This is a list of parliamentary by-elections in Great Britain held between 1734 and 1754, with the names of the previous incumbent and the victor in the by-election.
In the absence of a comprehensive and reliable source, for party and factional alignments in this period, no attempt is made to define them in this article. The House of Commons: 1715-1754 provides some guidance to the complex and shifting political relationships, but it is significant that the compilers of that work make no attempt to produce a definitive list of each members allegiances.
See Resignation from the British House of Commons for more details.
Where the cause of by-election is given as "resignation", this indicates that the incumbent was appointed on his own request to an "office of profit under the Crown". Offices used, in this period, were the Stewards of the Chiltern Hundreds (first used in 1751), Steward of the Honour of Otford (used once in 1742) or Chief Steward and Keeper of the Courts of the Honour of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Northampton (used once in 1752). These appointments are made as a constitutional device for leaving the House of Commons, whose Members are not permitted to resign. If the vacancy was caused by appointment to another office then this office is noted in brackets.
In addition certain offices of profit, such as cabinet positions, required the MP to seek re-election. These offices are noted separately.
Until 1752 England (but not Scotland) counted its legal year as beginning on 25 March. For the purposes of this list the year is considered to have started on 1 January.
The c/u column denotes whether the by-election was a contested poll or an unopposed return. If the winner was re-elected, at the next general election and any intermediate by-elections, this is indicated by an * following the c or u. In a few cases the winner was elected at the next general election but had not been re-elected in a by-election after the one noted. In those cases no * symbol is used.
Date | Constituency | c/u | Former Incumbent | Winner | Cause | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 December 1747 | Reigate | u* | Philip Yorke | Charles Yorke | Chose to sit for Cambridgeshire | |
8 December 1747 | Shaftesbury | c | George Pitt | William Beckford | Chose to sit for Dorset | |
8 December 1747 | Stamford | u* | Lord Burghley | Robert Barbor | Chose to sit for Rutland | |
11 December 1747 | Cockermouth | u | Sir Charles Wyndham | William Finch | Chose to sit for Taunton | |
11 December 1747 | Richmond | u* | Sir Conyers Darcy | Earl of Ancram | Chose to sit for Yorkshire | |
11 December 1747 | St Ives | c | Lord Hobart | John Plumptre | Chose to sit for Norwich | |
12 December 1747 | Bossiney | u | Sir Edward Wortley Montagu | William Ord | Chose to sit for Peterborough | |
12 December 1747 | Tavistock | u* | Richard Leveson Gower | Sir Richard Wrottesley | Chose to sit for Lichfield | |
14 December 1747 | Plympton Erle | u | Richard Edgcumbe | George Treby | Chose to sit for Lostwithiel | |
George Edgcumbe | William Baker | Chose to sit for Fowey | ||||
15 December 1747 | Portsmouth | u | Thomas Gore | Edward Legge | Chose to sit for Bedford | |
15 December 1747 | Saltash | u | Edward Boscawen | Stamp Brooksbank | Chose to sit for Truro | |
17 December 1747 | Downton | c | George Lyttelton | Richard Temple | Chose to sit for Okehampton | |
17 December 1747 | Old Sarum | u | Thomas Pitt | Earl of Middlesex | Chose to sit for Okehampton | |
