# Barnard Castle (UK Parliament constituency)

Barnard Castle was a county constituency centred on the town of Barnard Castle in County Durham, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 1885 general election and abolished for the 1950 general election.

## Boundaries
### 1885–1918

* The Sessional Divisions of Barnard Castle and Staindrop, Stanhope (except the parishes of Hunstanworth and Edmondbyers) and Wolsingham, and part of the Sessional Division of Bishop Auckland.
The constituency was created for the 1885 general election by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as one of eight new single-member divisions of the county of Durham, replacing the two 2-member seats of North Durham and South Durham. See map on Vision of Britain website.
The seat was located in the west of County Durham, in North East England. To the north of the constituency (moving from west to east) were the Northumberland division of Hexham and then North West Durham. To the east (moving from north to south) were Mid Durham, Bishop Auckland and South East Durham. To the south was Richmond (Yorks). To the west of the constituency (moving from south to north) were the Westmorland divisions of Appleby and Kendal.

### 1918–1950

* The Urban Districts of Barnard Castle and Stanhope;
* the Rural Districts of Barnard Castle and Weardale; and
* parts of the Rural Districts of Auckland and Lanchester.
The constituency was expanded northwards, absorbing the western part of the abolished North West Durham seat (Lanchester). Crook and Tow Law were added to the new constituency of Spennymoor and a small area in the east was transferred to Bishop Auckland.

### Abolition

In 1950 the Barnard Castle urban and rural districts were included in the Bishop Auckland constituency. Other parts of the former constituency returned to the re-established North West Durham seat.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1885 | Sir Joseph Pease | Liberal |
| | 1903 | Arthur Henderson | Labour |
| | 1918 | John Swan | Labour |
| | 1922 | John Rogerson | Conservative |
| | 1923 | Moss Turner-Samuels | Labour |
| | 1924 | Cuthbert Headlam | Conservative |
| | 1929 | William Lawther | Labour |
| | 1931 | Cuthbert Headlam | Conservative |
| | 1935 | Thomas Sexton | Labour |
| | 1945 | Sydney Lavers | Labour |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

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

General election 1885: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Pease | 5,962 | 70.82 | |
| | Conservative | Patrick Bowes-Lyon | 2,457 | 29.18 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,505 | 41.64 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,419 | 84.27 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,991 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1886: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Pease | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Pease | 5,337 | 64.60 | N/A |
| | Conservative | William M Rolley | 2,924 | 35.40 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,413 | 29.20 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,261 | 75.37 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,960 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
General election 1895: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Pease | 4,924 | 56.13 | −8.47 |
| | Conservative | WL Vane | 3,848 | 43.87 | +8.47 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,076 | 12.26 | −16.94 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,772 | 78.36 | +2.99 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,194 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −8.47 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Pease | 5,036 | 58.69 | +2.56 |
| | Conservative | WL Vane | 3,545 | 41.31 | −2.56 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,491 | 17.38 | +5.11 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,581 | 77.69 | −0.67 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,045 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +2.56 | |
By-election, 1903: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Repr. Cmte. | Arthur Henderson | 3,370 | 35.47 | New |
| | Conservative | WL Vane | 3,323 | 34.97 | −6.34 |
| | Liberal | Hubert Beaumont | 2,809 | 29.56 | −29.13 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 47 | 0.50 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,502 | 84.64 | +6.95 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,226 | | |
| | Labour Repr. Cmte. gain from Liberal | Labour Repr. Cmte. gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1906: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Henderson | 5,540 | 58.76 | N/A |
| | Conservative | EW Morrison-Bell | 3,888 | 41.23 | −0.08 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,652 | 17.53 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,428 | 81.16 | +3.47 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,617 | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Henderson | 6,096 | 56.75 | −2.01 |
| | Liberal Unionist | HG Stobart | 4,646 | 43.25 | +2.02 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,450 | 13.50 | −4.02 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,742 | 87.96 | +6.80 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,212 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −2.02 | |
General election December 1910: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Henderson | 5,868 | 57.02 | +0.27 |
| | Liberal Unionist | HG Stobart | 4,423 | 42.98 | −0.27 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,445 | 14.04 | +0.54 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,291 | 84.27 | −3.69 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,212 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −2.02 | |
General election 1918: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Swan | 5,468 | 42.86 | −14.16 |
| C | Unionist | John Rogerson | 3,837 | 30.07 | −12.91 |
| | Liberal | Albert Ernest Hillary | 2,180 | 17.09 | New |
| | National Farmers' Union | Octavius Monkhouse | 1,274 | 9.99 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,631 | 12.79 | −1.25 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,759 | 63.96 | −20.29 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 19,949 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.63 | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | John Rogerson | 8,271 | 50.67 | +20.60 |
| | Labour | John Swan | 8,052 | 49.33 | +6.47 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 219 | 1.34 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,323 | 78.51 | +14.55 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 20,791 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Labour | Unionist gain from Labour | Swing | +7.07 | |
General election 1923: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Moss Turner-Samuels | 9,171 | 55.07 | +5.74 |
| | Unionist | John Rogerson | 7,482 | 44.93 | −5.74 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,689 | 10.14 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,653 | 78.79 | +0.28 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 21,135 | | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +5.74 | |
General election 1924: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Cuthbert Headlam | 9,465 | 50.84 | +5.91 |
| | Labour | Moss Turner-Samuels | 9,152 | 49.16 | −5.91 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 313 | 1.68 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,617 | 84.89 | +6.10 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 21,931 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Labour | Unionist gain from Labour | Swing | +5.91 | |
General election 1929: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Will Lawther | 9,281 | 42.01 | −7.15 |
| | Unionist | Cuthbert Headlam | 8,406 | 38.06 | −12.78 |
| | Liberal | E Spence | 4,402 | 19.93 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 875 | 3.95 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,089 | 83.39 | −1.50 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 26,488 | | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +2.82 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Cuthbert Headlam | 12,721 | 55.29 | +17.23 |
| | Labour | Will Lawther | 10,287 | 44.71 | +2.70 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,434 | 10.58 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,008 | 85.20 | +1.81 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,006 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +7.27 | |
General election 1935: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Thomas Sexton | 11,458 | 49.80 | +5.09 |
| | Conservative | Cuthbert Headlam | 10,138 | 44.06 | −11.23 |
| | Liberal | Alfred Graham | 1,393 | 6.05 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,320 | 5.74 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,008 | 84.25 | −0.95 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,309 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +8.16 | |

### Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Barnard Castle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sydney Lavers | 12,024 | 58.30 | +8.50 |
| | Conservative | Giffard Le Quesne Martel | 8,600 | 41.70 | −2.36 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,424 | 16.60 | +10.86 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,624 | 75.31 | −8.94 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,387 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +5.43 | |