East Grinstead (UK Parliament constituency)

East Grinstead was a parliamentary constituency in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. It first existed as a Parliamentary borough from 1307, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons elected by the bloc vote system. The borough was disfranchised under the Reform Act 1832, but the name was revived at the 1885 election when the Redistribution of Seats Act created a new single-member county division of the same name.

East Grinstead
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
County	East Sussex
Major settlements	East Grinstead
1885–1983
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Mid Sussex and Wealden
Created from	East Sussex
1307–1832
Number of members	Two
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

Upon its abolition for the 1983 election, its territory was divided between Mid Sussex and Wealden.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Cuckfield (except the parish of Crawley), East Grinstead, and Uckfield (except the parishes of East Heathley and Waldron).

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Burgess Hill, Cuckfield, East Grinstead, Hayward's Heath, and Uckfield, and the Rural Districts of Cuckfield, East Grinstead, and Uckfield.

1950–1955: The Urban Districts of Cuckfield and East Grinstead, the Rural District of Uckfield, in the Rural District of Cuckfield the parishes of Ardingly, Balcombe, Bolney, Cuckfield Rural, Horsted Keynes, Lindfield Rural, Slaugham, West Hoathly, and Worth, and in the Rural District of Battle the parishes of Burwash, Etchingham, and Ticehurst.

1955–1974: As 1950 less the Battle RD parishes.

1974–1983: The Urban District of East Grinstead, and the Rural District of Uckfield.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1307–1660

Year	First member	Second member
1388 (Feb)	John Dyne	John Heldele [1]
1388 (Sep)	William Nelond	Richard Woghere [1]
1390 (Jan)
1390 (Nov)
1391	John Alfray I	John Dyne [1]
1393	Thomas Alleyn	Thomas Rasse [1]
1394
1395	Thomas Farlegh	William atte Hull [1]
1397 (Jan)	John Dyne	John Punget [1]
1397 (Sep)	John Dyne	John Punget [1]
1399	John Dyne	Richard Woghere [1]
1401
1402	John Dyne	Richard Woghere [1]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406
1407	John Dyne	Richard Woghere [1]
1410
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	Thomas Alleyn	John Hoke [1]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	John Dyne	John Woghere [1]
1415
1416 (Mar)	John Ermyte	John Mason [1]
1416 (Oct)
1417
1419	William Fenningham	John Hamme [1]
1420
1421 (May)	Richard Fowell	John Woghere [1]
1421 (Dec)	John Alfray II	John Woghere [1]
1433	Thomas Russell[2]
1447 John Alfray[3]	1457	Ralph Legh
1459 John Alfray[3]	1510-1523	No names known [4]
1529	William Rutter	Edward Goodwin [4]
1536	?
1539	?
1542	?	John Sackville [4]
1545	?
1547	Jasper Culpeper	John Sackville II, died and replaced by Jan 1552 by George Darrell [4]
1553 (Mar)	Sir Robert Oxenbridge	George Darrell [4]
1553 (Oct)	Sir Thomas Stradling	John Story[4]
1554 (Apr)	Richard Whalley	Anthony Stapleton [4]
1554 (Nov)	Thomas Duffield
1555	?William Barnes	John Wiseman [4]
1558	Thomas Farnham	Thomas Parker [4]
1559	Thomas Sackville	Humphrey Llwyd [5]
1562/3	John Sackville	Lawrence Banester [5]
1571	John Jeffrey	Henry Berkeley [5]
1572	Thomas Cure	Michael Heneage [5]
1584	Thomas Cure	Francis Alford [5]
1586	John Covert	Drew Pickesse [5]
1589	Francis Alford	Thomas Frere [5]
1593	Reade Stafford	John Shurley [5]
1597	George Rivers	Richard Baker [5]
1601	Sir Henry Compton	George Rivers [5]
1604	Sir Henry Compton	Sir John Swynnerton
1614	Sir Henry Compton	George Rivers
1621	Sir Henry Compton	Thomas Pelham
1624	Robert Heath	Thomas Caldicot
1625	Robert Heath	Sir Henry Compton
1626	Robert Goodwin	Sir Henry Compton
1628-1629	Robert Goodwin	Sir Henry Compton
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
1640 (Apr)	Sir Henry Compton	Robert Goodwin
1640 (Nov)	Lord Buckhurst, disabled 1644	Robert Goodwin
1648	Robert Goodwin	John Baker
1653	Not represented in Barebones Parliament
1654	John Goodwin	(one seat only)
1656	John Goodwin	(one seat only)
1659	Robert Goodwin	George Courthope