Sir William Irby | The Viscount Doneraile | Chose to sit for Bodmin | ||||
21 December 1747 | Pembroke Boroughs | u* | William Owen | Hugh Barlow | Chose to sit for Pembrokeshire | |
26 December 1747 | Tiverton | c | Sir William Yonge | Henry Conyngham | Chose to sit for Honiton | |
28 December 1747 | Coventry | c* | Viscount Petersham | Samuel Greatheed | Chose to sit for Bury St Edmunds | |
28 December 1747 | Portsmouth | u* | Edward Legge | Sir Edward Hawke | By-election voided due to Legge having died 87 days before election | |
20 January 1748 | Barnstaple | u | Henry Rolle | Sir Bourchier Wrey | Elevated to the peerage | |
2 February 1748 | Clitheroe | u | Sir Nathaniel Curzon | Nathaniel Curzon | Chose to sit for Derbyshire | |
15 February 1748 | Eye | u* | Roger Townshend | Nicholas Hardinge | Resignation (Receiver General of Customs) | |
18 February 1748 | Northumberland | c | John Fenwick | Lord Ossulston | Death | |
Lord Ossulston | Lancelot Allgood | By-election results reversed on petition 14 February 1749 | ||||
8 March 1748 | Derby | u | John Stanhope | John Stanhope | Lord of the Admiralty | |
10 March 1748 | Huntingdon | u | Kelland Courtenay | John Montagu | Death | |
25 March 1748 | Bath | c* | George Wade | Sir John Ligonier | Death | |
14 April 1748 | Northamptonshire | c* | Thomas Cartwright | Valentine Knightley | Death | |
16 April 1748 | Montgomery | u | Henry Herbert | Francis Herbert | Death | |
21 April 1748 | Callington | u | Thomas Coplestone | Edward Bacon | Death | |
27 April 1748 | Cornwall | u* | Sir Coventry Carew | James Buller | Death | |
6 May 1748 | Cambridge | u | Samuel Shepheard | Christopher Jeffreason | Death | |
21 May 1748 | Bury St Edmunds | u* | Viscount Petersham | Viscount Petersham | Customer of the Port of Dublin | |
21 May 1748 | Ludlow | u | Sir William Corbet | Sir William Corbet | Clerk of the Pipe | |
24 May 1748 | Lyme Regis | u | Henry Holt Henley | Robert Henley | Death | |
20 June 1748 | Aberdeen Burghs | c | John Maule | Charles Maitland | Resignation (Baron of the Exchequer in Scotland) | |
7 December 1748 | Ludlow | u* | Sir William Corbet | Henry Bridgeman | Death | |
9 December 1748 | Bewdley | c* | William Bowles | William Henry Lyttelton | Death | |
12 December 1748 | St Germans | u* | Richard Eliot | Edward Eliot | Death | |
12 December 1748 | Tamworth | u* | Sir Henry Harpur | Sir Robert Burdett | Death | |
13 December 1748 | Essex | u* | Sir Robert Abdy | Sir John Abdy | Death | |
15 December 1748 | Knaresborough | u* | Richard Arundell | Richard Arundell | Clerk of the Pipe | |
17 December 1748 | Horsham | u* | Charles Ingram | Sir Lionel Pilkington | Death | |
20 December 1748 | Derby | u | John Stanhope | Thomas Rivett | Death | |
30 December 1748 | Christchurch | u* | Edward Hooper | Sir Thomas Robinson | Resignation (Commissioner of Excise) | |
30 December 1748 | Tamworth | u* | Thomas Villiers | Thomas Villiers | Lord of the Admiralty | |
5 January 1749 | Pontefract | u | William Monckton | The Viscount Galway | Resignation (Receiver General of Crown Rents for Yorkshire and County Durham) | |
31 January 1749 | Cambridge | u | Christopher Jeffreason | Charles Sloane Cadogan | Death | |
9 March 1749 | Shrewsbury | u* | William Kinaston | Thomas Hill | Death | |
30 March 1749 | Weobley | u* | Savage Mostyn | Savage Mostyn | Comptroller of the Navy | |
1 April 1749 | Thirsk | u | Frederick Meinhardt Frankland | William Monckton | Resignation (Irish Revenue Commissioner) | |
