# Denbigh Boroughs (UK Parliament constituency)

Denbigh District of Boroughs (variously referred to as Denbigh District, Denbigh Boroughs or just Denbigh) was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Denbigh in Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the British House of Commons.
The constituency first returned an MP in 1542, to the English Parliament. From 1707 to 1800, the MPs sat in the Parliament of Great Britain, and after the Act of Union 1800, in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The constituency was abolished for the 1918 general election.

## Boundaries

From its first known general election in 1542 until 1918, the constituency consisted of a number of boroughs within the historic county of Denbighshire in Wales.
The seat should not be confused with the county constituency of Denbighshire, which existed from the sixteenth century until 1885. The county was divided into East Denbighshire and West Denbighshire between 1885 and 1918.
After 1918 Denbighshire was represented in Parliament by two single member county constituencies, which included all the boroughs formerly in the Denbigh District of Boroughs. One of these was Wrexham, but the other was the Denbigh division of Denbighshire.

### Denbigh (1535–1832)

On the basis of information from several volumes of the History of Parliament, it is apparent that the history of the borough representation from Wales and Monmouthshire is more complicated than that of the English boroughs.
The Laws in Wales Act 1535 (26 Hen. 8. c. 26) provided for a single borough seat for each of 11 of the 12 Welsh counties and Monmouthshire. The legislation was ambiguous as to which communities were enfranchised. The county towns were awarded a seat, but this in some fashion represented all the ancient boroughs of the county as the others were required to contribute to the members wages. It was not clear if the burgesses of the contributing boroughs could take part in the election. The only election under the original scheme was for the 1542 parliament. It seems that only burgesses from the county towns actually took part. The Parliament Act 1543 (35 Hen. 8. c. 11) confirmed that the contributing boroughs could send representatives to take part in the election at the county town. As far as can be told from surviving indentures of returns, the degree to which the out boroughs participated varied, but by the end of the sixteenth century all the seats had some participation from them at some elections at least.
The original scheme was modified by later legislation and decisions of the House of Commons (which were sometimes made with no regard to precedent or evidence: for example in 1728 it was decided that only the freemen of the borough of Montgomery could participate in the election for that seat, thus disenfranchising the freemen of Llanidloes, Welshpool and Llanfyllin).
In the case of Denbighshire, the county town was Denbigh. The out boroughs were Chirk, Holt, and Ruthin. At some point, between 1603 and 1690, Chirk ceased to participate.
In 1690–1790 the freemen of the three remaining boroughs were entitled to vote. There were about 1,400 electors in 1715 (including non-resident freemen). This number was reduced to about 400 after 1744, when only resident freemen were allowed to vote. The electorate increased to about 500 in the 1754–1790 period.

### Denbigh Boroughs (1832–1918)

This was a district of boroughs constituency, which grouped a number of parliamentary boroughs in Denbighshire into one single member constituency. The voters from each participating borough cast ballots, which were added together over the whole district to decide the result of the poll. The enfranchised communities in this district, from 1832, were the four boroughs of Denbigh, Holt, Ruthin, and Wrexham.
The exact boundaries of the parliamentary boroughs in the district were altered by the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1868, but the general nature of the constituency was unchanged. There were no further boundary changes in the 1885 redistribution of parliamentary seats.

### After 1918

In the redistribution of seats which took place at the 1918, the Denbigh Boroughs constituency was abolished, along with the two county divisions of East Denbighshire and West Denbighshire. They were replaced by a new county division called Denbigh, which comprised the whole of the county, except for the Municipal Borough of Wrexham and part of the Chirk Rural District which formed the Wrexham division.
The local authorities in the Denbigh division were the Municipal Boroughs of Denbigh and Ruthin; the Urban Districts of Abergele and Pensarn, Colwyn Bay and Colwyn, Llangollen, and Llanrwst; as well as the Rural Districts of Llangollen, Llanrwst, Llansillin, Ruthin, St Asaph (Denbigh), Uwchaled, part of Chirk, and the part of Glan Conway not in Caernarvonshire.

