Devon (UK Parliament constituency) explained
| Devon |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1290 |
| Abolished: | 1832 |
| Type: | County |
| Elects Howmany: | Two |
| Region: | England |
| County: | Devon |
Devon was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Devon in England. It was represented by two Knights of the Shire, in the House of Commons of England until 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and finally the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. Elections were held using the bloc vote system of elections.
Under the Reform Act 1832, it was split into two divisions, North Devon and South Devon, for the 1832 general election.
Boundaries
The constituency consisted of the historic county of Devon, excluding the city of Exeter which had the status of a county in itself after 1537. (Although Devon contained a number of other parliamentary boroughs, each of which elected two MPs in its own right for part of the period when Devon was a constituency, these were not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election. This was not the case, though, for Exeter.)
Members of Parliament
1290–1640
Constituency created 1290, during the reign of King Edward I (1272–1307).
Parliaments of Edward I (1272–1307)!Year!!First member!!Second member| 1290 (Jul) | Sir Robert de Wodeton | Sir Andrew Trelosk of Dunterton |
| 1294 (Nov) | unknown |
1295 (Nov), the
Model Parliament | Sir Robert de Wodeton | Sir William Prous of Gidleigh (1245–1315) |
| 1297 (Oct) | Sir Henry Ralegh of Strete Ralegh in Whimple | Sir Hugh Prous of Gatcombe in Colyton |
| 1298 (May) | | Sir William Champernowne (c.1240–1304) of Ilfracombe[1] |
| 1300 (Mar) | Sir Robert Beaple of Knowstone | Sir Reginald Ferrers of Bere and Newton Ferrers | |
Parliaments of Edward IV!Year!!First member!!Second member| 1491 | John Crocker | |
1640–1832
| Year | First member | First party | Second member | Second party |
|---|
| | April 1640 | | Royalist | Thomas Wyse[16] | < | -- party --> |
|---|
| November 1640 |
| 1641 | Sir Samuel Rolle[17] | Parliamentarian |
| January 1643 | Seymour disabled to sit – seat vacant |
| 1646 | Sir Nicholas Martyn | < | -- party --> |
|---|
| 1648 | William Morice[18] | |
| | December 1648 | Morice and Martyn excluded in Pride's Purge – both seats vacant. |
| | 1653 | Seven nominated members in the Barebones Parliament: George Monck, John Carew, Thomas Saunders, Christopher Martyn, James Erisey, Francis Rous, Richard Sweet |
| Devon's representation was increased to 11 MPs in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate |
| | | Thomas Saunders, Robert Rolle, Arthur Upton, Thomas Reynell, William Morice, John Hale,
William Bastard, William Fry, Sir John Northcote, Bt, Henry Hatsell, John Quick |
| | Thomas Saunders, Robert Rolle, Arthur Upton, Thomas Reynell, William Morice, John Hale,
Sir John Northcote, Bt, Captain Henry Hatsell, Sir John Yonge, Edmund Fowell, John Doddridge |
| | | | | | |
| | May 1659 | Not represented in the restored Rump |
| | April 1660 | | | | |
| July 1660 | | |
| | 1661 | | | | |
| 1667 | | |
| 1671 | | |
| | February 1679 | | Tory | | |
| September 1679 | Samuel Rolle | |
| | 1685 | | | | |
| | 1689 | | | Samuel Rolle | |
| September 1699 | Thomas Drewe | |
| January 1701 | | |
| December 1701 | Sir John Pole, Bt | |
| 1702 | | |
| | 1710 | | | | Tory |
| 1712 | | Tory |
| 1713 | | Tory |
| 1727 | | Tory |
| 1730 | | |
| 1736 | | |
| | 1741 | | | | |
| 1746 | | |
| 1747 | | |
| 1762 | | |
| 1776 | | |
| 1780 | | |
| 1784 | | Tory |
| 1796 | Sir Lawrence Palk, Bt | |
| 1812 | | Tory |
| 1816 | | |
| 1818 | | Whig |
| 1820 | | Tory |
| 1830 | | Whig |
| 1831 | | Whig | |
- Constituency abolished (1832)
References
- D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
- Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
- J. E. Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
- Book: Willis, Browne . 1715 . Notitia parliamentaria: or, An history of the counties, cities, and boroughs in England and Wales: Cornwall, Cumberland, Darby, Devon, Dorset and Durham . II . Printed by Robert Gosling . 252.
See also
Notes and References
- J. J. Alexander. Devon County Members of Parliament. Part I. The early Plantagenet Period (1212–1327). Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 1912. 44. 366–381.
- [John Lambrick Vivian|Vivian, Lt.Col. J. L.]
- [Tristram Risdon|Risdon, Tristram]
- Vivian, Lt.Col. J. L., (ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p. 150, pedigree of Cary (regnal year 37 Edward III, i.e. 1363); see also biography of his son Sir Robert Cary in History of Parliament http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/cary-robert-1431
- Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p. 150, pedigree of Cary (regnal year 37 Edward III, i.e. 1363).
- Vivian, p. 150 (regnal year 42 Edward III, i.e. 1368).
- Beaumont, Edward T., The Beaumonts in History. A.D. 850-1850. Oxford, c. 1929, (privately published), Chapter 5, pp. 56–63, The Devonshire Family, p. 62 (term given as 1376–80).
- Web site: STRETCH, Sir John (1341-90), of Pinhoe and Hempston Arundel (Little Hempston), Devon.. History of Parliament Online. 12 May 2013.
- Web site: History of Parliament. 2011-09-12.
- [John Lambrick Vivian|Vivian, Lt.Col. J. L.]
- http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/radford-nicholas-1455 History of Parliament Online article.
- Web site: COPPLESTONE, John (D.1458), of Copplestone in Colebrooke, Devon. | History of Parliament Online.
- [Regnal date]
- Appointed Treasurer in Ireland 1607.
- Youngest brother (1588–1637) of Francis Drake.
- Died March 1641.
- Died December 1647.
- Morice may not have taken his seat before being excluded in Pride's Purge.
