Chertsey (UK Parliament constituency)

Chertsey sometimes seen as Surrey North Western, equally the North Western Division of Surrey was created as one of six county constituencies of Surrey for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The seat underwent two net reductions and variously included and excluded growing suburban settlements: Egham, Frimley, Weybridge, Walton-on-Thames and Woking.

Chertsey
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
County	Surrey
1885–1974
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Farnham (part in 1918)[1] Esher (part in 1950) Chertsey & Walton (part in 1974) North West Surrey (part in 1974)
Created from	West Surrey (part) Mid Surrey (small parts)

History

Context and contents

It was formed by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election. The 1885 Act in drawing for Surrey six county divisions first cast a much broader metropolitan area of 16 new parliamentary borough status seats (stretching from the old Lambeth and old Southwark seats (subdivided) to newly included Battersea, Clapham, Camberwell, Peckham, Dulwich, Norwood, Norbury, Croydon, Streatham and Wandsworth). This spelt the loss of all three large, overpopulated and dual-member divisions (namely West, Mid and East) but Chertsey was one of the six non-metropolitan seats created in their large rural-suburban fringe (from Richmond and Hindhead to Lingfield and Warlingham); to do so Kingston was created as a seat which took in Richmond to its north and the Guildford seat was radically enlarged into a county division. Creation of the County of London and Croydon County Borough circa 1889 meant that the 16 metropolitan seats (also known as the parliamentary boroughs in north-east Surrey) fell into those units administratively.[2]

The seat at first comprised:

• the Sessional Division of Chertsey;
• in that of Guildford so much as lay in the Hundred of Woking but not Stoke-next-Guildford
• the parish of Frimley[3]

The seat was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

Political history

The seat elected Conservatives for 75 of its 79 years; for the 1906 Parliament and in the standing-record 1906 landslide result of that year it elected Marnham, a Liberal. Tories took most of the votes cast except in the 1960s elections (1964 and 1966) when the candidate, in line with national trends, slid to the narrowest majority seen, 13.6%.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Sessional Division of Chertsey, the Woking Hundred part of the Sessional Division of Guildford save for Stoke-next-Guildford, and the parish of Frimley.[3] The first listed was chiefly Godley Hundred which contained the modern Borough Runnymede. The second mentioned area resembled the modern boroughs Woking combined with Surrey Heath.

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Chertsey, East and West Molesey, Egham, Esher and the Dittons, Walton-upon-Thames, and Weybridge, and the Rural District of Chertsey.

1950–1974: The Urban Districts of Chertsey and Egham, and the Rural District of Bagshot.

The seat lost a broad southern area for an eastern gain in 1918. The seat lost that eastern gain in 1950 but gained Bagshot and surrounding villages.

The first form stretched from Egham in the north via Thorpe, Chertsey, Virginia Water, Longcross, Lyne, Windlesham, Bagshot, Chobham, Addlestone, Weybridge and Byfleet to Woking and Ripley in the south. To the south-west it stretched to Frimley Green and included the inchoate makings of Camberley a town established in the late 20th century. The second form of the seat shed the areas to the south-west, Woking to the south and new urban district containing small former parishes adjoining — instead Hersham and Walton-on-Thames joined the seat from the Epsom division to the east. The final form of the seat became nearly as compact as the early 21st century seat of Runnymede and Weybridge substituting Weybridge with Bagshot, Windlesham, Chobham, West End and Lightwater.[4]

To the north and other directions, forming a large bend, lay the River Thames, at all times in the seat's history.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Frederick Hankey	Conservative
	1892 by-election	Charles Harvey Combe	Conservative
	1897 by-election	Henry Leigh-Bennett	Conservative
	1903 by-election	John Arthur Fyler	Conservative
	1904 by-election	Hon. George Bingham	Conservative
	1906	Francis Marnham	Liberal
	Jan 1910	Donald Macmaster	Conservative
	1922 by-election	Sir Philip Richardson	Conservative
	1931	Sir Archibald Boyd-Carpenter	Conservative
	1937 by-election	Arthur Marsden	Conservative
	1950	Sir Lionel Heald	Conservative
	1970	Michael Grylls	Conservative
Feb 1974		constituency abolished: see Chertsey and Walton and North West Surrey

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Chertsey[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Hankey	4,540	63.9
	Liberal	Sir Henry Denis Le Marchant, 2nd Baronet	2,560	36.1
Majority			1,980	27.8
Turnout			7,100	77.0
Registered electors			9,220
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: Chertsey[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Hankey	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

Charles Combe

1892 Chertsey by-election[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Combe	4,589	62.5	N/A
	Liberal	Lawrence Baker	2,751	37.5	New
Majority			1,838	25.0	N/A
Turnout			7,340	71.7	N/A
Registered electors			10,239
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1892: Chertsey[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Combe	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1895: Chertsey[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Combe	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

1897 Chertsey by-election[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Leigh-Bennett	4,845	54.9	N/A
	Liberal	Lawrence Baker	3,977	45.1	New
Majority			888	9.8	N/A
Turnout			8,822	75.5	N/A
Registered electors			11,678
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Chertsey[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Leigh-Bennett	5,367	63.5	N/A
	Liberal	Hubert Longman	3,080	36.5	N/A
Majority			2,287	27.0	N/A
Turnout			8,447	68.7	N/A
Registered electors			12,299
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

1903 Chertsey by-election[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Arthur Fyler	5,700	55.7	−7.8
	Liberal	Hubert Longman	4,529	44.3	+7.8
Majority			1,171	11.4	−15.6
Turnout			10,229	78.9	+10.2
Registered electors			12,964
	Conservative hold		Swing	−7.8

