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Penryn and Falmouth (UK Parliament constituency)

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Penryn and Falmouth
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyCornwall
Major settlementsPenryn and Falmouth
1918–1950
SeatsOne
Created fromPenryn and Falmouth, St Austell and Truro
Replaced byTruro and Falmouth & Camborne
1832–1918
Seats1832-1885: Two;
1885-1918: One
Type of constituencyBorough constituency
Created fromCornwall and Penryn
Replaced byPenryn and Falmouth

Penryn and Falmouth was the name of a constituency in Cornwall, England, UK, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1950. From 1832 to 1918 it was a parliamentary borough, initially returning two Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by the bloc vote system. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, its representation was reduced to one member, elected by the first past the post system. In 1918 the borough was abolished and the name was transferred to a county constituency electing one MP.

Boundaries

1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Falmouth, Penryn, and Truro, the Urban District of St Austell, and parts of the Rural Districts of East Kerrier, Truro, and St Austell.

History

The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1832 (the "Great Reform Act") as a replacement for the Penryn constituency, which had become a notoriously rotten borough. The new borough consisted of Penryn, Falmouth and parts of Budock and St Gluvias parishes, giving it a mostly urban population of nearly 12,000, of whom 875 were registered to vote at its first election in 1832.

Initially Penryn and Falmouth elected two MPs, but this was reduced to one in 1885, and it was one of the smallest constituencies in England for the next thirty years. At this period it was politically unpredictable - though generally one of the more Conservative Cornish constituencies, it was susceptible to influence by personal factors and often swung against the national tide of opinion. Falmouth, which had a stronger non-conformist presence, was the more Liberal part of the constituency in the late 19th century, but was thought to become more Conservative as it developed its trade as a seaside resort.

In 1918 the borough was abolished, but the Penryn and Falmouth name was applied to the county constituency in which the two towns were now placed. This was a much more extensive constituency covering the whole of south central Cornwall, including also the towns of Truro and St Austell as well a long stretch of coastline. This gave it a more industrial character (a sixth of the population were engaged in tin-mining); the area suffered badly from unemployment in the 1930s, and the Labour Party came within 3,031 votes of winning what would have been their first seat in Cornwall in 1935.

The constituency was abolished for the 1950 general election, most of its area being moved into the Truro constituency, but Penryn and Falmouth themselves joining the new Falmouth and Camborne division.

Members of Parliament

Penryn & Falmouth borough 1832-1885

Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party
1832 rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | Sir Robert Rolfe Liberal style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | Lord Tullamore Conservative
1835 rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | James William Freshfield Conservative
1840 style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | Edward John Hutchins[1] Liberal
1841 style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | John Cranch Walker Vivian Liberal style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | James Hanway Plumridge Liberal
1847 rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | Howel Gwyn style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | Francis Mowatt
1852 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | James William Freshfield Conservative
1857 style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | Thomas Baring Liberal rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | Samuel Gurney[2]
1865 style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | Jervoise Smith
1868 style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | Robert Fowler Conservative style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | Edward Backhouse Eastwick Conservative
1874 rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | David James Jenkins Liberal style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | Henry Thomas Cole
1880 style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | Reginald Brett Liberal
1885 Representation reduced to one member

Penryn & Falmouth borough 1885-1918

Election Member Party
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1885 David James Jenkins Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1886 William George Cavendish-Bentinck Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1895 Frederick John Horniman Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1906 Sir John Barker Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Unionist Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1910 Charles Sydney Goldman Unionist
1918 Borough abolished; name transferred to county division

Penryn & Falmouth division of Cornwall 1918–1950

Election Member Party
style="background-color: Template:Coalition Conservative/meta/color" | 1918 Sir Edward Nicholl Coalition Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1922 Capt Denis Ewart Bernard Kingston Shipwright Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1923 Sir Courtenay Cecil Mansel Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1924 George Pilcher[3] Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1929 Sir Tudor Walters Liberal
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1931 Maurice Petherick Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | 1945 Evelyn Mansfield King Labour
1950 constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1885: Penryn and Falmouth [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal David James Jenkins 1,170 52.3
Conservative William George Cavendish-Bentinck 1,069 47.7
Majority 101 4.6
Turnout 87.4
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1886: Penryn and Falmouth [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William George Cavendish-Bentinck 1,089 52.2 +4.5
Liberal David James Jenkins 998 47.8 −4.5
Majority 91 4.4 9.0
Turnout 81.5
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +4.5

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: Penryn and Falmouth [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William George Cavendish-Bentinck 1,218 58.1
Liberal Arthur D Serena 880 41.9
Majority 338 16.2
Turnout 81.3
Conservative hold Swing
F.J.Horniman
General Election 1895: Penryn and Falmouth [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Frederick John Horniman 1,150 51.1 +9.2
Conservative William George Cavendish-Bentinck 1,101 48.9 −9.2
Majority 49 2.2 18.4
Turnout 86.0
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +9.2

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Penryn and Falmouth [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Frederick John Horniman 1,184 50.4
Conservative Nathaniel Louis Cohen 1,164 49.6
Majority 20 0.8
Turnout 85.2
Liberal hold Swing
John Barker
General Election 1906: Penryn and Falmouth [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Barker 1,345 51.9
Conservative D B Hall 1,248 48.1
Majority 97 3.8
Turnout 88.6
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Penryn and Falmouth [10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Sydney Goldman 1,593
Liberal Sir John Barker 1,412
Majority
Turnout
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
General Election December 1910: Penryn and Falmouth [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Charles Sydney Goldman 1,585
Liberal Walter Burt 1,291
Majority
Turnout
Conservative hold Swing

General Election 1914/15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

General Election 1918: Penryn and Falmouth,[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Comdr. Sir Edward Nicholl 10,050 50.6
Liberal Sir Arthur Carkeek 9,815 49.4
Majority 235 1.2
Turnout 56.6
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: Penryn and Falmouth[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Denis Ewart Bernard Kingston Shipwright 11,566 42.7 −7.9
Liberal Sir Courtenay Cecil Mansel 8,879 32.8 −16.6
Labour Joseph Harris 4,482 16.6 n/a
National Liberal George Hay Morgan 2,129 7.9 n/a
Majority 2,687 9.9 +8.7
Turnout 72.5 +15.9
Unionist hold Swing +4.3
General Election 1923: Penryn and Falmouth[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Sir Courtenay Cecil Mansel 17,015 62.0 +23.2
Unionist Denis Ewart Bernard Kingston Shipwright 10,429 38.0 −4.7
Majority 6,586 24.0 +33.9
Turnout 73.0 +0.5
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +17.0
General Election 1924: Penryn and Falmouth[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist George Pilcher 12,485 43.3 +5.3
Liberal Sir Courtenay Cecil Mansel 9,913 34.3 −27.7
Labour Rev. Frederick Jesse Hopkins 6,462 22.4 n/a
Majority 2,572 9.0 +33.0
Turnout 74.7 +1.7
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +16.5
File:Tudor Walters.jpg
T. Walters
General Election 1929: Penryn and Falmouth,[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Rt Hon. Sir John Tudor Walters 14,274 37.0 +2.7
Unionist Maurice Petherick 13,136 34.1 −9.2
Labour Frederick Jesse Hopkins 11,166 28.9 +6.5
Majority 1,138 2.9 11.9
Turnout 78.4 +3.7
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +6.0

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Penryn and Falmouth,[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Maurice Petherick 16,388 40.5 +6.4
Liberal Ernest Emil Darwin Simon 14,006 34.6 −2.4
Labour Alfred Leslie Rowse 10,098 24.9 −4.0
Majority 2,382 5.9 8.8
Turnout 40,492 79.8
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +4.4
General Election 1935: Penryn and Falmouth,[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Maurice Petherick 16,136 39.6 −0.9
Labour Alfred Leslie Rowse 13,105 32.1 +7.2
Liberal Sir Ronald Wilberforce Allen 11,537 28.3 −6.3
Majority 3,031 7.4
Turnout 40,778 77.6
Conservative hold Swing -4.0

A General election was due to take place before the end of 1940, but was postponed due to the Second World War. By 1939, the following candidates had been selected to contest this constituency;

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Penryn and Falmouth,[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Evelyn Mansfield King 17,962 43.8
Conservative Maurice Petherick 15,169 36.9
Liberal Percy Harris 7,917 19.3
Majority 2,793 6.8
Turnout 73.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

References

  1. ^ E J Hutchins was subsequently elected for Lymington 1850-1857. There is a biography of him at Masonic Province of South Wales, Eastern Division.
  2. ^ See ODNB article by Richard Davenport-Hines, ‘Gurney, Samuel (1816–1882)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 23 Jan 2008
  3. ^ Hansard website gives dates of George Pilcher, MP as 1882 – 8 December 1962, in Parliament 29 October 1924 – 30 May 1929. The National Portrait Gallery, London has two photographic portraits of him, taken in 1927. He is described as journalist, barrister and politician. Rayment says he was born 26 February 1882. He was Secretary of the Royal Empire Society. The Times, 16 March 1935; pg. 9; Issue 47014; col D Notes his resignation as Secretary of the RES, after six years' service and his previous work as a journalist. The Times, 13 December 1962; pg. 12; Issue 55573; col E includes an Obituary, giving further information.
  4. ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  5. ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  6. ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  7. ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  8. ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  9. ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  10. ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  11. ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  12. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
  13. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
  14. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
  15. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
  16. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
  17. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
  18. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
  19. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig

Sources

Template:Constituencies in the South West 1918-1945

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