Droitwich (UK Parliament constituency)

Droitwich was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of England in 1295, and again from 1554, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was a parliamentary borough in Worcestershire, represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832, and by one member from 1832 to 1885. The name was then transferred to a county constituency electing one MP from 1885 until 1918.

Worcestershire, Mid or Droitwich Division
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Kidderminster and Evesham
1554–1885
Number of members	two (1554–1832); one (1832–1885)
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

History

The borough consisted of three parishes and parts of two others in the town of Droitwich, a market town which for many centuries depended on the salt trade for its prosperity. When Droitwich's right to return MPs (which had been allowed to lapse) was restored in 1554, there was only one salt pit in the borough, and this became the basis of Droitwich's unique franchise: the right to vote was vested solely in those burgesses (members of the corporation) who owned shares in the pit giving them the right to draw brine. This was finally established by a resolution of the House of Commons in 1690; yet within a few years of this date that salt pit had dried up completely; by 1747 it was accepted that ownership of this property had no function except conferring the vote, and had to be proved by possession of the title deeds since there could be no evidence of an otherwise meaningless right which could not be exercised in practice.

Although these details of the franchise were unique to Droitwich, in practice it in many ways resembled a burgage borough, and like most of those came under the influence of a local magnate. The Foley family, Worcestershire industrialists, controlled Droitwich from the middle of the 17th century, although they seem to have allowed the townspeople to choose one of the two members at some periods. There was no contested election between 1747 and 1832, and by the time of the Reform Act it was estimated that only 28 men had the right to vote.

In 1831, the population of the borough was 2,487, and contained 533 houses. However, the boundaries were revised by the provisions of the Great Reform Act, taking in the rest of the town and some adjoining villages, so that the new constituency adjoined the borough of Worcester to the south. This increased the population to 5,992, which was enough for Droitwich to retain one of its two MPs, and there were 243 voters on the register for the first election under the reformed franchise, in 1832.

There was a further slight enlargement of the boundaries to the east in 1868. However, the constituency was not big enough to keep its MP under the Third Reform Act, which came into effect at the general election of 1885. The borough was abolished, but the town's name was applied to the new county division in which it was placed, formally called The Mid or Droitwich Division of Worcestershire. This was a constituency with a considerable industrial vote, including the heavy industrial town of Stourbridge and the carpet-weaving town of Stourport-on-Severn, but also contained a substantial middle-class residential population, boosted by the votes of the Kidderminster freeholders (who were entitled to a vote in the county division even if they lived within the Kidderminster borough boundaries), as well as agricultural interests. With a popular sitting Liberal MP turning Liberal Unionist in 1886, this was enough to keep Droitwich a relatively safe Unionist seat except in the Liberal landslide of 1906.

The constituency was abolished in 1918, being divided between the redrawn Kidderminster and Evesham constituencies.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1554–1660

The constituency was re-established during the reign of Queen Mary I. The following were members of Parliament during the succeeding period:[1]

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
1554		George Newport			Robert Wythe
1555		George Newport			Robert Wythe
1558		Walter Gower			Robert Wythe
1559		Francis Newport
1562		Walter Gower
1571		Francis Brace			Francis Kinwelmarsh
1572		John Russell			William Sebright
1584		George Wylde I			Jasper Cholmley
1586		Francis Brace			George Lyttelton
1588		Francis Brace			William Combe
1593		Robert Walter			George Wylde I
1597		John Acton			Thomas Baily
1601		John Buck			Humphrey Wheler
1604		George Wylde I			John Brace
1614		Edwin Sandys			Ralph Clare
1621		Sir Thomas Coventry replaced by Ralph Clare			John Wilde
1624		Walter Blount
1625		Thomas Coventry
1626
1627		George Wylde II
1629–1640	Personal Rule of Charles I: no Parliament
1640 Short Parliament		John Wilde			Samuel Sandys I	Royalist
1640 Long Parliament		Endymion Porter	Royalist
Aug. 1642				disabled to sit – seat vacant
Mar. 1643	disabled to sit – seat vacant
1647		Thomas Rainsborough			Edmund Wylde
1648		George Wylde II (died 1650)
1653	Droitwich was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1659		Edward Salway			John Wilde
1659	Third Protectorate Parliament – unknown