3 May 1749 | County Durham | u | Henry Vane | Henry Vane | Junior Lord of the Treasury | |
5 May 1749 | Eye | u* | Edward Cornwallis | Courthorpe Clayton | Resignation (Governor of Nova Scotia) | |
5 May 1749 | Orford | u* | Henry Legge | Henry Legge | Treasurer of the Navy | |
9 May 1749 | Caernarvon Boroughs | u* | Sir Thomas Wynn | Sir William Wynn | Death | |
6 June 1749 | Cirencester | u* | Thomas Master | John Coxe | Death | |
17 June 1749 | Tavistock | u | Sir Richard Wrottesley | Sir Richard Wrottesley | Second Clerk Comptroller of the Green Cloth | |
19 June 1749 | Great Yarmouth | u* | Charles Townshend | Charles Townshend | Lord of Trade | |
21 June 1749 | Dunwich | u* | Sir George Downing | Sir Jacob Garrard Downing | Death | |
21 November 1749 | Oxford | u | Philip Herbert | The Viscount Wenman | Death | |
24 November 1749 | Downton | u | Richard Temple | Henry Vane | Death | |
28 November 1749 | Andover | c* | Viscount Lymington | John Griffin Griffin | Death | |
28 November 1749 | Gatton | c | George Newland | Charles Knowles | Death | |
30 November 1749 | West Looe | u* | William Noel | William Noel | Chief Justice of Chester | |
5 December 1749 | Denbighshire | u* | Sir Watkin Williams Wynn | Sir Lynch Salusbury Cotton | Death | |
13 December 1749 | Rye | u | Sir John Norris | Thomas Pelham | Death | |
20 December 1749 | Hastings | u* | Andrew Stone | Andrew Stone | Lord of Trade | |
23 December 1749 | Christchurch | u* | Sir Thomas Robinson | Sir Thomas Robinson | Master of the Great Wardrobe | |
27 December 1749 | Denbigh Boroughs | u* | Richard Myddelton | Richard Myddelton | Steward of Bromfield and Yale | |
29 December 1749 | Ayr Burghs | u | Charles Erskine | Sir Henry Erskine | Death | |
18 January 1750 | Totnes | u* | Sir John Strange | Sir John Strange | Master of the Rolls | |
23 January 1750 | Lancashire | u* | Richard Shuttleworth | Peter Bold | Death | |
31 January 1750 | Oxford University | c* | Viscount Cornbury | Sir Roger Newdigate | Elevated to the House of Lords through a Writ of acceleration | |
2 February 1750 | Launceston | u | Sir William Morice | Humphry Morice | Death | |
27 February 1750 | Taunton | u* | Sir Charles Wyndham | William Rowley | Succeeded to a peerage | |
8 March 1750 | Middlesex | c* | Sir Hugh Smithson | George Cooke | Succeeded to a peerage | |
6 April 1750 | Plymouth | u | Lord Vere Beauclerk | Charles Saunders | Elevated to the peerage | |
10 April 1750 | New Shoreham | u | Charles Frederick | Charles Frederick | Surveyor-General of the Ordnance | |
23 April 1750 | Boroughbridge | u* | Earl of Dalkeith | Lewis Watson | Death | |
25 April 1750 | Yorkshire | u* | Sir Miles Stapylton | The Viscount Downe | Resignation (Commissioner of Customs) | |
15 May 1750 | Westminster | c | Viscount Trentham | Viscount Trentham | Lord of the Admiralty | |
18 May 1750 | Lanarkshire | u | Sir James Hamilton | Patrick Stuart | Death | |
22 January 1751 | East Grinstead | u* | Sydney Smythe | Joseph Yorke | Resignation (Baron of the Exchequer) | |
23 January 1751 | Rochester | u* | Sir Chaloner Ogle | John Byng | Death | |
25 January 1751 | Heytesbury | u* | William Ashe | William Ashe-à Court | Death | |
25 January 1751 | Old Sarum | u | The Viscount Doneraile | Paul Jodrell | Death | |
25 January 1751 | Wareham | u* | John Pitt | Henry Drax | Resignation to contest Dorchester | |
28 January 1751 | Weymouth and Melcombe Regis | u | Richard Plumer | Lord George Augustus Cavendish | Death | |
