# Whitby (UK Parliament constituency)

Whitby was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire. 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 system.

## History

The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act for the 1832 general election as a parliamentary borough, Whitby being at that point one of the most prosperous towns in England which had not previously been represented. (Whitby had been summoned to send members to the Protectorate Parliaments during the Civil War period, but never at any other time.) It consisted of Whitby itself and the adjoining townships of Ruswarp, Hawsker and Stainsacre, and had a population of just over 10,000.
Whitby's shipbuilding industry had been in decline even before the new borough was established, and by 1885 a separate MP for the town could no longer be justified. However, when the borough was abolished the county constituency which absorbed it was also named Whitby (strictly, the Whitby Division of the North Riding of Yorkshire): it contained all the easternmost part of the Riding apart from Scarborough (which remained a separate borough), stretching south-west to Pickering which was the only other town in the constituency.
The Whitby division was abolished for the 1918 general election, when it was partially replaced by the new Scarborough & Whitby constituency.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1832 | Aaron Chapman | Tory |
| 1834 | Aaron Chapman | Conservative |
| 1847 | Robert Stephenson | Conservative |
| 1859 by-election | Harry Thompson | Liberal |
| 1865 | Charles Bagnall | Conservative |
| 1868 | William Henry Gladstone | Liberal |
| 1880 | Arthur Pease | Liberal |
| 1885 | Ernest Beckett | Conservative |
| 1905 by-election | Noel Buxton | Liberal |
| 1906 | Gervase Beckett | Conservative |
| 1918 | constituency abolished: see Scarborough and Whitby | constituency abolished: see Scarborough and Whitby |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | Aaron Chapman | 217 | 61.0 |
| | Whig | Richard Moorson | 139 | 39.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 78 | 22.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 356 | 84.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 422 | |
| | Tory win (new seat) | Tory win (new seat) | Tory win (new seat) | Tory win (new seat) |
General election 1835: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Aaron Chapman | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 432 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1837: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Aaron Chapman | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 458 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Aaron Chapman | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 424 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1847: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Stephenson | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 403 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Stephenson | 218 | 66.7 | N/A |
| | Whig | Edmund Phipps | 109 | 33.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 109 | 33.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 327 | 72.0 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 454 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1857: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Stephenson | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 532 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1859: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Stephenson | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 647 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
Stephenson's death caused a by-election.
By-election, 23 November 1859: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Harry Thompson | 229 | 54.7 | New |
| | Conservative | Thomas Chapman | 190 | 45.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 39 | 9.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 419 | 64.8 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 647 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Bagnall | 305 | 52.0 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Harry Thompson | 282 | 48.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23 | 4.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 587 | 83.5 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 703 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1868: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Henry Gladstone | 894 | 63.3 | +15.3 |
| | Conservative | Sir William Cayley Worsley, 2nd Baronet | 518 | 36.7 | −15.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 376 | 26.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,412 | 68.6 | −14.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,058 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +15.3 | |
Gladstone was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
By-election, 18 November 1869: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Henry Gladstone | 779 | 56.7 | −6.6 |
| | Conservative | Sir William Cayley Worsley, 2nd Baronet | 596 | 43.3 | +6.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 183 | 13.4 | −13.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,375 | 66.8 | −1.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,058 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −6.6 | |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Henry Gladstone | 873 | 53.7 | −9.6 |
| | Conservative | Charles Bagnall | 754 | 46.3 | +9.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 119 | 7.4 | −19.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,627 | 78.6 | +10.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,069 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −9.6 | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Arthur Pease | 1,072 | 60.5 | +6.8 |
| | Conservative | Robert Mowbray | 699 | 39.5 | −6.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 373 | 21.0 | +13.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,771 | 81.9 | +3.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,163 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +6.8 | |
At the 1885 election the constituency was redrawn to include Pickering and the hinterlands of Scarborough.
General election 1885: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Beckett-Denison | 5,049 | 51.7 | +12.2 |
| | Liberal | Arthur Pease | 4,709 | 48.3 | −12.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 340 | 3.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,758 | 86.0 | +4.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,350 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.2 | |
General election 1886: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Beckett | 5,078 | 56.3 | +4.6 |
| | Liberal | James Menzies Clayhills | 3,940 | 43.7 | −4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,138 | 12.6 | +9.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,018 | 79.5 | −6.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,350 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.6 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Beckett | 4,909 | 56.2 | −0.1 |
| | Liberal | H Frank Pyman | 3,826 | 43.8 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,083 | 12.4 | −0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,735 | 80.8 | +1.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,804 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.1 | |
General election 1895: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Beckett | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Beckett | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
1905 Whitby by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Noel Buxton | 4,547 | 52.6 | New |
| | Conservative | Gervase Beckett | 4,102 | 47.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 445 | 5.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,649 | 79.7 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,857 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1906: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gervase Beckett | 4,780 | 50.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Noel Buxton | 4,709 | 49.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 71 | 0.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,489 | 84.2 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,263 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gervase Beckett | 5,161 | 52.9 | +2.5 |
| | Liberal | James Jardine | 4,602 | 47.1 | −2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 559 | 5.8 | +5.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,763 | 87.2 | +3.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,200 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.5 | |
General election December 1910: Whitby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gervase Beckett | 4,960 | 52.4 | −0.5 |
| | Liberal | Walter Herbert Septimus Pyman | 4,508 | 47.6 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 452 | 4.8 | −1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,468 | 84.5 | −2.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,200 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.5 | |
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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
* Unionist: Gervase Beckett
* Liberal: