Sandwich (UK Parliament constituency)

Sandwich
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1366–1885
Number of members	two
Replaced by	Isle of Thanet

Sandwich was a parliamentary constituency in Kent, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1366 until 1885, when it was disfranchised for corruption.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  


• 
  2 Members of Parliament
  
  • 
    2.1 1366–1640
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 1640–1885
    
  
  


• 
  3 Election results
  
  • 
    3.1 Elections in the 1850s
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 Elections in the 1860s
    
  
  
  • 
    3.3 Elections in the 1870s
    
  
  
  • 
    3.4 Elections in the 1880s
    
  
  


• 
  4 References
  

History

Sandwich like most of the other Cinque Ports, was first enfranchised in the 14th century. As
a Cinque Port it was technically of different status from a parliamentary borough, but the difference was in most respects purely a nominal one. (The writ for election was directed to the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, rather than the sheriff of the county, and its MPs were termed "barons" rather than "burgesses" as in boroughs.) Until 1832, the constituency consisted of the three parishes making up the town of Sandwich; it had once been a flourishing port but by the 19th century the harbour had silted up and there was only a limited maritime trade.

The right to vote was reserved to the freemen of the town, whether or not they were resident within the borough. In 1831 this amounted to 955 qualified voters, of whom only 320 lived in Sandwich. The freedom could be obtained by inheritance, by serving an apprenticeship, or by marrying the daughter or widow of a freeman; the corporation apparently did not, as in some boroughs, have the power to create unlimited numbers of honorary freemen so as to swamp the rights of the genuine freemen. At one period in the 17th century, the town corporation attempted to annex the right of voting to itself (as was the case in many other boroughs) on the grounds of "the avoidance of popular tumults common at elections", and in 1621 the Lord Warden ordered with the consent of the Privy Council that this should be so. However, the inhabitants of the town not only petitioned against the election result, but informed the Lord Warden that they intended to present a bill to Parliament to annul the result of that year's election and to restore their former privileges. In the event the petition against the election result was upheld and the election declared void, and a decision of the Commons in another dispute election, in 1690, confirmed that the right of voting was in the freemen.

For most of its existence, no single interest had a predominant influence in Sandwich so as to reduce it to a pocket borough, but the power of official patronage sometimes exerted some leverage. In Tudor times, the Lord Warden expected to be able to nominate one of the two MPs, but - unlike most of the other Cinque Ports - Sandwich consistently defied him, and made its own choice of both MPs throughout Queen Elizabeth's reign. In the 18th and 19th centuries, though, the influence of the navy (through the employment it provided) was sufficient that the Admiralty could be sure of choosing at least one MP at most elections. Nevertheless, Sandwich fell short of being a true "Admiralty borough", and generally elected members who would benefit the town. (They were, however, no less venal than in other boroughs: the committee investigating a disputed election in 1695 was told that the elected member had promised that if after election he were to gain paid office he would give half his salary to the corporation, that he would contribute £20 a year for the poor of the town and a treat to the corporation on the anniversary of his election.)

In 1831, the population of the constituency was 3,084, and the town contained 610 houses. This would not have been sufficient for the borough to retain both its MPs under the Great Reform Act, but the boundaries were extended so as to include the neighbouring towns of Deal and Walmer, which quadrupled the population. Even so, and despite the extension of the franchise, the revised constituency had only 916 qualified voters for the 1832–33 general election.

At a by-election in 1880, evidence of widespread bribery in Sandwich emerged. Its writ was suspended, and a Royal Commission appointed to investigate. It was found that out of an electorate of 2115, 1850 voted, of whom 900 admitted they had been bribed and 100 admitted they had bribed.^[1] As a result of its report, Sandwich was abolished as a constituency with effect from 25 June 1885, being incorporated into the Eastern Kent county division.

