Reading (UK Parliament constituency)
| Reading | |
|---|---|
| Former Borough constituency | |
| for the House of Commons | |
| County | Berkshire |
| 1295–1950 | |
| Number of members | Two until 1885, then one until 1950 |
| Replaced by | Reading North and Reading South |
| 1955–1974 | |
| Number of members | One |
| Type of constituency | Borough constituency |
| Replaced by | Reading North and Reading South |
| Created from | Reading North and Reading South |
Reading was a parliamentary borough, and later a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire.
From 1295, as a parliamentary borough, Reading elected two Members of Parliament (MPs). When the parliamentary borough was replaced by a borough constituency in 1885, this representation was reduced to a single MP. The constituency was abolished in 1950, re-created in 1955, and finally abolished in 1974.
Contents |
[edit] History
Reading was one of the boroughs summoned to send members to the Model Parliament. The boundaries (encompassing the whole of one parish and parts of two others) were effectively unchanged from 1295 to 1918. In 1831, the population of the borough was 15,935, and contained 3,307 houses.
The right to vote was exercised by all inhabitants paying scot and lot, a relatively wide franchise for the period, and almost 2,000 votes were cast at the general election of 1826. Despite this high electorate, the corporation of the town was generally considered in practice to control elections to a large extent. In the second half of the 18th century, Reading was notoriously one of the most corrupt constituencies in England, bribery being both routine and expensive: Namier quotes the accounts kept for Prime Minister Newcastle of the 1754 election, which note that John Dodd, the government's candidate there, had already received £1000 and was promised £500 or £600 more to help him win the seat. (Dodd lost by one vote, but had the result overturned on petition by a partisan vote in the House of Commons, and Newcastle's accounts show a continuing trickle of funds to him to nurse the constituency over the next few years.) A few years later, the nomination to one of Reading's seats was advertised for sale in a London newspaper, though Reading was not mentioned by name and no price was specified; the newspaper's printers were charged by the Commons with a breach of privilege, but the sale of seats remained legal if frowned-upon until 1809.
The Great Reform Act left Reading's representation and boundaries unchanged, and the reformed franchise far from increasing its electorate seems to have reduced it: it was estimated that there were 1,250 voters in 1831, but only 1,001 were registered for the first post-Reform election, that of 1832.
The Representation of the People Act 1884, coming into effect at the 1885 general election, caused the parliamentary borough to be replaced by a borough constituency, and reduced Reading's representation to a single MP. The single-member Reading constituency continued to exist until it was split in 1950 into the separate constituencies of Reading North and Reading South. These two constituencies were merged back into a single Reading constituency in 1955, but again split apart in 1974. Today the area formerly covered by the Reading constituency is within the constituencies of Reading East and Reading West.
[edit] Members of Parliament
[edit] 1295–1660
- Constituency created 1295
-
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| Parliament | First member | Second member |
|---|---|---|
| 1386 | William Stapper | Robert atte Lee [1] |
| 1388 (Feb) | David atte Hacche | Richard Bedull [1] |
| 1388 (Sep) | John Balet | Nicholas Vachell [1] |
| 1390 (Jan) | John Kent | Robert Capellade [1] |
| 1390 (Nov) | ||
| 1391 | Henry Barbour | John Doublet [1] |
| 1393 | William Catour | David atte Hacche [1] |
| 1394 | William Saville | William Tho... [1] |
| 1395 | William Shortwade | John Ede [1] |
| 1397 (Jan) | John White | Richard Pernecote [1] |
| 1397 (Sep) | Thomas Selham | Robert Godewyn [1] |
| 1399 | Roger Hay | John Hunt[1] |
| 1401 | ||
| 1402 | ||
| 1404 (Jan) | John Kent | William Derby [1] |
