberland from 1918.

Members of Parliament

Cockermouth re-enfranchised by Parliament in Nov 1640

MPs 1641–1868

Year		First member	First party	Second member	Second party
	1641	Sir John Fenwick, Bt^[1]	Parliamentarian	Sir John Hippisley	Parliamentarian
	1642	Seat vacant through double return ^[2]
	1645	Francis Allen
	1653	Cockermouth was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
	January 1659	John Stapleton		Wilfrid Lawson
	May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
	1660	Richard Tolson		Sir Wilfrid Lawson
	1661	Hugh Potter
	1662	Robert Scawen
	1670	John Clarke
	1675	Sir Richard Grahme
	1679	Sir Richard Grahme		Sir Orlando Gee
	1685	Sir Daniel Fleming		Sir Orlando Gee
	1689	Sir Henry Capell		Henry Fletcher
	1690	Sir Orlando Gee		Sir Wilfrid Lawson
	1695	Sir Charles Gerard		Goodwin Wharton	Whig
	1698	George Fletcher	Whig	William Seymour
	1701	Goodwin Wharton	Whig
	February 1702	Thomas Lamplugh [1]
	July 1702	Thomas Lamplugh [1]		James Stanhope	Whig
	1708	Albemarle Bertie
	1710	Nicholas Lechmere
	1713			Joseph Musgrave
	1715			James Stanhope	Whig
	April 1717			Sir Thomas Pengelly
	July 1717	Lord Percy Seymour^[3]
	1721	Anthony Lowther
	1722	Sir Wilfrid Lawson
	1727			William Finch
	1734
	1738	Eldred Curwen
	1741	Sir John Mordaunt
	July 1747			Sir Charles Wyndham^[4]
	December 1747			William Finch
	1754			Percy Wyndham-O'Brien^[5]
	1761			Charles Jenkinson
	1767			Captain John Elliot, RN
	March 1768	Charles Jenkinson^[6]		Sir George Macartney
	May 1768	Captain George Johnstone, RN^[7]	Independent	Sir George Macartney
	1769			Sir James Lowther
	1774			Fletcher Norton^[8]
	1775	Ralph Gowland		James Adair
	1780	John Baynes Garforth	Tory^[9]	John Lowther	Tory^[9]
	1784	James Clarke Satterthwaite	Tory^[9]	John Lowther	Tory^[9]
	1786	James Clarke Satterthwaite	Tory^[9]	Humphrey Senhouse	Tory^[9]
	1790	John Baynes Garforth	Tory^[9]	Sir John Anstruther, 1st and 4th Baronet	Tory^[9]
	1796			Edward Burrow	Tory^[9]
	1800			Walter Spencer-Stanhope	Tory^[9]
	1802	James Graham	Tory^[9]	Robert Plumer Ward	Tory^[9]
	1805	Viscount Garlies	Tory^[9]	Robert Plumer Ward	Tory^[9]
	1806	John Lowther	Tory^[9]	James Graham	Tory^[9]
	January 1807	Lord Binning	Tory
	May 1807	John Lowther	Tory^[9]
	July 1807	John Osborn	Tory^[9]
	1808	Viscount Lowther	Tory^[9]
	October 1812			John Lowther	Tory^[9]
	December 1812			Augustus Foster	Tory^[9]
	1813			Thomas Wallace	Tory^[9]
	1816	John Lowther	Tory^[9]	Thomas Wallace	Tory^[9]
	1818			Sir John Beckett	Tory^[9]
	1821			William Wilson Carus Wilson	Tory^[9]
	1826	Viscount Garlies	Tory^[9]	William Wilson Carus Wilson	Tory^[9]
	1827			Laurence Peel	Tory^[9]
	1830			Philip Pleydell-Bouverie	Whig^[9]
	1831	John Lowther	Tory^[9]	Sir James Scarlett	Tory^[9]
	1832	Henry Aglionby Aglionby	Radical^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]	Fretchville Lawson Ballantine Dykes	Whig^[9]
	1836			Edward Horsman	Whig^[9]^[10]^[16]^[17]^[18]
	1852			Henry Wyndham	Conservative
	1854	John Steel	Radical^[19]^[20]	Henry Wyndham	Conservative
	1857		Radical^[19]^[20]	Lord Naas	Conservative
	1859		Liberal
	April 1868	Andrew Green Thompson	Conservative
1868		Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1868–1885

