# Horncastle (UK Parliament constituency)

Horncastle was a county constituency in Lincolnshire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. MPs were elected by the first past the post system of voting.
The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and first used for the 1885 general election. It was abolished for the 1983 general election.

## Boundaries

1885–1918: The Sessional Division of Spilsby, and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Alford and Horncastle.
1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Alford, Horncastle, Skegness, and Woodhall Spa, and the Rural Districts of Horncastle, Sibsey, and Spilsby.
1950–1983: The Urban Districts of Alford, Horncastle, Mablethorpe and Sutton, Skegness, and Woodhall Spa, and the Rural Districts of Horncastle and Spilsby.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1885 | Edward Stanhope | Conservative |
| 1894 by-election | Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby | Conservative |
| 1911 by-election | Archibald Weigall | Conservative |
| 1920 by-election | Stafford Hotchkin | Coalition Conservative |
| 1922 | Samuel Pattinson | Liberal |
| 1924 | Henry Haslam | Conservative |
| 1945 | Sir John Maitland | Conservative |
| 1966 | Peter Tapsell | Conservative |
| 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Stanhope | 4,824 | 54.9 | |
| | Lib-Lab | Thomas Threlfall | 3,959 | 45.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 865 | 9.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,783 | 88.4 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,941 | | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
General election 1886: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Stanhope | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
Stanhope was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies, requiring a by-election.
By-election, 12 Aug 1886: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Stanhope | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Stanhope | 4,438 | 54.5 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Francis Otter | 3,700 | 45.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 738 | 9.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,138 | 85.2 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,555 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |
Stanhope's death caused a by-election.
1894 Horncastle by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby | 4,582 | 55.0 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal | Herbert James Torr | 3,744 | 45.0 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 838 | 10.0 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,326 | 87.4 | +2.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,528 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.5 | |
General election 1895: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby | 4,563 | 60.2 | +5.7 |
| | Lib-Lab | John Bruce Wallace | 3,022 | 39.8 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,541 | 20.4 | +11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,585 | 65.2 | −20.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,642 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +5.7 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby | 4,302 | 59.2 | −1.0 |
| | Liberal | T Wallis | 2,962 | 40.8 | +1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,340 | 18.4 | −2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,264 | 76.6 | +11.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,488 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.0 | |
General election 1906: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby | 4,250 | 50.9 | −8.3 |
| | Liberal | A Adams | 4,100 | 49.1 | +8.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 150 | 1.8 | −16.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,350 | 86.6 | +10.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,637 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −8.3 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby | 5,162 | 54.6 | +3.7 |
| | Liberal | Charles Conybeare | 4,292 | 45.4 | −3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 870 | 9.2 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,454 | 90.0 | +3.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.7 | |
General election December 1910: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby | 4,705 | 52.9 | −1.7 |
| | Liberal | Frederick Linfield | 4,181 | 47.1 | +1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 524 | 5.8 | −3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,886 | 86.0 | −4.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.6 | |
1911 Horncastle by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Archibald Weigall | 4,955 | 50.5 | −2.4 |
| | Liberal | Frederick Linfield | 4,848 | 49.5 | +2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 107 | 1.0 | −4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,803 | 90.7 | +4.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.4 | |
General election 1918: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Archibald Weigall | 8,826 | 54.3 | +1.4 |
| | Liberal | Samuel Pattinson | 7,433 | 45.7 | −1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,393 | 8.6 | +2.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,259 | 68.2 | −17.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 23,854 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +1.4 | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