Members of Parliament

1366–1640

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	John Godard	William Ive[2]
1388 (Feb)	William Jordan	Stephen Reyner[2]
1388 (Sep)	John Berham	Peter Cundy[2]
1390 (Jan)	John Berham	Stephen Reyner[2]
1390 (Nov)
1391	John Edward	William Jordan[2]
1393	Stephen Reyner	Thomas atte Welle[2]
1394
1395	John Godard	John atte Nessche[2]
1397 (Jan)	Richard Benge	John Godard[2]
1397 (Sep)
1399	John Godard	Stephen Peyntour[2]
1401
1402	John Godard	John atte Nessche[2]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406	Henry Loveryk	John Norton[2]
1407	Richard Mildenale	John Norton[2]
1410	John Gyllyng	Robert Haddon[2]
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	John Geldeford	John Gyllyng[2]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	Simon Halle	Richard Mildenale[2]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417	William Gayler	Richard Mildenale[2]
1419	Laurence Cundy	Thomas Loveryk[2]
1420	John Bolle	Laurence Cundy[2]
1421 (May)	Simon Halle	Laurence Cundy[2]
1421 (Dec)	John Bolle	Laurence Cundy[2]
1485	Thomas Overton[3]
1491	John Naseby[3]
1510	John Westcliff	John Cock[4]
1512	John Westcliff	John Hobard[4]
1515	John Westcliff	John Hobard[4]
1523	John Somer	Roger Manwood[4]
1529	Vincent Engeham	John Boys, died and replaced Dec 1553 by Thomas Wingfield[4]
1536	Thomas Wingfield	Vincent Engeham[4]
1539	Thomas Patche	Nicholas Peake[4]
1542	John Lee	Thomas Rolfe[4]
1545	John Master	Thomas Menys[4]
1547 (first election)	Thomas Pinnock	John Seer[4]
1547 (second election)	Thomas Patche	Thomas Ardern [4][5]
1553 (Mar)	Thomas Patche	Thomas Menys[4]
1553 (Oct)	Sir John Perrot	Simon Linch[4]
1554 (Apr)	John Master	Simon Linch[4]
1554 (Nov)	John Tysar	Nicholas Crispe[4]
1555	Nicholas Peake	Sir John Perrot[4]
1558	Roger Manwood	Nicholas Crispe[4]
1559	Roger Manwood	John Tysar[4]
1562/3	Roger Manwood	Rice Perrot[4]
1571	Roger Manwood	John Manwood[4]
1572	Roger Manwood, made a judge replaced Jul 1576 by Edward Peake	John Boys[4]
1584	Edward Peake	Edward Wood[4]
1586	Edward Peake	Edward Wood[4]
1588/9	Peter Manwood	Edward Peake[4]
1593	Peter Manwood	Edward Peake[4]
1597	Peter Manwood	Edward Peake[4]
1601	Peter Manwood	Edward Peake[4]
1604-1611	Sir George Fane	Edward Peake died replaced by John Griffith
1614	Thomas Smythe	Sir Samuel Peyton, 1st Baronet
1621-1622	Sir Edwin Sandys	Sir Robert Hatton election voided - replaced by John Burroughes
1624	Sir Robert Hatton	Francis Drake
1625	Sir Henry Wotton	Sir Robert Hatton
1626	Sir John Suckling sat for Norwich, replaced by Sir Edward Boys	Peter Peake
1628	John Philipot	Peter Peake
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

