Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis was a parliamentary borough in Dorset represented in the English House of Commons, later in that of Great Britain, and finally in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Union of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis Act 1571 (13 Eliz. 1. c. 9) which amalgamated the existing boroughs of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis. Until 1832, the combined borough continued to elect the four Members of Parliament (MPs) to which its constituent parts had previously been entitled; the Great Reform Act reduced its representation to two Members, and the constituency was abolished altogether in 1885, becoming part of the new South Dorset constituency.

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1570–1885
Seats	four (1570–1832), two (1832–1885)
Replaced by	South Dorset

Members of Parliament

Members for Weymouth (1348–1570)

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	John Gosselyn
1388 (Feb)	John Wake
1388 (Sep)
1390 (Jan)
1390 (Nov)
1391
1393
1394
1395
1397 (Jan)
1397 (Sep)
1399
1401
1402
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406
1407
1410
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417
1419
1420
1421 (May)
1421 (Dec)
1423	John Abbot
1442	Henry Russell	Walter Cheverell
1450
1472-5
1510–1523	No names known
1529		Robert Aley
1536	?
1539	?
1542
1545	Roger Stourton	Richard Duke
1547	John Cornelius alias Johnson alias Welbored
1553 (Mar)	?Richard Phelips	?
1553 (Oct)
1554 (Apr)		John Williams
1554 (Nov)
1555
1558
1559		John Fowler
1562–3	Robert Eyre

Members for Melcombe Regis (1319–1570)

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386
1388 (Feb)
1388 (Sep)
1390 (Jan)
1390 (Nov)
1391
1393	John Abbot	Robert Veel
1394		Robert Veel
1395
1397 (Jan)
1397 (Sep)		William Coventre II
1399
1401
1402
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406	Richard Hurst
1407
1410	John Ford	(_) Lane
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)
1414 (Apr)	Henry Barbour
1414 (Nov)
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417		John Gardener
1419
1420		Robert Abbot
1421 (May)		Robert Abbot
1421 (Dec)	or	John Alysaundre
1437	William Abbot
1510–1523	No names known
1529	Richard Phelips	Oliver Lawrence
1536	?
1539	?
1542	?
1545	Anthony Cokett	Thomas Poley
1547		John Leweston
1553 (Mar)	John Wadham	?Owen Reynolds
1553 (Oct)	John Leweston	Owen Reynolds
1554 (Apr)
1554 (Nov)		John Hannam
1555	John Leweston	William Crowche
1558	John Mill	Richard Shaw
1559		Richard Shaw
1563-7	Thomas Colby

Members for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (1570–1885)

1570–1629

Parliament	First member	Second member	Third member	Fourth member
Parliament of 1571	Thomas Hussey d. by 1581 Then Laurence Thompson
Parliament of 1572–1581		John Wolley	Richard Bedell died 1576 Moyle Finch
Parliament of 1584–1585		Francis Bacon 1586 Edward Bacon	George Grenville
Parliament of 1586–1587				Edward Phelips
Parliament of 1588–1589				William Hody
Parliament of 1593	William Weston	Thomas Stafford
Parliament of 1597–1598		Francis Leigh
Parliament of 1601	John Peyton	Walter Cope
Parliament of 1604–1611	Thomas Barefoot died 1610 Viscount Cranborne	Robert Myddelton	Vacated seat replaced 1610 by
Addled Parliament (1614)	Sir Charles Caesar	Robert Bateman
Parliament of 1621–1622	Matthew Pitt Died 1624 1624 (Sir) Thomas Myddelton	Giles Green	John Freke	Christopher Erle
Happy Parliament (1624–1625)
Useless Parliament (1625)			(Sir) John Strangways	Giles Green
Parliament of 1625–1626
Parliament of 1628–1629		Sir Robert Napier	Lewis Dyve
No Parliament summoned 1629–1640

