# South Durham (UK Parliament constituency)

South Durham, formally the Southern Division of Durham and often referred to as Durham Southern, was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election.

## History

The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act for the 1832 general election, when the former Durham constituency was split into the northern and southern divisions, each electing two members using the bloc vote system.
The seat was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 when the two divisions were replaced by eight single-member divisions. These were Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, Chester-le-Street, Houghton-le-Spring, Jarrow, Mid Durham, North West Durham and South East Durham. In addition there were seven County Durham borough constituencies.

## Boundaries

1832–1885
* The Wards of Darlington and Stockton, with a place of election at Darlington.
See map on Vision of Britain website.
From 1868, included non-resident 40 shilling freeholders in the parliamentary boroughs of Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees and The Hartlepools, which were created by the Reform Act 1867.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | First member | First party | Second member | Second party |
| 1832 | Joseph Pease | Whig | John Bowes | Whig |
| 1841 | Lord Harry Vane | Whig | John Bowes | Whig |
| 1847 | Lord Harry Vane | Whig | James Farrer | Conservative |
| 1857 | Lord Harry Vane | Whig | Henry Pease | Whig |
| 1859 | James Farrer | Conservative | Henry Pease | Liberal |
| 1865 | Joseph Pease | Liberal | Charles Surtees | Conservative |
| 1868 | Joseph Pease | Liberal | Frederick Beaumont | Liberal |
| 1880 | Joseph Pease | Liberal | Hon. Frederick Lambton | Liberal |
| 1885 | Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished | Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished | Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished | Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished |

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

General election 1832: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Joseph Pease | 2,273 | 35.9 |
| | Whig | John Bowes | 2,218 | 35.0 |
| | Whig | Robert Duncombe Shafto | 1,841 | 29.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 377 | 5.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,994 | 92.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,336 | |
| | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) |
| | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) |
General election 1835: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Joseph Pease | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig | John Bowes | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,454 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1837: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | Joseph Pease | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig | John Bowes | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,980 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Harry Vane | 2,547 | 37.6 | N/A |
| | Whig | John Bowes | 2,483 | 36.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative | James Farrer | 1,739 | 25.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 744 | 11.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,074 | 84.5 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,820 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | N/A | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1847: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Harry Vane | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | James Farrer | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,783 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Harry Vane | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | James Farrer | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,616 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1857: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Henry Pease | 2,570 | 35.7 | N/A |
| | Whig | Harry Vane | 2,542 | 35.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | James Farrer | 2,091 | 29.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 451 | 6.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,647 (est) | 83.5 (est) | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,565 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | N/A | |
| | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1859: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Pease | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | James Farrer | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,681 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Pease | 3,401 | 35.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Charles Surtees | 3,211 | 33.7 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Frederick Beaumont | 2,925 | 30.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,374 (est) | 87.8 (est) | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,263 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 190 | 2.0 | N/A |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 286 | 3.0 | N/A |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1868: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Pease | 4,319 | 28.3 | −7.4 |
| | Liberal | Frederick Beaumont | 4,024 | 26.4 | −4.3 |
| | Conservative | Charles Surtees | 3,714 | 24.3 | +7.4 |
| | Conservative | Gustavus Hamilton-Russell | 3,206 | 21.0 | +4.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 310 | 2.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,632 (est) | 81.6 (est) | −6.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,352 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −5.8 | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | −5.9 | |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Pease | 4,792 | 36.5 | +8.2 |
| | Liberal | Frederick Beaumont | 4,461 | 33.9 | +7.5 |
| | Conservative | Charles Vane-Tempest | 3,887 | 29.6 | −15.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 574 | 4.3 | +2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,514 (est) | 83.8 (est) | +2.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,159 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +8.0 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +7.7 | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: South Durham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Pease | 5,930 | 37.3 | +0.8 |
| | Liberal | Frederick Lambton | 5,912 | 37.2 | +3.3 |
| | Conservative | Charles Surtees | 4,044 | 25.5 | −4.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,868 | 11.7 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,974 (est) | 86.0 (est) | +2.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,592 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +1.4 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +2.7 | |