Cardigan (UK Parliament constituency)

The Cardigan District of Boroughs was a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1885 general election. The borough constituency comprised the four towns of Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Adpar - geographically separated from each other but all within the county of Cardiganshire.

Cardigan
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1542–1885
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Cardiganshire

History

For much of its existence, the constituency was dominated by a relatively small number of landed families. During the eighteenth century, representation was keenly contested between the county families.[1]

At the turn of the nineteenth century, the county town of Cardigan remained the largest of the boroughs with a population of 1,911 in 1801, and was controlled by the Earl of Lisburne.[1] Lisburne's heir, John Vaughan, held the seat unopposed from 1796. However, Aberystwyth experienced rapid population growth in this period and its population reached 1,758 by 1801. Aberystwyth was under the influence of Edward Loveden Loveden, of Gogerddan.[1] Loveden had obtained the estate through his marriage to Margaret Pryse, and coveted a parliamentary seat for his son, Pryse Loveden, who had adopted the name Pryse Pryse upon inheriting the estate upon his mother's death in 1796.

However, the Lisburne interest remained predominant until after the closely contested election of 1812, when Vaughan defeated Herbert Evans of Highmead by eighty votes.[2]

After this contest, Vaughan's position became untenable, and it was assumed that he would not to contest the next election. In 1816, following the death of Thomas Johnes, the member for the county, Pryse Pryse of Gogerddan withdrew in favour of William Edward Powell of Nanteos, in order to avoid a contest. This was a political as well as a personal compromise, since Powell was a Tory and Pryse a Whig.[1] In 1818, Pryse was elected unopposed for the boroughs, and held the seat for over thirty years. In 1832 the Reform Act resulted in a larger electorate as householders of homes worth over £10 were enfranchised in the boroughs. The constituency was still dominated by the Loveden-Pryse family of Gogerddan. Pryse Pryse held the seat from 1818 until his death in 1849, except for the 1841 election (see below). By agreement between Pryse and William Edward Powell, who continued as member for the county until his resignation in 1854, neither challenged the other's domination and so elections were almost always unopposed.

The one exception was the 1841 election when there was a close contest with John Harford, which was characterized by allegations of coercion. The contest was attended by a great deal of confusion. The poll books for Aberystwyth were either lost or stolen and never reached the returning officer, who came to the view that he should declare both candidates elected due to the uncertainty (the Conservative was slightly ahead in the polls from the other three parts). Neither of the two candidates could actually speak in the House of Commons until a committee determined the election, and it accepted the evidence that the Liberal candidate (Pryse) had outpolled the Conservative (Harford) by 305 to 285, enough to make his election secure, so he was given the seat.

In 1842, largely as a result of this episode, Pryse declared his support for the secret ballot.[3]

Apart from 1855, when John Lloyd Davies won a byelection by 12 votes, the Conservatives never won the borough.

The last member to represent the constituency was David Davies from 1874 until 1885. When the county and borough constituencies were merged to form the Cardiganshire seat in 1885, David Davies comfortably won the election. In 1886, however, Davies joined the Liberal Unionists and was narrowly defeated at the General Election that year by the Liberal Party candidate.

Members of Parliament

Members of Parliament 1542-1640

As there were sometimes significant gaps between Parliaments held in this period, the dates of first assembly and dissolution are given. Where the name of the member has not yet been ascertained or (before 1558) is not recorded in a surviving document, the entry unknown is entered in the table.

Elected	Assembled	Dissolved	Member	Note
1542	16 January 1542	28 March 1544	unknown
1545	23 November 1545	31 January 1547	Jenkin ap Rhees
1547	4 November 1547	15 April 1552	John Cotton	History of Parliament gives Gruffydd Done
1553	1 March 1553	31 March 1553	Edward ap Howell
1553	5 October 1553	5 December 1553	John Gwyn
1554	2 April 1554	3 May 1554	John Powell
1554	12 November 1554	16 January 1555	John Powell	History of Parliament gives John Gwyn
1555	21 October 1555	9 December 1555	Thomas Phaer
1558	20 January 1558	17 November 1558	Thomas Phaer
1559	23 January 1559	8 May 1559	Thomas Phaer
1562/3	11 January 1563	2 January 1567	John Gwyn
1571	2 April 1571	29 May 1571	Edward Davies
1572	8 May 1572	19 April 1583	Edward Davies
1584	23 November 1584	14 September 1585	Francis Cheyne
1586	13 October 1586	23 March 1587	Francis Cheyne
1588	4 February 1589	29 March 1589	Alban Stepney
1593	18 February 1593	10 April 1593	Sir Ferdinando Gorges
1597	24 October 1597	9 February 1598	Thomas Rawlins
1601	27 October 1601	19 December 1601	William Aubrey Richard Delabere	Double return unresolved at the dissolution of Parliament
1604	19 March 1604	9 February 1611	William Bradshaw
1614	5 April 1614	7 June 1614	Robert Wolverstone
1620	16 January 1621	8 February 1622	Walter Overbury
12 January 1624	12 February 1624	27 March 1625	Rowland Pugh
4 March 1625	17 May 1625	12 August 1625	Rowland Pugh
12 January 1626	6 February 1626	15 June 1626	Walter Overbury
31 March 1628	17 March 1628	10 March 1629	John Vaughan
1640	13 April 1640	5 May 1640	John Vaughan

Members of Parliament 1640-1660

This sub-section includes the Long Parliament and the Rump Parliament, together with the Parliaments of the Commonwealth and the Protectorate (before the Convention Parliament of 1660).

Long Parliament

Year		Member	Party
November 1640	writ delivered too late to make a return, new writ ordered
December 1640		John Vaughan
1645	Vaughan expelled - seat vacant
1646		Thomas Wogan
1653	Cardigan was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		Col. Rowland Dawkins
May 1659	Unrepresented in the restored Rump
April 1660		James Philipps
1663		Sir Charles Cotterell
1679		Hector Phillips
1693		John Lewis
1698		Sir Charles Lloyd
1701		Henry Lloyd
1705		Lewis Pryse
February 1710		Simon Harcourt	Tory
October 1710		John Meyrick
1712		Owen Brigstocke
1713		Sir George Barlow, 2nd Baronet
1715		Stephen Parry
1725		Thomas Powell
1727		Francis Cornwallis
1729		Richard Lloyd
1741		Thomas Pryse
1746		John Symmons
1761		Sir Herbert Lloyd, 1st Baronet
1768		Pryse Campbell	Whig
1769		Ralph Congreve
1774		Sir Robert Smyth, 5th Baronet
1775		Thomas Johnes
1780		John Campbell	Pittite
1796		Hon. John Vaughan
1818		Pryse Pryse	Whig[4][5]
1849		Pryse Loveden	Whig[6][7]
1855		John Lloyd Davies	Conservative
1857		Edward Pryse	Radical[8][9]
1859			Liberal
1868		Sir Thomas Lloyd, 1st Baronet	Liberal
1874		David Davies	Liberal
1885		Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Cardigan Boroughs[4][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Pryse Pryse	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Cardigan Boroughs[4][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Pryse Pryse	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Cardigan Boroughs[4][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Pryse Pryse	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,030
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Cardigan Boroughs[4][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Pryse Pryse	Unopposed
Registered electors			899
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Cardigan Boroughs[4][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Pryse Pryse	Unopposed
Registered electors			920
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Pryse Pryse	305	51.7	N/A
	Conservative	John Scandrett Harford	285	48.3	N/A
Majority			20	3.4	N/A
Turnout			590	70.9	N/A
Registered electors			832
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

Originally, both Pryse and Harford were returned after the poll books for two polling stations at Aberystwyth were lost, with 226 votes recorded for Harford and 163 for Pryse. After extensive evidence, however, a committee determined the above results and Harford was declared unelected.

General election 1847: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Pryse Pryse	Unopposed
Registered electors			761
	Whig hold

Pryse's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 12 February 1849: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Pryse Pryse	299	50.7	N/A
	Conservative	John Scandrett Harford	291	49.3	N/A
Majority			8	1.4	N/A
Turnout			590	89.8	N/A
Registered electors			657
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Pryse Pryse	299	51.5	N/A
	Conservative	John Inglis Jones[12]	282	48.5	N/A
Majority			17	2.9	N/A
Turnout			581	68.4	N/A
Registered electors			849
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

Loveden (as Pryse was known at the time) died, causing a by-election.

By-election, 24 February 1855: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Lloyd Davies	298	51.0	+2.5
	Whig	John Evans[13]	286	49.0	−2.5
Majority			12	2.1	N/A
Turnout			584	68.8	+0.4
Registered electors			849
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+2.5

General election 1857: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Radical	Edward Pryse	Unopposed
Registered electors			837
	Radical gain from Whig

General election 1859: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Edward Pryse	Unopposed
Registered electors			673
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Edward Pryse	Unopposed
Registered electors			685
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Thomas Lloyd	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,561
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	David Davies	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,946
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Cardigan Boroughs[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	David Davies	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,280
	Liberal hold

References

1. Thorne, R.G. "Cardigan Boroughs". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
2. "Cardigan". Carmarthen Journal. 31 October 1812. p. 3. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
3. "Cardiganshire. Mr Pryse Pryse and the Ballot". Welshman. 15 July 1842. p. 3. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
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. p. 182.
5. Churton, Edward (1836). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836. p. 190.
6. "Elections". Newcastle Courant. 16 February 1849. p. 7. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Liverpool Mail". 17 February 1849. p. 4. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Election Intelligence". Morning Post. 16 March 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Election Intelligence". Hereford Journal. 27 April 1859. p. 3. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. Escott, Margaret. "Cardigan Boroughs". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
11. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 502. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
12. "Evening Mail". 12 July 1852. p. 5. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Members Returned". Norfolk News. 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 21 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

• The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)