	Member	Party
1868	Isaac Fletcher	Liberal
1879 by-election	William Fletcher	Liberal
1880	Edward Waugh	Liberal
1885	Borough abolished; name transferred to county division

MPs 1885–1918

Cockermouth Division of Cumberland

	Member	Party
1885	Charles James Valentine	Conservative
1886	Sir Wilfrid Lawson	Liberal
1900	John Randles	Conservative
1906	Sir Wilfrid Lawson	Liberal
1906	Sir John Randles	Conservative
1910	Sir Wilfrid Lawson jnr.	Liberal
1916	Joseph Bliss	Liberal
1918	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Cockermouth ^[9]^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Randolph Stewart	Unopposed
	Whig	Philip Pleydell-Bouverie	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 235
	Tory hold
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1831: Cockermouth ^[9]^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	John Lowther	Unopposed
	Tory	James Scarlett	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 235
	Tory hold
	Tory gain from Whig

General election 1832: Cockermouth ^[9]^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Fretchville Lawson Ballantine Dykes	187	40.2	*New*
	Radical	Henry Aglionby Aglionby	153	32.9	*New*
	Radical	Andrew Green^[23]^[21]	125	26.9	New
Majority			34	7.3	N/A
Turnout			255	83.6	N/A
Registered electors			305
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A
	Radical gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

General election 1835: Cockermouth ^[9]^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Henry Aglionby Aglionby	192	42.7	−17.1
	Whig	Fretchville Lawson Ballantine Dykes	145	32.2	+12.1
	Whig	Edward Horsman	113	25.1	+5.0
Majority			47	10.5	N/A
Turnout			258	78.7	−4.9
Registered electors			328
	Radical hold		Swing	−17.1
	Whig hold		Swing	+10.3

Dykes resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 15 February 1836: Cockermouth ^[9]^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Horsman	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Cockermouth ^[9]^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Henry Aglionby Aglionby	169	42.0	−0.7
	Whig	Edward Horsman	122	30.3	+5.2
	Whig	Richard Benson	111	27.6	−4.6
Majority			47	11.7	+1.2
Turnout			229	77.1	−1.6
Registered electors			297
	Radical hold		Swing	−0.7
	Whig hold		Swing	+2.8

Elections in the 1840s

Horsman was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 1 June 1840: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Horsman	117	56.3	−1.6
	Conservative	Henry Wyndham	91	43.8	New
Majority			26	12.5	N/A
Turnout			208	72.2	−4.9
Registered electors			288
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1841: Cockermouth ^[9]^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Henry Aglionby Aglionby	129	36.2	-5.8
	Whig	Edward Horsman	127	35.7	−22.2
	Conservative	Henry Wyndham	100	28.1	N/A
Turnout			228	78.2	+1.1
Registered electors			293
Majority			2	0.5	−11.2
	Radical hold		Swing	'+8.5
Majority			27	7.6	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	−8.5

General election 1847: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Edward Horsman	Unopposed
	Radical	Henry Aglionby Aglionby	Unopposed
Registered electors			319
	Whig hold
	Radical hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Wyndham	160	34.7	*New*
	Radical	Henry Aglionby Aglionby	154	33.4	*N/A*
	Whig	Edward Horsman	147	31.9	N/A
Turnout			311 (est)	87.5 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			355
Majority			13	2.8	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig
Majority			7	1.5	N/A
	Radical hold

Aglionby's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 9 August 1854: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	John Steel	Unopposed
	Radical hold

General election 1857: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Richard Bourke	Unopposed
	Radical	John Steel	Unopposed
Registered electors			408
	Conservative hold
	Radical hold

Bourke was appointed Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 3 March 1858: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Bourke	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Richard Bourke	Unopposed
	Liberal	John Steel	Unopposed
Registered electors			412
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Richard Bourke	Unopposed
	Liberal	John Steel	Unopposed
Registered electors			336
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Bourke was appointed Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 11 Jul 1866: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Bourke	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Steel's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 27 Apr 1868: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Green Thompson	171	54.3	*N/A*
	Liberal	Isaac Fletcher	144	45.7	*N/A*
Majority			27	8.6	N/A
Turnout			315	93.8	N/A
Registered electors			336
	Conservative gain from Liberal

Seat reduced to one member

General election 1868: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Isaac Fletcher	620	61.5	*N/A*
	Conservative	Henry Lorton Bourke^[24]	388	38.5	N/A
Majority			232	23.0	N/A
Turnout			1,008	93.9	N/A
Registered electors			1,074
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Isaac Fletcher	506	56.6	−4.9
	Conservative	John Henry Fawcett^[25]	388	43.4	+4.9
Majority			118	13.2	−9.8
Turnout			894	83.0	−10.9
Registered electors			1,077
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.9

Fletcher's suicide caused a by-election.

