Thetford was a constituency of the British House of Commons. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election. It was disenfranchised under the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868, which had resulted in a net increase of seven seats in Scotland, offset by the disenfranchisement of seven English Boroughs.

Below are those MPs who held the seat from just prior to the Restoration onwards.

Members of Parliament MPs 1529–1660

YearFirst memberSecond member 1529 Giles Heron William Dauntesey (or Daunce) 1536 ? 1539 ? 1542 ? 1545 ? 1547John Brende Richard Heydon 1553 (Mar) Sir John Clere Henry Northey 1553 (Oct) William Hunston Robert Drury 1554 (Apr) Robert Drury Nicholas Rookwood 1554 (Nov) Robert Drury Nicholas Rookwood 1555Nicholas Rookwood Robert Barker 1558Edward Clere Walter Haddon 1559Edmund Gascoigne Thomas Poley I 1562–3 Sir Richard Fulmerston Edward Clere 1571Philip Appleyard Thomas Hogan 1572William Humberston, died and repl. Jan 1576 by Sir Valentine Browne Thomas Colby 1584Edward Eden Robert Whitney 1586Sir Roger Woodhouse Thomas Poley II 1588–9 William Waad Philip Gawdy 1593Charles Chewte Bassingbourne Gawdy 1597John Crofts Philip Gawdy 1601Henry Warner Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet 1604 Bassingbourne Gawdy died and repl. 1606 by Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet Sir William Paddy 1614 Framlingham Gawdy Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet 1621 Framlingham Gawdy Sir Thomas Holland 1624 Framlingham Gawdy Drue Drury 1625 Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington Framlingham Gawdy 1626 Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet Framlingham Gawdy 1628 Edmund Moundeford Sir Henry Spiller sat for Middlesex and repl.by Sir Henry Vane 1629–1640 No Parliaments summoned Apr 1640 Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet Framlingham Gawdy Nov 1640 Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet Framlingham Gawdy secluded 1648 1648 Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet 1653–1658 Thetford not represented in Barebones and Protectorate Parliaments 1659 William Stene Robert Steward

MPs 1660–1868 YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond partyApril 1660 Sir Philip Wodehouse Robert Paston March 1661 Sir Allen Apsley William Gawdy October 1669 Sir Joseph Williamson February 1679 William Harbord March 1685 Henry Heveningham William de Grey January 1689 Sir Henry Hobart Whig William Harbord February 1689 Sir Francis Guybon June 1689 John Trenchard WhigFebruary 1690 William Harbord May 1690 Baptist May November 1695 Sir Joseph Williamson Sir John Wodehouse January 1696 James Sloane WhigJuly 1698 Sir Joseph Williamson January 1699 Lord Paston January 1701 Sir Joseph Williamson Edmund Soame March 1701 Sir Thomas Hanmer November 1701 Sir John Wodehouse July 1702 Robert Benson Edmund Soame May 1705 Sir Thomas Hanmer Sir John Wodehouse May 1708 Robert Baylis Thomas de Grey October 1710 Sir Thomas Hanmer Dudley North December 1710 Sir Edmund Bacon August 1713 Sir William Barker ToryJanuary 1715 John Ward 1722 Sir Edmund Bacon Tory Robert Jacomb 1733 by-election Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore 1739 by-election Lord Augustus FitzRoy Dec. 1741 by-election Lord Henry Beauclerk Whig1754 Herbert Westfaling 1761 Henry Seymour Conway Rockingham Whig Hon. Aubrey Beauclerk 1768 John Drummond Sept. 1774 by-election Viscount Petersham 1774 Hon. Charles FitzRoy Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore 1780 Richard Hopkins 1782 by-election Earl of Euston Whig1784 Sir Charles Kent, Bt George Jennings 1790 Robert John Buxton Joseph Randyll Burch May 1796 John Harrison 1802 Thomas Creevey 1806 Lord William FitzRoy James Mingay February 1807 Thomas Creevey 1812 Lord John FitzRoy 1818 Lord Charles FitzRoy Whig Nicholas Ridley-Colborne 1826 Bingham Baring Whig1830 Lord James FitzRoy Whig Francis Baring Whig1831 Alexander Baring Tory1832 Francis Baring ToryAugust 1834 by-election Henry FitzRoy, Earl of Euston WhigDecember 1834 Conservative1841 Hon. Bingham Baring ConservativeMay 1842 Sir James Flower, Bt Conservative1847 William FitzRoy, Earl of Euston Whig1848 by-election Francis Baring Conservative1857 by-election Alexander Baring Conservative1859 Liberal1863 by-election Lord Frederick FitzRoy Liberal1865 Robert Harvey Conservative1867 by-election Edward Gordon Conservative1868 Constituency abolished

FitzRoy family Due to the town's close proximity to Euston Hall (the main residence of the FitzRoy family), the seat for Thetford has been held by various members of the family:

1733-54 & 1774-82: Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore 1739-41: Lord Augustus FitzRoy 1774-80: Hon. Charles FitzRoy 1782-84: George FitzRoy, Earl of Euston 1806-12: Lord William FitzRoy 1812-18: Lord John FitzRoy 1818-30: Lord Charles FitzRoy 1830-34: Lord James FitzRoy 1847-63: William FitzRoy, Earl of Euston 1863-65: Lord Frederick FitzRoy

Election results Elections in the 1830s

FitzRoy's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Due to the triple return, on petition, one vote was knocked off FitzRoy's total and Flower was declared elected in 1842.

Baring was appointed Paymaster General, requiring a by-election.

Baring succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Baron Ashburton and causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Baring resigned, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s FitzRoy succeeded to the peerage, becoming 6th Duke of Grafton and causing a by-election.

Baring resigned, causing a by-election.

References

Sources 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)