## Members of Parliament
### MPs 1542–1660

As there were sometimes significant gaps between Parliaments held in this period, the dates of first assembly and dissolution are given. Where the name of the member has not yet been ascertained or is not recorded in a surviving document, the entry unknown is entered in the table.
| Elected | Assembled | Dissolved | Member | Note |
| 1542 | 16 January 1542 | 28 March 1544 | Richard Myddelton | |
| 1545 | 23 November 1545 | 31 January 1547 | George Salusbury | |
| 1547 | 4 November 1547 | 15 April 1552 | Robert Myddelton | |
| 1553 | 1 March 1553 | 31 March 1553 | Simon Thelwall | |
| 1553 | 5 October 1553 | 5 December 1553 | Simon Thelwall | |
| 1554 | 2 April 1554 | 3 May 1554 | John Salesbury | |
| 1554 | 12 November 1554 | 16 January 1555 | Fulk Lloyd | |
| 1555 | 21 October 1555 | 9 December 1555 | John Evans | |
| 1558 | 20 January 1558 | 17 November 1558 | John Salesbury | |
| 1559 | 23 January 1559 | 8 May 1559 | Simon Thelwall I | |
| 1562 or 1563 | 11 January 1563 | 2 January 1567 | Humphrey Llwyd | |
| 1571 | 2 April 1571 | 29 May 1571 | Simon Thelwall I | |
| 1572 | 8 May 1572 | 19 April 1583 | Richard Cavendish | |
| 1584 | 23 November 1584 | 14 September 1585 | Richard Cavendish | |
| 1586 | 13 October 1586 | 23 March 1587 | Robert Wrote | |
| 1588 | 4 February 1589 | 29 March 1589 | John Turbridge | |
| 1593 | 18 February 1593 | 10 April 1593 | Simon Thelwall II | |
| 1597 | 24 October 1597 | 9 February 1598 | John Panton | |
| 1601 | 27 October 1601 | 19 December 1601 | John Panton | |
| 1604 | 19 March 1604 | 9 February 1611 | Hugh Myddleton | |
| 1614 | 5 April 1614 | 7 June 1614 | Hugh Myddleton | |
| 1620 | 16 January 1621 | 8 February 1622 | Hugh Myddleton | |
| 1624 | 12 February 1624 | 27 March 1625 | Hugh Myddleton | |
| 1625 | 17 May 1625 | 12 August 1625 | Hugh Myddleton | |
| 1626 | 6 February 1626 | 15 June 1626 | Hugh Myddleton | |
| 1628 | 17 March 1628 | 10 March 1629 | Hugh Myddleton | |
| 1640 | 13 April 1640 | 5 May 1640 | John Salusbury | Short Parliament |
| 1640 | 3 November 1640 | 5 December 1648 | Simon Thelwall | Long Parliament |
| ... | 6 December 1648 | 20 April 1653 | Simon Thelwall | Rump Parliament |
| ... | 4 July 1653 | 12 December 1653 | unrepresented | Barebones Parliament |
| 1654 | 3 September 1654 | 22 January 1655 | unrepresented | First Protectorate Parliament |
| 1656 | 17 September 1656 | 4 February 1658 | unrepresented | Second Protectorate Parliament |
| 1658–59 | 27 January 1659 | 22 April 1659 | John Manley | Third Protectorate Parliament |
| ... | 7 May 1659 | 20 February 1660 | unknown | Rump Parliament restored |
| ... | 21 February 1660 | 16 March 1660 | unknown | Long Parliament restored |

