Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency)

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Cumberland County constituency
Created:	1290
Abolished:	1832
Type:	House of Commons
Members:	two

Cumberland is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Knights of the Shire. It was divided between the constituencies of Cumberland East and Cumberland West in 1832.

Contents 1 Boundaries 2 Members of Parliament 2.1 1290-1660 2.2 1660-1832 3 Elections 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Boundaries

[edit] Members of Parliament

• Constituency created (1290)

[edit] 1290-1660

• 1542-1544: Sir Thomas Wharton
• 1545: Hon. Sir Thomas Wharton
• 1547-1552: Hon. Sir Thomas Wharton
• 1625-1626: Patricius Curwen
• 1628-1629: Sir Patricius Curwen, Bt

No Parliament summoned 1629-1640

Short Parliament

• 1640: Sir Patricius Curwen, Bt
• 1640: ?

Long Parliament

• 1640-1643: Sir George Dalston (Royalist) - disabled to sit, March 1643
• 1640-1643: Sir Patricius Curwen, Bt. (Royalist) - disabled to sit, March 1643
• 1646-1653: William Airmine (Sir William Airmine, Bt., from 1651)
• 1645(?)-1648: Richard Tolson - excluded in Pride's Purge

Cumberland was not separately represented in the Barebones Parliament, the following members being nominated for The Four Northern Counties collectively: Major-General Charles Howard, Robert Fenwick, Henry Dawson, Henry Ogle

First Protectorate Parliament

• 1654-1655: Colonel William Briscoe
• 1654-1655: Major-General Charles Howard

Second Protectorate Parliament

• 1656-1658: Colonel William Briscoe
• 1656-1657: Major-General Charles Howard

Third Protectorate Parliament

• 1659: Colonel William Briscoe
• 1659: Sir Wilfrid Lawson

Long Parliament (restored)

• 1659-1660: Richard Tolson

One seat vacant owing to the death of Sir William Airmine

[edit] 1660-1832

Year			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		1660	Sir Wilfrid Lawson		Charles Howard
		1661	Sir Patricius Curwen, Bt		Sir George Fletcher, Bt
		1665	Sir John Lowther, Bt
		February 1679			Richard Lamplugh
		August 1679			Viscount Morpeth
		1681			Sir George Fletcher, Bt
		1685			The Viscount Preston
		1689			Sir George Fletcher, Bt
		January 1701	Richard Musgrave		Gilfrid Lawson
		December 1701	Sir Edward Hasell		George Fletcher	Whig
		1702	Richard Musgrave		Gilfrid Lawson
		1705			George Fletcher	Whig
		1708	James Lowther		Gilfrid Lawson
		1722	Sir Christopher Musgrave, Bt
		1727	James Lowther
		1734			Sir Joseph Pennington, Bt
		1745			Sir John Pennington, Bt
		1755	Sir William Lowther, Bt
		1756	Sir William Fleming
		1757	Sir James Lowther, Bt
		1761	Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Bt
		1762	Sir James Lowther, Bt	Tory
		March 1768			Henry Curwen	Whig
		December 1768	Sir Henry Fletcher, Bt [1]	Whig
		1774			Sir James Lowther, Bt	Tory
		1784			Sir William Lowther, Bt	Tory
		1790			Humphrey Senhouse	Tory
		1796			John Lowther [2]	Tory
		1806	Viscount Morpeth	Tory
		1820	John Christian Curwen	Whig
		1829	Sir James Graham, Bt	Whig
		1831			William Blamire	Whig

• Constituency abolished (1832)

Notes

1. ^ At the general election of 1768, Lowther defeated Fletcher by two votes, but on petition the result was overturned and Fletcher declared elected
2. ^ Created a baronet as Sir John Lowther, 1824

[edit] Elections

The county franchise, from 1430, was held by the adult male owners of freehold land valued at 40 shillings or more. Each elector had as many votes as there were seats to be filled. Votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration, in public, at the hustings, which took place in the town of Cockermouth. The expense and difficulty of voting at only one location in the county, together with the lack of a secret ballot contributed to the corruption and intimidation of electors, which was widespread in the unreformed British political system.

The expense, to candidates, of contested elections encouraged the leading families of the county to agree on the candidates to be returned unopposed whenever possible. Contested county elections were therefore unusual.

[edit] See also

• List of former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies
• Unreformed House of Commons

[edit] References

• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
• House of Commons records at British History Online [[[1]]]
• This page incorporates information from Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page.