Cirencester was a parliamentary constituency in Gloucestershire. From 1571 until 1885, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Member of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868, and one member between 1868 and 1885. In 1885 the borough was abolished but the name was transferred to the county constituency in which it stood; this constituency was abolished for the 1918 general election.
History The town sent Members to Parliament on at least one occasion during the 14th century and again in 1547. Cirencester borough as established in 1571 consisted of part of the parish of Cirencester, a market town in the east of Gloucestershire. In 1831, the population of the borough was 4,420, and the town contained 917 houses.
The right to vote was exercised by all resident householders of the borough who were not receiving alms, an unusually liberal franchise for the period in any but the smallest towns, which meant that there were about 500 qualified voters. This arose from the chance that a dispute over the franchise arose in 1624, and the House of Commons had to decide whether only the freeholders could vote or if the right should extend to all the householders. The 1620s was a rare period when the Commons as a matter of policy tended to decide for the broadest interpretation in franchise disputes (all 15 cases brought before them in that decade were resolved in favour of the solution which enfranchised most voters), and consequently in Cirencester the householders acquired the right of which they were never subsequently deprived (and which was later confirmed at another disputed election in 1724). Another election petition, in 1709, turned on whether the inhabitants of the Abbey, Emery and Sperringate Lane sections of the town were included within the borough; the Commons ruled that they were, but they were excluded again after yet another disputed election in 1792.
Despite Cirencester's relatively large electorate, the local landowners (or "patrons") were able to exert a very substantial influence over the elections, and it could probably be fairly described as a pocket borough. From at least the start of the 18th century, the Bathurst family were Lords of the Manor and had a share of the patronage, almost invariably filling one of the seats themselves and occasionally nominating the other MP as well. The Master family, whose influence predated that of the Bathursts, were able to command the second seat for long periods. In the 18th century, both the Bathursts and the Masters were Tories. Nevertheless, there were signs that the townspeople could show independence on occasion: in 1754, when the head of the Masters was a child and the Bathursts tried to take both seats, Cirencester shocked its Tory patrons by electing a local Whig nobleman instead.
The Reform Act 1832 extended the borough's boundaries slightly to include the whole of the parish, increasing the population to 5,420; but even with the revised franchise this gave Cirencester only 604 electors. The reform apparently did little to democratise the borough, for Bathursts and Masters continued to be elected almost continually throughout its existence. As subsequent Reform Acts raised the barrier for representation, Cirencester lost one of its two MPs in 1868 and had its boundaries further extended to take in the adjoining parish of Stratton; but, still too small, the borough was abolished altogether in 1885.
However, the name was transferred to the county constituency in which the town was placed, formally called The Eastern (or Cirencester) Division of Gloucestershire. This was a substantially-sized constituency fairly similar in its boundaries to the modern Cotswold District Council, with a strong rural element but including a number of small towns apart from Cirencester - Chipping Campden, Fairford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Tetbury and Stow-on-the-Wold among them. In character it proved more Liberal than Cirencester borough had done, though this may have been as much from the dilution of the Bathurst influence as from political factors - consequently instead of being a safe Conservative seat it was generally a knife-edge marginal. Arthur Winterbotham, the Liberal who had won the constituency by 700 votes at its first election, in 1885, was re-elected unopposed when he became a Liberal Unionist in 1886, but when he switched back to the Liberals at the next general election his majority fell to 153. Winterbotham died later the same year, and the by-election was decided in favour of the Conservative candidate, Colonel Thomas Chester-Master, by just 3 votes; but his defeated opponent petitioned against the result and after further scrutiny of the ballots the result was revised and declared to be tied. It was impossible at this stage to give a casting vote to the returning officer (the usual solution to a tied election at that period), so the election had to be run again.
The constituency was abolished in 1918, being split between the new Cirencester and Tewkesbury and Stroud constituencies.
Boundaries 1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Chipping Campden, Cirencester, Fairford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Tetbury.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1547 YearFirst memberSecond member1547 John Eston George Ferrers
Borough constituency (1571–1885)
MPs 1571–1640
YearFirst memberSecond member1571 Gabriel Blike Thomas Poole 1572 Thomas Poole Thomas Strange 1584 Thomas Poole (jun) William Estcourt 1586 George Master William Bridges, sat for Gloucestershire and was replaced by Charles Danvers 1589 Charles Danvers George Master 1593 Oliver St John Henry Ferrers 1597 Henry Poole James Wroughton 1601 Richard Browne Richard George 1604–1611 Arnold Oldsworth Richard Martin, sat for Christchurch and was replaced by Edward Jones, who died and was replaced by Sir Anthony Manie 1614Sir Anthony Manie Robert Strange 1621–1622 Sir Thomas Roe Thomas Nicholas 1624 Henry Poole Sir William Master 1625 Sir Miles Sandys Henry Poole 1626 Sir Neville Poole John George 1628–1629 Sir Giles Estcourt John George
MPs 1640–1868
YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond partyApril 1640 Henry Poole John George November 1640 Sir Theobald GorgesRoyalist John GeorgeRoyalist January 1644Gorges and George disabled from sitting - both seats vacantFebruary 1648Sir Thomas FairfaxFairfax was delayed from taking his seat by a dispute over the election; although he was eventually declared duly elected in February 1649, it is unlikely that he ever took his seat in the Rump, so probably never sat for CirencesterNathaniel RichDecember 1648Fairfax not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge1653Cirencester was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament1654 John Stone Cirencester had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate 1656 January 1659 Richard Southby May 1659Nathaniel Rich One seat vacantApril 1660 Thomas Master Henry Powle 1661 The Earl of Newburgh John George 1671 Henry Powle 1679 Sir Robert Atkyns 1685 Thomas Master Charles Levingston 1689 John Grubham Howe March 1690 Richard Howe Henry Powle November 1690 John Grubham Howe 1698 Henry Ireton Charles Coxe January 1701 James Thynne December 1701 William Master 1705 Allen Bathurst Henry Ireton 1708 At the election of 1708, Bathurst and Coxe were initially declared elected; but on petition, the election was declared void because the inhabitants of the Abbey, Emery and Sperringate Lane had been excluded from voting. However, both were re-elected in the ensuing by-election. Charles Coxe 1712 Thomas Master Tory 1713 Benjamin Bathurst Tory 1727 Peter Bathurst Tory 1734 William WodehouseWodehouse was also elected for Norfolk, but died before having chosen which constituency to represent 1735 Henry Bathurst Tory 1747 Thomas Master Tory 1749 John Coxe 1754 Hon. Benjamin Bathurst Tory Hon. John DawnaySucceeded as the 4th Viscount Downe (in the Peerage of Ireland), 1760 Whig 1761 James Whitshed Tory 1768 Estcourt Cresswell 1774 Samuel Blackwell 1783 Henry Bathurst Tory 1784 Whig 1785 Richard MasterMaster was re-elected in 1790, but on petition the committee declared he had not been duly elected, and seated his opponent, Preston, in his place Tory 1792 (Sir) Robert PrestonSucceeded to a baronetcy, March 1800 Tory 1795 Michael Hicks-Beach Tory 1806 Joseph Cripps Tory 1812 Henry Bathurst Tory 1818 Joseph CrippsTory 1834 Conservative Lord Edward Somerset Conservative 1837 Thomas Chester-Master I Conservative 1841 William Cripps Conservative 1844 George Child-VilliersConservative 1848 Joseph Mullings Conservative 1852 Hon. Ashley Ponsonby Whig 1857 Allen Bathurst Conservative 1859 Hon. Ashley Ponsonby Liberal 1865 Hon. Ralph Dutton Conservative1868 Representation reduced to one member
MPs 1868–1885 ElectionMemberParty 1868 Allen Bathurst, later Earl Bathurst Conservative 1878 by-election Thomas Chester-Master II Conservative1885 Borough abolished - name transferred to county division
County constituency (1885–1918) ElectionMemberParty 1885 Arthur Winterbotham Liberal 1886 Liberal Unionist 1892 Liberal 1892 by-election Thomas Chester-Master Conservative 1893 by-election Harry Levy-Lawson Liberal 1895 Hon. Benjamin Bathurst Conservative 1906 Walter Essex Liberal 1910 Hon. Benjamin Bathurst Conservative1918 constituency abolished
Elections Elections in the 1830s
Caused by Henry Bathurst's succession to the Peerage, becoming 4th Earl Bathurst
Elections in the 1840s
Chester-Master resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election
Cripps was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
Cripps' death caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Elections in the 1860s
Seat reduced to one member
Elections in the 1870s
Bathurst succeeded to the peerage, becoming Earl Bathurst.
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1890s
Chester-Master was originally declared the victor by 3 votes, but on petition and after scrutiny, the votes were declared equal and a new election was held.
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
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) John Cannon, Parliamentary Reform 1640-1832 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972) 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) The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913) Lewis Namier & John Brooke, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754-1790 (London: HMSO, 1964) T. H. B. Oldfield The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816) J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965) Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
External links An account of the Cirencester election of 1647