MPs 1660–1832

Year	First member	Second member
1660	Marmaduke Gresham	George Courthope
1661	Lord Buckhurst
1675	Edward Sackville
1678	Thomas Pelham
12 February 1679		Edward Sackville
7 April 1679		Henry Powle
19 April 1679		Sir Thomas Littleton, Bt
19 August 1679	Goodwin Wharton	William Jephson
1681	Sir Cyril Wyche	Henry Powle
1685	Simon Smith	Thomas Jones
1689	Sir Thomas Dyke	Thomas Sackville
1693		Simon Smith
February 1695		The Earl of Orrery
November 1695		John Conyers
1698	The Earl of Orrery
January 1701	Matthew Prior
November 1701	The Earl of Orrery
1702	John Toke
1708	Viscount Lumley	Henry Campion
1710	John Conyers	Leonard Gale
1713		Hon. Spencer Compton
1715		The Viscount Shannon
March 1722		Hon. Sir Spencer Compton
November 1722		The Viscount Shannon
1725	Edward Conyers
1727	The Viscount Palmerston
1734	The Earl of Middlesex	Edward Conyers
1741		Sir Whistler Webster
1742	John Butler
1747	Sydney Smythe
1751	Hon. Joseph Yorke
March 1761	The Earl of Middlesex	Lord George Sackville
December 1761		Sir Thomas Hales, Bt
1762		John Irwin
1765	Sir Charles Farnaby
1767	Lord George Sackville
1782	Henry Arthur Herbert
1783		George Medley
1786	James Cuninghame
1788	Robert Cuninghame
1789	Richard Ford
1790	Nathaniel Dance	William Hamilton Nisbet
1796		James Strange
1802	Sir Henry Strachey	Daniel Giles
1807	Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, Bt.	Charles Ellis
January 1812	Richard Wellesley
March 1812	George Gunning
June 1812	Nicholas Vansittart
October 1812	George Gunning	James Stephen
1815		Sir George Johnstone Hope
May 1818		Lord Strathavon
June 1818	The Hon. Charles Jenkinson
1829	Viscount Holmesdale
1830		Frederick Richard West

• Constituency abolished (1832)

MPs 1885–1983

• Constituency revived (1885)

Election		Name	Party	Notes
	1885	George Gregory	Conservative	MP for East Sussex 1868–1885
	1886	Alfred Gathorne-Hardy	Conservative	MP for Canterbury 1878–1880. Son of 1st Earl of Cranbrook
	1895	George Goschen	Conservative	Governor of Madras 1924–1929; 2nd Viscount Goschen 1907–1952
	1906	Charles Corbett	Liberal
	1910 (Jan)	Henry Cautley	Conservative	ennobled in 1936 as Baron Cautley, triggering a by-election
	1936 by-election	Ralph Clarke	Conservative
	1955	Evelyn Emmet	Conservative	Made a life peer in 1965 as Baroness Emmet of Amberley, triggering a by-election
	1965 by-election	Geoffrey Johnson-Smith	Conservative	Former broadcaster. MP for Wealden 1983–2001
1983		Constituency abolished. See Wealden and Mid Sussex

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: East Grinstead[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	George Gregory	3,530	57.8	N/A
	Liberal	Charles John Heald	2,579	42.2	N/A
Majority			951	15.6	N/A
Turnout			6,109	79.8	N/A
Registered electors			7,660
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: East Grinstead[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Alfred Gathorne-Hardy	3,289	63.7	+5.9
	Liberal	Charles John Heald	1,877	36.3	-5.9
Majority			1,412	27.4	+11.8
Turnout			5,166	67.4	−12.4
Registered electors			7,660
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.9

