| New Romney | |
| Type: | Cinque Port |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1371 |
| Abolished: | 1832 |
| Seats: | 2 |
| Borough: | New Romney |
| County: | Kent |
| Region: | England |
New Romney was a parliamentary constituency in Kent, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1371 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.
New Romney was a Cinque Port, which made it technically of different status from a parliamentary borough, but the difference was purely a nominal one. The constituency consisted of the town of New Romney; it had once been a flourishing port but by the 19th century the harbour had been destroyed and there was no maritime trade, the main economic activity being grazing cattle on Romney Marsh. In 1831, the population of the constituency was 978, and the town contained 165 houses.
The right to vote was reserved to the Mayor and Common Council of the town; however, many of these were customs or excise officers, who were disqualified from voting by a change in the law in 1782, so that in the early 19th century there were only 8 voters. The high proportion of voters holding paid government posts before this change in the law meant that New Romney was sometimes considered to be a "treasury borough" (that is, a constituency whose seats were in the gift of the government); but in practice the Dering family, local landowners, were even more influential and could sometimes defy government pressure.
The Dering influence in New Romney seems mainly to have been achieved by letting out property to voters and their relatives at easy rents and without leases. In 1761, for example, the despairing Whig MP, Rose Fuller, explained to Prime Minister Newcastle that he had no chance of re-election since Dering had turned against him, because "several of the governing men are graziers and the Deering and Furnese family have together a very great estate in the neighbouring marsh which is very profitable to and easy for tenants".[1] The reduction in the number of voters naturally made this influence easier, or at least cheaper, to exert.
New Romney was abolished as a constituency by the Reform Act, the town being incorporated into the new Eastern Kent county division.
| Parliament | First Member | Second Member | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1386 | Simon Lunceford | John Salerne | |
| 1388 (February) | William Holyngbroke | John Salerne | |
| 1388 (September) | William Holyngbroke | John Ellis | |
| 1390 (January) | John Ive | James Tiece | |
| 1390 (November) | Edmund Huchoun | James Tiece | |
| 1391 | John Ellis | John Salerne II | |
| 1393 | Andrew Colyn | Robert Geffe | |
| 1394 | |||
| 1395 | John Gardener | William Child | |
| 1397 (January) | John Yon | Robert Geffe | |
| 1397 (September) | |||
| 1399 | John Gardener | John Talbot | |
| 1401 | William Clitheroe | John Gardener | |
| 1402 | John Lunceford | John Ive | |
| 1404 (January) | |||
| 1404 (October) | |||
| 1406 | Robert Geffe | Thomas Rokeslee | |
| 1407 | John Roger | Brice Scherte | |
| 1410 | John Adam | John Lunceford | |
| 1411 | William Clitheroe | James Lowys | |
| 1413 (February) | William Clitheroe | John Adam | |
| 1413 (May) | William Clitheroe | James Lowys | |
| 1414 (April) | Richard Clitheroe | John Lunceford | |
| 1414 (November) | William Clitheroe | John Maffey | |
| 1415 | Richard Clitheroe | James Lowys | |
| 1416 (March) | Richard Clitheroe | ||
| 1416 (October) | Stephen Harry | Thomas Sparwe | |
| 1417 | William Clitheroe | James Tiece | |
| 1419 | Thomas Rokeslee | Thomas Smith | |
| 1420 | Richard Clitheroe | Stephen Harry | |
| 1421 (May) | Richard Clitheroe | James Lowys | |
| 1421 (December) | Thomas Sparwe | Peter Newene | |
| 1510 | John Holl | Thomas Lambard | |
| 1512 | Sir John Scott | Clement Baker | |
| 1515 | Richard Stuppeny | Clement Baker | |
| 1523 | Robert Paris | not known | |
| 1529 | Richard Gibson, died and replaced 1535 by John Marshall | John Bunting | |
| 1536 | John Bunting | ?John Marshall | |
| 1539 | William Tadlowe | William Garrard | |
| 1542 | William Tadlowe | William Asnothe | |
| 1545 | not known | ||
| 1547 | John Dering, died and replaced 1552 by William Tadlowe | Peter Hayman | |
| 1553 (March) | Simon Padyham | not known | |
| 1553 (October) | William Tadlowe | ?Sir John Guildford | |
| by 1553 | John Cheseman | ||
| 1554 (April) | John Cheseman | Richard Bunting | |
| 1554 (November) | Gregory Holton | William Oxendon | |
| 1555 | Richard Baker | John Herbert | |
| 1558 | Simon Padyham | ?Thomas Randolph | |
| 1559 | John Cheseman | William Eppes | |
| 1562–3 | Sir Christopher Alleyne | William Eppes | |
| 1571 | William Eppes | Edmund Morrante | |
| 1572 | William Wilcocks, died and replaced July 1574 by William Eppes | Edward Wilcocks | |
| 1584 | Richard Williams | William Southland | |
| 1586 | William Southland | Robert Thurbarne | |
| 1588 | Reginald Scot | William Southland | |
| 1593 | John Mynge | Robert Bawle | |
| 1597 | George Coppyn | James Thurbarne | |
| 1601 | Thomas Lake | John Mynge | |
| 1604-1611 | John Plommer | ||
| 1614 | Sir Arthur Ingram | Robert Wilcock | |
| 1621-1622 | Sir Peter Manwood | Francis Fetherston | |
| 1624 | Francis Fetherston | Richard Godfrey | |
| 1625 | Sir Edmund Verney | Richard Godfrey | |
| 1626 | Richard Godfrey | Thomas Brett | |
| 1628 | Thomas Brett | ||
| 1629-1640 | No Parliaments summoned | ||
Notes