| 1404 (Oct) | ||
| 1406 | John Hunt | Philip Richard [1] |
| 1407 | John Merehan | William Kenelme [1] |
| 1410 | John White | Alexander Colshull [1] |
| 1411 | ||
| 1413 (Feb) | ||
| 1413 (May) | William Wilton | Richard Farle [1] |
| 1414 (Apr) | John Hastyng | John Clerk [1] |
| 1414 (Nov) | Stephen Stapper | John Pernecote [1] |
| 1415 | ||
| 1416 (Mar) | Walter Mustard | Thomas Lavyngton 1 [1] |
| 1416 (Oct) | ||
| 1417 | Alexander Colshull | Thomas Lavyngton [1] |
| 1419 | Robert Morys | Richard Cross [1] |
| 1420 | Thomas Lavyngton | John Veyr [1] |
| 1421 (May) | Thomas Lavyngton | Simon Porter alias Kent [1] |
| 1421 (Dec) | John Hunt | William Kyng [1] |
| 1510 | Richard Cleche | William Justice [2] |
| 1512 | William Gifford | Richard Smith [2] |
| 1515 | Edmund Knightley | John Pownsar [2] |
| 1523 | Nicholas Hyde | William Edmunds [2] |
| 1529 | Thomas Vachell I | John Raymond [2] |
| 1536 | Thomas Vachell I | John Raymond [2] |
| 1539 | ?Thomas Vachell I | ?John Raymond [2] |
| 1542 | Thomas Vachell I | Richard Justice [2] |
| 1545 | Thomas Vachell I | Roger Amyce [2] |
| 1547 | William Grey, died May 1551 repl. 1552 by Sir John Mason |
John Marshe [2] |
| 1553 (Mar) | John Bourne | John Winchcombe [2] |
| 1553 (Oct) | Thomas Vachell I | John Bell [2] |
| 1554 (Apr) | Robert Bowyer III | John Lovelace [2] |
| 1554 (Nov) | John Bourne | Edmund Plowden [2] |
| 1555 | Thomas Vachell II | John Bell [2] |
| 1558 | Thomas Aldworth | John Bell [2] |
| 1558/9 | Thomas Aldworth | Thomas Turner [3] |
| 1562/3 | Henry Knollys | Robert Rowbotham [3] |
| 1571 | Henry Knollys | John Hastings [3] |
| 1572 | Robert Knollys | Francis Alford [3] |
| 1584 | Robert Knollys | Robert Harris [3] |
| 1586 | Robert Knollys | Robert Harris [3] |
| 1588 | Robert Knollys, sat for Breconshire, repl. Feb 1589 by Thomas Egerton |
Robert Harris [3] |
| 1593 | Humphrey Donatt | Charles Wednester [3] |
| 1597 | Sir Humphrey Forster | Francis Moore [3] |
| 1601 | Francis Moore | Anthony Blagrave [3] |
| 1604 | Francis Moore | Jerome Bowes |
| 1614 | Francis Moore | Robert Knollys |
| 1621-1622 | Anthony Barker | John Sanders |
| 1624 | Francis Knollys III | John Sanders |
| 1625 | Francis Knollys III | John Sanders |
| 1626 | Francis Knollys III | John Sanders |
| 1628 | Francis Knollys III | John Sanders |
| 1629-1640 | No Parliaments summoned | |
[edit] 1640–1885
- Apr 1640: Francis Knollys III; Adm. Francis Knollys [4]
- Nov 1640: Francis Knollys III (died 1643); Adm. Francis Knollys (died 1648)
- Daniel Blagrave from 1645
- Tanfield Vachell from 1648
- 1653: Not represented in Barebones Parliament
- 1654: Robert Hammond
- 1656: Daniel Blagrave
- 1659: Henry Neville; Daniel Blagrave
[edit] 1885–1950
[edit] 1955–1974
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Constituency recreated | ||
| 1955 | Ian Mikardo | Labour | |
| 1959 | Peter Emery | Conservative | |
| 1966 | John Lee | Labour | |
| 1970 | Gerard Vaughan | Conservative | |
| Feb 1974 | Constituency redivided into Reading North and Reading South | ||
[edit] References
[edit] General
 |
This article's citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. (September 2009) |
- Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1961)
- J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
- Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
[edit] Specific
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/reading. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/constituencies/reading. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/constituencies/reading. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- ^ In place of Edward Herbert and Sir John Berkeley, elected for Old Sarum and Heytesbury
[edit] See also
- Parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire (historic)
- Politics of Reading, Berkshire
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 1295
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies disestablished in 1950
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 1955
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies disestablished in 1974
