East Cornwall (UK Parliament constituency)

East Cornwall
East Cornwall
	Former County constituency; for the House of Commons
	Context of 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the middle, striped area.
County	Cornwall
1832–1885
Number of members	Two
Replaced by	Bodmin, Launceston and St Austell
Created from	Cornwall, Bossiney, Callington, Camelford, East Looe, Lostwithiel, St Germans, Saltash and West Looe

East Cornwall was a county constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election.

Boundaries

In 1832 the county of Cornwall, in south west England, was split for parliamentary purposes into two county divisions. These were the East division (with a place of election at Bodmin) and West Cornwall (where voting took place at Truro). Each division returned two members to Parliament.[1]

The parliamentary boroughs included in the East division, from 1832 to 1885 (whose non-resident 40 shilling freeholders voted in the county constituency), were Bodmin, Launceston and Liskeard.[2]

1832–1885: The Hundreds of East, West, Lesnewth, Stratton, and Trigg, and in the hundred of Powder, the eastern division, i.e. the parishes of St Austell, St Blazey, St Dennis, St Ewe, Fowey, Gorran, Ladock, Lanlivery, Lostwithiel, Luxulyan, Mevagissey, St Mewan, St Michael Caerhays, Roche, St Sampson’s, St Stephen-in-Brannel, and Tywardreath, and in the hundred of Pydar, the parishes of St Breock, Colan, St Columb Minor and St Columb Major, St Ervan, St Eval, St Issey, Lanhydrock, Lanivet, Mawgan, St Merryn, Padstow, Little Petherick, St Wenn, and Withiel.[3]

History

In 1885 this division was abolished, when the East and West Cornwall county divisions were replaced by six new single-member county constituencies. These were Bodmin (the South-Eastern division), Camborne (North-Western division), Launceston (North-Eastern division), St Austell (Mid division), St Ives (the Western division) and Truro. In addition the last remaining Cornish borough constituency was Penryn and Falmouth.

Members of Parliament

	First member	First party	Second member	Second party
1832	Sir William Molesworth, Bt	Radical[4][5][6][7][8]	Sir William Salusbury-Trelawny, Bt	Whig[4]
1837	Lord Eliot	Conservative[4]	Sir Hussey Vivian, Bt	Whig[4][9]
1841	Lord Eliot	Conservative[4]	William Rashleigh	Conservative[4]
1845 by-election	William Pole-Carew	Conservative	William Rashleigh	Conservative[4]
1847	William Pole-Carew	Conservative	Thomas Agar-Robartes	Whig[10][11]
1852	Nicholas Kendall	Conservative		Whig[10][11]
1859	Nicholas Kendall	Conservative		Liberal
1868	Sir John Salusbury-Trelawney, Bt	Liberal	Edward Brydges Willyams	Liberal
1874	Sir Colman Rashleigh, Bt	Liberal	John Tremayne	Conservative
1880	Hon. Thomas Agar-Robartes	Liberal	William Copeland Borlase	Liberal
1882 by-election	Thomas Dyke Acland	Liberal	William Copeland Borlase	Liberal
1885	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: East Cornwall (2 seats)[12][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Radical	William Molesworth	Unopposed
	Whig	William Salusbury-Trelawny	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,462
	Radical win (new seat)
	Whig win (new seat)

General election 1835: East Cornwall (2 seats)[12][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Radical	William Molesworth	Unopposed
	Whig	William Salusbury-Trelawny	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,392
	Radical hold
	Whig hold

General election 1837: East Cornwall (2 seats)[13][12][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Edward Eliot	2,430	34.8
	Whig	Hussey Vivian	2,294	32.9
	Whig	William Salusbury-Trelawny	2,250	32.3
Turnout			4,648	85.0
Registered electors			5,469
Majority			136	1.9
	Conservative gain from Radical
Majority			44	0.6
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: East Cornwall (2 seats)[13][12][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Eliot	3,006	40.3	+22.9
	Conservative	William Rashleigh	2,807	37.6	+20.2
	Radical	John Trelawny[14]	1,647	22.1	New
Majority			1,160	15.5	+13.6
Turnout			4,549	74.9	−10.1
Registered electors			6,076
	Conservative hold		Swing	+22.9
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+20.2

Eliot was appointed Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 22 September 1841: East Cornwall[12][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Eliot	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Eliot was elevated to the peerage, becoming 3rd Earl of St Germans and causing a by-election.

