# Monmouth Boroughs (UK Parliament constituency)

Monmouth Boroughs (also known as the Monmouth District of Boroughs) was a parliamentary constituency consisting of several towns in Monmouthshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliaments of England, Great Britain, and finally the United Kingdom; until 1832 the constituency was known simply as Monmouth, though it included other "contributory boroughs".

## History and boundaries

The area was first enfranchised as the single-member borough of Monmouth or Monmouth Town in the reign of Henry VIII, at the same time as the counties and boroughs of Wales. On official, national-level paper cast as being in England its electoral arrangements from the outset resembled those of the Welsh boroughs rather than those in the rest of England - its single member and its other "contributory boroughs" in the same county, which were required to contribute to the members' expenses and which had the right to send voters to take part in the election at the county town. These were initially six or perhaps seven in number: Caerleon, Newport, Trellech, Usk, Chepstow, Abergavenny and possibly Grosmont; but by the late 17th century all of the electors were freemen of Monmouth, Usk and Newport.
The franchise was settled by a judgment in a disputed election in 1680, when Monmouth attempted to return a member to parliament without the involvement of the other boroughs, and the Court declared the right to vote to rest in the resident freemen of Monmouth, Newport and Usk. The number of electors fell away sharply during the 18th century - from 2,000 in 1715 to about 800 in the 1754-1790 period; by the time of the Great Reform Act in 1832 qualified voters numbered: 123 in Newport, 83 in Monmouth and 74 in Usk. In Tudor times the seat was under the influence of the Duchy of Lancaster and around the start of the 18th century it was a pocket borough of the Morgan family of Tredegar, who were influential in the Newport area; but soon afterwards the Dukes of Beaufort (a Scudamore family branch) gained control. After the Duke's candidate had won the election of 1715 decisively, this patronage was so clear contests ceased until 1820 – their candidates (many of them members of the family) were returned unopposed.
At the time of the Great Reform Act (or First Reform Act), 1832, Monmouth and Newport each had around 5,000 residents and Usk just over 1,000. This was great for most seats of its type – even dual-member boroughs were mostly kept if they had or could be simply drawn to exceed 4,000 residents. Nevertheless, all three parts of this seat were expanding by taking into the new high-rent-paying and/or landed outlook (franchise) a broad view of each town; such area took in 13,101 people and its electorate (under the "reformed" franchise) was 899. Henceforth it was generally referred to as the Monmouth Boroughs.
From 1832 until 1906 results tended on 'marginal' rather than 'safe', alternating between Conservatives and Whigs/Liberals. Crawshay Bailey (Con.) was returned unopposed four times after he was first elected. The seat moved steadily towards the Liberals, however, as the franchise became more inclusive and Newport grew in size; by the turn of the century 90% of the electorate was there, and it was a mass-labour working class and mainly industrial town unlike Monmouth and Usk. The Conservatives won in their landslide year of 1900 and held the seat in the by-election when that election was voided for various irregularities, but were probably helped by the association of the Liberal candidate with the campaign to extend the Welsh Sunday Closing Act to Monmouthshire. After, it was identifiably "safely" Liberal, and at the time of the 1911 census had a population of 77,902.
The seat was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1918: Newport became a parliamentary borough; Monmouth and Usk, mainstays of "Monmouth" county constituency.

## Boundary reforms

Redefined limits of the three contributory boroughs were set in 1832 and 1885.