1904 Chertsey by-election[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hon. George Bingham	5,425	52.7	−10.8
	Liberal	I T Sadler	4,876	47.3	+10.8
Majority			549	5.4	-21.6
Turnout			10,301	74.0	+5.3
Registered electors			15,419
	Conservative hold		Swing	−10.8

Francis Marnham

General election 1906: Chertsey[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Marnham	6,365	50.4	+13.9
	Conservative	Hon. George Bingham	6,266	49.6	−13.9
Majority			99	0.8	N/A
Turnout			12,631	81.9	+13.2
Registered electors			15,419
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.9

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Chertsey[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Donald Macmaster	9,672	65.7	+16.1
	Liberal	Francis George Newbolt	5,059	34.3	−16.1
Majority			4,613	31.4	N/A
Turnout			14,731	88.1	+6.2
Registered electors			16,723
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+16.1

General election December 1910: Chertsey[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Donald Macmaster	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Donald Macmaster
• Liberal:

General election 1918: Chertsey[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Donald Macmaster	13,531	80.7	N/A
	Labour	Thomas T Linsey	3,232	19.3	New
Majority			10,299	61.4	N/A
Turnout			16,763	48.0	N/A
	Unionist hold		Swing	N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

1922 Chertsey by-election[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Richardson	11,811	55.4	-25.3
	Liberal	Hubert Gough	9,490	45.6	New
Majority			2,321	10.8	-40.6
Turnout			21,301	55.4	+7.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1922: Chertsey[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Richardson	14,081	60.4	-20.3
	Liberal	Henry Samson Clark	9,228	39.6	N/A
Majority			4,853	20.8	-40.6
Turnout			23,309	58.2	+10.2
	Unionist hold		Swing	+5.0

General election 1923: Chertsey[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Richardson	13,333	55.5	-4.9
	Liberal	Reginald John Marnham	10,694	44.5	+4.9
Majority			2,639	11.0	-9.8
Turnout			24,027	60.1	+1.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	-4.9

General election 1924: Chertsey[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Richardson	18,310	71.0	+15.5
	Liberal	Walter Crawford Smith	7,471	29.0	-15.5
Majority			10,839	42.0	+31.0
Turnout			25,781	62.7	+2.6
	Unionist hold		Swing	+15.5

General election 1929: Chertsey[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Philip Richardson	21,433	55.6	-15.4
	Liberal	Martin Bernard Browne	17,145	44.4	+15.4
Majority			4,288	11.2	-30.8
Turnout			38,578	63.5	+0.8
	Unionist hold		Swing	-15.4

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Chertsey[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Boyd-Carpenter	35,371	79.6	+24.0
	Liberal	Ifor Bowen Lloyd	9,063	20.4	-24.0
Majority			26,308	59.2	+48.0
Turnout			44,434	68.7	+5.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1935: Chertsey[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Boyd-Carpenter	31,484	71.4	-8.2
	Liberal	Martin Bernard Browne	12,607	28.6	+8.2
Majority			18,877	42.8	-16.4
Turnout			44,091	60.2	-8.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.2

1937 Chertsey by-election[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Marsden	19,767	64.8	-6.6
	Liberal	Ernest Haylor	10,722	35.2	+6.6
Majority			9,045	29.6	-13.2
Turnout			30,489	39.2	-21.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

• Also described as a Liberal-Progressive

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: Arthur Marsden
• Liberal:

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Chertsey[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Marsden	37,456	52.32
	Labour	Brian Barker	25,194	35.19	New
	Liberal	William Ridgeway	8,940	12.49
Majority			12,262	17.13
Turnout			71,590	69.30
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Chertsey[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lionel Heald	19,326	51.69
	Labour Co-op	Dennis Gordon	14,090	37.69
	Liberal	Gerald Edward Owen	3,969	10.62
Majority			5,236	14.00
Turnout			37,385	82.74
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Chertsey[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lionel Heald	20,539	53.56
	Labour Co-op	Dennis Gordon	14,849	38.72
	Liberal	Gerald Edward Owen	2,961	7.72
Majority			5,690	14.84
Turnout			38,349	81.06
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Chertsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lionel Heald	23,021	61.10
	Labour	Richard H Edwards	14,656	38.90
Majority			8,365	22.20
Turnout			37,677	77.19
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1959: Chertsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lionel Heald	24,836	56.28
	Labour	John Stuart Barr	14,150	32.06
	Liberal	Arthur Russell Mayne	5,146	11.66
Majority			10,686	24.22
Turnout			44,132	79.36
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Chertsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lionel Heald	22,497	49.06
	Labour	Anthony J Edwards	14,513	31.65
	Liberal	Frederick Michael John Lee	8,844	19.29
Majority			7,984	17.41
Turnout			45,854	77.77
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1966: Chertsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lionel Heald	22,584	48.39
	Labour	Anthony J Edwards	16,231	34.78
	Liberal	Frederick Michael John Lee	7,852	16.83
Majority			6,353	13.61
Turnout			46,667	77.98
	Conservative hold		Swing

Election in the 1970s

General election 1970: Chertsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Grylls	27,239	56.59
	Labour	Christopher P Slater	15,653	32.52
	Liberal	R Alfred F Cook	5,239	10.88
Majority			11,586	25.07
Turnout			48,131	71.01
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. From the taken parts of which, approximately, the seat of Woking was formed in 1950
2. Youngs, Frederic A, Jr. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.(1979) pp. 764-766
3. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
4. "Bagshot U.D. - units covering this place" Vision of Britain - University of Portsmouth and others. Accessed 2017-06-04
5. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
6. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
7. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
8. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1950.
9. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)