1920 Horncastle by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Stafford Hotchkin | 8,140 | 44.5 | −9.8 |
| | Liberal | Samuel Pattinson | 6,727 | 36.7 | −9.0 |
| | Labour | William Holmes | 3,443 | 18.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,413 | 7.8 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,310 | 77.0 | +8.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 23,764 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −0.4 | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
General election 1922: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Samuel Pattinson | 10,797 | 54.1 | +8.4 |
| | Unionist | Maurice Roche | 9,158 | 45.9 | −8.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,639 | 8.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,955 | 81.5 | +13.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 24,485 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +8.4 | |
General election 1923: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Samuel Pattinson | 10,954 | 54.5 | +0.4 |
| | Unionist | John Du Cane | 9,135 | 45.5 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,819 | 9.0 | +0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,089 | 80.9 | −0.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 24,821 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.4 | |
General election 1924: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Henry Haslam | 10,912 | 52.8 | +7.3 |
| | Liberal | Samuel Pattinson | 9,743 | 47.2 | −7.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,169 | 5.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,655 | 81.7 | +0.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 25,286 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +7.3 | |
General election 1929: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Henry Haslam | 12,837 | 48.1 | −4.7 |
| | Liberal | Frederick Linfield | 10,168 | 38.1 | −9.1 |
| | Labour | J. R. Sanderson | 3,683 | 13.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,669 | 10.0 | +4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,688 | 80.8 | −0.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 33,042 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +2.2 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Henry Haslam | 18,100 | 67.3 | +19.2 |
| | Liberal | George Henry John Dutton | 8,788 | 32.7 | −5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,312 | 34.6 | +24.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,888 | 70.3 | −10.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +12.3 | |
General election 1935: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Henry Haslam | 17,594 | 68.79 | |
| | Labour | Frank J Knowles | 7,982 | 31.21 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,612 | 37.58 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,576 | 69.40 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
* Conservative: Henry Haslam
* Labour: Frank J Knowles
General election 1945: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Maitland | 14,019 | 53.10 | |
| | Labour | George Holderness | 7,052 | 26.72 | |
| | Liberal | Frank Emerson | 5,329 | 20.18 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,967 | 26.38 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,403 | 70.45 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Maitland | 22,329 | 65.67 | +12.57 |
| | Labour | Francis H Clark | 11,671 | 34.33 | +7.61 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,658 | 31.34 | +4.92 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,000 | 78.73 | +8.28 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.48 | |
General election 1951: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Maitland | 22,043 | 66.42 | +0.75 |
| | Labour | Francis H Clark | 11,143 | 33.58 | −0.75 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,900 | 32.84 | +1.50 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,186 | 76.67 | −2.06 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.75 | |
General election 1955: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Maitland | 20,392 | 66.83 | +0.41 |
| | Labour | Wilfrid Pashby | 10,122 | 33.17 | −0.41 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,270 | 33.66 | +0.82 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,514 | 71.01 | −5.66 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.41 | |
General election 1959: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Maitland | 19,799 | 66.60 | −0.23 |
| | Labour | Hugh W Peck | 9,928 | 33.40 | +0.23 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,871 | 33.20 | −0.46 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,727 | 70.34 | −0.67 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.23 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Maitland | 15,854 | 49.59 | −17.01 |
| | Labour | Robin Brumby | 8,069 | 25.24 | −8.16 |
| | Liberal | T Frank Smith | 8,044 | 25.16 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,785 | 24.35 | −8.85 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,967 | 74.73 | +4.39 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −4.43 | |
General election 1966: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Tapsell | 15,090 | 46.64 | −2.95 |
| | Labour | Robert NH Sackur | 9,715 | 30.02 | +4.78 |
| | Liberal | T Frank Smith | 7,552 | 23.34 | −1.82 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,375 | 16.62 | −7.73 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,357 | 81.10 | +6.37 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.86 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Tapsell | 19,299 | 55.35 | +8.71 |
| | Labour | Eric A Skinns | 8,860 | 25.41 | −4.61 |
| | Liberal | Roger S Miller | 6,707 | 19.24 | −4.10 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,439 | 29.94 | +13.32 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,866 | 74.20 | −6.90 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +7.69 | |
General election February 1974: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Tapsell | 19,344 | 49.53 | −5.82 |
| | Liberal | Roger S Miller | 12,555 | 32.15 | +12.91 |
| | Labour | AJR Berry | 6,791 | 17.39 | −1.85 |
| | Independent Democratic Alliance | EP Iszatt | 367 | 0.94 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,789 | 17.38 | −12.56 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,057 | 79.33 | +5.13 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −9.41 | |
General election October 1974: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Tapsell | 16,750 | 47.71 | −1.82 |
| | Liberal | MJC Starky | 11,506 | 32.78 | +0.63 |
| | Labour | K Bratton | 6,849 | 19.51 | +2.12 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,244 | 14.93 | −2.45 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,105 | 70.74 | −8.59 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.23 | |
General election 1979: Horncastle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Tapsell | 21,362 | 55.12 | +7.51 |
| | Liberal | MJC Starky | 10,833 | 27.95 | −4.83 |
| | Labour | DP Collins | 6,240 | 16.10 | −3.41 |
| | National Front | M Hook | 319 | 0.82 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,529 | 27.17 | +12.24 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,754 | 75.21 | +4.47 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +6.17 | |