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: East Grinstead[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Alfred Gathorne-Hardy	3,987	62.9	−0.8
	Liberal	Edward George Jenkinson	2,349	37.1	+0.8
Majority			1,638	25.8	−1.6
Turnout			6,336	72.4	+5.0
Registered electors			8,754
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.8

George Goschen

General election 1895: East Grinstead[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	George Goschen	3,731	56.5	-6.4
	Liberal	Charles Corbett	2,874	43.5	+6.4
Majority			857	13.0	-12.8
Turnout			6,605	71.3	−1.1
Registered electors			9,262
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.4

Elections in the 1900s

Charles Corbett

General election 1900: East Grinstead[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	George Goschen	3,890	56.4	−0.1
	Liberal	Charles Corbett	3,003	43.6	+0.1
Majority			887	12.8	−0.2
Turnout			6,893	71.8	+0.5
Registered electors			9,596
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.1

E.M. Crookshank

General election 1906 East Grinstead[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Charles Corbett	4,793	51.4	+7.8
	Conservative	Edgar Crookshank	4,531	48.6	-7.8
Majority			262	2.8	15.6
Turnout			9,324	86.9	+15.1
Registered electors			10,726
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.8

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: East Grinstead[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Cautley	6,563	64.2	+15.6
	Liberal	Charles Corbett	3,660	35.8	−15.6
Majority			2,903	28.4	N/A
Turnout			10,223	88.4	+1.5
Registered electors			11,562
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+15.6

General election December 1910: East Grinstead[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Cautley	5,926	62.7	-1.5
	Liberal	Henry Norman Spalding	3,531	37.3	+1.5
Majority			2,395	25.4	-3.0
Turnout			9,457	81.8	-6.6
Registered electors			11,562
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.5

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Henry Cautley
• Liberal: Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh

By-election, 1918: East Grinstead[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Henry Cautley	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

General election 1918: East Grinstead[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
C	Unionist	Henry Cautley	12,584	67.0	+4.3
	Labour	David Pole	6,208	33.0	−4.3
Majority			6,376	34.0	+8.6
Turnout			18,792	52.3	−29.5
Registered electors			35,955
	Unionist hold		Swing	+4.3
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: East Grinstead[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Henry Cautley	15,981	71.0	+4.0
	Labour	Thomas Crawford	6,527	29.0	−4.0
Majority			9,454	42.0	+8.0
Turnout			22,508	58.2	+5.9
Registered electors			38,664
	Unionist hold		Swing	+4.0

General election 1923: East Grinstead[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Henry Cautley	14,215	68.8	−2.2
	Labour	Thomas Crawford	6,451	31.2	+2.2
Majority			7,764	37.6	−4.4
Turnout			20,666	52.4	−5.8
Registered electors			39,405
	Unionist hold		Swing	−2.2

General election 1924: East Grinstead[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Henry Cautley	18,365	64.6	−4.2
	Liberal	Godfrey Frerichs Mowatt	5,604	19.7	N/A
	Labour	John Morgan	4,479	15.7	−15.5
Majority			12,761	44.9	+7.3
Turnout			28,448	70.2	+17.8
Registered electors			40,500
	Unionist hold		Swing	+5.7

General election 1929: East Grinstead[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Henry Cautley	21,940	57.9	−6.7
	Liberal	Barbara Bliss	9,718	25.6	+5.9
	Labour	Thomas Crawford	6,265	16.5	+0.8
Majority			12,222	32.3	−12.6
Turnout			37,923	68.5	−1.7
Registered electors			55,352
	Unionist hold		Swing	−6.3

Elections in the 1930s

Evan Durbin

General election 1931: East Grinstead[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Cautley	34,826	87.2
	Labour	Evan Durbin	5,121	12.8
Majority			29,705	74.4
Turnout			39,947	69.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

• Liberal candidate Lewis R. Jones withdrew at the last minute.

