List of Great Britain by-elections (1707–1715)
This is a list of parliamentary by-elections in Great Britain held between 1707 and 1715, with the names of the previous incumbent and the victor in the by-election.
In the absence of a comprehensive and reliable source, for party and factional alignments in this period, no attempt is made to define them in this article. The House of Commons: 1690-1715 provides some guidance to the complex and shifting political relationships, but it is significant that the compilers of that work make no attempt to produce a definitive list of each members allegiances.
Resignations
- See Resignation from the British House of Commons for more details.
Where the cause of by-election is given as "resignation", this indicates that the incumbent was appointed to an "office of profit under the Crown" causing him to vacate his seat and prohibited membership in the House of Commons. This office is noted in brackets.
In addition certain offices of profit, such as cabinet positions, required the MP to seek re-election. These offices are noted separately.
Dates
During this period England (but not Scotland) counted its legal year as beginning on 25 March. For the purposes of this list the year is considered to have started on 1 January.
By-elections
The c/u column denotes whether the by-election was a contested poll or an unopposed return. If the winner was re-elected, at the next general election and any intermediate by-elections, this is indicated by an * following the c or u. In a few cases the winner was elected at the next general election but had not been re-elected in a by-election after the one noted. In those cases no * symbol is used.
1st Parliament (1707–1708)
Date | Constituency | c/u | Former Incumbent | Winner | Cause |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 November 1707 | Amersham | u | The Viscount Newhaven | John Drake | Ineligible to sit due to holding a Scottish Peerage |
21 November 1707 | Ipswich | c* | Henry Poley | William Churchill | Death |
21 November 1707 | Liskeard | u* | Thomas Dodson | John Dolben | Death |
21 November 1707 | St Mawes | u* | Joseph Tredenham | John Tredenham | Death |
22 November 1707 | Scarborough | u* | Robert Squire | John Hungerford | Death |
28 November 1707 | New Romney | u* | John Brewer | John Brewer | Receiver General of Prizes |
29 November 1707 | Aldborough | u* | William Jessop | William Jessop | Justice of the Anglesey Circuit |
29 November 1707 | Chipping Wycombe | u* | Fleetwood Dormer | Fleetwood Dormer | Commissioner of Prizes |
29 November 1707 | Great Bedwyn | c | Nicholas Pollexfen | Tracy Pauncefort | Commissioner of Prizes |
Tracy Pauncefort | Nicholas Pollexfen | By-election result reversed on petition 22 December 1707 | |||
29 November 1707 | Reigate | u* | Stephen Hervey | James Cocks | Death |
1 December 1707 | Hedon | u | Anthony Duncombe | Anthony Duncombe | Commissioner of Prizes |
2 December 1707 | Lymington | u* | Paul Burrard, junior | Paul Burrard, junior | Sub-Commissioner of Prizes at Portsmouth |
2 December 1707 | Rye | u* | Philip Herbert | Phillips Gybbon | Commissioner for the Sick and Wounded and for Exchange of Prisoners |
3 December 1707 | Suffolk | c | The Earl of Dysart | Leicester Martin | Ineligible to sit due to holding a Scottish Peerage |
3 December 1707 | Worcestershire | u* | William Bromley | Sir Thomas Cookes Winford | Death |
3 December 1707 | Yorkshire | u* | Marquess of Hartington | The Viscount Downe | Succeeded to a peerage |
u | The Lord Fairfax of Cameron | Conyers Darcy | Ineligible to sit due to holding a Scottish Peerage | ||
4 December 1707 | Cambridgeshire | u* | John Bromley (the elder) | John Bromley (the younger) | Death |
4 December 1707 | Leicestershire | c | John Verney | George Ashby | Death |
15 December 1707 | Bedford | u* | Sir Philip Monoux | William Hillersden | Death |
16 December 1707 | City of London | c* | Sir Robert Clayton | Sir William Withers | Death |
