# Thornbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Thornbury was a county constituency centred on the town of Thornbury in Gloucestershire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

## History

The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election.

## Boundaries

1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, and Lawford's Gate except the part included in the parliamentary borough of Bristol.
1918–1950: The Urban District of Kingswood, and the Rural Districts of Sodbury, Thornbury, and Warmley.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1885 | Stafford Howard | Liberal |
| 1886 | John Plunkett (Lord Dunsany from 1889) | Conservative |
| 1892 | Charles Colston | Conservative |
| 1906 | Athelstan Rendall | Liberal |
| 1922 | Herbert Charles Woodcock | Conservative |
| 1923 | Athelstan Rendall | Liberal |
| 1924 | Sir Derrick Gunston, Bt. | Unionist |
| 1945 | Joseph Alpass | Labour |
| 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Stafford Howard | 4,834 | 50.8 | |
| | Conservative | Benjamin St John Ackers | 4,689 | 49.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 145 | 1.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,523 | 84.0 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,333 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1886: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Plunkett | 4,935 | 54.9 | +5.7 |
| | Liberal | Stafford Howard | 4,054 | 45.1 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 881 | 9.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,989 | 79.3 | −4.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,333 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | -5.7 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Colston | 5,202 | 51.1 | −3.8 |
| | Liberal | Stafford Howard | 4,978 | 48.9 | +3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 224 | 2.2 | −7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,180 | 85.8 | +6.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,867 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -3.8 | |
General election 1895: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Colston | 5,727 | 55.3 | +4.2 |
| | Liberal | Arthur Acland Allen | 4,638 | 44.7 | −4.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,089 | 10.6 | +8.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,635 | 85.0 | −0.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,195 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.2 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Colston | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1906: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Athelstan Rendall | 7,370 | 58.4 | New |
| | Conservative | Charles Colston | 5,240 | 41.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,130 | 16.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,610 | 89.5 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,096 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Athelstan Rendall | 7,270 | 53.8 | −4.6 |
| | Conservative | Cyril Augustus Ward | 6,251 | 46.2 | +4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,019 | 7.6 | −9.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,521 | 91.7 | +2.2 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -4.6 | |
General election December 1910: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Athelstan Rendall | 6,820 | 53.9 | +0.1 |
| | Conservative | George Cockerill | 5,837 | 46.1 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 983 | 7.8 | +0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,657 | 85.9 | −5.8 |
| | 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: Athelstan Rendall
* Unionist: George Cockerill
General election 1918: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Liberal | Athelstan Rendall | 9,999 | 62.0 | +8.1 |
| | National | Thomas Pilcher | 6,132 | 38.0 | −8.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,687 | 24.0 | +16.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,131 | 47.6 | −38.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 33,862 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Herbert Charles Woodcock | 10,682 | 39.5 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal | Athelstan Rendall | 10,578 | 39.2 | −22.8 |
| | Labour | Joseph Alpass | 5,749 | 21.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 104 | 0.3 | −23.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,009 | 77.9 | +30.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 34,655 | | +2.33 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1923: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Athelstan Rendall | 16,722 | 62.0 | +22.8 |
| | Unionist | Herbert Charles Woodcock | 10,252 | 38.0 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,470 | 24.0 | +2.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,974 | 75.6 | −2.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 35,695 | | +3.0 |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +12.2 | |
General election 1924: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Derrick Gunston | 12,500 | 42.9 | +4.9 |
| | Liberal | Athelstan Rendall | 10,283 | 35.3 | −26.7 |
| | Labour | Godfrey Elton | 6,376 | 21.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,217 | 7.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,159 | 79.5 | +3.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 36,672 | | +2.7 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +15.8 | |
General election 1929: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Derrick Gunston | 13,914 | 34.0 | −8.9 |
| | Liberal | John Adam Day | 13,614 | 33.2 | −2.1 |
| | Labour | Godfrey Elton | 13,445 | 32.8 | +10.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 300 | 0.8 | −6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,973 | 82.5 | +3.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 49,645 | | +35.4 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -3.4 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Derrick Gunston | 23,072 | 55.1 | +21.1 |
| | Labour | George Pearce Blizard | 11,008 | 26.3 | −6.5 |
| | Liberal | J. Howard Whitehouse | 7,826 | 18.7 | −14.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,064 | 28.8 | +28.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,906 | 79.7 | −2.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 52,547 | | +5.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +13.8 | |
General election 1935: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Derrick Gunston | 19,180 | 47.4 | −7.7 |
| | Labour | F. A. Heron | 15,164 | 37.5 | +11.2 |
| | Liberal | Wilfred John Jenkins | 6,104 | 15.1 | −3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,016 | 9.9 | −18.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,448 | 71.5 | −8.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 56,582 | | +7.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -9.4 | |
General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
* Conservative: Derrick Gunston
* Labour: Joseph Alpass
* Liberal: Raymond Walton

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Thornbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joseph Alpass | 28,364 | 49.3 | +11.8 |
| | Conservative | Derrick Gunston | 18,927 | 32.9 | −14.5 |
| | Liberal | Ronald W Brighton | 10,262 | 17.8 | +2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,437 | 16.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,553 | 76.4 | +4.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 75,286 | | +33.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +13.2 | |