Hastings was a parliamentary constituency in Sussex. It returned two Members of Parliament to the Parliament of England until 1707, Parliament of Great Britain before 1801 and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1885 general election, when its representation was reduced to one member. It was abolished for the 1983 general election, when it was partially replaced by the new Hastings and Rye constituency.

Boundaries 1918–1950: The County Borough of Hastings.

1950–1955: The County Borough of Hastings, the Municipal Borough of Rye, and the Rural District of Battle (except the parishes of Burwash, Etchingham and Ticehurst).

1955–1983: The County Borough of Hastings.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1366–1640 ParliamentFirst memberSecond member1386 John ClyvessendEdward Martham1378 John Salerne1382 (May)John Salerne1383 (Feb)John Salerne1383 (Oct)John Salerne1388 (Feb)John ClyvessendEdward Martham1388 (Sep)Richard BannokJohn Scott1390 (Jan)John Clyvessend Richard Wybard1390 (Nov)1391 John ClyvessendRichard Bannok1393 John ScottJohn Sharp13941395 Edward MarthamJohn Hokere1397 (Jan)John ClyvessendJohn Hokere1397 (Sep)1399 Edward MarthamHenry Mordant14011402 John SharpRobert Burgrove1404 (Jan)1404 (Oct)1406 Henry Mordant John Bexle1407 Robert BurgroveThomas Wybard1410 Edward MarthamJohn Harry14111413 (Feb)1413 (May)Henry MordantRichard Huntingdon1414 (Apr)1414 (Nov)Jihn SharpThomas Julyan14151416 (Mar)1416 (Oct)1417 John LyvettRichard Huntingdon1419 Simon LymberghJohn Martham1420 Simon LymberghWilliam Courthope1421 (May)John ParkerWilliam Courthope1421 (Dec)Richard HuntingdonWilliam Courthope1510No names known1512Robert HallHenry Benever1515 ?1523 Edmund Jacklin alias BocherEdmund Franke1529 Richard CalveleyThomas Shoyswellby 1534John DurrantJohn Taylor1536 ?John Durrant ?John Taylor1539 ?1542 John FrankeRichard Bishop1545 ?1547 Sir William StaffordJohn Isted1553 (Mar)John Isted ?1553 (Oct)Thomas RhodesJohn Peyton1554 (Apr)John FrankeJohn Isted1554 (Nov)Thomas RhodesJohn Peyton1555 Thomas Rhodes Roger Manwood1558 Thomas BrettHenry Tennant1559 John FrankeJames Hobson1562/3Sir William DamsellStanley T. Bindoff, The House of Commons: 1509–1558, vol. 4, p. 9Richard Lyffe1571 Richard Lyffe James Bryan1572 Richard Lyffe Thomas Lake1584 Thomas LakeThomas Phillips1586 Thomas LakeThomas Phillips1588/9Richard LyffeJohn Parker1593 Richard Lyffe Henry Apsley1597 Richard Lyffe Edmund Pelham1601 Sir Thomas Shirley Richard Lyffe 1604–1611 Richard Lyffe died and replaced by James Lasher Sir George Carew ennobled and replaced 1605 by Sir Edward HalesCobbett's Parliamentary History records the second member for Hastings in the 1604 Parliament as being James Lasher, but this seems to be an error; Lasher is mentioned only in the Commons Journal from 1621 while Carew was certainly a member in 1604, and other sources name his constituency as Hastings 1614 Sir Edward Hales James Lasher 1621 Samuel Moore James Lasher 1624 Nicholas Eversfield Samuel Moore 1625 Nicholas Eversfield Sackville Crowe 1626 Sir Dudley Carleton replaced by Sir Thomas Parker Nicholas Eversfield 1628 John Ashburnham Nicholas Eversfield

MPs 1640–1885 Election1st Member1st Party2nd Member2nd PartyApril 1640Sir John Baker Robert Reed November 1640John AshburnhamRoyalist(Sir) Thomas EversfieldRoyalistFebruary 1644Ashburnham and Eversfield disabled from sitting – both seats vacant1645John Pelham Roger GratwickDecember 1648Pelham excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant1653Hastings was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the ProtectorateJanuary 1659Samuel Gott Nicholas Delves May 1659Not represented in the restored RumpApril 1660 Sir Denny Ashburnham Nicholas Delves 1661 Edmund Waller 1679 Sir Robert Parker John Ashburnham 1681 Thomas Mun 1685 Sir Denny Ashburnham John Ashburnham Jan 1689 Thomas Mun Aug 1689 John Beaumont 1690 Peter Gott 1695 John Pulteney Robert Austen 1698 Peter Gott 1701 John Mounsher 1702 Hon. William Ashburnham Feb 1710 John Ashburnham Tory Oct 1710 Sir William Ashburnham Sir Joseph Martin 1713 Archibald Hutcheson 1715 Henry Pelham 1722 Sir William Ashburnham 1727 Thomas TownshendTownshend was also elected for Cambridge University, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Hastings 1728 Thomas Pelham 1741 James Pelham Andrew Stone Whig 1761 Hon. James Brudenell William Ashburnham 1768 Samuel Martin 1774 Henry Temple Charles Jenkinson 1780 John Ord 1784 John Dawes John Stanley Tory 1790 Sir Richard Pepper Arden Tory 1794 Robert Dundas Tory 1796 Sir James Sanderson Tory Nicholas Vansittart Tory 1798 William Sturges Tory 1802 Sylvester Douglas Tory George Gunning Tory 1806 Sir John Nicholl Sir William Fowle Middleton Tory 1807 George Canning Tory Sir Abraham Hume Tory 1812 James Dawkins Tory 1818 George Peter Holford Tory 1820 William Scott Tory June 1826 Sir William Curtis, Bt. Tory Sir Charles Wetherell Tory December 1826 Evelyn Denison Whig James Lushington Tory 1827 Joseph Planta Tory 1830 Sir Henry Fane Tory 1831 John Ashley Warre Whig Frederick North Whig 1835 Howard Elphinstone Radical 1837 Joseph Planta Conservative Robert Hollond Radical 1844 Musgrave Brisco Conservative 1852 Patrick Robertson Conservative 1854 Frederick North Whig 1859Liberal Lord Harry Vane Liberal 1864 Hon. George Waldegrave-Leslie Liberal 1865 Patrick Robertson Conservative 1868 Thomas Brassey Liberal Frederick North Liberal 1869 Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth Liberal 1880 Charles James Murray Conservative 1883 Henry Bret Ince Liberal 1885 Redistribution of Seats Act: representation reduced to one member

MPs 1885–1983 ElectionMemberParty 1885 Thomas Brassey Liberal 1886 Wilson Noble Conservative 1895 William Lucas-Shadwell Conservative 1900 Freeman Freeman-Thomas Liberal 1906 Harvey du Cros Conservative 1908 by-election Sir Arthur du Cros Conservative 1918 Laurance Lyon Coalition Conservative 1921 by-election Lord Eustace Percy Coalition Conservative 1937 by-election Maurice Hely-Hutchinson Conservative 1945 Sir Neill Cooper-Key Conservative 1970 Kenneth Warren Conservative 1983 constituency abolished: see Hastings and Rye

Elections Elections in the 1830s

The votes for Warre, Cave and Taddy were rejected by the mayor.

Elections in the 1840s

Planta resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Brisco resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s Powlett succeeded to the peerage, becoming Duke of Cleveland, and causing a by-election.

North's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1880s

Brassey was appointed a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

Murray resigned, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

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: Arthur Du Cros Liberal: Cecil Patrick Black

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 and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected; Conservative: Maurice Hely-Hutchinson Labour: William Wate WoodReport of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

References

Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) 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) J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)