See also: West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency).
| West Suffolk | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1832 |
| Abolished: | 1885 |
| Type: | County |
| Region: | England |
| Elects Howmany: | Two |
The Western Division of Suffolk was a county constituency in Suffolk, England. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the bloc vote system of election.
The seat was created under the Reform Act 1832 as one of two divisions, together with the Eastern Division, of the Parliamentary County of Suffolk. This resulted in a more representative allocation, with a total of four MPs instead of two for the former entire county at large, which still allowed for double voting (or more) of those Forty Shilling Freeholders who also were householders or landlords of any particular boroughs within the county. This Act retained the four largest boroughs of the seven before 1832.
With two heirs to their title serving the seat, the Marquesses of Bristol, the Hervey family, were major landowners in the county. The modern seat is at Ickworth, with part of its grand house now being a luxury hotel.
Further sweeping changes took place as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 which saw the 2 two-member Suffolk divisions being replaced by five single-member constituencies. The Western Division was largely replaced by the North-Western or Stowmarket Division and the Southern or Sudbury Division. A small area in the east was included in the North-Eastern or Eye Division.
1832–1885: The Liberty of Bury St. Edmund's, and the Hundreds of Hartesmere, and Stow.[1]
| Election | Member | Party | Member | Party [2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | Charles Tyrell | Whig[3] | Sir Hyde Parker, Bt | Whig | |||
| 1835 | Henry Wilson | Whig[4] | Robert Rushbrooke | Conservative | |||
| 1837 | Robert Hart Logan | Conservative | |||||
| 1838 by-election | Harry Spencer Waddington | Conservative | |||||
| 1845 by-election | Philip Bennet | Conservative | |||||
| 1859 | Frederick Hervey | Conservative | William Parker | Conservative | |||
| 1864 by-election | Lord Augustus Hervey | Conservative | |||||
| June 1875 by-election | Fuller Maitland Wilson | Conservative | |||||
| October 1875 by-election | Thomas Thornhill | Conservative | |||||
| 1880 | William Biddell | Conservative | |||||
| 1885 | constituency abolished | ||||||
Logan's death caused a by-election.
Rushbrooke's death caused a by-election.
Hervey succeeded to the peerage, becoming 3rd Marquess of Bristol and causing a by-election.
Hervey's death caused a by-election.
Wilson's death caused a by-election.