1640–1832

Year	First member		Party	Second member		Party	Third member		Party	Fourth member		Party
April 1640		(Sir) John Strangways	Royalist		Giles Strangways	Royalist		Richard King	Royalist
November 1640					(Sir) Gerrard Napier	Royalist					Sir Walter Erle	Parliamentarian
September 1642	Strangways disabled from sitting – seat vacant
February 1643							King disabled from sitting – seat vacant
January 1644				Napier disabled from sitting – seat vacant
1645		William Sydenham			John Bond
December 1648				Erle, Allen and Bond all excluded in Pride's Purge – seats vacant
1653	Weymouth and Melcombe Regis was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Denis Bond		Weymouth and Melcombe Regis had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656
January 1659		John Trenchard						John Clark			Peter Middleton
May 1659		William Sydenham		Three seats vacant
April 1660		Edward Montagu			Sir William Penn			Peter Middleton			Henry Waltham
June 1660		Bullen Reymes
1661								Winston Churchill			Sir John Strangways
1667											Sir John Coventry
1670					Lord Ashley
1673		John Man
February 1679
August 1679					Sir John Morton
1680
1685											George Strangways
1689											Sir Robert Napier
1690											Nicholas Gould
1691											Thomas Freke
1695		Maurice Ashley
March 1698
August 1698		Arthur Shallett
January 1701		Henry Thynne			Charles Churchill						Maurice Ashley
November 1701		George St Loe						Sir Christopher Wren
February 1702											Anthony Henley
July 1702								Henry Thynne
1705		Maurice Ashley
1709
1710					James Littleton			William Betts
May 1711					Sir Thomas Hardy				Tory
December 1711
1713		John Baker			Rear-Admiral James Littleton			Lieutenant-General Daniel Harvey	Whig		William Betts
1714		Sir Thomas Hardy							Tory
1715		John Baker						Lieutenant-General Daniel Harvey	Whig		William Betts
1717		Edward Harrison
1722		Sir James Thornhill			Thomas Pearse
1726								John Willes
January 1727					Edward Tucker
August 1727								Thomas Pearse
1730											George Dodington
1734		George Bubb Dodington
1735		John Tucker
1737					John Olmius
1741					Joseph Damer						James Steuart
1747		Welbore Ellis			Richard Plumer			George Dodington			Edmund Hungate Beaghan
1751					Lord George Cavendish
1754					Lord John Cavendish			George Dodington			John Tucker
1761		Sir Francis Dashwood			John Olmius			Richard Glover
1762					Richard Jackson
1763		Charles Walcott
1768		The Lord Waltham			Sir Charles Davers			Jeremiah Dyson
1774		Welbore Ellis			William Chaffin Grove			John Purling
1778											Gabriel Steward
September 1780											Warren Lisle
November 1780											Gabriel Steward
1781					William Richard Rumbold
1784					Sir Thomas Rumbold
1786											George Jackson
1788											Gabriel Steward
1790		Colonel Sir James Murray	Tory		(Sir) Richard Bempde Johnstone			Andrew Stuart			Thomas Jones
1791											Lieutenant-Colonel Sir James Johnstone
1794											Gabriel Tucker Steward	Tory
1796					William Garthshore	Tory
1801								Charles Adams	Tory
1806					Richard Augustus Tucker Steward	Tory
1810											Sir John Lowther Johnstone
1811		General Sir John Murray
January 1812											Joseph Hume	Tory
October 1812					John Broadhurst	Whig		Thomas Wallace			Henry Trail
1813					Viscount Cranborne	Tory		Christopher Idle	Tory		Masterton Ure	Tory
1817					Adolphus Dalrymple	Tory
1818		William Williams	Whig		Fowell Buxton	Whig		Thomas Wallace	Tory
1826		Colonel John Gordon	Tory
1828								Edward Sugden	Tory
May 1831								Richard Weyland	Whig
August 1831								Charles Baring Wall	Tory
1832	Representation reduced to two Members

1832–1885

Year	First member		First party	Second member		Second party
1832		Sir Frederick Johnstone	Tory		Fowell Buxton	Whig
1834			Conservative
1835		William Burdon	Whig
1837		Viscount Villiers	Conservative		George William Hope	Conservative
1842		Ralph Bernal	Whig		William Dougal Christie	Whig
August 1847		William Freestun	Whig
December 1847					Hon. Frederick Child Villiers	Conservative
1852					George Butt	Conservative
1857					Robert Campbell	Whig
1859		Robert Brooks	Conservative		Viscount Grey de Wilton	Conservative
1865					Henry Gridley	Liberal
1867					Henry Edwards	Liberal
1868		Charles J. T. Hambro	Conservative
1874		Sir Frederick Johnstone	Conservative
1885	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Fowell Buxton	Unopposed
	Tory	John Gordon	Unopposed
	Tory	Masterton Ure	Unopposed
	Tory	Edward Sugden	Unopposed
	Whig hold
	Tory hold
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Richard Weyland	14	23.7
	Tory	Masterton Ure	13	22.0
	Tory	John Gordon	13	22.0
	Whig	Fowell Buxton	13	22.0
	Tory	Michael Prendergast	2	3.4
	Whig	Henry William Tancred	2	3.4
	Whig	Thomas Bulkeley	2	3.4
Turnout			c. 15	c. 2.1
Registered electors			c. 700
Majority			1	1.7
	Whig gain from Tory
Majority			0	0.0
	Tory hold
	Tory hold
Majority			11	18.6
	Whig hold

Weyland was also elected for Oxfordshire and opted to sit there, causing a by-election.

