# Market Hall (ward)

Market Hall was a ward of the County Borough of Birmingham. Named after Birmingham Market Hall, it covered an area of central Birmingham, including at times the districts of Lee Bank, Edgbaston around Carpenters Rd and Wellington Rd and the western part of Balsall Heath.

## Ward History

The ward, in central Birmingham, has been in existence since the 1830s and the boundaries have changed at various times since then. The boundary changes of 1934 created a ward that covered the city centre, together with the Lee Bank area south west of the centre.
In the boundary changes of 1950 the electorate had declined to the extent that a substantial area of the Edgbaston ward was added, and this was the area bounded by the railway line, Church Rd, Priory Rd, Bristol Rd, Pebble Mill Rd, the River Rea and then Highgate St.
In the boundary changes of 1961 the ward was abolished and was split between Edgbaston and Ladywood wards, with the area north of Lee Bank and Belgrave Roads going to Ladywood (the city centre and Lee Bank), and south of those roads going to Edgbaston.

## Parliamentary representation

The ward was part of Birmingham Edgbaston constituency from the constituency's creation in 1918 until its abolition in 1962. However the area that the ward covered continued to be part of the constituency until (and including) the 1970 election.

## Politics

The ward was generally a Conservative ward, although Labour did win it on odd occasions.

## Election results

11 May 1961 Electorate 11,955 Turnout 26.3%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | D Smith | 2,190 | 69.6% |
| | Labour | N Hinks | 957 | 30.4% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,233 | 39.2% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
12 May 1960 Electorate 12,784 Turnout 23.1%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | H Tyler | 2,140 | 72.6% |
| | Labour | E Richards | 809 | 27.4% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,331 | 45.1% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### 1950s

14 May 1959 Electorate 13,406 Turnout 28.4%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | T John | 2,455 | 64.4% |
| | Labour | N Hinks | 1,355 | 35.6% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,100 | 28.9% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
8 May 1958 Electorate 13,875 Turnout 29.7%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | D Smith | 2,399 | 58.1% |
| | Labour | N Hinks | 1,533 | 37.2% |
| | Communist | R Shaw | 194 | 4.7% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 866 | 21.0% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
9 May 1957 Electorate 14,384 Turnout 29.7%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | H Tyler | 2,692 | 63.0% |
| | Labour | B Ruehl | 1,584 | 37.0% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,108 | 25.9% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
10 May 1956 Electorate 14,863 Turnout 29.4%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | T John | 2,590 | 59.3% |
| | Labour | B Ruehl | 1,777 | 40.7% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 813 | 18.6% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
12 May 1955 Electorate 15,732 Turnout 35.8%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | D Smith | 3,523 | 62.6% |
| | Labour | A Johnson | 2,106 | 37.4% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,417 | 25.2% |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | |
13 May 1954 Electorate 16,093 Turnout 37.3%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | H Tyler | 3,526 | 58.8% |
| | Conservative | D Smith | 3,478 | 58.0% |
| | Labour | S Goldberg | 2,513 | 41.9% |
| | Labour | A Johnson | 2,478 | 41.3% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,013 & 965 | 16.9% & 16.1% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
7 May 1953 Electorate 16,790 Turnout 41.7%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | T John | 3,876 | 55.4% |
| | Labour | S Goldberg | 3,124 | 44.6% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 752 | 10.7% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
8 May 1952 Electorate 17,091 Turnout 41.7%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | L Wood | 3,724 | 52.3% |
| | Conservative | R Barrow | 3,403 | 47.7% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 321 | 4.5% |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | |
10 May 1951 Electorate 17,342 Turnout 31.7%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | H Tyler | 3,949 | 71.8% |
| | Labour | D O'Reilly | 1,551 | 28.2% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,398 | 43.6% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
11 May 1950 Electorate 17,170 Turnout 38.5%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | S Smith | 3,992 | 60.4% |
| | Labour | J Brown | 2,615 | 39.6% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,377 | 20.8% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### 1940s

12 May 1949 Electorate 10,254 Turnout 45.1%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | R Barrow | 2,379 | 51.5% |
| | Labour | S Williams | 2,242 | 48.5% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 137 | 3.0% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
1 November 1947 Electorate 10,248 Turnout 41.5%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | H Tyler | 2,433 | 57.2% |
| | Labour | L Vernon | 1,381 | 32.4% |
| | Liberal | N Hinks | 443 | 10.4% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,052 | 24.8% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
2 November 1946 Electorate 9,967 Turnout 28.3%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | S Smith | 1,583 | 56.2% |
| | Labour | E Loynes | 1,235 | 43.8% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 348 | 12.4% |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | |
3 November 1945 Electorate 9,566 Turnout 28.6%, :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | R Barrow | 1,454 | 53.1% |
| | Conservative | H Tyler | 1,449 | 52.9% |
| | Labour | E Loynes | 1,341 | 48.9% |
| | Conservative | W Edwards | 1,310 | 47.8% |
| | Labour | W Wiggins | 1,272 | 46.4% |
| | Labour | C Daniels | 1,153 | 42.1% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 144, 139, 31 | 5.3%, 5.1%, 1.1% |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |