Tavistock (UK Parliament constituency)

Tavistock
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1885–February 1974
Number of members	one
Replaced by	West Devon
1330–1885
Number of members	two (1330-1868), one (1868-1885)
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

Tavistock was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Devon between 1330 and 1974. Until 1885 it was a parliamentary borough, consisting solely of the town of Tavistock; it returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868, when its representation was reduced to one member. From 1885, the name was transferred to a single-member county constituency covering a much larger area. (Between 1885 and 1918, the constituency had the alternative name of West Devon.)

The constituency was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when it was largely replaced by the new West Devon constituency.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Boroughs of Devonport and Plymouth, and the Sessional Divisions of Hatherleigh, Holsworthy, Lifton, Midland Roborough, and Tavistock.

1918-1950: The Urban Districts of Holsworthy, Ivybridge, and Tavistock, the Rural Districts of Broadwoodwidger, Plympton St Mary, and Tavistock, and part of the Rural District of Holsworthy.

1950-1974: The Urban Districts of Holsworthy and Tavistock, the Rural Districts of Broadwoodwidger, Holsworthy, and Tavistock, and part of the Rural District of Plympton St Mary.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1335	Richard Crocker[1]
Oct. 1377	Thomas Raymond[2]
1381	Peter Hadley[3]
1384		Thomas Raymond[2]
1386	John Wyndout	John Tryll [4]
1388 (Feb)	Ranulph Hunt	John atte Pole [4]
1388 (Sep)	John Ford	William Walreddon [4]
1390 (Jan)	Walter Milemead	John Bithewater [4]
1390 (Nov)
1391	Ranulph Hunt	John Whitham [4]
1393	Ranulph Hunt	Matthew Row [4]
1394	Ranulph Hunt	John Crocker [4]
1395	Ranulph Hunt	Walter Dimmock [4]
1397 (Jan)	William Whitham	John Plenty [4]
1397 (Sep)
1399
1401
1402	Ranulph Hunt	John Kene [4]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406	John Plenty	Roger Baker [4]
1407	John Godfrey	William Brit [4]
1410
1411	John Lopynford	Richard Secheville [4]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	William May	John Julkin [4]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	William May	John Julkin [4]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417
1419	Richard Secheville	? [4]
1420	Richard Secheville	William Bentley [4]
1421 (May)	John Fortescue	William May [4]
1421 (Dec)	John Fortescue	Nicholas Fitzherbert [4]
1467–1468	Richard Edgcumbe
1472	John Say
1485	Richard Edgcumbe
1510-1512	No names known [5]
1515	Richard Lybbe	John Amadas [5]
1523	?
1529	William Honychurch	John Dynham [5]
1536	?
1539	?
1542	?
1545	Sir Peter Carew	Richard Fortescue [5]
1547	Sir Edward Rogers	John Gale [5]
1553 (Mar)	Edward Underhill	Anthony Lyte [5]
1553 (Nov)	Richard Wilbraham	Thomas Smyth
Parliament of 1554	Richard Mayo	John Fitz, junior
Parliament of 1554-1555	John Onebyche
Parliament of 1555	Richard Mayo	Thomas Southcote
Parliament of 1558	Thomas Browne	George Southcote
Parliament of 1559	Unknown: the return has been lost
Parliament of 1563-1567	Sir Nicholas Throckmorton	Richard Cooke
Parliament of 1571	Nathaniel Bacon	Robert Ferrers died after 1572 In his place Charles Morison
Parliament of 1572-1581
Parliament of 1584-1585	Edward Bacon	Valentine Knightley
Parliament of 1586-1587	John Glanville
Parliament of 1588-1589	Michael Heneage	Anthony Ashley
Parliament of 1593	Hugh Vaughan	Richard Codrington
Parliament of 1597-1598	Edward Montagu	Valentine Knightley
Parliament of 1601	Henry Grey	Walter Wentworth
Parliament of 1604-1611	Sir George Fleetwood	Edward Duncombe
Addled Parliament (1614)	(Sir) Francis Glanville
Parliament of 1621-1622		Sir Baptist Hicks, Bt
Happy Parliament (1624-1625)	Sampson Hele	John Pym
Useless Parliament (1625)	Sir Francis Glanville
Parliament of 1625-1626	Sir John Ratcliffe
Parliament of 1628-1629	Sir Francis Glanville
No Parliament summoned 1629-1640

