Breconshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Breconshire or Brecknockshire was a constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the English Parliament, and later to the Parliament of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom, between 1542 and 1918. (Historically, the "-shire" suffix was often omitted, leading to potential confusion with the Brecon borough constituency, which existed until 1885.)

Breconshire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1542–1918
Number of membersone
Replaced byBrecon and Radnor

History

Like the rest of Wales, Breconshire was given the right to representation by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, and first returned an MP to the Parliament of 1542. The constituency consisted of the historic county of Brecknockshire. (Although the county town, Brecon, was a borough which elected an MP in its own right, it was not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election.) The county elected one MP, who was chosen by the first past the post electoral system — when there was a contest at all, which was rare.

As in other county constituencies, the franchise until 1832 was defined by the Forty Shilling Freeholder Act, which gave the right to vote to every man who possessed freehold property within the county valued at £2 or more per year for the purposes of land tax; it was not necessary for the freeholder to occupy his land, nor even in later years to be resident in the county at all. At the time of the Great Reform Act in 1832, Breconshire had a population of approximately 47,800, but the rarity of contested elections makes it difficult to make a reliable estimate of the number qualified to vote; the greatest number ever recorded as voting before the Reform Act was 1,641 at the general election of 1818.

For centuries before 1832, Breconshire politics was dominated by the Morgan family of Tredegar, who were usually able to nominate the county's MP without opposition (as was also the case in Brecon borough). The changes introduced by the Reform Act did little to shake this hold, and a Morgan was still sitting unopposed in the 1860s. The Reform Act extended the county franchise slightly, allowing tenants-at-will, copyholders and leaseholders to vote, but Breconshire's electorate was still only 1,668 at the first post-Reform election, though it grew in the subsequent half-century.

Breconshire was always an almost entirely rural constituency, mountainous and offering poor resources for its agricultural population. The industrial revolution, however, brought coal-mining to the south of the county, and by the late 19th century this was much the most important economic activity and was probably the most important factor in its developing a political mind of its own. By the 1890s it had abandoned its loyalty to the (Conservative) Morgans, and like other industrial constituencies in Wales was a safe Liberal seat.

By the time of the 1911 census, the population of Breconshire was 63,036, and there were around 13,000 voters on the register around the outbreak of the First World War, a respectable size, but neighbouring Radnorshire with barely 6,000 voters was too small to survive. With effect from the 1918 general election, the two constituencies were merged, to form a new Brecon and Radnor constituency.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1542-1640 — MPs 1640-1918 — Elections — References — Notes

MPs 1542–1640
ParliamentMember
1545John Games (or ap Morgan) [1]
1547Sir John Price [1]
1553 (Mar)Sir Roger Vaughan[1]
1553 (Oct)Sir Roger Vaughan[1]
1554 (Apr)Sir Roger Vaughan[1]
1554 (Nov)Rhys Vaughan[1]
1558Watkin (or Walter) Herbert[1]
1559 (Jan)Sir Roger Vaughan[2]
1562 (Dec)Rowland Vaughan, died
and replaced 1566 by Matthew Arundell[2]
1571Sir Roger Vaughan [2]
1572Thomas Games [2]
1584 (Nov)Thomas Games [2]
1586Thomas Games [2]
1588–1589Sir Robert Knollys [2]
1593Sir Robert Knollys [2]
1597 (Sep)Sir Robert Knollys [2]
1601 (Oct)Sir Robert Knollys [2]
1614Sir Charles Vaughan
1621Sir Henry Williams
1625Sir Charles Vaughan
1626John Price
1628Henry Williams
1629–1640No Parliaments summoned

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MPs 1640–1918
YearMemberParty
April 1640 William MorganParliamentarian
November 1640 William MorganParliamentarian
1650 Colonel Philip Jones
1653 Breconshire was not separately represented in the Barebones Parliament
Representation increased to two members, 1654
1654 Lord Herbert and Edmund Jones
1656 Colonel Philip Jones and Evan Lewis
Representation reverted to one member, 1659
January 1659 Edmund Jones
May 1659 Colonel Philip Jones
April 1660 Sir William Lewis
April 1661 Sir Henry Williams
November 1661 John Jeffreys
1662 Edward Proger
1679 Richard Williams
1685 Edward Jones
1690 Rowland Gwynne Whig
1695 Edward Jones Tory
1697 Sir Edward Williams Tory
1698 Sir Rowland Gwynne Whig
1702 John Jeffreys Tory
1705 Sir Edward Williams Tory
1721 William Gwyn Vaughan
1734 John Jeffreys
1747 Thomas Morgan
1769 Charles Morgan
1787 Sir Charles Gould (later Sir Charles Gould Morgan) [3]
1806 Thomas Wood Tory[4]
1834 Conservative[4]
1847 Sir Joseph Bailey Conservative
1858 Hon. Godfrey Morgan Conservative
1875 William Fuller-Maitland Liberal
1895 Charles Morley Liberal
1906 Sidney Robinson Liberal
1918 Constituency abolished

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Elections
Decades:

Elections in the 1830s
General election 1830: Breconshire[4][5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Thomas Wood Unopposed
Registered electors c. 2,000
Tory hold
General election 1831: Breconshire[4][5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Thomas Wood 282 67.1
Whig John Lloyd Vaughan Watkins 138 32.9
Majority 144 34.2
Turnout 420 c. 21.0
Registered electors c. 2,000
Tory hold
General election 1832: Breconshire[4][6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Thomas Wood Unopposed
Registered electors 1,668
Tory hold
General election 1835: Breconshire[4][6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Thomas Wood Unopposed
Registered electors 1,897
Conservative hold
General election 1837: Breconshire[4][6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Thomas Wood 1,222 68.2
Whig James Price Gwynne-Holford 570 31.8
Majority 652 36.4
Turnout 1,792 78.1
Registered electors 2,295
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s
General election 1841: Breconshire[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Thomas Wood Unopposed
Registered electors 2,830
Conservative hold
General election 1847: Breconshire[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Joseph Bailey Unopposed
Registered electors 2,548
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s
General election 1852: Breconshire[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Joseph Bailey Unopposed
Registered electors 2,779
Conservative hold
General election 1857: Breconshire[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Joseph Bailey Unopposed
Registered electors 2,609
Conservative hold

Bailey's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 28 December 1858: Breconshire[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Godfrey Morgan Unopposed
Conservative hold
General election 1859: Breconshire[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Godfrey Morgan Unopposed
Registered electors 2,688
Conservative hold

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Elections in the 1860s
General election 1865: Breconshire[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Godfrey Morgan Unopposed
Registered electors 2,409
Conservative hold
General election 1868: Breconshire[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Godfrey Morgan Unopposed
Registered electors 3,644
Conservative hold

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Elections in the 1870s
General election 1874: Breconshire[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Godfrey Morgan 1,594 60.6 N/A
Liberal William Fuller-Maitland 1,036 39.4 New
Majority 558 21.2 N/A
Turnout 2,630 73.6 N/A
Registered electors 3,574
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Morgan succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Tredegar.

By-election, 22 May 1875: Breconshire[7][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Fuller-Maitland 1,710 51.6 +12.2
Conservative Howel Gwyn 1,607 48.4 −12.2
Majority 103 3.2 N/A
Turnout 3,317 77.9 +4.3
Registered electors 4,256
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +12.2

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Elections in the 1880s
General election 1880: Breconshire [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Fuller-Maitland 1,810 53.9 +14.5
Conservative Arthur John Morgan 1,550 46.1 −14.5
Majority 260 7.8 N/A
Turnout 3,360 80.1 +6.5
Registered electors 4,195
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +14.5
General election 1885: Breconshire [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Fuller-Maitland 4,784 59.3 +5.4
Conservative Arthur John Morgan 3,282 40.7 −5.4
Majority 1,502 18.6 +10.9
Turnout 8,066 84.7 +4.6
Registered electors 9,520
Liberal hold Swing +5.4
General election 1886: Breconshire [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Fuller-Maitland Unopposed
Liberal hold

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Elections in the 1890s
General election 1892: Breconshire [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Fuller-Maitland 4,676 57.8 N/A
Conservative Thomas Wood (soldier) 3,418 42.2 New
Majority 1,258 15.6 N/A
Turnout 8,094 76.7 N/A
Registered electors 10,551
Liberal hold
Morley
General election 1895: Breconshire [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Charles Morley 4,594 55.9 -1.9
Conservative Thomas Wood (soldier) 3,631 44.1 +1.9
Majority 963 11.8 -3.8
Turnout 8,225 75.8 -0.9
Registered electors 10,849
Liberal hold Swing -1.9

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Elections in the 1900s
General election 1900: Breconshire [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Charles Morley Unopposed
Liberal hold
Robinson
General election 1906: Breconshire [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Sidney Robinson 5,776 62.3 N/A
Conservative Robert Devereux 3,499 37.7 New
Majority 2,277 24.6 N/A
Turnout 9,275 75.8 N/A
Registered electors 12,235
Liberal hold

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Elections in the 1910s
General election January 1910: Breconshire [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Sidney Robinson 6,335 62.1 -0.2
Conservative Robert Devereux 3,865 37.9 +0.2
Majority 2,470 24.2 -0.4
Turnout 10,200 75.9 +0.1
Liberal hold Swing -0.2
General election December 1910: Breconshire [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Sidney Robinson 5,511 60.3 -1.8
Conservative John Conway Lloyd 3,631 39.7 +1.8
Majority 1,880 20.6 -3.6
Turnout 9,142 68.1 -7.8
Liberal hold Swing -1.8

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References
  1. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  2. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  3. Adopted the surname Morgan in 1792
  4. 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. 177–178. Retrieved 5 May 2020 – via Internet Archive.
  5. Escott, Margaret. "Breconshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  6. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  7. "Breconshire Election - Liberal Victory". Worcestershire Chronicle. 22 May 1875. Retrieved 5 October 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)

Notes
  • 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)
  • The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
  • F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
  • Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)
  • J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 5)
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