29 January 1751 | Dorchester | u | John Browne | George Damer | Death | |
u* | Nathaniel Gundry | John Pitt | Resignation (Puisne Justice of the Common Pleas) | |||
14 February 1751 | Edinburghshire | u | Sir Charles Gilmour | Robert Balfour Ramsay | Death | |
27 March 1751 | Aberdeen Burghs | u* | Charles Maitland | David Scott | Death | |
1 April 1751 | Newark-on-Trent | c* | Job Staunton Charlton | Job Staunton Charlton | Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance | |
4 April 1751 | Haddington Burghs | u* | Andrew Fletcher | Andrew Fletcher | Auditor of the Exchequer in Scotland | |
10 April 1751 | Worcestershire | u* | Viscount Deerhurst | John Bulkeley Coventry | Succeeded to a peerage | |
22 April 1751 | Downton | c | George Proctor | Thomas Duncombe | Death | |
27 April 1751 | Gatton | u* | Paul Humphrey | James Colebrooke | Death | |
4 May 1751 | Hindon | c | Valens Comyn | Francis Blake Delaval | Death | |
8 May 1751 | Hampshire | u* | Francis Whithed | Alexander Thistlethwayte | Death | |
8 May 1751 | Surrey | u* | The Lord Baltimore | Thomas Budgen | Death | |
13 May 1751 | Saltash | u | Thomas Corbett | George Brydges Rodney | Death | |
28 May 1751 | Winchester | c | George William Brydges | George Paulet St John | Death | |
13 June 1751 | Malmesbury | u | James Douglas | Edward Digby | Death | |
24 June 1751 | Chippenham | u* | Edward Bayntun Rolt | Edward Bayntun Rolt | Surveyor-General of the Duchy of Cornwall | |
24 June 1751 | Taunton | u | William Rowley | William Rowley | Naval Lord | |
26 June 1751 | Tregony | u* | William Trevanion | William Trevanion | Auditor of the Duchy of Cornwall | |
27 June 1751 | Derbyshire | u | Marquess of Hartington | Lord Frederick Cavendish | Elevated to the House of Lords through a Writ of acceleration | |
28 June 1751 | St Germans | u* | Edward Eliot | Edward Eliot | Receiver General of the Duchy of Cornwall | |
28 June 1751 | Truro | u* | Edward Boscawen | Edward Boscawen | Naval Lord | |
2 July 1751 | Liskeard | u | Charles Trelawny | Charles Trelawny | Assay-Master of Tin for the Duchy of Cornwall | |
25 July 1751 | Wigtownshire | u* | John Stewart | John Stewart | Clerk of the Pipe of the Exchequer in Scotland | |
19 November 1751 | Gloucester | u* | John Selwyn | Charles Barrow | Death | |
21 November 1751 | Bath | u* | Robert Henley | Robert Henley | King's Counsel | |
21 November 1751 | Whitchurch | u | John Selwyn | Lord Robert Bertie | Death | |
22 November 1751 | Bramber | u | Henry Gough | Henry Pelham | Death | |
22 November 1751 | Carmarthen | u* | Thomas Mathews | Griffith Philipps | Death | |
22 November 1751 | Old Sarum | c | Paul Jodrell | Simon Fanshawe | Death | |
26 November 1751 | Christchurch | u* | Sir Charles Armand Powlett | Harry Powlett | Death | |
26 November 1751 | Pontefract | u | The Viscount Galway | Robert Monckton | Death | |
9 December 1751 | St Ives | c | John Plumptre | Samuel Stephens | Death | |
24 December 1751 | East Retford | u* | William Mellish | John Shelley | Resignation (Commissioner of Excise) | |
26 December 1751 | East Looe | u* | Francis Gashry | Francis Gashry | Treasurer and Paymaster of the Ordnance | |
30 December 1751 | Wilton | u* | Robert Sawyer Herbert | Robert Sawyer Herbert | Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown | |
2 January 1752 | Fifeshire | u | James Oswald | James Oswald | Lord of Trade | |
7 February 1752 | Dover | u* | Thomas Revell | William Cayley | Death | |