29 December 1707 | Bramber | u* | John Asgill | William Shippen | Expulsion |
3 January 1708 | Rochester | u* | Sir Cloudesley Shovell | Sir John Leake | Death |
17 January 1708 | Whitchurch | c(*) | John Shrimpton | Frederick Tylney | Death |
c | Frederick Tylney | Charles Wither | By-election result reversed on petition 17 February 1708 | ||
21 January 1708 | Ashburton | c* | Gilbert Yarde | Roger Tuckfield | Death |
31 January 1708 | Huntingdonshire | u* | John Dryden | John Proby | Death |
21 February 1708 | Westminster | u* | Henry Boyle | Henry Boyle | Northern Secretary |
2 March 1708 | Sandwich | u* | Josiah Burchett | Josiah Burchett | Secretary to the Marines |
6 March 1708 | King's Lynn | u* | Robert Walpole | Robert Walpole | Secretary at War |
13 April 1708 | Exeter | c* | Sir Edward Seymour | John Harris | Death |
2nd Parliament (1708–1710)
Date | Constituency | c/u | Former Incumbent | Winner | Cause |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 December 1708 | Cricklade | u* | Edmund Dunch | Edmund Dunch | Master of the Household |
4 December 1708 | Salisbury | u | Robert Eyre | Robert Eyre | Solicitor General for England and Wales |
6 December 1708 | Harwich | c(*) | Sir John Leake | Kenrick Edisbury | Chose to sit for Rochester (Two MPs elected due to a tie) |
Sir Thomas Davall | |||||
6 December 1708 | Lewes | u | Peter Gott | Samuel Gott | Chose to sit for Sussex |
7 December 1708 | Arundel | u | Sir Henry Peachey, Bt | Viscount Lumley | Chose to sit for Sussex |
7 December 1708 | Saltash | u* | James Buller | Sir Cholmeley Dering | Chose to sit for Cornwall |
9 December 1708 | Bury St Edmunds | u | Sir Thomas Felton | Sir Thomas Felton | Comptroller of the Household |
10 December 1708 | Marlborough | c | Earl of Hertford | Sir Edward Ernle | Chose to sit for Northumberland |
11 December 1708 | Southampton | c | Viscount Woodstock | Simeon Stuart | Chose to sit for Hampshire |
13 December 1708 | Haslemere | u* | Thomas Onslow | Nicholas Carew | Chose to sit for Bletchingley |
13 December 1708 | Weobley | c | Henry Thynne | Henry Gorges | Chose to sit for Weymouth |
14 December 1708 | Portsmouth | u | Thomas Erle | Sir Thomas Littleton | Chose to sit for Wareham |
14 December 1708 | Wigtown Burghs | u* | George Lockhart | William Cochrane | Chose to sit for Edinburghshire |
15 December 1708 | Carlisle | u* | Sir James Montagu | Sir James Montagu | Attorney General for England and Wales |
15 December 1708 | Helston | u | Viscount Rialton | John Evelyn | Chose to sit for Oxfordshire |
16 December 1708 | Truro | u | James Brydges | Robert Furnese | Chose to sit for Hereford |
18 December 1708 | New Shoreham | c* | Anthony Hammond | Gregory Page | Ineligible to sit (Commissioner of the Navy) |
20 December 1708 | Winchelsea | u* | George Dodington | Robert Bristow | Chose to sit for Bridgwater |
22 December 1708 | Linlithgowshire | u* | Lord Johnston | John Houstoun | Eldest son of a Scottish Peer |
18 January 1709 | Aberdeenshire | c* | Lord Haddo | Sir Alexander Cumming | Eldest son of a Scottish Peer |
24 January 1709 | Harwich | u* | Kenrick Edisbury | Kenrick Edisbury | Previous by-election voided due to a Double Return |
Sir Thomas Davall | |||||
24 January 1709 | Weymouth and Melcombe Regis | u | Henry Thynne | Edward Clavell | Death |
1 February 1709 | Steyning | c(*) | Viscount Tunbridge | Harry Goring | Succeeded to a peerage (Two MPs Elected due to a Double Return) |
The Lord Bellew | |||||
c* | Harry Goring | Harry Goring | Goring Declared Elected 15 February 1709 | ||
The Lord Bellew | |||||
22 February 1709 | Wallingford | c* | William Jennens | Thomas Renda | Death |
2 March 1709 | Bewdley | u | Henry Herbert | Charles Cornwall | Succeeded to a peerage |
3 March 1709 | Middlesex | u | Sir John Wolstenholme | John Austen | Death |
12 March 1709 | Arundel | c* | The Viscount Shannon | The Viscount Shannon | Deputy Governor of Dover Castle |
26 March 1709 | Bury St Edmunds | u* | Sir Thomas Felton | Joseph Weld | Death |
