Coleraine (UK Parliament constituency)

Coleraine
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyCounty Londonderry
BoroughColeraine
1801–1885
Seats1
Created fromColeraine
Replaced byNorth Londonderry

Coleraine is a former United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

Boundaries

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Coleraine in County Londonderry.

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party Note
1 January 1801 Walter Jones Tory 1801: Co-opted
13 November 1806 Sir George Hill, Bt Tory Also returned by and elected to sit for Londonderry City
4 February 1807 Walter Jones Tory Resigned
26 June 1809 John Beresford Tory
17 October 1812 Lord George Beresford Tory Resigned
10 June 1814 Sir John Beresford, Bt Tory Resigned
22 February 1823 Sir John Brydges Tory[1] Unseated on petition 4 August 1831
4 August 1831 William Taylor Copeland Whig[1] Declared duly elected on petition
13 December 1832 Sir John Beresford, Bt Tory[1] Unseated on petition 27 May 1833
27 May 1833 William Taylor Copeland Whig[1] Declared duly elected on petition
4 August 1837 Edward Litton Conservative Appointed Master of Chancery in Ireland
18 February 1843 John Boyd Conservative
5 August 1847 Peelite[2][3] Resigned
22 March 1852 Rt Hon. Richard Bourke Conservative
30 March 1857 John Boyd Conservative Died 2 January 1862
31 January 1862 Sir Henry Bruce, Bt Conservative
6 February 1874 Daniel Taylor Liberal
3 April 1880 Sir Henry Bruce, Bt Conservative Last MP for the constituency
1885 Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Coleraine [2][1][4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory John Brydges (MP) 24 61.5
Whig John Thomas Thorp 15 38.5
Majority 9 23.0
Turnout 39 c. 18.3
Registered electors c. 36
Tory hold
  • Inhabitants were allowed to "tender" votes, with 2 being granted to Brydges and 15 for Thorp. However, just 22 votes of the corporation were accepted. Petitions and counter-petitions over whether the franchise extended to freemen were lodged, but both lapsed ahead of the 1831 election.[4]
General election 1831: Coleraine [2][1][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Tory John Brydges (MP) 17 80.5 +19.0
Whig William Taylor Copeland 70 19.5 −19.0
Majority 53 61.0 +38.0
Turnout 87 24.7 c. +6.4
Registered electors 36
Tory hold Swing
  • Again, inhabitants were allowed to tender votes, with 1 being cast for Brydges and 70 for Copeland, but these were rejected, and just 16 from the corporation in favour of Brydges were accepted. A petition was again lodged and, after lengthy committee proceedings in the House of Commons, it was agreed that 23 of the 70 tendered votes from those who had been admitted as freeman in 1797 were accepted. Copeland was then declared elected.[4]
General election 1832: Coleraine [2][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Tory John Beresford 98 50.3 +30.8
Whig William Taylor Copeland 97 49.7 −30.8
Majority 1 0.6 −60.4
Turnout 195 94.2 +69.5
Registered electors 207
Tory hold Swing +30.8
  • The candidates initially had 97 votes apiece, but the mayor cast a deciding vote in favour of Beresford. A petition was again lodged and a Commons committee again ruled in favour of the freemen and seated Copeland on 27 May 1833.[1][4][2]
General election 1835: Coleraine [2][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig William Taylor Copeland 95 51.4 +1.7
Conservative Henry Richardson 90 48.6 −1.7
Majority 5 2.8 N/A
Turnout 185 57.8 −36.4
Registered electors 320
Whig gain from Conservative Swing +1.7
General election 1837: Coleraine [2][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Litton 129 62.6 +14.0
Whig Leslie Alexander 77 37.4 −14.0
Majority 52 25.2 N/A
Turnout 206 49.0 −8.8
Registered electors 420
Conservative gain from Whig Swing +14.0

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Litton Unopposed
Registered electors 368
Conservative hold

Litton resigned after being appointed Master of Chancery in Ireland, causing a by-election.

By-election, 18 February 1843: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Boyd 106 55.8 N/A
Conservative Henry Bruce 84 44.2 N/A
Majority 22 11.6 N/A
Turnout 190 51.6 N/A
Registered electors 368
Conservative hold Swing N/A
General Election 1847: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Peelite John Boyd 116 65.9 N/A
Conservative Henry Bruce 60 34.1 N/A
Majority 56 31.8 N/A
Turnout 176 19.8 N/A
Registered electors 891
Peelite gain from Conservative Swing N/A

Elections in the 1850s

Boyd resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 22 March 1852: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Bourke Unopposed
Conservative gain from Peelite
General election 1852: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Bourke Unopposed
Registered electors 222
Conservative gain from Peelite
General election 1857: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Boyd Unopposed
Registered electors 261
Conservative hold
General election 1859: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Boyd Unopposed
Registered electors 274
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

Boyd's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 31 Jan 1862: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Bruce Unopposed
Registered electors 271
Conservative hold
General election 1865: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Bruce Unopposed
Registered electors 259
Conservative hold
General election 1868: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Bruce Unopposed
Registered electors 346
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Daniel Taylor 227 58.7 New
Conservative Henry Bruce 160 41.3 N/A
Majority 67 17.4 N/A
Turnout 387 88.0 N/A
Registered electors 440
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Coleraine [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Bruce 222 53.5 +12.2
Liberal Daniel Taylor 193 46.5 −12.2
Majority 29 7.0 N/A
Turnout 415 87.9 −0.1
Registered electors 472
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +12.2

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 220. Retrieved 11 May 2020 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 204–205, 262–263. ISBN 0901714127.
  3. ^ "Irish Members Returned". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 11 August 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 23 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ a b c d e Farrell, Stephen. "Coleraine". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 11 May 2020.