East Grinstead was a parliamentary constituency in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. It first existed as a Parliamentary borough from 1307, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons elected by the bloc vote system. The borough was disfranchised under the Reform Act 1832, but the name was revived at the 1885 election when the Redistribution of Seats Act created a new single-member county division of the same name.

Upon its abolition for the 1983 election, its territory was divided between Mid Sussex and Wealden.

Boundaries 1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Cuckfield (except the parish of Crawley), East Grinstead, and Uckfield (except the parishes of East Heathley and Waldron).

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Burgess Hill, Cuckfield, East Grinstead, Hayward's Heath, and Uckfield, and the Rural Districts of Cuckfield, East Grinstead, and Uckfield.

1950–1955: The Urban Districts of Cuckfield and East Grinstead, the Rural District of Uckfield, in the Rural District of Cuckfield the parishes of Ardingly, Balcombe, Bolney, Cuckfield Rural, Horsted Keynes, Lindfield Rural, Slaugham, West Hoathly, and Worth, and in the Rural District of Battle the parishes of Burwash, Etchingham, and Ticehurst.

1955–1974: As 1950 less the Battle RD parishes.

1974–1983: The Urban District of East Grinstead, and the Rural District of Uckfield.

Members of Parliament MPs 1307–1660 YearFirst memberSecond member 1388 (Feb) John Dyne John Heldele 1388 (Sep) William Nelond Richard Woghere 1390 (Jan) 1390 (Nov) 1391 John Alfray I John Dyne 1393 Thomas Alleyn Thomas Rasse 1394 1395 Thomas Farlegh William atte Hull 1397 (Jan) John Dyne John Punget 1397 (Sep) John Dyne John Punget 1399 John Dyne Richard Woghere 1401 1402 John Dyne Richard Woghere 1404 (Jan) 1404 (Oct) 1406 1407 John Dyne Richard Woghere 1410 1411 1413 (Feb) 1413 (May) Thomas Alleyn John Hoke 1414 (Apr) 1414 (Nov) John Dyne John Woghere 1415 1416 (Mar) John Ermyte John Mason 1416 (Oct) 1417 1419William Fenningham John Hamme 1420 1421 (May) Richard Fowell John Woghere 1421 (Dec) John Alfray II John Woghere 1433Thomas Russell1447 John Alfray 1457Ralph Legh1459 John Alfray 1510-1523No names known 1529 William Rutter Edward Goodwin 1536 ? 1539 ? 1542 ? John Sackville 1545 ? 1547 Jasper Culpeper John Sackville II, died and replaced by Jan 1552 by George Darrell 1553 (Mar) Sir Robert Oxenbridge George Darrell 1553 (Oct) Sir Thomas Stradling John Story 1554 (Apr) Richard Whalley Anthony Stapleton 1554 (Nov) Thomas Duffield 1555 ?William Barnes John Wiseman 1558 Thomas Farnham Thomas Parker 1559 Thomas Sackville Humphrey Llwyd 1562–3 John Sackville Lawrence Banester 1571 John Jeffrey Henry Berkeley 1572 Thomas Cure Michael Heneage 1584 Thomas Cure Francis Alford 1586 John Covert Drew Pickesse 1589 Francis Alford Thomas Frere 1593 Reade Stafford John Shurley 1597 George Rivers Richard Baker 1601 Sir Henry Compton George Rivers 1604 Sir Henry Compton Sir John Swynnerton 1614 Sir Henry Compton George Rivers 1621 Sir Henry Compton Thomas Pelham 1624 Robert Heath Thomas Caldicot 1625 Robert Heath Sir Henry Compton 1626 Robert Goodwin Sir Henry Compton 1628-1629 Robert Goodwin Sir Henry Compton 1629–1640 No Parliaments summoned 1640 (Apr) Sir Henry ComptonRobert Goodwin 1640 (Nov) Lord Buckhurst, disabled 1644Robert Goodwin 1648 Robert Goodwin John Baker 1653Not represented in Barebones Parliament 1654 John Goodwin (one seat only) 1656 John Goodwin (one seat only) 1659 Robert Goodwin George Courthope

MPs 1660–1832 YearFirst memberSecond member 1660 Marmaduke Gresham George Courthope 1661 Lord Buckhurst 1675 Edward Sackville 1678 Thomas Pelham 12 February 1679 Edward Sackville 7 April 1679 Henry Powle 19 April 1679 Sir Thomas Littleton, Bt 19 August 1679 Goodwin Wharton William Jephson 1681 Sir Cyril Wyche Henry Powle 1685 Simon Smith Thomas Jones 1689 Sir Thomas Dyke Thomas Sackville 1693 Simon Smith February 1695 The Earl of Orrery November 1695 John Conyers 1698 The Earl of Orrery January 1701 Matthew Prior November 1701 The Earl of Orrery 1702 John Toke 1708 Viscount Lumley Henry Campion 1710 John Conyers Leonard Gale 1713 Hon. Spencer Compton 1715 The Viscount Shannon March 1722 Hon. Sir Spencer Compton November 1722 The Viscount Shannon 1725 Edward Conyers 1727 The Viscount Palmerston 1734 The Earl of Middlesex Edward Conyers 1741 Sir Whistler Webster 1742 John Butler 1747 Sydney Smythe 1751 Hon. Joseph Yorke March 1761 The Earl of Middlesex Lord George Sackville December 1761 Sir Thomas Hales, Bt 1762 John Irwin 1765 Sir Charles Farnaby 1767 Lord George Sackville 1782 Henry Arthur Herbert 1783 George Medley 1786 James Cuninghame 1788 Robert Cuninghame 1789 Richard Ford 1790 Nathaniel Dance William Hamilton Nisbet 1796 James Strange 1802 Sir Henry Strachey Daniel Giles 1807 Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, Bt. Charles Ellis January 1812 Richard Wellesley March 1812 George Gunning June 1812 Nicholas Vansittart October 1812 George Gunning James Stephen 1815 Sir George Johnstone Hope May 1818 Lord Strathavon June 1818 The Hon. Charles Jenkinson 1829 Viscount Holmesdale 1830 Frederick Richard West Constituency abolished (1832)

MPs 1885–1983 Constituency revived (1885)

Election Name Party Notes 1885 George Gregory Conservative MP for East Sussex 1868–1885 1886 Alfred Gathorne-Hardy Conservative MP for Canterbury 1878–1880. Son of 1st Earl of Cranbrook 1895 George Goschen Conservative Governor of Madras 1924–1929; 2nd Viscount Goschen 1907–1952 1906 Charles Corbett Liberal 1910 (Jan) Henry Cautley Conservative ennobled in 1936 as Baron Cautley, triggering a by-election 1936 by-election Ralph Clarke Conservative 1955 Evelyn Emmet Conservative Made a life peer in 1965 as Baroness Emmet of Amberley, triggering a by-election 1965 by-election Geoffrey Johnson-Smith Conservative Former broadcaster. MP for Wealden 1983–2001 1983Constituency abolished. See Wealden and Mid Sussex

Elections 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; Unionist: Henry Cautley Liberal: Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Liberal candidate Lewis R. Jones withdrew at the last minute.

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: Ralph Clarke Liberal: William Cavendish SearleThe Liberal Magazine, 1939

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

References

Election results, 1950 - 1979

Further reading