MPs 1660–1832

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
1660		Samuel Sandys I			Thomas Coventry
1661		Samuel Sandys II			Henry Coventry[1]
1681		Samuel Sandys I
1685		Samuel Sandys II	Whig		Thomas Windsor	Tory
1689					The Earl of Bellomont	Whig
1690		Philip Foley	Country Whig
1695		Edward Harley	Tory		Charles Cocks	Whig
1698		Thomas Foley	Tory
1699		Thomas Foley	Tory
February 1701		Philip Foley	Tory
November 1701		Edward Foley	Tory
1708					Edward Winnington from 1709 Jeffreys [2]	Tory
1711		Richard Foley	Tory
1726					Thomas Winnington [3]	Whig
1732		Edward Foley	Tory
1741		Thomas Foley, later Lord Foley	Tory
1742					Lord George Bentinck	Whig
July 1747 [4]					Francis Winnington
December 1747		Edwin Sandys	Tory
1754		Thomas Foley, later Lord Foley	Whig		Robert Harley	Tory
May 1768		Edward Foley[5]
April 1774					Andrew Foley [6]	Whig[7]
May 1774		Rowland Berkeley
October 1774		Thomas Foley, later 2nd Lord Foley	Whig[7]
1777		Sir Edward Winnington, Bt	Whig[7]
1805		Thomas Foley	Whig[7]
1807		Sir Thomas Winnington, Bt	Whig[7]
1816		The Earl of Sefton	Whig[7]
1819					Thomas Foley	Whig[7]
1822					John Hodgetts-Foley	Whig[7]
1831		Sir Thomas Winnington	Whig[7]
1832	Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1832–1885

Election		Member	Party
1832		John Hodgetts-Foley	Whig[7][8][9]
1835		John Barneby	Conservative[7]
1837		Sir John Pakington	Conservative[7]
1874		John Corbett	Liberal
1885	Borough abolished – county division established

MPs 1885–1918

Election	Member		Party
1885		John Corbett	Liberal
1886			Liberal Unionist
1892		Richard Martin	Liberal Unionist
1906		Cecil Harmsworth	Liberal
Jan. 1910		John Lyttelton	Liberal Unionist
1916 b-e		Herbert Whiteley	Unionist
1918	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Droitwich[7][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	William Molyneux	Unopposed
	Whig	John Hodgetts-Foley	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Droitwich[7][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Hodgetts-Foley	Unopposed
	Whig	Thomas Winnington	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 28
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Droitwich[7][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Hodgetts-Foley	Unopposed
Registered electors			243
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Droitwich[7][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Barneby	128	50.6
	Whig	John Hodgetts-Foley	125	49.4
Majority			3	1.2
Turnout			253	88.8
Registered electors			285
	Conservative gain from Whig

On petition, Barneby's tally was reduced to 125, and Foley's to 124.[7]

General election 1837: Droitwich[11][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
Registered electors			341
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
Registered electors			347
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
Registered electors			346
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

Pakington was appointed Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 4 March 1852: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1852: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
Registered electors			367
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
Registered electors			371
	Conservative hold

Pakington was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 3 March 1858: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
Registered electors			394
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
Registered electors			400
	Conservative hold

Pakington was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 11 July 1866: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Pakington was appointed Secretary of State for War, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 13 March 1867: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Pakington	790	56.7	N/A
	Liberal	John Corbett	603	43.3	New
Majority			187	13.4	N/A
Turnout			1,393	90.9	N/A
Registered electors			1,532
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Corbett	787	66.2	+22.9
	Conservative	John Pakington	401	33.8	−22.9
Majority			386	32.4	N/A
Turnout			1,188	86.3	−4.6
Registered electors			1,377
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+22.9