1640–1885

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640		?
November 1640		Sir Thomas Peyton	Royalist		Sir Edward Partridge	Parliamentarian
February 1644	Peyton disabled from sitting - seat vacant
1645		Charles Rich
December 1648	Rich and Partridge excluded in Pride's Purge - both seats vacant
1653	Sandwich was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Colonel Thomas Kelsey		Sandwich had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656		James Thurbarne
January 1659					Richard Meredith
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		James Thurbarne			Henry Oxenden
1661					Edward Montagu
1665					John Strode
1679		John Thurbarne			Sir James Oxenden
1685		John Strode			Sir Philip Parker
1689		John Thurbarne			Sir James Oxenden
1690					Edward Brent
1695		John Taylor
April 1698					John Thurbarne
July 1698		John Michel
January 1701		Henry Furnese[6]			John Taylor
April 1701		John Michel
November 1701		Sir Henry Furnese			Sir James Oxenden
1702					John Michel
1705					Josiah Burchett	Court Whig
April 1713		John Michel
August 1713					Sir Henry Oxenden
1715		(Sir) Thomas D'Aeth[7]
1720					Sir George Oxenden	Whig
1722		Josiah Burchett	Whig
1741		John Pratt
1747		John Clevland
1754					Claudius Amyand
1756					Henry Conyngham
1761		George Hay
1768		(Sir) Philip Stephens[8]
1774					William Hey
1776					Charles Brett	Tory
1780					Sir Richard Sutton
1784					Charles Brett	Whig
1790					Sir Horatio Mann
1806		Captain Thomas Fremantle
1807		Admiral Peter Rainier			Charles Jenkinson
1808		John Spratt Rainier
1812		Joseph Marryatt			Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke
1818					Sir George Warrender
1824		Henry Bonham
1826		Joseph Marryatt			Sir Edward Owen
1829					Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Fane
1830			Whig[9]		Samuel Grove Price	Tory[9]
1831					Sir Edward Troubridge	Whig[9]
1835		Samuel Grove Price	Conservative[9]
1837		Sir James Rivett-Carnac	Whig[9]
1839		General Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin	Whig[9]
1841		Hugh Hamilton Lindsay	Conservative[9]
1847		Lord Clarence Paget	Whig[10][11]		Charles Grenfell	Whig[10][11]
May 1852					Lord Charles Clinton	Conservative
July 1852		James Macgregor	Conservative
1857		Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen	Whig[12]		Lord Clarence Paget	Whig[10][11]
1859			Liberal			Liberal
1866					Charles Capper	Conservative
1868					Henry Brassey	Liberal
1880		Charles Henry Crompton-Roberts[13]	Conservative
1880	Writ suspended and seat left vacant after evidence of bribery was uncovered.
1885	Following Royal Commission investigation of corruption, constituency abolished and absorbed into Eastern Kent

Notes

1. 
   ^ "Election Commission At Sandwich". The Cornishman (120). 28 October 1880. p. 4. 
   


2. 
   ^ ^{abcdefghijklmnopqrst} "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-26. 
   


3. 
   ^ ^ab The English Parliaments of Henry VII. Retrieved 2012-03-17. 
   


4. 
   ^ ^{abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaa} "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-26. 
   


5. 
   ^ This election was called at request of the borough Mayor, with Patche and Ardern returned but the return was declared invalid by Privy Council after appeal.
   


6. 
   ^ Created a baronet, June 1707
   


7. 
   ^ Created a baronet, July 1716
   


8. 
   ^ Created a baronet, March 1795
   


9. 
   ^ ^abcdefg Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S., ed. The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 171–173. ISBN 0-900178-13-2. 
   


10. 
    ^ ^abc "The General Election". Morning Post. 24 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 
    


11. 
    ^ ^abc "Sandwich and Deal Election". Kentish Gazette. 3 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 
    


12. 
    ^ McIntyre, W. David (1967). The Imperial Frontier in the Tropics, 1865–75 (eBook ed.). London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 60. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-00349-5. ISBN 978-1-349-00349-5. LCCN 67-19403. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via Google Books. 
    


13. 
    ^ On petition the result of the 1880 by-election was declared void
    

Election results

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Elections in the 1850s

Grenfell resigned in order to contest a by-election at Windsor, causing a by-election.

By-election, 28 May 1852: Sandwich (1 seat)^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Lord Charles Clinton	460	64.2
	Whig	John Tracy William French[2][3]	257	35.8
Majority			203	28.3	N/A
Turnout			717	74.7
Registered electors			960
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing

General Election 1852: Sandwich (2 seats) ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Lord Charles Clinton	Unopposed
	Conservative	James Macgregor	Unopposed
Registered electors			960
	Conservative gain from Whig
	Conservative gain from Whig

General Election 1857: Sandwich (2 seats) ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen	547	39.2	N/A
	Whig	Clarence Paget	503	36.0	N/A
	Conservative	James Macgregor	322	23.1	N/A
	Whig	John Lang[4][5]	24	1.7	N/A
Majority			181	13.0	N/A
Turnout			847 (est)	84.0 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			1,008
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

General Election 1859: Sandwich (2 seats) ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen	497	29.5	−9.7
	Liberal	Clarence Paget	458	27.1	−8.9
	Conservative	James Fergusson	404	23.9	+12.3
	Conservative	William David Lewis[6]	328	19.4	+7.8
Majority			54	3.2	−9.8
Turnout			844 (est)	81.9 (est)
Registered electors			1,030
	Liberal hold		Swing	−9.9
	Liberal hold		Swing	−9.5

Elections in the 1860s

General Election 1865: Sandwich (2 seats) ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen	494	35.7	+6.2
	Liberal	Clarence Paget	477	34.5	+7.4
	Conservative	Charles Capper	413	29.8	−14.5
Majority			64	4.6	+1.4
Turnout			899 (est)	85.2 (est)	+3.3
Registered electors			1,054
	Liberal hold		Swing	+6.7
	Liberal hold		Swing	+7.3

Paget resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 8 May 1866: Sandwich (1 seat) ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Charles Capper	466	50.4	+20.6
	Liberal	Thomas Brassey[7]	458	49.6	−20.6
Majority			8	0.9	N/A
Turnout			924	87.7	+2.5
Registered electors			1,054
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+20.6

General Election 1868: Sandwich (2 seats) ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen	933	36.4	+0.7
	Liberal	Henry Brassey	923	36.0	+1.5
	Conservative	Henry Worms[8]	710	27.7	−2.1
Majority			213	8.3	+3.7
Turnout			1,638 (est)	85.9 (est)	+0.7
Registered electors			1,906
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.9
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.3

Elections in the 1870s

General Election 1874: Sandwich (2 seats) ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Henry Brassey	1,035	30.3	−5.7
	Liberal	Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen	1,006	29.4	−7.0
	Conservative	Frederic C Hughes Hallett	764	22.4	+8.5
	Conservative	Hugh Sydney Baillie[9]	611	17.9	+4.0
Majority			242	7.1	−1.2
Turnout			1,708 (est)	83.5 (est)	−2.4
Registered electors			2,046
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.6

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1880: Sandwich (2 seats) ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Henry Brassey	Unopposed
	Liberal	Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,115
	Liberal hold
	Liberal hold

Hugessen was elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Brabourne and causing a by-election.

By-election, 19 May 1880: Sandwich (1 seat) ^[10][1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Charles Henry Crompton-Roberts	1,145	61.9	N/A
	Liberal	Julian Goldsmid	705	38.1	N/A
Majority			440	23.8	N/A
Turnout			1,850	87.5	N/A
Registered electors			2,115
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

A Royal Commission found proof of extensive bribery and the writ was suspended, with the by-election result being voided. The writ was never returned and the constituency was merged into East Kent on 25 June 1885, before that seat was then abolished for the 1885 General Election.^[1]

References

• 
  Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
  


• 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) [2]
  


• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)


• 
  Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1961)


• 
  J. E. Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)


• 
  T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)


• 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 "S" (part 2)
  
  

^ ^abcdefghijk Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book)|format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 268–269. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3. 

^ "West Kent Election". Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser. 29 May 1852. p. 8. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 

^ "Election Intelligence". Cambridge Independent Press. 5 June 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 

^ "South Eastern Gazette". 31 March 1857. p. 5. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 

^ "Canterbury Journal, Kentish Times and Farmers' Gazette". 28 March 1857. p. 3. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 

^ "The Coming Elections". South Eastern Gazette. 12 April 1859. p. 4. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 

^ "Sandwich Election". Kentish Chronicle. 12 May 1866. p. 5. Retrieved 17 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 

^ "The County Elections". Kentish Gazette. 17 November 1868. p. 4. Retrieved 17 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 

^ "Sandwich and Deal". Western Daily Mercury. 27 January 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 19 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)). 

^ "Election News". The Cornishman (97). 20 May 1880. p. 8. 

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