Downton (UK Parliament constituency)


Downton was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

History

The borough consisted of part of the parish of Downton, a small town six miles south of Salisbury. By the 19th century, only about half of the town was within the boundaries of the borough, and the more prosperous section was excluded: at the 1831 census the borough had 166 houses and a tax assessment of £70, whereas the whole town consisted of 314 houses, and was assessed at £273.
Downton was a burgage borough, meaning that the right to vote rested solely with the freeholders of 100 specified properties or "burgage tenements"; it was not necessary to be resident on the tenement, or even in the borough, to exercise this right. Indeed, some of the tenements could not realistically be occupied, and one was in the middle of a watercourse. At the time of the Great Reform Act, The Earl of Radnor told the House of Lords that he owned 99 of the 100 tenements — which, of course, gave him absolute power in choosing both the borough's MPs. Earlier, in the 18th century, the Duncombe family had been the owners.
Corruption was rife at 18th century elections in Downton, and the House of Commons at one point proposed to "throw it into the hundred", that is to extend the boundaries to include the whole of the Hundred of Downton and to abolish the restrictive franchise — one of the earliest examples of such a proposal being debated; however, the proposal was not adopted.
Although there was supposedly a property qualification to become an MP, this was routinely ignored or evaded, and Downton offers a rare example of an English election being re-run because the victor lacked the qualification. On 11 June 1826 the poet Southey was elected MP for Downton, but he did not take his seat when Parliament assembled in July, and in November wrote to the Speaker: 'Having while I was on the continent been, without my knowledge, elected a burgess to serve in the present Parliament for the borough of Downton, it has become my duty to take the earliest opportunity of requesting you to inform the honourable House that I am not qualified to take a seat therein, inasmuch as I am not possessed of such an estate as is required by the Act passed in the ninth year of Queen Anne.' A by-election had to be held to replace him.
By 1831 the parish of Downton had a population of around 450, too small to retain representation after the Reform Act, and yet in the original Reform Bill it was proposed that Downton should lose only one of its two members, its boundaries being extended to include Fordingbridge, over the county border in Hampshire. However, the Earl of Radnor pushed for its complete disfranchisement as it would be too difficult to make even an extended borough free of the influence of himself and his family. As this abolition of a Whig-owned borough was useful to the Whig government in demonstrating their even-handedness, they backed an amendment to move Downton into Schedule A, the list of boroughs that were to lose both seats; but the government majority in the Commons fell to 30 in the vote on the amendment, the narrowest of all the votes on the details of the eventual Act.
The Reform Act being passed, Downton ceased to be represented from the 1832 general election, those of its residents who were qualified voting instead in the county constituency of Southern Wiltshire.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640

ParliamentFirst memberSecond member
1295–1298John SpedeRichard de la Sale
1298–1300Reginald Dt. AulaJohn Whitthorn
1300–1304Roger de PortsmouthWh. Leicester
1304–1306Roger le LargeJohn Ervye
1306John de Downton-
1306–1311Randolph LaveringJohn Spede
1311–1312Robert le WryereWilliam Osgod
1312–1313John le CoveJohn Arny
1313–1314Walter NymethalfRoger de Portsmouth
1314–1318Nicholas de MareshalWilliam de Whytham
1318–1319William RotariusHenry le Drapier
1319–1323? NorreysWalter le Whlere
1323–1326John Curtoys-
1323–1325Nicholas Laveryng-
1325–1326Nicholas de Cove-
1326–1328Edward de TaranteNicholas de Becklesnade
1328Henricus le Meyre-
1328–1329Stephanus de RegateEdwardus Taraunt
1360–1361Ricardus WhithornJohannes Meyer
1362–1364Johannes DryewodsWillielmus Benert
1364–1365Willielmus WartierJohannes Willeymn
1413 Johannes BrutThomas Knyf
1441–1442Johannes WhitesmedeRalph Legh
1446–1447Johannes BrekenokJohannes Bailey
1448–1449Johannes LawleyAndreas Sparowe
1449–1450Johannes RokesRobertus Tilleney
1450–1452Walterus BergnJohannes Wynge
1452–1455Ralph LeghThomas Wells
1455–1459Edwardus AsshewellWillielmus Brigg
1459Johannes WolfeThomas Danvers
1467Thomas WellsRalph Legh
1472–1477Thomas DanversRichard Jaye
1529Nicholas HareWilliam Whorwood
1547William MoriceWilliam Green
1553 William Thomas Robert Warner
1553 John NorrisJohn Bekynsale
1554 James BassitJohn Norris
1554 John BekynsaleWilliam Barnes
1555Henry WhiteThomas White
1558Thomas WhiteThomas Girdler
1559John StoryThomas Girdler
1562Tristram MatthewHenry Kingsmill
1571George PenruddockeSir Henry Cocke
1572William DarrellEdward St Loe
1584Thomas WilkesRichard Cosin
1586Thomas GorgesThomas Wilkes
1588Richard CosinLawrence Tompson
1593John GoldwellThomas Willoughby
1597Robert TurnerGeorge Powell
1601Thomas PenruddockSir Edward Barker
1604Carew RaleighWilliam Stockman
1614Gilbert RaleighJohn Ryves
1621Carew RaleighThomas Hinton
1624Sir Clipsby CrewSir William Dodington
1625Sir Clipsby CrewEdward Herbert
1626Edward HerbertSir William Tremhall
1628–1629Sir Benjamin RudyerdEdward Herbert
1629–1640No Parliaments summonedNo Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1832

Notes