# Kendal (UK Parliament constituency)

Kendal was a parliamentary borough centred on the town of Kendal in Westmorland. 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 Reform Act 1832 for the 1832 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election.
The small Kendal parliamentary borough constituency created in 1832 was abolished in 1885 by the Reform Act 1884. James Cropper, Liberal, being its last MP. The constituency after 1885 was a result of dividing the Westmorland constituency which up to then had two members since 1297. Thereafter it was the Kendal Division of Westmorland and the other being the Appleby Division. The two Conservative members for the old constituency William Lowther and the Earl of Bective were reelected in the 1885 general election, Mr Lowther for the Appleby Division and the Earl of Bective for the Kendal Division. These two constituencies were recombined under one member John Wakefield Weston for the 1918 general election.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1832 | James Brougham | Whig |
| | 1834 by-election | John Foster-Barham | Whig |
| | 1837 | George William Wood | Whig |
| | 1843 by-election | Henry Warburton | Radical |
| | 1847 | George Glyn | Whig |
| | 1859 | George Glyn | Liberal |
| | 1868 | John Whitwell | Liberal |
| | 1880 by-election | James Cropper | Liberal |
| | 1885 | Thomas Taylour | Conservative |
| | 1892 | Josceline Bagot | Conservative |
| | 1906 | Dudley Stewart-Smith | Liberal |
| | January 1910 | Josceline Bagot | Conservative |
| | 1913 by-election | John Weston | Conservative |
| 1918 | 1918 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | James Brougham | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 327 | |
| | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) |
Brougham's death caused a by-election.
By-election, 17 February 1834: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | John Barham | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1835: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | John Barham | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 344 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1837: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | George William Wood | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 321 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | George William Wood | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 353 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
Wood's death caused a by-election.
By-election, 9 November 1843: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Radical | Henry Warburton | 182 | 60.5 | N/A |
| | Conservative | George Bentinck | 119 | 39.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 63 | 21.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 301 | 81.8 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 368 | | |
| | Radical gain from Whig | Radical gain from Whig | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1847: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | George Glyn | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 397 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | George Glyn | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 382 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1857: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | George Glyn | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 402 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1859: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Glyn | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 432 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Glyn | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 439 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
General election 1868: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Whitwell | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,884 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Whitwell | 1,061 | 69.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | William Allen Francis Saunders | 470 | 30.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 591 | 38.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,531 | 82.4 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,859 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Whitwell | 1,118 | 67.4 | −1.9 |
| | Conservative | Alfred Harris | 541 | 32.6 | +1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 577 | 34.8 | −3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,659 | 86.5 | +4.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,917 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −1.9 | |
Whitwell's death caused a by-election.
By-election, 17 Dec 1880: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Cropper | 953 | 59.3 | −8.1 |
| | Conservative | Alfred Harris | 653 | 40.7 | +8.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 300 | 18.7 | −16.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,606 | 83.8 | −2.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,917 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −8.1 | |
General election 1885: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Thomas Taylour | 2,690 | 52.6 | +20.0 |
| | Liberal | James Cropper | 2,427 | 47.4 | −20.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 263 | 5.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,117 | 90.9 | +4.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,630 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +20.0 | |
General election 1886: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Thomas Taylour | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Josceline Bagot | 2,838 | 56.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal | James Anson Farrer | 2,209 | 43.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 629 | 12.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,047 | 84.1 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,000 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1895: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Josceline Bagot | 2,771 | 57.5 | +1.3 |
| | Liberal | Herbert Stephenson | 2,049 | 42.8 | −1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 722 | 15.0 | +2.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,820 | 79.1 | −5.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,095 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.3 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Josceline Bagot | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1906: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Dudley Stewart-Smith | 2,899 | 52.3 | New |
| | Conservative | Josceline Bagot | 2,647 | 47.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 252 | 4.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,546 | 85.6 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,477 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Josceline Bagot | 3,228 | 54.2 | +6.5 |
| | Liberal | Dudley Stewart-Smith | 2,726 | 45.8 | −6.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 502 | 8.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,954 | 91.0 | +5.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,546 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +6.5 | |
General election December 1910: Kendal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Josceline Bagot | 3,041 | 52.7 | −1.5 |
| | Liberal | William Somervell | 2,733 | 47.3 | +1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 308 | 5.4 | −3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,774 | 88.2 | −2.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,546 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.5 | |
1913 Kendal by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist | John Weston | 3,261 | 54.9 | New |
| | Liberal | William Somervell | 2,680 | 45.1 | −2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 581 | 9.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,941 | 90.4 | +2.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,575 | | |
| | Ind. Unionist gain from Conservative | Ind. Unionist gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.2 | |
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: John Weston
* Liberal: William Somervell