Commons 1715-1754

The chief interest in Leicestershire was in the country gentlemen, most of whom were Tory.Stuart mss 65/16. The heads of the Whigs were the Duke of Rutland, Lord Sherard, later Earl of Harborough, and the Earl of Stamford. In 1715 the sitting Members, two Tory country gentlemen, Sir Thomas Cave and Sir Geoffrey Palmer, were opposed by a Whig, Thomas Bird, who was said to be

supplied with money from above, for to be sure he has it not of his own, his interest is the Duke of Rutland’s and Lord Sherard’s so they must support him.

The chief interests at Wigan in 1715 were in Sir Roger Bradshaigh, Member for the borough since 1695, whose estate was one mile away, and in Lord Barrymore, who had inherited the interest of his father-in-law, Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers, M.P. Wigan 1681, and bought that of George Kenyon, M.P. Wigan 1713-15, for £300.Note in Bradshaigh’s hand on copy of letter from Geo. Kenyon to mayor of Wigan, 11 Dec. 1714, Rylands, Crawford mss. Elections depended on the mayor, who not only was the returning officer but could create new freemen ex officio.

Preston elections were dominated by the neighbouring country gentlemen, most of whom were Tories, if not Jacobites. The mainstay of the Whigs was the Hoghton family, the patrons of the strong local nonconformist community. The earls of Derby were influential, particularly after 1736, when Sir Edward Stanley, who had inherited a considerable estate in Preston itself, succeeded to the title.

Newton, a proprietary borough, was under the absolute control of the Leghs of Lyme who held the barony and nominated the returning officers.Oldfield, Boroughs (1794), i. 348-9. In 1715 the proprietor was Peter Legh, a non-juror,VCH Lancs. i. 375. who returned Tory friends and members of his family till his death in 1744, when it passed to his nephew and heir, Peter Legh.

The most important factor in Liverpool elections was the corporation, consisting of a mayor, two bailiffs, elected annually by the freemen, who also constituted the parliamentary electorate, and a predominantly Whig council of 41 members, a close body, which had gradually superseded a common hall, consisting of all the freemen.

In the first half of the eighteenth century Lancaster was still a port of some importance, though in course of being eclipsed by Liverpool. There was a large nonconformist element. The borough returned Whigs, usually either neighbouring country gentlemen or merchants with local connexions. There were no contests until 1727, when the notorious Colonel Charteris, having acquired an estate near Lancaster,

In 1715 Thomas Lister, a Tory, whose family had represented Clitheroe since the early seventeenth century, headed the poll, two other Tories, Thomas Parker, whose cousin, Christopher Parker, had represented Clitheroe 1708-13, and Edward Harvey, who had been put up by his kinsman, Ralph, 2nd Duke of Montagu, lord of the honour of Clitheroe, tying for the second seat. Harvey was declared elected by the House of Commons after Parker had refused to contest the return before the elections committee.CJ, xviii.

The representation of Lancashire was usually shared without a contest by the Earls of Derby, with the local gentry each choosing one Member. Apparently owing to the 10th Earl’s reluctance to intervene in county elections this practice was interrupted in 1713 and 1715 when two Jacobites, Sir John Bland and Richard Shuttleworth, were returned unopposed.

Owing to the proximity of Chatham dockyard the Admiralty was the largest employer at Rochester, usually nominating both Members, one of whom was always an admiral. Opposition took the form of demanding that the town should be represented by two admirals. In 1734 Admiral Sir John Norris was put up unsuccessfully without his consent against Newcastle’s brother-in-law, David Polhill, who wrote to Walpole, 5 Sept. 1733:

The chief interest at Queenborough was that of the Admiralty, on whom the inhabitants depended for employment. Elections were managed by the corporation through their power of creating new freemen. Under George I all the Members returned were government supporters, but it was not till the next reign that the Administration gained complete control of the borough.