: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Charles Baring Wall	425	72.0	+24.6
	Whig	Michael Prendergast	165	28.0	−24.5
Majority			260	44.0	+44.0
Turnout			590	c. 84.3	c. +82.2
Registered electors			c. 700
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	+24.6

Representation reduced to two members.

General election 1832: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Fowell Buxton	238	28.3	+2.1
	Tory	Frederick Johnstone	215	25.5	+1.8
	Whig	William Burdon	214	25.4	−0.9
	Tory	George Bankes	176	20.9	−2.8
Turnout			431	90.7	c. +88.6
Registered electors			475
Majority			23	2.8	+1.1
	Whig hold		Swing	+1.3
Majority			1	0.1	+0.1
	Tory hold		Swing	+0.6

General election 1835: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Fowell Buxton	268	40.8	+12.5
	Whig	William Burdon	239	36.4	+11.0
	Conservative	George Child Villiers	150	22.8	−23.6
Majority			89	13.6	+10.8
Turnout			c. 329	c. 63.4	c. −27.3
Registered electors			518
	Whig hold		Swing	+12.2
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+11.4

General election 1837: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Child Villiers	291	31.6	+20.2
	Conservative	George William Hope	268	29.1	+17.7
	Whig	Fowell Buxton	211	22.9	−17.9
	Whig	George Stephen	151	16.4	−20.0
Majority			57	6.2	N/A
Turnout			481	81.7	c. +18.3
Registered electors			589
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+19.6
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+18.3

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Child Villiers	259	25.4	−6.2
	Conservative	George William Hope	257	25.2	−3.9
	Whig	Ralph Bernal	254	24.9	+2.0
	Whig	William Dougal Christie	251	24.6	+8.2
Majority			3	0.3	−5.9
Turnout			511 (est)	85.4 (est)	c. +3.7
Registered electors			598
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.5

On petition the result was overturned on 4 April 1842 and the opponents, Bernal and Christie, were seated in their place.

General election 1847: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Dougal Christie	274	25.1	+0.5
	Whig	William Freestun	274	25.1	+0.2
	Conservative	George Butt	272	24.9	−0.3
	Conservative	Frederick Child Villiers	271	24.8	−0.6
Majority			2	0.2	N/A
Turnout			546 (est)	87.3 (est)	+1.9
Registered electors			625
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+0.5
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+0.3

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

: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Child Villiers	Unopposed
	Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Weymouth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Butt	386	38.4	−11.3
	Whig	William Freestun	336	33.4	−16.8
	Peelite	Alexander Haldane Oswald	283	28.2	N/A
Turnout			503 (est)	74.0 (est)	−13.3
Registered electors			679
Majority			50	5.0	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+2.8
Majority			53	5.2	+5.0
	Whig hold		Swing	−2.8

General election 1857: Weymouth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Freestun	446	41.8	+8.4
	Whig	Robert Campbell	349	32.7	+4.5
	Conservative	George Butt	272	25.5	−12.9
Majority			77	7.2	+2.0
Turnout			534 (est)	78.3 (est)	+4.3
Registered electors			681
	Whig hold		Swing	+7.4
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.5

General election 1859: Weymouth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Brooks	341	26.5	+13.7
	Conservative	Arthur Egerton	340	26.4	+13.6
	Liberal	William Freestun	311	24.1	−17.7
	Liberal	Robert Campbell	297	23.0	−9.7
Majority			29	2.3	N/A
Turnout			645 (est)	86.2 (est)	+7.9
Registered electors			748
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+13.7
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+13.7

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Brooks	381	47.6	+21.1
	Liberal	Henry Gridley	378	47.2	+23.1
	Conservative	Arthur Egerton	28	3.5	−22.9
	Liberal	Henry Edwards	14	1.7	−21.3
Turnout			759 (est)	83.8 (est)	−2.4
Registered electors			906
Majority			3	0.4	−1.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+10.1
Majority			350	43.7	N/A
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+12.0

A late compromise between the Conservatives and Liberals, whereby Mr Brooks and Mr Gridley would be elected, came too late to cancel the election.

: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Edwards	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

The 1867 by-election followed the resignation of Henry Gillett Gridley.

