Cockermouth was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England in 1295, and again from 1641, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was a parliamentary borough represented by two Members of Parliament until 1868, and by one member from 1868 to 1885. The name was then transferred to a county constituency electing one MP from 1885 until 1918.
Notable MPs have included the regicide, Francis Allen.
The borough constituency (until 1885)
Until the Great Reform Act 1832, the constituency consisted solely of the market town of Cockermouth in Cumberland. It first returned members to the Model Parliament of 1295, but its franchise then seems to have lapsed until 1641, when the Long Parliament passed a resolution (15 February 1641) to restore its ancient privileges.
The right of election in Cockermouth was vested in the burgage tenants of the borough, of whom there were about 300 in 1832. Cockermouth was considered a pocket borough, with the vast majority of the voters being under the influence of the Lowther family.
At the time of the 1831 census, the borough included just over 1,000 houses and had a population of 4,536. The Reform Act 1832 expanded the boundaries to bring in the neighbouring parishes of Eaglesfield, Brigham, Papcastle and Bridekirk, and part of Dovenby, increasing the population to 6,022 and encompassing 1,325 houses. This made the borough big enough to retain both its members. However, in the next wave of reform, introduced at the 1868 general election, one of Cockermouth's two seats was withdrawn, and in 1885 the borough was abolished altogether, although the name was transferred to the surrounding county constituency.
The county constituency (1885-1918) The Cockermouth constituency created in 1885, strictly speaking The Cockermouth Division of Cumberland, was a compact division stretching westwards from Cockermouth to the sea, and including the much larger town of Workington. There was a significant Irish vote, and the Conservative victory in 1885 and subsequent Liberal gain of the seat in 1886 have been attributed to Parnell's shift of support from the one party to the other.
The constituency was divided between the new Workington and Penrith and Cockermouth divisions of Cumberland from 1918.
Members of Parliament Cockermouth re-enfranchised by Parliament in Nov 1640
MPs 1641–1868 YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party 1641Sir John Fenwick, BtFenwick was later elected for Northumberland, which he chose to represent, and ceased to sit for CockermouthParliamentarianSir John Hippisley Parliamentarian1642Seat vacant through double return The election to replace Fenwick was disputed, and the Returning Officer made a double return, i.e. reported both candidates - Sir Thomas Sandford, Bt and Francis Allen - as elected, leaving Parliament to decide. The dispute was still unresolved when Sandford was declared disabled from sitting because of his Royalist sympathies in January 1644; Allen was admitted to sit in 1645.1645Francis Allen1653Cockermouth was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the ProtectorateJanuary 1659 John StapletonWilfrid LawsonMay 1659Not represented in the restored Rump 1660Richard Tolson Sir Wilfrid Lawson 1661Hugh Potter 1662Robert Scawen 1670John Clarke 1675Sir Richard Grahme 1679Sir Orlando Gee 1685Sir Daniel Fleming 1689Sir Henry Capell Henry Fletcher 1690Sir Orlando Gee Sir Wilfrid Lawson 1695Sir Charles Gerard Goodwin Wharton Whig 1698George Fletcher WhigWilliam Seymour 1701Goodwin Wharton WhigFebruary 1702Thomas Lamplugh July 1702James Stanhope Whig 1708Albemarle Bertie 1710Nicholas Lechmere 1713Joseph Musgrave 1715James Stanhope WhigApril 1717Sir Thomas Pengelly July 1717Lord Percy SeymourIn a by-election in 1717, Seymour was defeated by Sir Wilfrid Lawson by 90 votes to 84, but Lawson was underage, and on petition Seymour was declared elected 1721Anthony Lowther 1722Sir Wilfrid Lawson 1727William Finch 1734 1738Eldred Curwen 1741Sir John Mordaunt July 1747Sir Charles WyndhamWyndham was also elected for Taunton, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Cockermouth December 1747William Finch 1754Percy Wyndham-O'BrienCreated Earl of Thomond (in the peerage of Ireland), 1756 1761Charles Jenkinson 1767Captain John Elliot, RN March 1768Charles JenkinsonJenkinson was also elected for Appleby, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Cockermouth in this parliament Sir George Macartney May 1768Captain George Johnstone, RNJohnstone was re-elected at the general election of 1774, but was also elected for Appleby, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Cockermouth in this parliament Independent 1769Sir James Lowther 1774Fletcher NortonNorton was also elected for Carlisle, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Cockermouth 1775Ralph Gowland James Adair 1780John Baynes Garforth ToryJohn Lowther Tory 1784James Clarke Satterthwaite Tory 1786Humphrey Senhouse Tory 1790John Baynes Garforth TorySir John Anstruther, 1st and 4th Baronet Tory 1796Edward Burrow Tory 1800Walter Spencer-Stanhope Tory 1802James Graham ToryRobert Plumer WardTory 1805Viscount Garlies Tory 1806John Lowther ToryJames GrahamTory January 1807Lord Binning Tory May 1807John Lowther Tory July 1807John Osborn Tory1808Viscount Lowther Tory October 1812John Lowther Tory December 1812Augustus Foster Tory1813Thomas Wallace Tory1816John Lowther Tory 1818Sir John Beckett Tory1821William Wilson Carus Wilson Tory1826Viscount Garlies Tory 1827Laurence Peel Tory 1830Philip Pleydell-Bouverie Whig 1831John Lowther TorySir James Scarlett Tory 1832Henry Aglionby Aglionby RadicalFretchville Lawson Ballantine Dykes Whig 1836Edward Horsman Whig1852Henry Wyndham Conservative1854John Steel Radical1857Lord Naas Conservative 1859Liberal April 1868Andrew Green Thompson Conservative1868 Representation reduced to one member
MPs 1868–1885 ElectionMemberParty 1868Isaac Fletcher Liberal 1879 by-electionWilliam Fletcher Liberal 1880 Edward Waugh Liberal1885 Borough abolished; name transferred to county division
MPs 1885–1918 Cockermouth Division of Cumberland
ElectionMemberParty 1885 Charles James Valentine Conservative 1886 Sir Wilfrid Lawson Liberal 1900 John Randles Conservative 1906 Sir Wilfrid Lawson Liberal 1906 Sir John Randles Conservative 1910 Sir Wilfrid Lawson jnr. Liberal 1916Joseph Bliss Liberal 1918 constituency abolished
Elections Elections in the 1830s
Dykes resigned, causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1840s Horsman was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Aglionby's death caused a by-election.
Bourke was appointed Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, requiring a by-election.
Elections in the 1860s
Bourke was appointed Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, requiring a by-election.
Steel's death caused a by-election.
Seat reduced to one member
Elections in the 1870s
Fletcher's suicide caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1880s
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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; Liberal: Wilfrid Lawson Unionist: Daniel Johnston Mason Labour:Thomas Cape
References
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) Michael Kinnear, "The British Voter" (London: Batsford, 1968) J Holladay Philbin, "Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales" (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965) Henry Stooks Smith, "The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847" (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973) Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol II" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991) "The Constitutional Yearbook, 1913" (London: National Unionist Association, 1913)