Berkshire was a parliamentary constituency in England, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. The county returned two knights of the shire until 1832 and three between 1832 and 1885.
Boundaries and boundary changes This county constituency consisted of the historic county of Berkshire, in south-eastern England to the west of modern Greater London. Its northern boundary was the River Thames. See Historic counties of England for a map and other details. The Great Reform Act made some minor changes to the parliamentary boundaries of the county, transferring parts of five parishes to neighbouring counties while annexing parts of four other parishes which had previously been in Wiltshire.
The county, up to 1885, also contained the borough constituencies of Abingdon (1 seat from 1558), New Windsor (2 seats 1302–1868, 1 seat from 1868), Reading (2 seats from 1295) and Wallingford (2 seats 1295–1832, 1 seat from 1832). Although these boroughs elected MPs in their own right, they were not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election.
History As in other county constituencies the franchise between 1430 and 1832 was defined by the Forty Shilling Freeholder Act 1430, which gave the right to vote to every man who possessed freehold property within the county valued at £2 or more per year for the purpose of land tax; it was not necessary for the freeholder to occupy his land, nor even in later years to be resident in the county at all.
At the time of the Great Reform Act 1832, Berkshire had a population of about 145,000, but only 3,726 votes were cast at the election of 1818, the highest recorded vote in the county before 1832, even though each voter could cast two votes. Although local landowners could never control a county the size of Berkshire in the way they could own a pocket borough, titled magnates still exercised considerable influence over deferential county voters: in the early 19th century Lord Craven and Lord Braybrooke were considered the "patrons" of the Berkshire constituency and could usually persuade the voters to support their favoured candidates.
The place of election for the county was the then county town of Abingdon. In 1880, according to the report in The Times (of London), the ballot boxes were taken to Reading for the count and declaration of the result, instead of these taking place at Abingdon as had happened previously. Before the Reform Act 1832 it was normal for voters to expect the candidates for whom they voted to meet their expenses in travelling to the poll and to provide food, liquor and lodgings when they arrived, making the cost of a contested election in some counties prohibitive, but this was less of a factor in a comparatively small county like Berkshire, and contested elections were not uncommon. Nevertheless, potential candidates preferred to canvass support beforehand and usually did not insist on a vote being taken unless they were confident of winning. There were contests in Berkshire at 11 of the 29 general elections between 1701 and 1832, but in the other 18 the candidates were returned unopposed.
Under the Great Reform Act 1832, the county franchise was extended to occupiers of land worth £50 or more, as well as the forty-shilling freeholders, and Berkshire was given a third MP. Under the new rules, 5,582 electors were registered and entitled to vote at the general election of 1832.
The constituency was abolished in 1885, and the county was divided into three single-member constituencies: the Northern or Abingdon Division; the Southern or Newbury Division; and the Eastern or Wokingham Division. The Abingdon Division absorbed the abolished parliamentary boroughs of Abingdon and Wallingford, whilst the parliamentary boroughs of Reading and New Windsor were retained, each with 1 MP.
Members of Parliament Constituency created (1265): See Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Montfort's Parliament for further details. Knights of the shire are known to have been summoned to most Parliaments from 1290 (the 19th Parliament of Edward I) and to every one from 1320 (the 19th Parliament of Edward II).
Knights of the shire 1265–1660
Some of the members elected during this period have been identified, but this list does not include Parliaments where no member has been identified. The year given is that of the first meeting of the Parliament, with the month added where there was more than one Parliament in the year. If a second year is given this is a date of dissolution. Early Parliaments usually only sat for a few days or weeks, so dissolutions in the same year as the first meeting are not recorded in this list. If a specific date of election is known this is shown in italic brackets. The Roman numerals in brackets, following some names, are used to distinguish different MPs of the same name in 'The House of Commons' 1509–1558 and 1558–1603.
ParliamentFirst memberSecond member 1300 Hugh le Blount 1307 Hugh le Blount 1313 Hugh le Blount (twice) 1327 Thomas Foxley"The Putnam Lineage" 1332 Thomas Foxley 1338 Thomas Foxley 1370 Sir Thomas Foxley 1372 Sir Thomas Foxley 1380 (Jan)Richard Brunce 1383 (Oct)Richard Brunce 1384 (Apr)Richard Brunce 1384 (Nov)Richard Brunce 1385Richard Brunce 1386Richard Brunce Sir Gilbert Talbot 1388 (Feb) Laurence Drew Edmund Sparsholt 1388 (Sep) William Golafre 1390 (Jan) Richard Brouns Sir John Kentwood 1390 (Nov) John Arches Thomas Childrey 1391Laurence Drew John Eastbury 1393Sir John Kentwood Edmund Sparsholt 1394Sir Richard Abberbury Sir William Langford 1395 William Brunce William Wood 1397 (Jan) Sir Richard Abberbury Robert James 1397 (Sep) John Englefield John Hartington 1399Robert James Edmund Sparsholt 1401John Golafre Thomas Gloucester 1402John Arches Robert James 1404 (Jan) Sir William Langford Edmund Sparsholt 1404 (Oct) John Arches John Golafre 1406Thomas Childrey Laurence Drew 1407John Golafre Edmund Sparsholt 1410 Robert James 1411returns missing 1413 (Feb) 1413 (May)John Golafre Robert de la Mare 1414 (Apr) Edmund Sparsholt 1414 (Nov) Laurence Drew John Shotesbrook 1415returns missing 1416 (Mar) Sir Peter Bessels John Golafre 1416 (Oct)returns missing 1417Robert de la Mare Thomas Rothwell 1419 Thomas Beckingham John Shotesbrook 1420 William Danvers Thomas Rothwell 1421 (May) William Fynderne John Golafre 1421 (Dec) William Danvers William Perkins 1422 John Golafre 1423 Sir Peter Bessels 1425 1426 John Golafre 1427 John Golafre 1429 John Golafre 1485 __? Fetiplace 1491 William Harcourt 1510 Sir Thomas Englefield ? 