MPs 1640-1868

Year	First member		First party	Second member		Second party
April 1640		Lord Russell	Royalist		John Pym	Parliamentarian
November 1640
1641		Hon. John Russell	Royalist
December 1643				Pym died - seat vacant
January 1644	Russell disabled from sitting - seat vacant
1646		Elisha Crimes			Edward Fowell
December 1648	Crimes and Fowell excluded in Pride's Purge - both seats vacant
1653	Tavistock was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		Henry Hatsell			Edmund Fowell
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		William Russell	Whig		George Howard
April 1661		Sir John Davie, 2nd Baronet
December 1661		Lord Russell	Whig
1673					Sir Francis Drake, 3rd Baronet
1679		Edward Russell	Whig
1685		Sir James Butler			John Beare
1689		Lord Robert Russell			Sir Francis Drake, Bt
1695					Lord James Russell
March 1696					Ambrose Manaton
November 1696					Sir Francis Drake, Bt
1701					Lord Edward Russell	Whig
1702					Lord James Russell
November 1703		James Bulteel
December 1703					Henry Manaton [6]
1708		Sir John Cope, Bt [7]
1711					James Bulteel
1715					Sir Francis Henry Drake, Bt
1728		Sir Humphrey Monoux, Bt
1734		Hon. Charles Fane [8]	Whig		Sidney Meadows
1741					Lord Sherard Manners
1742					The Viscount of Limerick
July 1747		Richard Leveson-Gower [9]			Thomas Brand
December 1747		Sir Richard Wrottesley, Bt
April 1754		Richard Rigby	Whig		Jeffrey French
December 1754					Richard Vernon
1761					Richard Neville Aldworth
1774					Hon. Richard FitzPatrick	Whig
1788		Lord John Russell	Whig
June 1790		Hon. Charles Wyndham [10]	Whig
December 1790		Lord John Russell	Whig
1802		Lord Robert Spencer	Whig
May 1807		Lord William Russell	Whig
July 1807					Viscount Howick	Whig
1808					George Ponsonby	Whig
1812					Richard FitzPatrick	Whig
1813					Lord John Russell	Whig
1817					Lord Robert Spencer	Whig
1818					Lord John Russell	Whig
1819		John Peter Grant	Whig
March 1820					John Nicholas Fazakerly	Whig
May 1820					Viscount Ebrington [11]	Whig
1826		Lord William Russell	Whig
August 1830		Lord Russell	Whig
November 1830					Lord John Russell [12]	Whig
July 1831					John Heywood Hawkins	Whig
October 1831		Lieutenant Colonel Francis Russell	Whig
1832		Lord Russell [13]	Whig		Charles Richard Fox	Whig
1835					John Rundle	Whig
1841		Lord Edward Russell	Whig
1843					Sir John Salusbury-Trelawny, Bt	Whig
1847		Hon. Edward Russell	Whig
April 1852					Samuel Carter [14]	Whig
July 1852		Hon. George Byng	Whig
1853					Robert Phillimore	Whig
March 1857					Sir John Salusbury-Trelawny, Bt	Whig
September 1857		Arthur Russell	Whig
1859			Liberal			Liberal
1865					Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda	Liberal
1868	Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1868-1974

