Aberdeenshire was a Scottish county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1868.

In 1868 it was divided to create Eastern Aberdeenshire and Western Aberdeenshire.

Creation The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Aberdeenshire .

Boundaries

When created in 1708, the constituency covered the county of Aberdeen minus the burgh of Aberdeen, which was part of the Aberdeen Burghs constituency.

Under the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 the Aberdeen burgh constituency was created to cover the burgh plus areas previously within the Aberdeenshire constituency.Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, Schedules (A) (County constituencies) and (M) (boundaries of Aberdeen burgh constituency).

History The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was abolished for the 1868 general election.

In 1868, the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 divided Aberdeenshire to form Eastern Aberdeenshire and Western Aberdeenshire, and these new constituencies were first used in the 1868 general election.

Members of Parliament Election Member PartyNotes 1708 Lord Haddo Tory 1709 by-election Sir Alexander Cumming, Bt Tory 1722 Sir Archibald Grant, Bt Opposition Whig expelled due to his role in the Charitable Corporation 1732 by-election Sir Arthur Forbes, Bt Whig 1747 Andrew Mitchell Whig MP for Elgin Burghs 1755–1771 1754 Lord Adam Gordon Pro-Administration MP for Kincardineshire 1774–1788 1768 Alexander Garden Independent 1786 by-election George Skene Whig MP for Elgin Burghs 1806–1807 1790 James Ferguson Tory MP for Banffshire 1789–1790 Sept 1820 by-election William Gordon Tory Royal Navy officer, Commander-in-Chief, The Nore1834 Conservative 1854 by-election Lord Haddo Peelite succeeded as Earl of Aberdeen in 1860 1859 Liberal 1861 by-election William Leslie Conservative resigned May 1866 1866 by-election William Dingwall Fordyce Liberal afterwards MP for East Aberdeenshire1868constituency divided: see Eastern Aberdeenshire and Western Aberdeenshire

Election results Elections in the 1830s

Elections in the 1840s

Gordon was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

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

Elections in the 1860s Hamilton-Gordon succeeded as 5th Earl of Aberdeen, and had thus become ineligible to sit in the House of Commons. The ensuing by-election was won by the Conservative candidate, William Leslie.

Leslie resigned, causing a by-election.

See also Former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies

References