7 April 1709 | Dumfriesshire | u* | Lord Johnston | William Grierson | Eldest son of a Scottish Peer |
27 April 1709 | Norfolk | u | Sir John Holland | Sir John Holland | Comptroller of the Household |
5 May 1709 | Tain Burghs | u | Lord Strathnaver | Robert Douglas | Eldest son of a Scottish Peer |
6 May 1709 | Thirsk | u | Sir Godfrey Copley | Leonard Smelt | Death |
7 May 1709 | Milborne Port | u | Thomas Medlycott | Thomas Smith | Chose to sit for Westminster |
20 November 1709 | Malton | u* | William Strickland | William Strickland | Irish Revenue Commissioner |
21 November 1709 | Wendover | u* | Thomas Ellys | Henry Grey | Death |
25 November 1709 | Edinburgh | u* | Sir Samuel MacClellan | Sir Patrick Johnston | Death |
25 November 1709 | Rochester | u* | Sir John Leake | Sir John Leake | Naval Lord |
25 November 1709 | Stafford | u* | Walter Chetwynd | Walter Chetwynd | Master of the Buckhounds |
28 November 1709 | Brecon | u* | Sir Jeffrey Jeffreys | Edward Jeffreys | Death |
29 November 1709 | Great Yarmouth | u | Roger Townshend | Nathaniel Symonds | Death |
1 December 1709 | Okehampton | u* | William Harris | Christopher Harris | Death |
2 December 1709 | Bridgwater | u* | George Dodington | George Dodington | Lord of the Admiralty |
2 December 1709 | Dover | u | Matthew Aylmer | Matthew Aylmer | Admiral and Commander in Chief of the Fleet |
2 December 1709 | Plymouth | u* | Sir George Byng | Sir George Byng | Naval Lord |
5 December 1709 | Dorchester | u | John Churchill | Denis Bond | Death |
7 December 1709 | Aylesbury | c | Sir John Wittewrong | Sir John Wittewrong | Accepted a Commission in the Army |
8 December 1709 | Northumberland | u* | Earl of Hertford | Earl of Hertford | Accepted a Commission in the Army |
14 December 1709 | Gloucester | c | William Cooke | Francis Wyndham | Death |
15 December 1709 | Haddington Burghs | u* | Sir David Dalrymple | Sir David Dalrymple | Lord Advocate |
21 December 1709 | Hampshire | u | Viscount Woodstock | Thomas Jervoise | Succeeded to a peerage |
23 December 1709 | Cirencester | c* | Allen Bathurst | Allen Bathurst | Void Election |
Charles Coxe | Charles Coxe | ||||
28 December 1709 | Devizes | u(*) | Paul Methuen | Paul Methuen | Lord of the Admiralty |
3 January 1710 | Shrewsbury | c | Richard Mytton | Thomas Jones | On petition both members were unseated and replaced by Sir Edward Leighton. A by-election was held for the second seat |
John Kynaston | |||||
7 January 1710 | Hythe | u* | John Fane | John Fane | Commission in the Army |
11 January 1710 | Kent | u | Sir Stephen Lennard | David Polhill | Death |
16 January 1710 | Dysart Burghs | u | John St Clair | James Abercrombie | Eldest son of a Scottish Peer |
23 January 1710 | Portsmouth | c* | Sir Thomas Littleton | Sir Charles Wager | Death |
4 February 1710 | King's Lynn | u* | Robert Walpole | Robert Walpole | Treasurer of the Navy |
10 February 1710 | Hastings | u | William Ashburnham | John Ashburnham | Succeeded to a peerage |
10 February 1710 | Lostwithiel | u | Russell Robartes | Horatio Walpole | Chose to sit for Bodmin |
22 February 1710 | Cambridge | c* | Samuel Shepheard | Samuel Shepheard | Void Election |
22 February 1710 | Cardigan Boroughs | c | Lewis Pryse | Simon Harcourt | Chose to sit for Cardiganshire |
22 February 1710 | Oxfordshire | c* | Sir Robert Jenkinson | Sir Robert Jenkinson | Death |
28 February 1710 | Buteshire | u | Dugald Stewart | John Montgomerie | Resignation (Lord of Session and of Judiciary) |
3 March 1710 | Ross-shire | c* | Hugh Rose | Charles Rosse | Void Election |
6 March 1710 | Liskeard | u* | William Bridges | William Bridges | Surveyor-General of the Ordnance |
11 March 1710 | Malmesbury | u* | Henry Mordaunt | Joseph Addison | Death |
24 March 1710 | Fifeshire | u | Patrick Moncreiff | Sir Robert Anstruther | Death |
27 March 1710 | Derby | c | Sir Thomas Parker | Richard Pye | Resignation (Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench) |
