West Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)

For the constituency sometimes called Western Somerset between 1885 and 1918, see Wellington (Somerset).
West Somerset
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
County Somerset
1832–1885
Number of members Two
Replaced by Bridgwater, South Somerset and Wellington
Created from Somerset

West Somerset or Somerset Western (formally The Western division of Somerset) was the name of a parliamentary constituency in the county of Somerset between 1832 and 1885. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.

Boundaries

1832–1868

The constituency was created for the 1832 general election, when the former Somerset constituency was divided into new East and West divisions. It also absorbed the voters from the abolished boroughs of Ilchester and Minehead. The constituency might have been better described as South-Western Somerset, since it stretched to the southern as well as the western extremities of the county. It surrounded the county town of Taunton (although Taunton was a borough electing MPs in its own right, freeholders within the borough who met the property-owning qualifications for the county franchise could vote in West Somerset as well, as could those in Bridgwater); otherwise, the largest town was Yeovil, but the division also included Chard, Crewkerne, Minehead, Wellington, Ilminster, Street, Watchet and Wiveliscombe; nevertheless, the majority of voters were in the rural areas.

1868–1885

The Second Reform Act brought about significant boundary changes, which came into effect at the 1868 general election, as Somerset was given a third county constituency. The eastern end of West Somerset (including Yeovil, Street and Crewkerne) was moved into the new Mid Somerset division, but in their place the constituency absorbed the borough of Bridgwater, which had been abolished as a borough because of its history of corruption; the town of Bridgwater was much the largest in the revised constituency.

Abolition

The constituency was abolished for the 1885 general election, when those parts of Somerset outside its boroughs were divided into seven single-member county constituencies. West Somerset's voters were divided between the new Bridgwater, South Somerset and Wellington divisions. (The Wellington division, which lasted until 1918, had the alternative name of Western Somerset.)

Members of Parliament

Election1st Member1st Party2nd Member2nd Party
1832 Edward Ayshford Sanford[1][2] Whig Charles Kemeys-Tynte Whig
1837 Thomas Dyke Acland Conservative
1841 Francis Dickinson Conservative
1847 Charles Moody Conservative Sir Alexander Hood, Bt Conservative
1851 by-election William Gore-Langton Conservative
1859 Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood, Bt Conservative
1863 by-election William Gore-Langton Conservative
1868 Hon. Arthur Hood Conservative
1874 Vaughan Lee [3] Conservative
1880 Mordaunt Bisset Conservative
1882 by-election Edward Stanley Conservative
1884 by-election Charles Isaac Elton Conservative
1885 constituency abolished

Notes

  1. ↑ Jenekins, Terry. "Somerset". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Jenkins, Terry. "SANFORD, Edward Ayshford (1794-1871), of Nynehead Court, Wellington, Som. and 41 Grosvenor Street, Mdx.". The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  3. ↑ Later adopted the surname Vaughan-Lee

References


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