By-election, 18 Apr 1879: Cockermouth^[22]^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Fletcher	557	60.3	+3.7
	Conservative	David Rapley^[27]	366	39.7	−3.7
Majority			191	20.6	+7.4
Turnout			923	83.8	+0.8
Registered electors			1,102
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.7

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Cockermouth ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Waugh	582	60.5	+3.9
	Conservative	Robert Webster^[28]	380	39.5	−3.9
Majority			202	21.0	+7.8
Turnout			962	87.9	+4.9
Registered electors			1,094
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.9

General election 1885: Cockermouth ^[29]^[30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles James Valentine	3,845	50.1	+10.6
	Liberal	Wilfrid Lawson	3,835	49.9	−10.6
Majority			10	0.2	N/A
Turnout			7,680	80.5	−7.4
Registered electors			9,538
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+10.6

General election 1886: Cockermouth ^[29]^[30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wilfrid Lawson	4,130	56.9	+7.0
	Liberal Unionist	Henry Frazer Curwen^[31]	3,126	43.1	−7.0
Majority			1,004	13.8	N/A
Turnout			7,256	76.1	−4.4
Registered electors			9,538
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.0

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Cockermouth ^[29]^[30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wilfrid Lawson	4,599	54.6	−2.3
	Conservative	John Scott Napier	3,829	45.4	+2.3
Majority			770	9.2	−4.6
Turnout			8,428	77.3	+1.2
Registered electors			10,906
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.3

General election 1895: Cockermouth ^[29]^[30]^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wilfrid Lawson	4,259	51.5	−3.1
	Conservative	Thomas Milvain	4,018	48.5	+3.1
Majority			241	3.0	−6.2
Turnout			8,277	80.8	+3.5
Registered electors			10,242
	Liberal hold		Swing	−3.1

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Cockermouth ^[29]^[30]^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Randles	4,276	51.3	+2.8
	Liberal	Wilfrid Lawson	4,067	48.7	−2.8
Majority			209	2.6	N/A
Turnout			8,343	76.6	−4.2
Registered electors			10,897
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.8

General election 1906: Cockermouth ^[29]^[30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wilfrid Lawson	5,349	52.8	+4.1
	Conservative	John Randles	4,786	47.2	−4.1
Majority			563	5.6	N/A
Turnout			10,135	86.6	+10.0
Registered electors			11,700
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.1

1906 Cockermouth by-election^[29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Randles	4,593	46.2	−1.0
	Liberal	Frederick Guest	3,903	39.3	−13.5
	Labour	Robert Smillie	1,436	14.5	New
Majority			690	6.9	N/A
Turnout			9,932	84.9	−1.7
Registered electors			11,700
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.2

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Cockermouth ^[29]^[33]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Randles	4,579	45.2	−1.0
	Liberal	Wilfrid Lawson	3,638	35.9	−3.4
	Labour	James Percy Whitehead	1,909	18.9	+4.4
Majority			941	9.3	+2.4
Turnout			10,126	89.4	+4.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.2

General election December 1910: Cockermouth ^[29]^[33]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Wilfrid Lawson	5,003	52.7	+16.8
	Conservative	John Randles	4,492	47.3	+2.1
Majority			511	5.4	N/A
Turnout			9,495	83.8	−5.6
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.4

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Liberal: Wilfrid Lawson
Unionist: Daniel Johnston Mason
Labour:Thomas Cape

1916 Cockermouth by-election^[29]^[34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Bliss	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	Liberal hold

References

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) [2]
F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
Michael Kinnear, "The British Voter" (London: Batsford, 1968)
J Holladay Philbin, "Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales" (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
Henry Stooks Smith, "The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847" (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol II" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991)
"The Constitutional Yearbook, 1913" (London: National Unionist Association, 1913)
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 5)

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