# Stowmarket (UK Parliament constituency)

Stowmarket was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Stowmarket in Suffolk. 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 North-Western or Stowmarket Division was one of five single-member county divisions of the Parliamentary County of Suffolk created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 to replace the existing two 2-member divisions for the 1885 general election. It was formed from parts of the Western Division of Suffolk and included the towns of Stowmarket and Newmarket. It was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1918 when the majority of the Division was absorbed into the new Bury St Edmunds Division of West Suffolk, with a small area in the east, including Stowmarket itself, transferred to the Eye Division of East Suffolk.

## Boundaries

* The Municipal Borough of Bury St Edmunds;
* The Sessional Divisions of Blackbourn, Lackford, and Stowmarket;
* Parts of the Sessional Divisions of Newmarket, Thedwestry, and Thingoe; and
* The part of the Municipal Borough of Thetford in the county of Suffolk.
As Bury St Edmunds formed a separate Parliamentary Borough, only non-resident freeholders of the Borough were entitled to vote in this constituency.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1885 | Felix Cobbold | Liberal |
| | 1886 | Edward Greene | Conservative |
| | 1891 by-election | Sydney Stern | Liberal |
| | 1895 | Ian Malcolm | Conservative |
| | 1906 | George Hardy | Liberal |
| | Jan. 1910 | Frank Goldsmith | Conservative |
| 1918 | 1918 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Stowmarket :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Felix Cobbold | 4,606 | 57.0 | |
| | Conservative | Thomas Thornhill | 3,475 | 43.0 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,131 | 14.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,081 | 76.3 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,587 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1886: Stowmarket :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Greene | 3,906 | 53.7 | +10.7 |
| | Liberal | Edward Buxton | 3,363 | 46.3 | −10.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 543 | 7.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,269 | 68.7 | −7.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,587 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +10.7 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

Greene's death caused a by-election.
1891 Stowmarket by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Sydney Stern | 4,346 | 51.3 | +5.0 |
| | Conservative | Edward Greene | 4,132 | 48.7 | −5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 214 | 2.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,478 | 74.5 | +5.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,375 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.0 | |
General election 1892: Stowmarket :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Sydney Stern | 4,630 | 50.8 | +4.5 |
| | Conservative | Gerald Cadogan | 4,486 | 49.2 | −4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 144 | 1.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,116 | 82.5 | +13.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,045 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.5 | |
General election 1895: Stowmarket :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ian Malcolm | 5,144 | 58.2 | +9.0 |
| | Liberal | Henry de Rosenbach Walker | 3,701 | 41.8 | −9.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,443 | 16.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,845 | 80.8 | −1.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,942 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +9.0 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Stowmarket :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ian Malcolm | 4,431 | 59.1 | +0.9 |
| | Liberal | JC Horobin | 3,068 | 40.9 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,363 | 18.2 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,499 | 70.4 | −10.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,651 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.9 | |
General election 1906: Stowmarket :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Hardy | 4,801 | 51.1 | +10.2 |
| | Conservative | Walter Guinness | 4,588 | 48.9 | −10.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 213 | 2.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,389 | 85.6 | +15.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,971 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +10.2 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Stowmarket :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frank Goldsmith | 5,311 | 53.2 | +4.3 |
| | Liberal | George Hardy | 4,666 | 46.8 | −4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 645 | 6.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,977 | 89.2 | +3.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,190 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +4.3 | |
General election December 1910: Stowmarket :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frank Goldsmith | 4,995 | 51.0 | −2.2 |
| | Liberal | Robert Leatham Barclay | 4,804 | 49.0 | +2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 191 | 2.0 | −4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,799 | 87.6 | −1.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,190 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.2 | |
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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
* Unionist: Frank Goldsmith
* Liberal: E. R. Hollond