Beaumaris (UK Parliament constituency) explained

Beaumaris
Type:Borough
Parliament:uk
Year:1536
Abolished:1885
Elects Howmany:1
Next:Anglesey

Beaumaris (; Welsh: Biwmares in Welsh pronounced as /bɪuˈmɑːrɛs/) was a parliamentary borough in Anglesey, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1553, then to the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885, when the constituency was abolished. After 1832, the constituency was usually known as the Beaumaris District of Boroughs or simply the Beaumaris Boroughs.

History

As elsewhere in Wales, the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 provided Anglesey with two members of parliament, one representing the county and the other representing a borough constituency named after the county town but including other "contributory boroughs" who were jointly responsible for providing for the upkeep of the MP and, in return, were granted a say in his election. However, at this period two towns, Beaumaris and Newborough, were disputing the right to be considered Anglesey's county town: under Henry VIII, Newborough was the assize town, but early in the reign of Edward VI (1547–1553) this function was transferred to Beaumaris. The new constituency was designated as Beaumaris, with Newborough as its only contributory borough, and first returned an MP in 1542; but at the same time as the assize was transferred, Newborough was also relieved of the obligation to contribute to the wages of the MP for Beaumaris which, under the terms of the relevant statute, also extinguished its right to vote in his election. Porritt, the early 20th century expert on the history of the Unreformed House of Commons, concludes that "the probability is that Newborough broke the connection in a fit of ill-humour" rather than that it was contrived by Beaumaris; but within a few decades, as the desirability of being directly represented in Parliament became more widely recognised, Newborough was trying unsuccessfully to regain its former status. On several occasions until the early 18th century, Newborough's inhabitants attempted to vote, but had their votes refused by the returning officer and his decision was upheld by Parliament whenever they petitioned in objection.

The franchise was further restricted in 1562, when Elizabeth I granted Beaumaris a new municipal charter, which reserved the right to vote in parliamentary elections to members of the town corporation. Thereafter until 1832, Beaumaris was a closed "corporation borough" of a type common in England but unknown elsewhere in Wales; its only voters were the mayor, two bailiffs and 21 "capital burgesses", and since they had the sole right to fill any vacancies arising in their number their power was entirely self-perpetuating, making the constituency a completely safe pocket borough. For the best part of two centuries before the Great Reform Act of 1832, the nomination was in the hands of the Bulkeley family of Baron Hill, and the elections were never contested.

By 1831, the borough of Beaumaris had a population of 2,497 (though, still, only 24 voters). The Reform Act extended the franchise, and also added three contributory boroughs – Amlwch, Holyhead and Llangefni. This raised the population of the revised Beaumaris Boroughs constituency to 8,547, though the number of qualified voters on the register in 1832 was only 329. This was still in practice a pocket borough, and the first contested election did not take place until the further extension of the franchise by the Second Reform Act, which brought the electorate up to almost 2,000 in the elections from 1868.

The constituency was abolished in the redistribution of seats in 1885, being merged into the Anglesey county constituency.

Members of Parliament

1542–1640

Members for Newborough

ParliamentMember
1541Richard ap Rhydderch, of Myfyrion
1545Owen ap Hugh
1547John ap Robert Lloid

Members for Beaumaris

ParliamentMemberNotes
1553 (Mar)Maurice Grifith
1553 (Sep)Rowland Bulkeley
1554 (Nov)William Bulkeley? or William Goodman?name damaged
1555Hugh Goodman
1558–1567William Price
1571William Bulkeley
1572Rowland Kenrick
1584–1593Thomas BulkeleyDied 1593
1597–1598William Jones
1601William Maurice
1604William Jones
1614William Jones
1621–1622Sampson Eure
1624Charles Jones
1625Charles Jones
1626Charles Jones
1628Charles Jones
1629–1640No Parliaments summoned

1640–1885

YearMemberParty
1640 (Apr)Charles Jones
November 1640John Griffith
August 1642Griffith died – seat vacant
1646William Jones
December 1648Jones excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant
1653Beaumaris was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659Griffith Bodwrda
May 1659Unrepresented in the restored Rump
April 1660Griffith Bodwrda
April 1661Heneage Finch
July 1661John Robinson
February 1679Richard Bulkeley
August 1679Hon. Henry BulkeleyTory
1689William Williams
1690Thomas Bulkeley
1695Sir William Williams
1698Owen Hughes
January 1701Coningsby Williams
December 1701Robert Bulkeley
1703Coningsby Williams
1705Hon. Henry Bertie
1727Watkin Williams-Wynn[1] Tory
1730Richard BulkeleyTory
1739James BulkeleyTory
1753John OwenOpposition Whig
1754Richard Thelwall Price
1768Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Williams
1780Sir George Warren
1784Hon. Hugh Fortescue
1785Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Williams
1794Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn
1796Thomas Wynn
1807Sir Edward Lloyd
1812Thomas Lewis
1826Sir Robert WilliamsWhig[2]
1831Sir Richard Williams-BulkeleyWhig
1832Frederick PagetWhig[3]
1847Lord George PagetWhig[4]
1857Hon. William Owen StanleyWhig[5] [6] [7] [8]
1859Liberal
1874Morgan LloydLiberal
1885Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

Williams' death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Williams-Wynn was also elected for Denbighshire, which he eventually chose to represent, and did not sit for Beaumaris
  2. Book: Stooks Smith . Henry . The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive . 1845 . Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. . London . 176–177 . . 12 August 2019.
  3. Book: Edward. Churton. Edward Churton. The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer. 1838. 171. . 12 August 2019.
  4. Web site: Bloy . Marjorie . Lord George Paget (1818-1880) . A Web of English History . 19 August 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180819152713/http://www.historyhome.co.uk/forpol/crimea/people/paget.htm . 19 August 2018 . 12 January 2016 . live.
  5. Book: The Spectator, Volume 10. 1837. F. C. Westley. 177. 27 April 2018 . Google Books.
  6. Book: The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. 1838. 214. Google Books. Parliament Commons. Lists.
  7. Book: Cragoe. Matthew. Culture, Politics and National Identity in Wales 1832-1886. 2004. Oxford University Press. Oxford. 0-19-820754-9. 151. https://books.google.com/books?id=kLRe09JLbHUC&pg=PA151. 27 April 2018. The Problem of Landed Influence . Google Books.
  8. Book: Ollivier. John. Ollivier's parliamentary and political director. 2007. 37. https://books.google.com/books?id=RfANAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA37. 15 April 2018. Alphabetical List of the House of Commons . Google Books.