| Cardiff | |
| Type: | Borough |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1542 |
| Abolished: | 1918 |
| Elects Howmany: | one |
| Next: | Cardiff Central, Cardiff East and Cardiff South |
Cardiff was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Cardiff in South Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1918 general election.
Under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, most Welsh shire towns returned one MP, including Cardiff as the shire town of Glamorgan; however, other ancient boroughs in the shire contributed to the expense of the borough MP and in return gained a share in the vote.[1] In the case of Cardiff, the relevant "contributory boroughs" were Llantrisant and Cowbridge, and until 1832 also Swansea, Loughor, Neath, Aberavon, and Kenfig.[2] Elections were often held at Bridgend, which was not a contributory borough but was conveniently central in Glamorgan.[3] The Reform Act 1832 separated the contributory boroughs other than Llantrisant and Cowbridge into the new Swansea District of Boroughs. As proposed in 1830, the reform bill would have added Llandaff, Aberdare, and Merthyr Tydfil as Cardiff contributory boroughs, but in the event Merthyr and Aberdare became a separate borough while Llandaff remained part of Glamorgan county constituency, which gained a second seat.[4] The Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 extended the boundary of the Cardiff District of Boroughs constituency to include those parts of the Cardiff parishes of St Mary's and St. John outside the old borough boundary.[5] The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 extended the parliamentary boundary to Cardiff's enlarged municipal borough boundary.[6]
| Parliament | Member | |
|---|---|---|
| 1542 | John Bassett | |
| 1545 | Unknown | |
| 1547 | John Cock, sat for Calne, repl. by Sir Philip Hoby | |
| 1553 (Mar) | ?David Evans | |
| 1553 (Oct) | David Evans | |
| 1554 (Apr) | David Evans | |
| 1554 (Nov) | William Colchester | |
| 1555 | William Herbert | |
| 1558 | Lleisan Pryce | |
| 1559 | David Evans | |
| 1562–3 | Henry Lewes | |
| 1571 | Henry Morgan | |
| 1572 | David Roberts | |
| 1584 | Nicholas Herbert | |
| 1586 | George Lewis | |
| 1588 | Gabriel Lewys | |
| 1593 | David Roberts | |
| 1597 | Nicholas Hawkins | |
| 1601 | William Lewis | |
| 1604 | Matthew Davies | |
| 1614 | Matthew Davies | |
| 1621 | William Herbert | |
| 1624 | William Price | |
| 1625 | William Price | |
| 1626 | William Price | |
| 1628 | Lewis Morgan | |
| 1629–1640 | No Parliaments summoned | |
| 1640 | William Herbert killed at Battle of Edgehill 1642 | |
| 1642–1645 | Not represented |
| Year | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1645 | Algernon Sidney | |||
| 1653 | Not represented in Barebones Parliament | |||
| 1654 | John Price | |||
| 1656 | ||||
| 1659 | ||||
| 1660 | Bussy Mansell Double return, Herbert Evans disallowed | |||
| 1661 | Sir Richard Lloyd Elected to sit for Radnorshire | |||
| 1661 | William Bassett Election voided by Parliament on petition | |||
| 1661 | Robert Thomas | |||
| 1679 Feb | Robert Thomas | |||
| 1679 Sep | Robert Thomas | |||
| 1681 | Bussy Mansell | |||
| 1685 | Francis Gwyn | |||
| 1689 | Thomas Mansel | Tory | ||
| 1698 | Sir Edward Stradling, Bt | |||
| 1701 | Thomas Mansel | |||
| 1706 | Sir John Aubrey, Bt | |||
| 1710 | Sir Edward Stradling, Bt | |||
| 1722 | Edward Stradling | |||
| 1727 | Bussy Mansel | Tory | ||
| 1734 | Herbert Windsor | |||
| 1739 | Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1741 | Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1747 | Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1754 | Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1761 | Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1766 | Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1768 | Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1774 | Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1780 | Sir Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1784 | Sir Herbert Mackworth | |||
| 1790 | Lord Mount Stuart | Tory | ||
| 1794 | Lord Evelyn Stuart | Tory | ||
| 1802 | Lord William Stuart | Tory | ||
| 1814 | Lord Evelyn Stuart | Tory | ||
| 1818 | Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart | |||
| 1820 | Wyndham Lewis | Tory[7] | ||
| 1826 | Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart | Whig | ||
| 1832 | Franchise extended under Reform Act 1832 | |||
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | John Iltyd Nicholl | Conservative | ||
| 1852 | Walter Coffin | Radical[8] [9] [10] | ||
| 1857 | James Crichton-Stuart | Whig[11] | ||
| 1859 | Liberal | |||
| 1880 | Sir Edward Reed | Liberal | ||
| 1895 | James Mackenzie Maclean | Unionist | ||
| 1900 | Sir Edward Reed | Liberal | ||
| 1904 | Liberal Unionist | |||
| 1906 | Ivor Guest | Liberal | ||
| 1910 (Jan) | D. A. Thomas | Liberal | ||
| 1910 (Dec) | Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart | Unionist | ||
| 1915 by-election | Sir James Cory, 1st Baronet | Conservative | ||
| 1918 | constituency abolished: see Cardiff Central, Cardiff East and Cardiff South | |||
Nicholl was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, causing a by-election.
Nicholl was appointed Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.
Reed was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.