North Hampshire (UK Parliament constituency)

North Hampshire (formally the Northern division of Hampshire) was a constituency as one of two in the county of Hampshire proper, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament between 1832 and 1885. Its members were elected by the bloc vote version of the first-past-the-post system.

It was created under the Great Reform Act for the 1832 general election, and abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election.

Creation, boundaries and abolition

The county was created as one of three divisions of Hampshire as Hampshire formerly included the Isle of Wight to make up a large area and large-electorate two-member seat due to a growing number of tiny electorate increasingly rotten boroughs since the 13th century until this was abolished under the Great Reform Act 1832.

1832–1885: The Petty Sessional Divisions of Alton, Andover, Basingstoke, King's Clere [Kingsclere], Droxford, Odiham, Petersfield and Winchester.^[1]

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the seat was abolished; replaced by three seats:

• Basingstoke or Northern Hampshire - this took in the town and two sessional divisions in the mid-north
• Andover or West Hampshire - this took in Andover and Kingsclere sessional divisions and Winchester city
• Petersfield or East Hampshire - this took in Alton, Droxford and Petersfield sessional divisions and the rest of Winchester sessional division (including the town of Alresford)^[2]

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

Elections in the 1840s

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

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1870s

Sclater-Booth was appointed President of the Local Government Board, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 393. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.

Notes and references

1. "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
2. The public general acts. Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. 1884.
3. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 123. ISBN 0-900178-13-2. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
4. Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 142. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2018 – via Google Books.
5. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 393. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
6. "North Hants Election". Salisbury and Winchester Journal. 7 April 1849. p. 2. Retrieved 18 April 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "North Hampshire Election". Hampshire Advertiser. 29 July 1865. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 15 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.