# Fowey (UK Parliament constituency)

Fowey was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1571 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

## History

The borough consisted of the town of Fowey, a seaport and market town, and the neighbouring hamlet of Mixtow. Unlike many of the most notorious Cornish rotten boroughs which were enfranchised in Tudor times, Fowey had once been a town of reasonable size, and returned members to a national council in 1340, although it had to wait until 1571 for representation in Parliament.
Fowey was a feudal tenure of the Prince of Wales, and by a judgment of 1701 the right to vote was held to rest with "the Prince's tenants", which in practice was interpreted to include all the householders paying scot and lot; there were 331 voters in 1831. However, most of the property in the borough was owned by the Rashleigh family of nearby Menabilly, and in 1816 they and the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe shared the "patronage", each having considerable influence if not quite absolute power to choose one of the MPs.
In 1831, the borough had a population of 1,600, and 340 houses.

## Members of Parliament
### 1571–1629

| Parliament | First member | Second member |
| Parliament of 1571 | Robert Petre | Thomas Cromwell |
| Parliament of 1572–1583 | William Russell | Edward Harrington |
| Parliament of 1584–1585 | Reginald Mohun | William Treffry |
| Parliament of 1586–1587 | Reginald Mohun | John Bonython |
| Parliament of 1588–1589 | John Rashleigh | Arthur Atye |
| Parliament of 1593 | William Killigrew | Samuel Lennard |
| Parliament of 1597–1598 | John Rashleigh | Thomas Treffry |
| Parliament of 1601 | Carew Raleigh | Sir William Courtney, junior |
| Parliament of 1604–1611 | Henry Peter | Francis Vyvyan |
| Addled Parliament (1614) | Jonathan Rashleigh | Sir Edward Boys |
| Parliament of 1621–1622 | Jonathan Rashleigh | John Treffry |
| Happy Parliament (1624–1625) | William Noy | Sir Robert Coke |
| Useless Parliament (1625) | Jonathan Rashleigh | Arthur Basset |
| Parliament of 1625–1626 | William Murray | Arthur Basset |
| Parliament of 1628–1629 | Robert Rashleigh | Sir Richard Grenville |
| No Parliament summoned 1629–1640 |||

### 1640–1832

| Year | | First member | First party | | Second member | Second party |
| April 1640 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | Royalist | | Edwin Rich | |
| November 1640 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | Royalist | | Sir Richard Buller | Parliamentarian |
| November 1642 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | Royalist | Buller died – seat vacant | Buller died – seat vacant | Buller died – seat vacant |
| January 1644 | Rashleigh disabled from sitting – seat vacant | Rashleigh disabled from sitting – seat vacant | Rashleigh disabled from sitting – seat vacant | | | Buller died – seat vacant | Buller died – seat vacant | Buller died – seat vacant |
| 1646 | | Nicholas Gould | | | Gregory Clement | |
| May 1652 | | Nicholas Gould | | Clement expelled – seat vacant | Clement expelled – seat vacant | Clement expelled – seat vacant |
| 1653 | Fowey was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Fowey was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Fowey was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Fowey was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Fowey was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Fowey was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate |
| January 1659 | | John Barton | | | Edward Herle | |
| May 1659 | | Nicholas Gould | | One seat vacant | One seat vacant | One seat vacant |
| April 1660 | | John Barton | | | Edward Herle | |
| 1661 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | | | John Rashleigh | |
| 1675 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | | | John Rashleigh | |
| 1679 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | | | John Treffry | |
| 1685 | | Bevil Granville | | | John Treffry | |
| 1689 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | | | Shadrach Vincent | |
| 1695 | | Thomas Vivian | | | Sir Bevil Granville | |
| January 1701 | | John Williams | | | John Granville | |
| December 1701 | | John Williams | | | John Hicks | |
| 1702 | | George Granville | Tory | | John Hicks | |
| 1708 | | George Granville | Tory | | Henry Vincent (junior) | |
| 1710 | | Viscount Dupplin | Tory | | Henry Vincent (junior) | |
| 1712 | | Bernard Granville | | | Henry Vincent (junior) | |
| 1713 | | Jermyn Wyche | Tory | | Henry Vincent (junior) | |
| 1715 | | Jonathan Elford | Tory | | Henry Vincent (junior) | |
| 1719 | | Jonathan Elford | Tory | | Nicholas Vincent | |
| 1722 | | John Goodall | Tory | | Nicholas Vincent | |
| 1725 | | William Bromley | Tory | | Nicholas Vincent | |
| January 1727 | | William Bromley | Tory | | The Viscount FitzWilliam | Whig |
| August 1727 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | Tory | | The Viscount FitzWilliam | Whig |
| 1734 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | Tory | | John Hedges | |
| 1737 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | Tory | | William Wardour | |
| 1746 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | Tory | | Captain the Hon. George Edgcumbe | Whig |
| 1761 | | Jonathan Rashleigh | Tory | | Hon. Robert Boyle-Walsingham | |
| 1765 | | Philip Rashleigh | Tory | | Hon. Robert Boyle-Walsingham | |
| 1768 | | Philip Rashleigh | Tory | | James Modyford Heywood | |
| 1774 | | Philip Rashleigh | Tory | | The Lord Shuldham | Whig |
| 1784 | | Philip Rashleigh | Tory | | John Grant | Tory |
| 1786 | | Philip Rashleigh | Tory | | Hon. Richard Edgcumbe | Tory |
| 1795 | | Philip Rashleigh | Tory | | Sylvester Douglas | Tory |
| 1796 | | Philip Rashleigh | Tory | | Reginald Pole-Carew | Tory |
| 1799 | | Philip Rashleigh | Tory | | Edward Golding | Tory |
| July 1802 | | Reginald Pole Carew | Tory | | Edward Golding | Tory |
| December 1802 | | Reginald Pole Carew | Tory | | Robert Wigram (senior) | Tory |
| 1806 | | Reginald Pole Carew | Tory | | Robert Wigram (junior) | Tory |
| 1812 | | William Rashleigh | Tory | | Robert Wigram (junior) | Tory |
| 1818 | | George Lucy | Tory | | Hon. James Hamilton Stanhope | |
| 5 March 1819 | Seat vacant (death of Viscount Valletort) | Seat vacant (death of Viscount Valletort) | Seat vacant (death of Viscount Valletort) | | Alexander Glynn Campbell | Tory |
| 24 March 1819 | | Matthias Attwood | Tory | | Alexander Glynn Campbell | Tory |
| May 1819 | | Viscount Valletort | Tory | | Alexander Glynn Campbell | Tory |
| 1820 | | Viscount Valletort | Tory | | George Lucy | Tory |
| 1826 | | Hon. Robert Henley | Tory | | George Lucy | Tory |
| February 1830 | | Lord Brudenell | Tory | | George Lucy | Tory |
| July 1830 | | Lord Brudenell | Tory | | John Cheesment Severn | Tory |
| 1832 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |