Westmorland was a constituency covering the county of Westmorland in the North of England, which returned Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England until 1707, House of Commons of Great Britain until 1801 and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The constituency had two separate periods of existence. Until 1885, it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. For the string of elections from 1885 general election it split in two: Appleby and Kendal, both of which had been parliamentary boroughs but were reconstituted as county constituencies. From 1918 to 1983, the constituency was recreated as a single-seater for the 1918 general election and abolished for the 1983 general election.
In the boundary changes in 1983 the southern part of the constituency became part of the new seat of Westmorland and Lonsdale and the northern area was transferred to Penrith and The Border.
Boundaries The 1918 – 1983 seat corresponded to the county of Westmorland even after the abolition of the administrative county in 1974.
Members of Parliament Constituency created (1290)
MPs 1290–1640
ParliamentFirst memberSecond member 1290 Sir Richardus de Prestonne Sir Williemus de Stirkland 1302 Thomas de Betham 1305 Sir Hugh de Lowther Nicholas de Leyburne 1308–1309 Thomas de Betham 1309 Robert L'Angleys 1311–1312 Thomas de Betham 1311–1312 Robert L'Angleys 1313 Sir Matthew de Redman 1324 Sir Robertus de Sandeford 1328 Sir Nicholas de Preston 1331–1332 Sir Walter de Strickland 1341–1342 Sir Thomas de Musgrave 1343 Sir Richard de Preston Sir Thomas de Musgrave 1344–1345 Sir Thomas de Musgrave 1353 Sir Richard de Preston (Jnr) 1355 William de Windesere 1357 Sir Matthew de Redman 1362 Sir John Preston 1363 James Pickering 1366Sir John Preston James Pickering 1368 Sir John Preston 1371 Sir John Preston 1377–c1400 Hugh Salkeld I 1382 Sir John Preston 1384 John de Mansergh 1386Sir John Derwentwater Robert Clibern 1388 (Feb) Sir Thomas Blenkinsop Thomas Strickland 1388 (Sep) Robert de Sandford Hugh Salkeld I 1390 (Jan) John Crackenthorpe Hugh Salkeld I 1390 (Nov) Sir Christopher Moresby Hugh Salkeld I 1391 Sir William Curwen William Thornburgh 1393 John Crackenthorpe Hugh Salkeld I 1394 Sir William Curwen William Thornburgh 1395 Sir Walter Strickland William Crackenthorpe I 1397 (Jan) John Lancaster Hugh Salkeld I 1397 (Sep) Sir William Curwen William Crackenthorpe I 1399 Sir Thomas de Musgrave John Crackenthorpe 1401 William Thornburgh Hugh Salkeld II 1402 Sir William Threlkeld (Sir) William Crackenthorpe I 1404 (Jan) Roland Thornburgh Sir Richard Duckett 1404 (Oct) Sir Robert Leybourne Thomas de Strickland II 1406 Sir John Beetham (Sir) John Lancaster I 1407 Sir Alan Pennington Thomas Warcop 1410 1411 Sir Robert Leybourne Christopher Moresby 1413 (Feb) 1413 (May) Robert Crackenthorpe John Hutton 1414 (Apr) Robert Mauchell Richard Wharton 1414 (Nov) Thomas Warcop William Thornburgh 1415 Robert Warcop Thomas Warcop 1416 (Mar) Roland Thornburgh Robert Crackenthorpe 1416 (Oct) 1417 1419 Roland Thornburgh Robert Crackenthorpe 1420 William Beauchamp Thomas Greem II 1421 (May) Robert Warcop Robert Preston 1421 (Dec) (Sir) John Lancaster I William Blenkinsop 1429 Thomas de Strickland II 1431 Thomas de Strickland II 1435 Sir Thomas Parr 1449 Sir Thomas Parr 1450 Sir Thomas Parr 1455 Sir Thomas Parr 1459 ?Sir Thomas Parr 1467 William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal 1473 William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal 1510–1523No Names Known 1529 Sir William Musgrave Thomas Blenkinsop 1536 1539 1542 Sir James Leyburn Nicholas Bacon 1545 Sir Ingram Clifford Sir James Leyburn 1547 Sir Charles Brandon, died and replaced in January 1552 by Sir Robert Bowes Thomas Warcop 1553 (Mar) 1553 (Oct) Thomas Fallowfield Thomas Warcop 1554 (Apr) Thomas Fallowfield Thomas Warcop 1554 (Nov) Thomas Percy Thomas Warcop 1555 1558 Anthony Kempe Thomas Sackville 1559 (Jan) Lancelot Lancaster Thomas Warcop 1562–1563 Walter Strickland Gerard Lowther 1571 Alan Bellingham Thomas Warcop 1572 Thomas Knyvet Thomas Warcop 1584 Francis Clifford Thomas Warcop 1586 Francis Clifford Thomas Warcop 1588 (Oct) Francis Dacre Thomas Warcop 1593 Sir William Bowes (Sir) Edward Denny 1597 (Sep) (Sir) Walter Harcourt Henry Cholmley 1601 (Oct) George Wharton Thomas Strickland 1604–1611 Sir Richard MusgraveSir Thomas Strickland 1614 Lord Clifford Sir Thomas Wharton 1621 Lord Clifford Sir Thomas Wharton 1624 Sir John Lowther Robert Strickland 1625 Sir John Lowther Sir Henry Bellingham 1626 Sir John Lowther Sir Henry Bellingham 1628 Sir John Lowther John Lowther 1629–1640 No Parliament summoned