18 February 1752 | Marlborough | u* | Sir John Hynde Cotton | Sir John Hynde Cotton | Death | |
22 February 1752 | Bossiney | u | Richard Heath | William Montagu | Death | |
28 March 1752 | Dorchester | c | George Damer | George Clavell | Death | |
3 April 1752 | Northallerton | u* | Henry Lascelles | Daniel Lascelles | Resignation (Chief Steward of the Honour of Berkhampstead) | |
10 April 1752 | Gatton | u | Charles Knowles | William Bateman | Resignation (Governor of Jamaica) | |
13 January 1753 | St Mawes | u | The Lord Sundon | Sir Thomas Clavering | Death | |
16 January 1753 | Westbury | u* | Matthew Michell | Peregrine Bertie | Death | |
16 January 1753 | Westminster | u* | Sir Peter Warren | Edward Cornwallis | Death | |
17 January 1753 | Buckingham | u | Viscount Cobham | Temple West | Succeeded to a peerage | |
17 January 1753 | Wendover | u* | The Earl Verney | The Earl Verney | Death | |
19 January 1753 | Bodmin | c* | John LaRoche | George Hunt | Death | |
19 January 1753 | Bridgwater | u* | Peregrine Poulett | Robert Balch | Death | |
19 January 1753 | Lyme Regis | u* | John Scrope | Thomas Fane | Death | |
20 January 1753 | Bere Alston | u* | Sir Francis Henry Drake | Sir Francis Henry Drake | Second Clerk Comptroller of the Green Cloth | |
20 January 1753 | Bishop's Castle | c* | Samuel Child | John Dashwood King | Death | |
20 January 1753 | Ludgershall | u | George Augustus Selwyn | George Augustus Selwyn | Registrar of the Court of Chancery in Barbados | |
21 January 1753 | Rutland | c* | James Noel | Thomas Noel | Death | |
27 January 1753 | Mitchell | u | Albert Nesbitt | Arnold Nesbitt | Death | |
29 January 1753 | Beaumaris | u | The Viscount Bulkeley | John Owen | Death | |
7 February 1753 | Cheshire | u | John Crewe | Charles Crewe | Death | |
31 March 1753 | New Woodstock | u* | John Trevor | Anthony Keck | Succeeded to a peerage | |
6 April 1753 | Salisbury | u(*) | Edward Poore | Edward Poore | Puisne Justice of Carmarthen | |
25 April 1753 | Maidstone | u* | William Horsemonden Turner | Gabriel Hanger | Death | |
12 May 1753 | Downton | u | Henry Vane | James Hayes | Resignation to contest County Durham | |
19 May 1753 | County Durham | u* | Henry Vane | Henry Vane | Succeeded to a peerage | |
21 November 1753 | Harwich | u* | Viscount Coke | Wenman Coke | Death | |
21 November 1753 | Higham Ferrers | u* | John Hill | John Yorke | Death | |
24 November 1753 | Lichfield | c | Richard Leveson Gower | Sir Thomas Gresley | Death | |
Sir Thomas Gresley | Henry Vernon | By-election results reversed on petition 29 January 1754 | ||||
28 November 1753 | Flint Boroughs | u* | Kyffin Williams | Sir John Glynne | Death | |
5 December 1753 | Bedfordshire | u* | Sir Danvers Osborn | The Earl of Upper Ossory | Resignation (Governor of New York) | |
13 December 1753 | Selkirkshire | u* | John Murray | Gilbert Elliot | Death | |
26 December 1753 | Worcestershire | u* | Edmund Pytts (I) | Edmund Pytts (II) | Death | |
25 January 1754 | Midhurst | u* | Sir Thomas Bootle | John Sargent | Death | |
26 January 1754 | Rochester | u* | David Polhill | Nicholas Haddock | Death | |
9 February 1754 | Petersfield | u* | William Conolly | William Gerard Hamilton | Death | |
15 February 1754 | Amersham | u* | Sir Henry Marshall | Isaac Whittington | Death | |
15 February 1754 | Boroughbridge | u* | Lewis Watson | Lewis Watson | Auditor of the imprests | |
25 February 1754 | Wendover | u* | John Hampden | John Calvert | Death |