### MPs 1660–1918

| Year | Member | Party |
| 1660 | John Carter | |
| 1661 | Sir John Salusbury | |
| 1685 | Sir John Trevor | |
| 1689 | Edward Brereton | |
| 1705 | William Robinson | |
| 1708 | Sir William Williams, Bt. | Tory |
| 1710 | John Roberts | |
| 1713 | John Wynne | |
| 1715 | John Roberts | |
| 1722 | Robert Myddelton | Tory |
| 1733 | John Myddelton | Tory |
| 1741 | John Wynn | Whig |
| 1747 | Richard Myddelton | |
| 1788 | Richard Myddelton | |
| 1797 | Thomas Jones | |
| 1802 | Hon. Frederick West | |
| 1806 | Robert Myddelton Biddulph | |
| 1812 | Viscount Kirkwall | Tory |
| 1818 | John Wynne Griffith | Whig |
| 1826 | Frederick Richard West | Tory |
| 1830 | Robert Myddleton-Biddulph | Whig |
| 1832 | John Edward Madocks | Whig |
| 1835 | Wilson Jones | Conservative |
| 1841 | Townshend Mainwaring | Conservative |
| 1847 | Frederick Richard West | Conservative |
| 1857 | Townshend Mainwaring | Conservative |
| 1868 | Watkin Williams | Liberal |
| 1880 | Sir Robert Cunliffe, Bt | Liberal |
| 1885 | Hon. George Thomas Kenyon | Conservative |
| 1895 | William Tudor Howell | Conservative |
| 1900 | Hon. George Thomas Kenyon | Conservative |
| 1906 | Clement Edwards | Liberal |
| 1910 | Hon. William Ormsby-Gore | Conservative |
| 1918 | constituency abolished. See Denbigh and Wrexham | constituency abolished. See Denbigh and Wrexham |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Robert Myddelton Biddulph | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | c. 817 | |
| | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory |
General election 1831: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Robert Myddelton Biddulph | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | c. 817 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1832: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | John Edward Maddocks | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,131 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1835: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Wilson Jones (MP) | 490 | 66.9 |
| | Whig | John Edward Maddocks | 242 | 33.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 248 | 33.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 732 | 74.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 987 | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig |
General election 1837: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Wilson Jones (MP) | 411 | 54.9 | −12.0 |
| | Whig | Robert Myddelton Biddulph | 338 | 45.1 | +12.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 73 | 9.8 | −24.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 749 | 82.4 | +8.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 909 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −12.0 | |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Townshend Mainwaring | 365 | 54.2 | −0.7 |
| | Whig | Robert Myddelton Biddulph | 309 | 45.8 | +0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 56 | 8.4 | −1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 674 | 71.4 | −11.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 944 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.7 | |
General election 1847: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Richard West | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 841 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Richard West | 362 | 55.7 | N/A |
| | Radical | William Langford Foulkes | 288 | 44.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 74 | 11.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 650 | 75.8 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 858 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1857: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Townshend Mainwaring | 364 | 54.7 | −1.0 |
| | Radical | James Maurice | 302 | 45.3 | +1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 62 | 9.4 | −2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 666 | 77.4 | +1.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 861 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.0 | |
General election 1859: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Townshend Mainwaring | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 852 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Townshend Mainwaring | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 903 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1868: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Watkin Williams | 1,319 | 58.3 | New |
| | Conservative | Townshend Mainwaring | 944 | 41.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 375 | 16.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,263 | 81.3 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,785 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Watkin Williams | 1,238 | 50.6 | −7.7 |
| | Conservative | George Thomas Kenyon | 1,208 | 49.4 | +7.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 30 | 1.2 | −15.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,446 | 85.0 | +3.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,879 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −7.7 | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Robert Cunliffe | 1,424 | 50.3 | −0.3 |
| | Conservative | George Thomas Kenyon | 1,409 | 49.7 | +0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15 | 0.6 | −0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,833 | 92.3 | +7.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,071 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −0.3 | |
General election 1885: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | George Kenyon | 1,761 | 54.8 | +5.1 |
| | Liberal | Robert Cunliffe | 1,455 | 45.2 | −5.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 306 | 9.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,216 | 94.2 | +1.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,414 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.1 | |
General election 1886: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | George Kenyon | 1,657 | 53.4 | −1.4 |
| | Liberal | John Barlow | 1,446 | 46.6 | +1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 211 | 6.8 | −2.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,103 | 90.9 | −3.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,414 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.4 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | George Kenyon | 1,664 | 51.5 | −1.9 |
| | Liberal | Howell Idris | 1,566 | 48.5 | +1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 98 | 3.0 | −3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,230 | 91.7 | +0.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,521 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.9 | |
General election 1895: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Tudor Howell | 1,833 | 53.3 | +1.8 |
| | Liberal | Walter Herbert Morgan | 1,604 | 46.7 | −1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 229 | 6.6 | +3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,437 | 91.6 | −0.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,751 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.8 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | George Kenyon | 1,862 | 51.5 | −1.8 |
| | Lib-Lab | Clement Edwards | 1,752 | 48.5 | +1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 110 | 3.0 | −3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,614 | 87.4 | −4.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,137 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.8 | |
General election 1906: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Lib-Lab | Clement Edwards | 2,533 | 56.4 | +7.9 |
| | Conservative | George Kenyon | 1,960 | 43.6 | −7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 573 | 12.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,493 | 94.5 | +7.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,755 | | |
| | Lib-Lab gain from Conservative | Lib-Lab gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.9 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Ormsby-Gore | 2,437 | 50.1 | +6.5 |
| | Lib-Lab | Clement Edwards | 2,427 | 49.9 | −6.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,864 | 94.8 | +0.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,130 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Lib-Lab | Conservative gain from Lib-Lab | Swing | +6.5 | |
A petition was lodged but was withdrawn after a recount. The original count gave the Conservatives 2,438 votes and the Lib-Lab candidate 2,430 votes.
General election December 1910: Denbigh Boroughs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Ormsby-Gore | 2,385 | 50.1 | 0.0 |
| | Liberal | Caradoc Rees | 2,376 | 49.9 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,761 | 92.8 | −2.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,130 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 0.0 | |