Political interests at Marlow in 1690 were at a transitional stage. The manor had changed hands in 1686 and was about to do so again and there had been two by-elections during 1689 owing to the deaths of sitting Members. In 1690 James Chase was secure, with the contest for the other seat being between Sir William Whitelocke and Ralph Bucknall*, a wealthy London brewer. Two indentures were sent up to Westminster which the Commons took into consideration on 22 Mar.
The franchise at Chipping Wycombe was controlled by the corporation through the admission of freemen. The predominant interest was that of Hon. Thomas Wharton* (Lord Wharton after 1696), the great Whig electoral manager, who was high steward for most of the period. Of the two manors in the borough, the corporation held one and the other belonged to the Archdales and later to Lord Shelburne (Henry Petty†). The borough was also noteworthy for its large Dissenting presence, which could usually be relied upon to support the Whig nominees of Wharton.
Aylesbury went to the polls at every general election in the period 1690–1715 except for the first, and even then a contested by-election occurred within 14 months. If Aylesbury was to attain a certain notoriety in Anne’s reign as a result of the Ashby v. White case, this was only the most obvious manifestation of party conflict.
Amersham displayed no political independence from the neighbouring gentry, the leading interests at the beginning of the period all owning land nearby. A poll from 1689 indicated 143 voters in a three-way contest between William Cheyne, son of Lord Newhaven (Charles Cheyne*), of Chesham Bois, Sir William Drake of Shardeloes, lord of the manor, and Edmund Waller of Beaconsfield, who presumably benefited from the large Dissenting presence in the borough. Drake and Waller emerged victorious.
Wallingford’s importance as a settlement lay in its position adjacent to a ford across the Thames. Although the castle built to take advantage of this situation had been demolished in 1652, the site (together with the honor and manor of Ewelme) commanded a rental of £1,450 in 1700. The lessees of the castle were thus men of substance and two of them, Thomas Renda and William Hucks*, were parliamentary candidates in this period.
The right to vote in parliamentary elections at Reading had been settled by a decision of the Commons on 25 Mar. 1659 which invested the franchise in the mayor, aldermen and ‘commonalty’ of the borough, rather than in the freemen alone. In practice this ruling probably gave the vote to all male householders, making Reading one of the most open boroughs in the country with well over a thousand voters.
Contemporary visitors to Windsor, such as Celia Fiennes and Defoe, concentrated almost exclusively on the castle. Physically impressive, its legal jurisdiction encompassed the surrounding countryside (the borough only excepted), and the monarch was often in residence, Queen Anne more so than William. The influence which the crown could exert on the borough through its ministers, courtiers or officials, is difficult to determine. However, convention demanded a deferential demeanour at least from the corporation and would-be Parliament-men.
Our view of Abingdon’s political history is partially obscured by the absence of a clearly defined parliamentary franchise. On 23 May 1660 the Commons ruled between two rival interpretations, deciding that the franchise was vested in the inhabitants of the borough not receiving alms, rather than in the corporation alone. Although the House did not define the term ‘inhabitant’, it seems likely from later disputes that householders were meant, as the questions at issue revolved around the payment of scot and lot, residency and ownership.
The ‘large, populous and thriving’ town of Bedford was encompassed by numerous landed interests, though not entirely dominated by them. ‘There is pretty many gentry about the country near neighbours’, reported Celia Fiennes, ‘and many live in the town.’ The bowling green by the River Ouse was ‘well kept with seats and summer-houses in it for the use of the town and country gentlemen, of which many resort to it’.
There were three electoral interests in this constituency: the corporation of New Radnor, which controlled the election of its own freemen; the steward of the King’s manors, who controlled the creation of freemen (both resident and non-resident) in Knighton, Rhayader, and Knucklas; and the Price family, who had considerable interest in Knighton and Kevenlleece. The sitting Member at the dissolution in 1754 was Thomas Lewis, who had represented the constituency since 1715 and whose brother was steward of the King’s manors, and he was again returned unopposed at the general election.