Election		Member	Party
	1868	Arthur Russell [15]	Liberal
	1885	Viscount Ebrington	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1892	Hugh Luttrell	Liberal
	1900	John Ward Spear	Liberal Unionist
	1906	Hugh Luttrell	Liberal
	Dec. 1910	Sir John Ward Spear	Liberal Unionist
	1918	Charles Williams	Conservative
	1922	Maxwell Ruthven Thornton	Liberal
	1924	Philip Percy Kenyon-Slaney	Unionist
	1928 by-election	Wallace Duffield Wright	Conservative
	1931	Colin Mark Patrick	Conservative
	1942 by-election	Sir Henry Studholme, Bt	Conservative
	1966	Michael Heseltine	Conservative
Feb 1974		constituency abolished: see West Devon

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Ebrington

General Election 1885: Tavistock^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Viscount Ebrington	5,390	63.0
	Conservative	Henry Machu Imbert-Terry	3,172	37.0
Majority			2,218	26.0
Turnout				78.9
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1886: Tavistock^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Viscount Ebrington	3,917	59.0	n/a
	Liberal	Sir John Budd Phear	2,722	41.0	n/a
Majority			1,195	18.0	n/a
Turnout				61.2	-17.7
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1890s

Hugh Luttrell

General Election 1892: Tavistock^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Hugh Courtenay Fownes Luttrell	4,458	51.2
	Conservative	Robert Thomas White-Thomson	4,241	48.8
Majority			217	2.4
Turnout				74.2
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing

General Election 1895: Tavistock^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Hugh Courtenay Fownes Luttrell	4,970	51.9	+0.7
	Conservative	Robert Thomas White-Thomson	4,597	48.1	-0.7
Majority			373	3.8	+1.4
Turnout				78.7	+4.5
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Tavistock^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	John Ward Spear	4,746	50.1
	Liberal	Hon. John Fellowes Wallop	4,731	49.9
Majority			15	0.2
Turnout				77.7
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1906: Tavistock^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Hugh Courtenay Fownes Luttrell	6,405	55.2	+5.1
	Liberal Unionist	John Ward Spear	5,196	44.8	-5.1
Majority			1,209	10.4	+10.2
Turnout				82.9	+5.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5.1

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Tavistock^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Hugh Courtenay Fownes Luttrell	6,570	50.9
	Liberal Unionist	John Ward Spear	6,343	49.1
Majority			227	1.8
Turnout				83.9
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election December 1910: Tavistock^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	John Ward Spear	6,409	51.6	+2.5
	Liberal	Hugh Courtenay Fownes Luttrell	6,019	48.4	-2.5
Majority			390	3.2	5.0
Turnout				80.7	-3.2
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.5

General Election 1914/15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Sir John Ward Spear
• Liberal: Hon. Oliver Sylvain Baliol Brett^[17]

General Election 1918

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Lt-Com. Charles Williams	9,157	56.7
	Liberal	Harry Green	7,005	43.3
Majority			2,152	13.4
Turnout				62.2
	Unionist hold		Swing

• endorsed by the Coalition Government

Elections in the 1920s

Maxwell Thornton

General Election 6 December 1922: Tavistock

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Maxwell Ruthven Thornton	11,708	54.5
	Unionist	Charles Williams	9,757	45.5
Majority
Turnout				77.6
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing

General Election 6 December 1923: Tavistock

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Maxwell Ruthven Thornton	11,883	54.1	-0.4
	Unionist	Philip Percy Kenyon-Slaney	10,072	45.9	+0.4
Majority			1,811	8.2	-0.8
Turnout				77.7	+0.1
	Liberal hold		Swing	-0.4

1924 General Election: Tavistock^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Philip Percy Kenyon-Slaney	12,058	52.8
	Liberal	Maxwell Ruthven Thornton	10,786	47.2
Majority			1,272	5.6
Turnout				77.7
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

Tavistock by-election, 1928^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Wallace Duffield Wright	10,745	45.2	-7.6
	Liberal	Reginald Thomas Herbert Fletcher	10,572	44.5	-2.7
	Labour	Richard Davies	2,449	10.3	n/a
Majority			173	0.7
Turnout				77.3
	Unionist hold		Swing	-2.5