General election 1868: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles J. T. Hambro	750	39.4	−11.7
	Liberal	Henry Edwards	701	36.8	−10.4
	Liberal	John Joseph Powell	452	23.8	+22.1
Majority			49	2.6	+2.2
Turnout			952 (est)	70.8 (est)	−13.0
Registered electors			1,343
	Conservative hold		Swing	−11.7
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Edwards	944	49.7	−10.9
	Conservative	Frederick Johnstone	504	26.5	+6.8
	Conservative	Charles J. T. Hambro	452	23.8	+4.1
Majority			440	23.2	+10.2
Turnout			1,422 (est)	96.9 (est)	+26.1
Registered electors			1,467
	Liberal hold		Swing	−10.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.9

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Edwards	1,156	44.2	+19.3
	Conservative	Frederick Johnstone	807	30.8	−19.5
	Liberal	Alexander Coghill Wylie	653	25.0	+0.1
Turnout			1,308 (est)	81.1 (est)	−15.8
Registered electors			1,612
Majority			349	13.4	−9.8
	Liberal hold		Swing	+14.5
Majority			154	5.8	−17.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.8

In Literature

In the Aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian the constituency of Melcombe in Dorset is the Parliamentary seat for Jack Aubreys father who holds it for the Whigs. On his father's death Jack Aubrey is offered and takes up the seat for the Tories.

Notes

1. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
2. ABBOT, John, of Melcombe Regis, Dorset., History of Parliament Online
3. Wedgwood, "History of Parliament (1439-1509)", page 180
4. Biographical notes by I.S. Rogers, 2005
5. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
6. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
7. Francis Bacon was re-elected in 1586, but had also been elected for Taunton, which he chose to represent
8. Browne Willis, working from the Parliamentary records, gives two names for Weymouth and four for Melcombe, remarking of these "Double return, as it seems to me". But it may equally be that two of the six were recorded against the wrong constituency (especially as, in the same Parliament, he has the same pair of the names with only minor variations for Corfe Castle and Wareham.
9. Matthew Pitt was re-elected to the Happy Parliament in January 1624, but died on 18 April. (Sir) Thomas Myddelton was returned in his stead on 10 May 1624.
10. Listed in some sources as Walter Erle; Alumni Oxonienses allocates Christopher to the seat
11. Sir Thomas Myddelton was re-elected to the Useless Parliament, but had also been elected for Denbighshire, which he chose to represent. Giles Green was returned in his stead.
12. Browne Willis suggests represented the boroughs in this Parliament, but other sources, including the official History of Parliament, confirm Sir Robert Napier was the representative
13. Created a baronet, June 1641
14. On petition, the election of Littleton and Betts was declared void, and a writ for a by-election was issued. Both were returned at the by-election, but were once again declared not to have been duly elected.
15. On petition, Baker, Harvey and Betts were all declared not to have been duly elected
16. Expelled from the House of Commons 1726 following his conviction for forgery
17. News Weekly Journal or British Gazetteer, Saturday, 10 February 1728; Issue 142
18. Dodington was also elected for Bridgwater, which he chose to represent, and did not sit in this parliament for Weymouth & Melcombe Regis
19. Created The Lord Waltham (in the Peerage of Ireland), June 1762
20. Major-General from 1793, Lieutenant-General from 1799; adopted the surname Murray-Pulteney on his marriage in July 1794
21. Created a baronet, July 1795
22. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 94–97. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
23. On petition, the election of Wallace, Broadhurst and Trail was declared void, and a by-election was held; Murray's election was not disturbed
24. Weyland was also elected for Oxfordshire, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Weymouth & Melcombe Regis
25. At the election of 1841, the two sitting Conservative members, Villiers and Hope, were initially declared re-elected, by margins of 5 votes and 3 votes respectively, but on petition the result was overturned and the opponents, Bernal and Christie, were seated in their place
26. Farrell, Stephen (2009). "BERNAL, Ralph (1783–1854), of 11 Park Crescent, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
27. "Ralph Bernal". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
28. Thompson, Thomas Perronet (1843). Exercises, Political and Others: Vol. IV (2nd ed.). London: Effingham Wilson. p. 222. Retrieved 2 July 2018 – via Internet Archive.
29. Rubinstein, William D.; Jolles, Michael A.; Rubinstein, Hilary L., eds. (2011). The Palgrave Dictionary of Ango-Jewish History (eBook ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 84. doi:10.1057/9780230304666. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6.
30. "Morning Post". 30 June 1841. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
31. "Members Returned". Norfolk News. 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
32. "Election Intelligence". Globe. 21 March 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
33. Farrell, Stephen. "Weymouth and Melcombe Regis". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
34. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 327–328. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
35. "Bell's Weekly Messenger". 12 July 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 22 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

References

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• Grey's Debates of the House of Commons: volume 8 (1769), pp. 373–381 [2]
• Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 3)