1512 1515 1529Sir William Essex Sir Richard Weston 1536 1539Sir Thomas Pope Richard Brydges 1542Sir William Essex Thomas Weldon 1545 1547Henry Norreys Thomas Denton 1553 (Mar) Sir Henry Neville Sir William Fitzwilliam (I) 1553 (Oct) Sir Francis Englefield William Hyde 1554 (Apr) Sir Richard Brydges 1554 (Nov) Sir Francis Englefield 1555 William Hyde 1558 John Fettiplace 1558–1559 Sir William Fitzwilliam (I) Sir Henry Neville 1562–1563 John Cheney 1571Sir Henry Neville Richard Warde 1572 (Apr) Sir Edward Unton William Forster, died and replaced Feb 1576 by William Norris, also died and was repl. in 1580 by ?Edward Hoby 1584 (Nov) Sir Henry Neville Edward Unton 1586 (Oct) Edward Unton Thomas Parry 1588 (Oct) Sir Henry Norreys (II) Sir Edward Hoby 1593 Sir Henry Unton Sir Humphrey Forster 1597 (Sep) Sir Henry Norreys (II) Francis Knollys 1601 Sr Richard Lovelace George Hyde 1604 Sir Henry Neville Francis Knollys 1614 Sir Thomas Parry 1621 Sir Richard Lovelace Sir Robert Knollys 1624 Edmund Dunch Sir Richard Harrison 1625 Sir Francis Knollys 1626 John Fettiplace Edmund Dunch 1628 Sir Richard Harrison 1629–1640No parliaments summoned Apr 1640 John Fettiplace Henry Marten, Nov 1640 John Fettiplace, disabled 1644 replaced by Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke who died and was replaced by Henry Neville Henry Marten
ParliamentFirst memberSecond memberThird memberFourth memberFifth member 1653 Samuel Dunch Vincent Goddard Thomas Wood Three seats only 1654 George Purefoy Edmund Dunch Sir Robert Pye John Dunch John Southby 1656 William Trumball Edmund Dunch William Hide John Dunch John Southby 1659 John Dunch Sir Robert PyeRestored to two seats only
Knights of the shire 1660–1885 YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party 1660Richard Powle Sir Robert Pye 1661Hon. John Lovelace 1670Richard Neville 1677Sir Humphrey Forster, 2nd Bt. 1678The Earl of Stirling March 1679William Barker August 1679Richard Southby 1685Sir Humphrey Forster, 2nd Bt. 1689Lord Norreys Sir Henry Winchcombe, 2nd Bt. 1690Sir Humphrey Forster, 2nd Bt. Tory1695Richard Neville (the younger) Whig1701Sir John Stonhouse, 3rd Bt. Tory1710Henry St John Tory1712Robert Packer Tory1731Winchcombe Howard Packer Tory1734William Archer Tory1739Peniston Powney Tory1746Henry Pye 1757Arthur Vansittart 1766Hon. Thomas Craven 1772John Elwes 1774Christopher Griffith 1776Winchcombe Henry Hartley 1784George Vansittart ToryHenry James Pye 1790Winchcombe Henry Hartley 1794 by-electionCharles Dundas Whig1812 Hon. Richard Neville Tory1820 Whig1825 by-electionRobert Palmer Tory1831Robert Throckmorton WhigJune 1832 by-electionRobert Palmer ToryDecember 1832Third member added
electionFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond partyThird memberThird party 1832 Robert Throckmorton WhigRobert Palmer ToryJohn Walter Whig1834Conservative1835Philip Pusey Conservative1837The Viscount Barrington Conservative1846 Peelite1852George Henry Vansittart Conservative1857 Hon. Philip Pleydell-Bouverie Whig 1859Leicester Viney Vernon ConservativeJohn Walter Liberal Liberal1860 by-electionRichard Benyon Conservative 1865Robert Loyd-Lindsay ConservativeSir Charles Russell, 3rd Baronet Conservative1868John Walter Liberal1876 by-electionPhilip Wroughton Conservative1885Constituency abolished
Elections In multi-member elections the bloc voting system was used. Voters could cast a vote for one or two (or three in three-member elections 1832–1868) candidates, as they chose. The leading candidates with the largest number of votes were elected. In 1868 the limited vote was introduced, which restricted an individual elector to using one or two votes, in elections to fill three seats.
In by-elections, to fill a single seat, the first past the post system applied.
After 1832, when registration of voters was introduced, a turnout figure is given for contested elections. In three-member elections, when the exact number of participating voters is unknown, this is calculated by dividing the number of votes by three (to 1868) and two thereafter. To the extent that electors did not use all their votes this will be an underestimate of turnout.
Where a party had more than one candidate in one or both of a pair of successive elections change is calculated for each individual candidate, otherwise change is based on the party vote.
Candidates for whom no party has been identified are classified as Non Partisan. The candidate might have been associated with a party or faction in Parliament or consider himself to belong to a particular political tradition. Political parties before the 19th century were not as cohesive or organised as they later became. Contemporary commentators (even the reputed leaders of parties or factions) in the 18th century did not necessarily agree who the party supporters were. The traditional parties, which had arisen in the late 17th century, became increasingly irrelevant to politics in the 18th century (particularly after 1760), although for some contests in some constituencies party labels were still used. It was only towards the end of the century that party labels began to acquire some meaning again, although this process was by no means complete for several more generations.