1929 General Election: Tavistock^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Wallace Duffield Wright	14,102	44.7
	Liberal	Hilda Runciman	14,040	44.1
	Labour	Richard Davies	3,574	11.2
Majority			152	0.6
Turnout
	Unionist hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Tavistock^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Colin Mark Patrick	17,310	52.4
	Liberal	John Adam Day	13,592	41.2
	Labour	Richard Davies	2,124	6.4
Majority			3,718	11.2
Turnout				83.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1935: Tavistock^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Colin Mark Patrick	17,475	52.8
	Liberal	John Adam Day	13,422	40.5
	Labour	C H Townsend	2,236	6.7
Majority			4,053	12.3
Turnout				77.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1939/40:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Colin Patrick
• Liberal: Frank Milton
• Labour: J Finnigan

Tavistock by-election, 1942

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Gray Studholme	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1945

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Maj. Henry Gray Studholme	19,730	46.9	-5.8
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Isaac Foot	13,764	32.8	-7.7
	Labour	James Finnigan	8,539	20.3	+13.6
Majority			5,966	14.2
Turnout				75.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Tavistock^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Gray Studholme	18,682	50.3
	Labour	Frank W Harcourt-Munning	10,189	27.4
	Liberal	Col. JD Wyatt MC	8,281	22.3
Majority			8,493	22.9
Turnout				84.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Tavistock^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Gray Studholme	22,683	63.87
	Labour	Frank W Harcourt-Munning	12,833	36.13
Majority			9,850	27.7
Turnout				78.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Tavistock^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Gray Studholme	18,991	54.8
	Labour	Harold Lawrance	8,755	25.2
	Liberal	Richard Gillachrist Moore	6,937	20.0
Majority			10,236	29.5
Turnout			34,683	76.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1959: Tavistock^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Sir Henry Gray Studholme	19,778	53.7
	Liberal	Richard Gillachrist Moore	9,008	24.5
	Labour	Bryan R Weston	8,022	21.8
Majority			10,770	29.3
Turnout			36,808	78.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Tavistock^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Sir Henry Gray Studholme	19,493	47.8
	Liberal	Thomas Greville Jones	14,093	34.5
	Labour	John A Elswood	7,226	17.7
Majority			5,400	13.2
Turnout			40,812
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1966: Tavistock^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine	21,644	49.2
	Liberal	Christopher Trethewey	13,461	30.6
	Labour	Peggy Arline Middleton	8,902	20.2
Majority			8,183	18.6
Turnout			44,007	81.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Tavistock^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine	25 846	57.1
	Liberal	Michael E B Banks	10,397	23.0
	Labour	Harold M Luscombe	8,982	19.9
Majority			15,449	34.2
Turnout			45,225
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/crocker-john
2. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/raymond-thomas-1418
3. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/hadley-peter
4. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
5. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
6. Manaton was initially returned as re-elected in 1710, but on petition he was adjudged not to have been duly elected
7. Cope was re-elected in 1727, but had also been elected for Hampshire, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Tavistock
8. Succeeded as The Viscount Fane (in the Peerage of Ireland), July 1744
9. Leveson-Gower was also elected for Lichfield, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Tavistock
10. Wyndham was also elected for Midhurst, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Tavistock
11. Ebrington was re-elected in 1830, but had also been elected for Devon, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Tavistock
12. Russell was re-elected in 1831, but had also been elected for Devon, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Tavistock
13. Styled Marquess of Tavistock from 1839
14. Carter's re-election in 1853 was declared void and his opponent, Phillimore, was seated in his place.
15. Styled Lord Arthur Russell from 1872
16. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
17. Western Times 13 Mar 1914
18. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
19. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
20. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
21. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
22. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
23. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
24. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
25. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
26. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
• The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969)
• 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)
• Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. p. 1.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)