14 April 1710 | Bedford | u* | William Farrer | William Farrer | Clerk of the Pipe |
26 April 1710 | Somerset | u* | John Prowse | Sir William Wyndham | Death |
3rd Parliament (1710–1713)
4th Parliament (1713–1715)
Date | Constituency | c/u | Former Incumbent | Winner | Cause |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 March 1714 | Guildford | c* | Sir Richard Onslow | Denzil Onslow | Chose to sit for Surrey |
12 March 1714 | Higham Ferrers | u* | Thomas Watson Wentworth | Charles Leigh | Chose to sit for Malton |
13 March 1714 | Wendover | u | Richard Hampden | James Stanhope | Chose to sit for Berwick-upon-Tweed |
15 March 1714 | Knaresborough | u | Christopher Stockdale | Francis Fawkes | Death |
15 March 1714 | Ripon | u | John Sharp | John Sharp | Lord of Trade |
15 March 1714 | Salisbury | u | Charles Fox | Sir Stephen Fox | Death |
15 March 1714 | Penryn | c* | Alexander Pendarves | Samuel Trefusis | Surveyor General of Crown Lands |
15 March 1714 | Winchester | u* | George Rodney Brydges | George Brydges | Death |
u | Thomas Lewis | John Popham | Chose to sit for Hampshire | ||
15 March 1714 | Wallingford | c | Simon Harcourt | Thomas Renda | Chose to sit for Abingdon |
16 March 1714 | Whitchurch | u* | Thomas Vernon | Thomas Vernon | Lord of Trade |
17 March 1714 | Haslemere | u* | Thomas Onslow | Nicholas Carew | Chose to sit for Bletchingley |
17 March 1714 | Much Wenlock | u* | William Whitmore | Richard Newport | Chose to sit for Bridgnorth |
18 March 1714 | Amersham | u | The Viscount Fermanagh | James Herbert | Chose to sit for Buckinghamshire |
18 March 1714 | Hastings | c | Sir Joseph Martin | Sir Joseph Martin | Commissary for Commercial Negotiations with France |
20 March 1714 | Dartmouth | u* | Frederick Herne | John Fownes | Commissioner for Settling Trade with France and Death |
22 March 1714 | Bossiney | u | John Manley | Paul Orchard | Death |
24 March 1714 | Ludgershall | c | John Richmond Webb | John Ward | Chose to sit for Newport (I.o.w.) |
24 March 1714 | New Woodstock | u* | William Cadogan | William Cadogan | Void Election |
Sir Thomas Wheate | Sir Thomas Wheate | ||||
30 March 1714 | Andover | u | Sir Ambrose Crowley | Gilbert Searle | Death |
5 April 1714 | Elgin Burghs | u* | James Murray | James Murray | Commissary for Commercial Negotiations with France |
12 April 1714 | Helston | c | Charles Coxe | Thomas Tonkin | Chose to sit for Gloucester |
Henry Campion | Alexander Pendarves | Chose to sit for Sussex | |||
15 April 1714 | Forfarshire | u* | John Carnegie | John Carnegie | Solicitor General for Scotland |
22 April 1714 | Leicester | u* | Sir George Beaumont | Sir George Beaumont | Lord of the Admiralty |
30 April 1714 | Stockbridge | u | Richard Steele | The Earl of Barrymore | Expulsion |
3 May 1714 | Southwark | c* | John Lade | John Lade | Void Election |
Fisher Tench | Fisher Tench | ||||
4 May 1714 | Droitwich | u* | Edward Jeffreys | Edward Jeffreys | Puisne Justice of Chester |
7 May 1714 | Sutherland | u* | William Morison | Sir William Gordon | Chose to sit for Peeblesshire |
17 May 1714 | Harwich | c(*) | Thomas Davall | Thomas Heath | Death |
c | Thomas Heath | Benedict Calvert | By-election result reversed on petition 29 June 1714 | ||
17 May 1714 | Knaresborough | u | Robert Byerley | Henry Slingsby | Death |
1 June 1714 | Cricklade | c | William Gore | Samuel Robinson | Chose to sit for Colchester |
5 June 1714 | Leicestershire | u* | Viscount Tamworth | Sir Geoffrey Palmer | Death |
18 June 1714 | Tewkesbury | c* | Charles Dowdeswell | Anthony Lechmere | Death |
12 August 1714 | Truro | u | Thomas Hare | Thomas Hare | First Register and Clerk of the Crown in Barbados |
References
- List of MPs since 1660
- Return of the name of every member of the lower house of parliament of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with name of constituency represented, and date of return, from 1213 to 1874.
- The House of Commons 1690-1715, edited by David Hayton (Cambridge University Press 2002) ISBN 0521772214