MPs 1640–1885 YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond partyApril 1640Sir Philip MusgraveRoyalist Sir Henry BellinghamRoyalistNovember 1640March 1643Musgrave disabled to sit – seat vacantOctober 1645Bellingham disabled to sit – seat vacant1646 Henry LawrenceJames BellinghamDecember 1648Lawrence excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacantBellingham not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge1653Westmorland was not separately represented in the Barebones Parliament. The following were nominated for The Four Northern Counties collectively: Major-General Charles Howard, Robert Fenwick, Henry Dawson, Henry Ogle1654Jeremy BaynesChristopher Lister1656Thomas BurtonJanuary 1659Thomas Wharton May 1659Not represented in the restored RumpApril 1660Sir John Lowther Sir Thomas Wharton 1661Sir Thomas Strickland Sir Philip Musgrave 1677Sir John Lowther 1678Alan Bellingham 1679Christopher Philipson 1681Sir John Lowther January 1689Henry Wharton December 1689Goodwin Wharton Whig1690Sir Christopher Musgrave 1695Sir Richard Sandford 1696William Fleming January 1701Sir Christopher Musgrave Henry Graham December 1701Sir Richard Sandford 1702Sir Christopher Musgrave 1704William Fleming 1705Robert Lowther 1707 Michael Fleming 1708Daniel Wilson James Grahme 1722Anthony Lowther 1727Daniel Wilson 1741Sir Philip Musgrave 1747Edward Wilson John Dalston 1754Sir George Dalston 1759Robert Lowther 1761Sir James Lowther John Upton 1763Robert Lowther 1764John Robinson 1768Thomas Fenwick 1774Sir James LowtherSir James Lowther was also elected for Cumberland, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Westmorland in this Parliament TorySir Michael le Fleming Tory1775James Lowther Tory1806The Lord Muncaster Tory1812Henry Lowther Tory1813Viscount Lowther Tory1831Alexander Nowell Whig1832 Viscount Lowther Tory 1834ConservativeConservative1841William Thompson Conservative1854Earl of Bective Conservative1868William Lowther Conservative1871Earl of Bective Conservative
Notes
MPs 1918–1983 ElectionMemberParty 1918 John Weston Coalition Conservative 1924 Oliver Stanley Conservative 1945 William Fletcher-Vane Conservative 1964 Michael Jopling Conservative 1983 constituency abolished: see Westmorland and Lonsdale
Election results 1290–1885
Election results taken from the History of Parliament Trust series.
Elections in the 18th century
Lowther appointed a Commissioner of the Revenue in Ireland
Elections in the 1830s
Elections in the 1840s
William Lowther was appointed Postmaster General of the United Kingdom and called to the House of Lords as Baron Lowther, causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Thompson's death caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1860s
Lowther's death caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1870s Taylour succeeded to the peerage, becoming Marquess of Headfort and causing a by-election at which his son was elected unopposed.
Elections in the 1880s
Election results 1918–1983
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1930s
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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected; Conservative: Oliver Stanley Labour: R S Armstrong Liberal: Geoffrey AclandNorth Devon Journal, 16 Jun 1938
Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1970s
References
Sources D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989) F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949 (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969) Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988) Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)