## Members of Parliament
### 1545-1640

| Parliament | First member |
| 1542 | Thomas Kynnyllyn |
| 1545 | Richard Morgan, also elected for Gloucester |
| 1547 | Giles Morgan |
| 1553 (Mar) | (not known) |
| 1553 (Oct) | John Philip Morgan |
| 1554 (Apr) | John Philip Morgan |
| 1554 (Nov) | John Philip Morgan |
| 1555 | Thomas Lewis |
| 1558 | Matthew Herbert |
| 1559 | Moore Powell |
| 1562 | Moore Powell |
| 1571 | Charles Herbert |
| 1572 | Moore Powell, died and replaced 1576 by Sir William Morgan |
| 1584 | Moore Gwillim |
| 1586 | Moore Gwillim |
| 1588 | Philip Jones |
| 1593 | Edward Hubberd |
| 1597 | Robert Johnson |
| 1601 | Robert Johnson |
| 1604-1611 | (Sir) Robert Johnson |
| 1614 | Sir Robert Johnson |
| 1621-1622 | Thomas Ravenscroft |
| 1624 | Walter Stewart or Steward |
| 1625 | Walter Stewart or Steward |
| 1626 | William Fortune |
| 1628 | William Morgan |
| 1629–1640 | No Parliaments summoned |

### 1640-1918

| Year | | Member | Party |
| April 1640 | | Charles Jones | |
| November 1640 | Disputed election - seat effectively vacant | Disputed election - seat effectively vacant | Disputed election - seat effectively vacant |
| 1646 | | Thomas Pury | |
| 1653 | Monmouth was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Monmouth was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Monmouth was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate |
| January 1659 | | Nathaniel Waterhouse | |
| May 1659 | | Thomas Pury | |
| April 1660 | | Sir Trevor Williams | |
| 1661 | | Sir George Probert | |
| 1677 | | Charles Somerset | |
| February 1679 | | Sir Trevor Williams | |
| September 1679 | | Charles Somerset | |
| 1680 | | John Arnold | Whig |
| April 1685 | | Charles Somerset | |
| June 1685 | | Sir James Herbert | |
| January 1689 | | John Arnold | Whig |
| February 1689 | | John Williams | |
| 1690 | | Sir Charles Kemeys | |
| 1695 | | John Arnold | Whig |
| 1698 | | Henry Probert | |
| 1701 | | John Morgan | |
| 1705 | | Sir Thomas Powell | |
| 1708 | | Clayton Milborne | |
| 1715 | | William Bray | |
| 1720 | | Andrews Windsor | |
| 1722 | | Edward Kemeys | |
| 1734 | | Lord Charles Somerset | |
| 1745 | | Sir Charles Tynte | |
| 1747 | | Fulke Greville | |
| 1754 | | Benjamin Bathurst | |
| 1767 | | (Sir) John Stepney | |
| 1788 | | Henry Somerset | Tory |
| 1790 | | Charles Bragge | Tory |
| 1796 | | Vice Admiral (Sir) Charles Thompson | |
| 1799 | | Lord Edward Somerset | Tory |
| 1802 | | Lord Charles Somerset | Tory |
| 1813 | | Henry Somerset | Tory |
| May 1831 | | Benjamin Hall | Whig |
| July 1831 | | Henry Somerset | Tory |
| 1832 | | Benjamin Hall | Whig |
| 1837 | | Reginald Blewitt | Whig |
| 1852 | | Crawshay Bailey | Conservative |
| 1868 | | Sir John Ramsden | Liberal |
| 1874 | | Thomas Cordes | Conservative |
| 1880 | | Edward Carbutt | Liberal |
| 1886 | | Sir George Elliot | Conservative |
| 1892 | | Albert Spicer | Liberal |
| 1900 | | Dr Frederick Rutherfoord Harris | Conservative |
| 1901 | | Joseph Lawrence | Conservative |
| 1906 | | Lewis Haslam | Liberal |
| 1918 | 1918 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | Henry Somerset | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
General election 1831: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Benjamin Hall | 168 | 53.0 |
| | Tory | Henry Somerset | 149 | 47.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19 | 6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 317 | |
| | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory |
* On petition, Hall was unseated and Somerset was declared elected.
General election 1832: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Benjamin Hall | 393 | 52.5 | −0.5 |
| | Tory | Henry Somerset | 355 | 47.5 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 38 | 5.0 | −1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 748 | 83.2 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 899 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | −0.5 | |
General election 1835: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Benjamin Hall | 428 | 50.2 | −2.3 |
| | Conservative | Joseph Bailey | 424 | 49.8 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4 | 0.4 | −4.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 852 | 78.3 | −4.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,088 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | −2.3 | |
General election 1837: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Reginald Blewitt | 440 | 53.3 | +3.1 |
| | Conservative | Joseph Bailey | 386 | 46.7 | −3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 54 | 6.6 | +6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 826 | 70.7 | −7.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,169 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | +3.1 | |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Reginald Blewitt | 476 | 100.0 | +46.7 |
| | Chartist | William Edwards | 0 | 0.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 476 | 100.0 | +93.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 476 | 37.5 | −33.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,268 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | +46.7 | |
General election 1847: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Reginald Blewitt | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,420 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |

### Elections in the 1850s

Blewitt resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Hempholme, causing a by-election.
By-election, 3 April 1852: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Crawshay Bailey | 764 | 59.1 | New |
| | Whig | William Schaw Lindsay | 529 | 40.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 235 | 18.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,293 | 77.1 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,676 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1852: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Crawshay Bailey | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,676 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig |
General election 1857: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Crawshay Bailey | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,744 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1859: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Crawshay Bailey | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,745 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Crawshay Bailey | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,087 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1868: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John William Ramsden | 1,618 | 52.8 | New |
| | Conservative | Samuel Homfray | 1,449 | 47.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 169 | 5.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,067 | 81.3 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,771 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Thomas Cordes | 2,090 | 59.1 | +11.9 |
| | Liberal | Henry Pochin | 1,447 | 40.9 | −11.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 643 | 18.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,537 | 75.2 | −6.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,702 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +11.9 | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Edward Carbutt | 2,258 | 50.7 | +9.8 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Cordes | 2,197 | 49.3 | −9.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 61 | 1.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,455 | 87.5 | +12.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,090 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.8 | |
General election 1885: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Edward Carbutt | 2,932 | 50.1 | −0.6 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Cordes | 2,921 | 49.9 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11 | 0.2 | −1.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,853 | 90.3 | +2.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,485 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −0.6 | |
General election 1886: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | George Elliot | 3,033 | 54.2 | +4.3 |
| | Liberal | Edward Carbutt | 2,568 | 45.8 | −4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 465 | 8.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,601 | 86.4 | −3.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,485 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +4.3 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Albert Spicer | 3,430 | 52.2 | +6.4 |
| | Conservative | George Elliot | 3,137 | 47.8 | −6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 293 | 4.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,567 | 85.3 | −1.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,697 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +6.4 | |
General election 1895: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Albert Spicer | 3,743 | 51.1 | −1.1 |
| | Conservative | Emanuel Maguire Underdown | 3,589 | 48.9 | +1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 154 | 2.2 | −2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,332 | 87.4 | +2.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,391 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −1.1 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Rutherfoord Harris | 4,415 | 54.2 | +5.3 |
| | Liberal | Albert Spicer | 3,727 | 45.8 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 688 | 8.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,142 | 87.2 | −0.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,335 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.3 | |
1901 Monmouth Boroughs by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Joseph Lawrence | 4,604 | 51.9 | −2.3 |
| | Liberal | Albert Spicer | 4,261 | 48.1 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 343 | 3.8 | −4.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,865 | 90.4 | +3.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,803 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.3 | |
General election 1906: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Lewis Haslam | 4,531 | 44.7 | −1.1 |
| | Conservative | Edward Emanuel Micholls | 3,939 | 38.8 | −15.4 |
| | Labour Repr. Cmte. | James Whinstone | 1,678 | 16.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 592 | 5.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,148 | 90.6 | +3.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,207 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.2 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Lewis Haslam | 6,496 | 54.8 | +10.1 |
| | Conservative | Charles Cayzer | 5,351 | 45.2 | +6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,145 | 9.6 | +3.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,847 | 91.6 | +1.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,934 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +1.9 | |
General election December 1910: Monmouth Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Lewis Haslam | 6,154 | 54.9 | +0.1 |
| | Conservative | Gerald de La Pryme Hargreaves | 5,056 | 45.1 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,098 | 9.8 | +0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,210 | 86.7 | −4.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,934 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.1 | |
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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
* Liberal: Lewis Haslam
* Unionist: