For the 32 Parliaments assembled during the period 1386-1421, returns for Wiltshire are missing for only three, and the names are known of 35 Members. Of these, as many as 20 represented the county just once, no fewer than 12 of them only ever being elected to Parliament that one time. But although these figures might suggest that the Wiltshire electors set little store by parliamentary experience, other factors point to the opposite conclusion.
Returns for Westmorland survive for 28 of the 32 Parliaments which met during our period. No fewer than 35 shire knights represented the county between 1386 and 1421, an unusually large number which illustrates clearly enough how hard it could be to find suitable candidates ready to undertake the long journey from Westmorland to London. The problems of travel (especially in winter) made some of the local gentry reluctant to seek election unless they had strong personal reasons for so doing.
Returns for Warwickshire have survived for 27 of the 32 Parliaments of the period, but any attempt to analyse the county’s representation has to take into account the long gap of four consecutive Parliaments between 1415 and 1417, which seriously restricts our knowledge of the MPs of Henry V’s reign. Given this difficulty, only tentative conclusions may be reached about such matters as parliamentary experience in the later part of our period.
Returns for Sussex are missing for the last three Parliaments of Henry IV’s reign and for that of October 1416. To the remaining 28 Parliaments the county elected 30 different individuals. A dozen are known to have represented the shire in just one Parliament, and eight more in only two; but the more sustained service of the remainder brings the average number of Parliaments up to three per Member. Outstanding in this respect were (Sir) John Pelham with at least eight appearances to his credit, Sir Edward Dallingridge with ten, and Sir William Percy with 12.
The parliamentary representation of Surrey is comparatively well documented for our period, since 28 of the returns to the 32 Parliaments held between 1386 and December 1421 have survived. It is not known who sat for the county in the Commons of 1410, 1411, February 1413 and October 1416, so we cannot be entirely certain about the experience of the 26 Members whose names are recorded.
Returns for Suffolk have survived for 28 of the 32 Parliaments of the period, leaving gaps for those of 1413 (Feb.) and the three consecutive Parliaments of 1415, 1416 (Mar.) and 1416 (Oct.). The names of 24 knights of the shire are known. Apparently, over a third (nine) were elected for the county just once; but 12 sat three or more times each, and Sir William Wingfield was returned on ten occasions and Sir Richard Waldegrave on as many as 12.
Returns for Staffordshire have survived for all but five of the 32 Parliaments summoned between 1386 and 1421, the others having been lost. We know the names of 24 of the men who represented the county during this period. Even allowing for the limitations of the evidence, it is clear that the electors of Staffordshire had a marked preference for candidates with experience of the Commons, and on six occasions, if not more, they chose MPs who, although new to the county, had previously been returned elsewhere.
Of the 32 Parliaments convened during the period 1386 to 1421 returns for Somerset are missing for five, and the names of the knights of the shire in the Commons of 1415 and 1416 (Mar.), have been supplied solely on the authority of Collinson, the county’s historian. Assuming that these particular names are correct, 25 individuals are known to have sat for Somerset in this period.
There are gaps in the returns for Shropshire for the Parliaments of 1413 (Feb.), 1416 (Mar.) and 1416 (Oct.). One has been filled by Prynne, so the names of 29 knights of the shire are known for 30 of the 32 Parliaments of the period. To 26 of these Parliaments the shire returned men with some previous parliamentary experience; indeed, in 12 of them neither Member was a newcomer to the Commons. It was then quite rare for two novices to be elected together, but this almost certainly happened for both the Parliaments of 1397 and apparently occurred again in May 1413 and 1417.
Returns for Rutland have survived for 27 of the 32 Parliaments here under review, but although no indentures are now available for the rest we know that in both 1416 (Oct.) and 1417 Roger Flore was made Speaker of the Commons while sitting as a Member for the county. At least 27 shire knights were elected during our period, the majority of whom appear to have become fairly experienced.
