Aldeburgh (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Aldborough (UK Parliament constituency).

Aldeburgh in Suffolk, was a parliamentary borough represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessor bodies.

Aldeburgh
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	Suffolk
Borough	Aldeburgh
1571–1832
Seats	2
Replaced by	East Suffolk

History

The town was enfranchised in 1571^[1] as a borough constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England and continued in the Parliaments of Great Britain and the United Kingdom until it was abolished in 1832 as a rotten borough.^[2]

It was represented by two burgesses. The right to vote was vested in the town's freemen, although the electoral roll was controlled by the Corporation of Aldeburgh which consisted of two bailiffs (the returning officers), 12 aldermen, and 24 common councilmen.^[3] Originally it had been strongly influenced by the Howard family and although the family lost some power due to their Catholicism the Arundel family were still nominating MPs in the seventeenth century.^[4] It gradually fell under the control of the Tory Henry Johnson who with his brother represented it for 30 years from 1689^[5] although Whig political influence was growing and after unsuccessful challenges in 1708 and 1713 the borough was captured after the brothers' death by the Whigs at a reputed cost of £9,000.^[6] By the mid-18th century it had been "stolen" from being a Government influenced seat by a City of London merchant, Thomas Fonnereau:^[7] and later came under the control of his cousin Philip Champion Crespigny who sold it for £39,000 and eventually it devolved to the control of the Marquess of Hertford.^[8]

It was described as "a venal little borough in Suffolk".^[9]

Boundaries

The constituency comprised the parliamentary borough of Aldeburgh, in the county of Suffolk in Eastern England.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1571–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1571	Roger Woodhouse	Robert Higford[1]
1572	Francis Beaumont	Charles Seckford[1]
1584	Peter Osborne	John Foxe[1]
1586	Peter Osborne	Edmond Bell[1]
1588	Edward Coke	William Bence[1]
1593	Thomas Knyvet	William Bence[1]
1597	Francis Harvey	Francis Johnson[1]
1601	Martin Stutteville	Francis Corbet[1]
1604–1611	Sir William Woodhouse	Thomas Ryvett
1614	Sir William Woodhouse	Sir Henry Glemham
1621–1622	Sir Henry Glemham	Charles Glemham
1624	Nicholas Ryvett	John Bence
1625	Sir Thomas Glemham	Charles Glemham
1626	Sir Thomas Glemham	William Mason
1628	Sir Simon Steward	Marmaduke Rawden
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1832

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640		William Rainsborough	Parliamentarian		Squire Bence	Parliamentarian
November 1640		William Rainsborough	Parliamentarian		Alexander Bence	Parliamentarian
1642		Squire Bence	Parliamentarian
November 1648	Squire Bence died, November 1648 - seat vacant
December 1648				Alexander Bence excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653	Aldeburgh was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		Laurence Oxburgh			John Bence
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Sir Robert Brooke			Thomas Bacon
1661					Sir John Holland, Bt
1669		John Bence
February 1679		Sir Richard Haddock			Henry Johnson
August 1679		John Bence			John Corrance
1685					Sir Henry Bedingfield	Tory
1689		Sir Henry Johnson	Tory		William Johnson	Tory
1718 by-election					Samuel Lowe	Whig
1719 by-election		Walter Plumer
1727		William Windham
1730 by-election		Sir John Williams	Tory
1732 by-election					Captain George Purvis	Whig
1734		William Conolly	Whig
March 1741 by-election					Francis Gashry	Whig
May 1741					Richard Plumer
1747		William Windham			Zachary Philip Fonnereau
1761		Philip Fonnereau
1768		Nicholas Linwood
1773 by-election		Thomas Fonnereau
1774					Richard Combe
1779 by-election		Martyn Fonnereau
1780					Philip Champion Crespigny	Whig
1784		Samuel Salt	Whig
1790		Lord Grey of Groby	Whig		Thomas Grenville	Whig
1796		Sir John Aubrey, Bt	Whig		Michael Angelo Taylor	Whig
1800 by-election					George Johnstone
1802					John McMahon	Tory
April 1812 by-election					Sandford Graham
October 1812		The Lord Dufferin & Claneboye	Tory		Andrew Strahan	Tory
1818		Samuel Walker	Tory		Joshua Walker	Tory[10]
1820		James Blair	Tory
1826		John Wilson Croker	Tory[11]
1827 by-election		Wyndham Lewis	Tory[12]
February 1829 by-election		Marquess of Douro	Tory[13]
May 1829 by-election					Spencer Horsey Kilderbee	Tory[14]
1830					John Wilson Croker	Tory[11]
1832	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1831: Aldeburgh^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Arthur Wellesley	Unopposed
	Tory	John Wilson Croker	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 65
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

General election 1830: Aldeburgh^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Arthur Wellesley	Unopposed
	Tory	John Wilson Croker	Unopposed
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

See also

• List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
• Unreformed House of Commons