By-election, 20 February 1845: East Cornwall[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Pole-Carew	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: East Cornwall (2 seats)[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	William Pole-Carew	Unopposed
	Whig	Thomas Agar-Robartes	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,270
	Conservative hold
	Whig gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: East Cornwall (2 seats)[13][12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Agar-Robartes	2,609	39.6	*N/A*
	Conservative	Nicholas Kendall	1,996	30.3	*N/A*
	Conservative	William Pole-Carew	1,979	30.1	N/A
Majority			613	9.3	N/A
Turnout			4,597 (est)	80.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			5,694
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: East Cornwall (2 seats) [12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Thomas Agar-Robartes	Unopposed
	Conservative	Nicholas Kendall	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,261
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: East Cornwall (2 seats)[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Thomas Agar-Robartes	Unopposed
	Conservative	Nicholas Kendall	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,240
	Liberal gain from Whig
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: East Cornwall (2 seats)[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Nicholas Kendall	Unopposed
	Liberal	Thomas Agar-Robartes	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,781
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: East Cornwall (2 seats)[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	John Salusbury-Trelawny	Unopposed
	Liberal	Edward Brydges Willyams	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,701
	Liberal hold
	Liberal gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: East Cornwall (2 seats)[13][12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Colman Rashleigh	3,395	26.6	*N/A*
	Conservative	John Tremayne	3,276	25.7	*New*
	Conservative	William Pole-Carew	3,099	24.3	New
	Liberal	Reginald Kelly	2,978	23.4	N/A
Turnout			6,374 (est)	71.0 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			8,982
Majority			119	0.9	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			177	1.4	N/A
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: East Cornwall (2 seats)[13][12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Agar-Robartes	4,018	30.1	+3.5
	Liberal	William Copeland Borlase	3,883	29.1	+5.7
	Conservative	John Tremayne	3,033	22.7	-3.0
	Conservative	Digby Collins[15]	2,403	18.0	-6.3
Majority			850	6.4	N/A
Turnout			6,669 (est)	72.9 (est)	+1.9
Registered electors			9,150
	Liberal hold		Swing
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Robartes was elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Robartes.

By-election, 3 Apr 1882: East Cornwall (1 seat)[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Dyke Acland	3,720	51.4	−7.8
	Conservative	John Tremayne	3,520	48.6	+7.9
Majority			200	2.8	−3.6
Turnout			7,240	76.3	+3.4 (est)
Registered electors			9,484
	Liberal hold		Swing	−7.9

There were 86 spoiled papers, which was considered an unusually high number.[16]

References

Writing about differences in dialects within Cornwall Thomas Q. Couch wrote in 1880: "If asked to define roughly a boundary, I know none better than the Parliamentary line from Crantock Bay, on St. George's Channel, to Veryan Bay, on the English Channel, which bisects the county."
Smith (1844) The Parliaments of England
"The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 161. Retrieved 15 November 2018 – via Google Books.
Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 209. Retrieved 15 November 2018 – via Google Books.
"Newcastle Journal". 6 September 1845. p. 2. Retrieved 23 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
"The Elections—Sunderland and Southwark". Coventry Herald. 5 September 1845. p. 4. Retrieved 23 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
"Election Intelligence". Bristol Mirror. 15 July 1837. p. 1. Retrieved 25 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
"Election Movements". The Examiner. 24 July 1847. pp. 8–10. Retrieved 29 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
"The General Election". Morning Post. 24 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 29 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) |format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 364–365. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
"East Cornwall Election". The Cornishman (92). 15 April 1880. p. 6.
"General Election". London Evening Standard. 9 July 1841. p. 4. Retrieved 5 April 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
"Cornwall". Cornish & Devon Post. 3 April 1880. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 19 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
"East Cornwall Election". The Cornishman. 195 (185). 6 April 1882. p. 7.

Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)

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[1] Writing about differences in dialects within Cornwall Thomas Q. Couch wrote in 1880: "If asked to define roughly a boundary, I know none better than the Parliamentary line from Crantock Bay, on St. George's Channel, to Veryan Bay, on the English Channel, which bisects the county."

[2] Smith (1844) The Parliaments of England

[3] "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 22 May 2020.

[stooks-smith-4] Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.

[5] Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 161. Retrieved 15 November 2018 – via Google Books.

[6] Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 209. Retrieved 15 November 2018 – via Google Books.

[7] "Newcastle Journal". 6 September 1845. p. 2. Retrieved 23 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[8] "The Elections—Sunderland and Southwark". Coventry Herald. 5 September 1845. p. 4. Retrieved 23 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[9] "Election Intelligence". Bristol Mirror. 15 July 1837. p. 1. Retrieved 25 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[10] "Election Movements". The Examiner. 24 July 1847. pp. 8–10. Retrieved 29 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[11] "The General Election". Morning Post. 24 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 29 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[craig1832-12] Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) |format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 364–365. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

[cman92-13] "East Cornwall Election". The Cornishman (92). 15 April 1880. p. 6.

[14] "General Election". London Evening Standard. 9 July 1841. p. 4. Retrieved 5 April 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[15] "Cornwall". Cornish & Devon Post. 3 April 1880. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 19 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[16] "East Cornwall Election". The Cornishman. 195 (185). 6 April 1882. p. 7.