Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)
| Old Sarum | |
|---|---|
| Former Borough constituency | |
| for the House of Commons | |
| 1295–1832 | |
| Number of members | Two |
Old Sarum was the most infamous of the so-called 'rotten boroughs', a parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which was long effectively controlled by a single person, until it was abolished under the Reform Act 1832. The constituency was the site of what had been the original settlement of Salisbury, which is known as Old Sarum. The population had moved to New Sarum at the foot of the hill and at a confluence known as the cathedral city of Salisbury[n 1] centuries before the abolition of the parliamentary borough.
Contents |
History [edit]
Old Sarum was unlike other rotten boroughs in that it never had a substantial population. It was invited to send two members to the House of Commons from the reign of Edward II due to the presence of the Cathedral and Bishopric of Old Sarum, but shortly after this the bishopric moved to New Sarum,[2] together with most of the population. A small hamlet alongside the Roman road to the south of the hill fort remained but with steadily declining population as the houses became uninhabitable.[citation needed]
The borough was organised on a burgage franchise where the inhabitants of designated houses (burgages) had the right to vote. From at least the 17th century it had no resident voters, but the landowner retained the right to nominate tenants for each of the burgages; they were not required to live there. For a long time, the borough was owned by the Pitt family and was their pocket borough: one of the MPs in the late 18th century was William Pitt the Elder. In 1802, the head of the family, Lord Camelford, sold the borough to the Earl of Caledon, who owned it until its abolition; the price was reportedly £60,000, even though the land and manorial rights were worth £700 a year at most: an indication of the value of a pair of parliamentary seats. At its last election in 1831, there were eleven voters, all of whom were landowners who lived elsewhere. This made Old Sarum the most notorious of the rotten boroughs, being described as "a wall with two niches". The Reform Act 1832 completely disenfranchised Old Sarum.[citation needed]
In the last years, the spectacle of the election drew a small crowd who observed the ritual presentation of the two candidates and the call for any further nominations.[citation needed]
Stooks Smith quotes a contemporary description of the 1802 election:
This election for the borough of Old Sarum was held in a temporary booth erected in a cornfield, under a tree which marked the former boundary of the old town, not a vestige of which has been standing in the memory of man, the several burgages which give the right of voting, being now without a dwelling for a human being. Mr Dean, the bailiff of the borough having read the precept for the election, and caused proclamation thereof, read the bribery act, and gone through all the legal ceremonies, the Rev. Dr Skinner rose and nominated Nicholas Vansittart, and Henry Alexander, Esq. from a thorough conviction that their public conduct would be such as would give satisfaction and do honour to their constituents. The other electors acquiescing in this nomination and no other candidates offering, the proclamation was thrice made for any gentleman disposed to do so, to come forward, the bailiff declared the above two gentlemen to be duly elected.[citation needed] There were five electors present at this election, (beside the bailiff of the borough who lives at Wimborne) viz, the Rev. Dr. Skinner, of the Close; the Rev. Mr. Burrough, of Abbot's Ann; William Dyke, Esq., of Syrencot; Mr. Massey and Mr. Brunsdon, both occupiers of land within the limits of the borough. The above account is thus particularly given to rectify several prevalent mistakes relative to this celebrated borough, and to show that the election is conducted in a manner every way consonant to the law of the land and the constitution of Parliament.[3]
- Place of Election
Elections in Old Sarum were conducted on a mobile hustings under a specific tree, which died in 1905, in what was known as the 'electing acre'.
Members of Parliament [edit]
1295-1640 [edit]
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
1640-1832 [edit]
Notes and References [edit]
- Notes
- References
- ^ Ordnance Survey map, courtesy of English Heritage
- ^ See Bishop of Salisbury
- ^ Smith, Stooks History of the General Election of 1802, page, 149.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/everard-john-ii-1445
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ Pitt's victory in the 1715 general election was the last contested election in Old Sarum.
- ^ a b c d Was also elected for Okehampton, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Old Sarum
- ^ Was also elected for Bodmin, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Old Sarum
Elections [edit]
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This section requires expansion. (June 2008) |
The last reported contested election in Old Sarum occurred at a byelection in November 1751, after the death of Paul Jodrell. The proprietor at the time, Thomas Pitt, had sold the privilege of choosing the Members to the Pelham Government for £2,000 and a pension of £1,000 a year, but the administration's choice of Simon Fanshawe was opposed by James Pitt (younger brother of George Pitt, Member for Dorset) and by John Thorold. The number of votes for each candidate was not recorded.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O" [self-published source][better source needed]
- 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) [1]
- Smith, Henry Stooks (1844–1850) The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847, in 3 Volumes, London: Simpkin & Marshall, republished Craig, F.W.S. (ed.) (1973), Chichester : Political Reference Publications, ISBN 0-900178-13-2