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Droitwich[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Corbett	857	70.8	+4.6
	Conservative	George Allsopp	348	28.8	−5.0
	Liberal	Ernest B. A. Jones[12]	5	0.4	N/A
Majority			509	42.0	+9.6
Turnout			1,210	85.9	−0.4
Registered electors			1,408
	Liberal hold		Swing	+4.8

General election 1885: Droitwich[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Corbett	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 1886: Droitwich[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	John Corbett	4,031	59.3	New
	Liberal	Arthur James Dadson[15]	2,761	40.7	N/A
Majority			1,270	18.6	N/A
Turnout			6,792	71.6	N/A
Registered electors			9,484
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

Richard Martin

General election 1892: Droitwich[13][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Richard Martin	3,980	53.9	−5.4
	Liberal	Thomas English Stephens[17]	3,410	46.1	+5.4
Majority			570	7.8	−10.8
Turnout			7,390	75.5	+3.9
Registered electors			9,786
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	−5.4

General election 1895: Droitwich[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Richard Martin	Unopposed
	Liberal Unionist hold

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Droitwich[18][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Richard Martin	4,020	51.7	N/A
	Liberal	Cecil Harmsworth	3,752	48.3	New
Majority			268	3.4	N/A
Turnout			7,772	76.4	N/A
Registered electors			10,175
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

C.B. Harmsworth

General election 1906: Droitwich[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Cecil Harmsworth	5,165	52.8	+4.5
	Conservative	Eric Ayshford Knight	4,611	47.2	−4.5
Majority			554	5.6	N/A
Turnout			9,776	86.6	+10.2
Registered electors			11,283
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+4.5

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Droitwich[19][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	John Lyttelton	5,078	50.5	+3.3
	Liberal	Cecil Harmsworth	4,973	49.5	−3.3
Majority			105	1.0	N/A
Turnout			10,051	89.7	+1.1
Registered electors			11,200
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.3

General election December 1910: Droitwich[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	John Lyttelton	4,880	50.4	−0.1
	Liberal	Clifford H Brookes	4,808	49.6	+0.1
Majority			72	0.8	−0.2
Turnout			9,688	86.5	−3.2
Registered electors			11,200
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	−0.1

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: John Lyttelton
• Liberal: Clifford H Brookes[20]

Whiteley

1916 Droitwich by-election[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Herbert Whiteley	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

References

1. 1557–1640, 1659, 1681: Treadway Russell Nash, History and Antiquities of the County of Worcester I (1782), introduction, xxxii.
2. Winnington changed his name to Jeffreys during the Parliament of 1708–10
3. Winnington was re-elected at the election of 1741 but had also been elected for Worcester, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Droitwich
4. At the election of 1747 the returning officer made a double return, naming Thomas Foley, Francis Winnington and Samuel Masham as elected; after the consideration the Commons committee declared Winnington and Edwin Sandys (who had petitioned against the result) as the duly elected members
5. Thomas Foley elected to sit for Herefordshire, replaced by Edward Foley
6. Robert Harley died 15 March 1774 and replaced by Andrew Foley
7. 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. 129–130. Retrieved 18 August 2018 – via Google Books.
8. "The Elections". Worcester Journal. 29 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 19 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Election Intelligence". Morning Post. 22 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 19 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. Salmon, Philip. "Droitwich". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
11. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) |format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
12. "Great Liberal Meeting at the Music Hall". Worcestershire Chronicle. 27 March 1880. p. 8. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. The Liberal Year Book, 1908
14. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
15. [16 Jul 1886 "Droitwich"] Check |url= value (help). Diss Express. 16 July 1886. p. 6. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
16. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
17. "A Liberal for the Droitwich Division". Greenock Telegraph and Clyde Shipping Gazette. 25 November 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
18. Debrett's House of Commons, 1901
19. Debrett's House of Commons, 1918
20. Birmingham Daily Post 29 Jan 1914

• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• Michael Kinnear, The British Voter (London: BH Batsford, Ltd, 1968)
• 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)
• Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
• Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol II" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 3)