General election 1935: East Grinstead[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Cautley	29,440	78.4
	Labour	Stanislaus Seuffert	8,097	21.6
Majority			21,343	56.9
Turnout			37,537	61.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

1936 East Grinstead by-election[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ralph Clarke	22,207	79.6	+1.2
	Labour	Albert Edward Millett	5,708	20.4	-1.2
Majority			16,499	59.2	+2.4
Turnout				45.5	-15.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.2

General Election 1939/40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Ralph Clarke
• Liberal: William Cavendish Searle[8]

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: East Grinstead[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ralph Clarke	28,273	57.1
	Labour	David George Packham	12,519	25.3
	Liberal	John Charles McLaughlin	8,711	17.6	n/a
Majority			15,754	31.8
Turnout				70.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: East Grinstead[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ralph Clarke	29,786	55.1
	Labour	Catherine Williamson	12,983	24.0
	Liberal	John Charles McLaughlin	11,329	20.9
Majority			16,803	31.1
Turnout				81.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: East Grinstead[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ralph Clarke	32,803	60.3	+5.2
	Labour	Herbert Atkinson	14,271	26.2
	Liberal	John Charles McLaughlin	7,375	13.5
Majority			18,532	34.1
Turnout				80.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: East Grinstead[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Evelyn Emmet	28,450	61.5	+1.2
	Labour	Martin Mason	11,750	25.4	-0.8
	Liberal	Judith St John Thornton	6,034	13.1	-0.4
Majority			16,700	36.1
Turnout			46,234	75.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1959: East Grinstead[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Evelyn Emmet	31,759	62.3
	Labour	Robert William G Humphreys	10,104	19.8
	Liberal	Patrick Furnell	9,100	17.9
Majority			21,655	42.5	+6.4
Turnout			50,963	77.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: East Grinstead[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Evelyn Emmet	29,094	53.2
	Liberal	Richard Holme	14,753	26.7
	Labour	William H Hill	10,859	19.8
Majority			14,341	26.2
Turnout			54,706	78.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

1965 East Grinstead by-election[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Johnson-Smith	24,896	55.0	+1.8
	Liberal	Richard Holme	14,279	31.5	+4.6
	Labour	Jon Antony A Evans	6,101	13.5	-6.4
Majority			10,617	23.4
Turnout			45,276	64.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.4

General election 1966: East Grinstead[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Johnson-Smith	31,595	53.2
	Liberal	James H Downie	13,611	27.0
	Labour	Arthur Harris Roberts	11,938	19.8
Majority			17,984	26.2
Turnout			57,144	76.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: East Grinstead[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Johnson-Smith	38,359	61.2
	Liberal	David Carleton Bruce Smithers	12,343	19.7
	Labour	Tony Banks	12,014	19.2
Majority			26,016	41.5
Turnout			62,716	72.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: East Grinstead[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Johnson-Smith	23,928	53.3
	Liberal	Peter Hasler Billenness	15,351	34.2
	Labour	William J Short	5,629	12.5
Majority			8,577	19.1
Turnout				81.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: East Grinstead[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Johnson-Smith	22,035	53.2
	Liberal	Paul Hayden	12,755	30.8
	Labour	David William John Blake	6,648	16.0
Majority			9,280	22.4
Turnout				74.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1979: East Grinstead[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Geoffrey Johnson-Smith	28,279	62.0
	Liberal	J Nieboer	11,102	24.4
	Labour	RJ Taylor	6,196	13.6
Majority			17,177	37.7
Turnout				77.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
2. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/russell-thomas-ii
3. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/alfray-john-ii
4. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
5. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
6. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
7. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
8. The Liberal Magazine, 1939
9. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
10. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
11. British parliamentary election results, 1974-1983 by FWS Craig

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
• Election results, 1950 - 1979
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 404. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 481. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

Further reading

• Hills, Wallace Henry (c. 1906). "The Borough of East Grinstead and its Members of Parliament". The History of East Grinstead: The rise and progress of the town and the history of its institutions & People. Farncombe. Retrieved 29 October 2010.