Ashburton (UK Parliament constituency)

Ashburton (also known as Mid Devon) was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament at Westminster, for the Parliaments of 1295 and 1407,^[1][2] and regularly from 1640 until it was abolished for the 1868 general election. It was one of three Devon borough constituencies newly enfranchised (or re-enfranchised after a gap of centuries) in the Long Parliament. It returned two Members of Parliament until the 1832 general election when the number was reduced to one MP.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

Ashburton
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
County	Devon
Major settlements	Ashburton
1885–1918
Seats	One
Created from	East Devon
Replaced by	Parts of Totnes, South Molton and Tiverton
1640–1868
Seats	Two (1640–1832); One (1832–1868)
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	East Devon

From the 1885 general election Ashburton was revived as a county division of Devon. It returned one member until it was abolished from the 1918 general election.

Boundaries

1885-1918

The Sessional Divisions of Crockernwell and Teignbridge.^[10]

Members of Parliament

Ashburton borough 1398–1868

• 1407 Richard Hurston, Walter Denys^[2]

Ashburton re-enfranchised by Parliament in Nov 1640

MPs 1640–1832

Election		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
November 1640		Sir John Northcote	Parliamentarian		Sir Edmund Fowell	Parliamentarian
December 1648	Northcote and Fowell excluded in Pride's Purge – both seats vacant
1653	Ashburton was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		Thomas Reynell			John Fowell
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Sir William Courtenay			John Fowell[11]
1661		Sir George Sondes
1677		William Stawell			Rawlin Mallock
February 1679					Thomas Reynell
September 1679		Richard Duke of Otterton
1681		William Stawell
1685					Edward Yarde
1689		Sir Walter Yonge			Thomas Reynell
1690		William Stawell			Sir Richard Reynell
1695					Richard Duke of Otterton
1701					Sir Thomas Lear
1702		Richard Reynell
1705					Gilbert Yarde
January 1708					Roger Tuckfield	Whig
May 1708		Robert Balle
1710[12]		Richard Lloyd
March 1711		Richard Reynell			George Courtenay[13]
March 1711					Andrew Quick
1713					Roger Tuckfield	Whig
1734		Sir William Yonge[14]	Whig
1735		Thomas Bladen
1739					Joseph Taylor
1741		John Harris			John Arscott
1754					The Viscount Midleton
1761					Hon. Thomas Walpole
1767		Robert Palk	Tory[15]
1768		Laurence Sulivan	Tory[15]		Charles Boone	Tory[15]
1774		Robert Palk[16]	Tory[15]
1784					Robert Mackreth[17]	Tory[15]
1787		Lawrence Palk[18]	Tory[15]
1796		Walter Palk	Tory[15]
1802					Sir Hugh Inglis	Tory[15]
1806					Hon. Gilbert Elliot	Tory[15]
1807					Lord Charles Bentinck	Tory[15]
1811		John Sullivan	Tory[15]
1812					Richard Preston	Tory[15]
1818		Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk	Tory[15]		Sir John Copley	Tory[15]
1826					William Sturges Bourne	Tory[15]
1830					Charles Arbuthnot	Tory[15]
February 1831					William Stephen Poyntz	Whig[15][19]
May 1831		Robert Torrens	Whig[15][20]
1832	Representation reduced to one Member

MPs 1832–1868

Election		Member	Party
1832		William Stephen Poyntz	Whig[15][19]
1835		Charles Lushington	Whig[15][21][22]
1841		William Jardine	Whig[15][23][24]
1843 by-election		James Matheson[25]	Whig[15][26][27]
1847		Thomas Matheson	Whig[28]
1852		George Moffatt	Radical[29][30]
1859		John Harvey Astell	Conservative
1865		Robert Jardine	Liberal
1868	Constituency abolished

Mid or Ashburton division of Devon 1885–1918

Election		Member	Party
1885		Charles Seale-Hayne	Liberal
1904 by-election		Harry Eve	Liberal
1908 by-election		Ernest Morrison-Bell	Liberal Unionist
January 1910		Charles Buxton	Liberal
December 1910		Ernest Morrison-Bell	Conservative
1918	Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Ashburton^[31][15][32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Lawrence Vaughan Palk	Unopposed
	Tory	Charles Arbuthnot	Unopposed
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

Arbuthnot resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 25 February 1831: Ashburton^[31][15][32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Stephen Poyntz	Unopposed
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1831: Ashburton^[31][15][32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Stephen Poyntz	74	45.7	N/A
	Whig	Robert Torrens	47	29.0	N/A
	Tory	Lawrence Vaughan Palk	41	25.3	N/A
Majority			6	3.7	N/A
Turnout			81 (est)	80.2 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			101
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

General election 1832: Ashburton^[31][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Stephen Poyntz	Unopposed
Registered electors			198
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Ashburton^[31][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Charles Lushington	89	55.6	N/A
	Conservative	John Horsley Palmer[33]	71	44.4	New
Majority			18	11.2	N/A
Turnout			160	84.2	N/A
Registered electors			190
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1837: Ashburton^[31][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Charles Lushington	98	53.0	−2.6
	Conservative	William John Utten Browne[34]	87	47.0	+2.6
Majority			11	6.0	−5.2
Turnout			185	81.9	−2.3
Registered electors			226
	Whig hold		Swing	−2.6

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Ashburton^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Jardine	Unopposed
Registered electors			280
	Whig hold

Jardine's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 8 March 1843: Ashburton^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Matheson	141	59.5	N/A
	Conservative	John Horsley Palmer[35]	96	40.5	New
Majority			45	19.0	N/A
Turnout			237	87.8	N/A
Registered electors			270
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1847: Ashburton^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			262
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Ashburton^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	George Moffatt	Unopposed
Registered electors			236
	Radical gain from Whig

General election 1857: Ashburton^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	George Moffatt	Unopposed
Registered electors			182
	Radical hold

General election 1859: Ashburton^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Harvey Astell	91	50.3	New
	Liberal	George Moffatt	90	49.7	N/A
Majority			1	0.6	N/A
Turnout			181	92.3	N/A
Registered electors			196
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Ashburton^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Jardine	Unopposed
Registered electors			350
	Liberal gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1880s

Seale-Hayne

General election 1885: Ashburton^[36][37][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	4,433	58.2	N/A
	Conservative	William James Harris	3,182	41.8	New
Majority			1,251	16.4	N/A
Turnout			7,615	81.9	N/A
Registered electors			9,300
	Liberal win (new seat)

Martin

General election 1886: Ashburton^[36][37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	3,413	53.2	−5.0
	Liberal Unionist	Richard Martin	3,007	46.8	+5.0
Majority			406	6.4	−10.0
Turnout			6,420	69.0	−12.9
Registered electors			9,300
	Liberal hold		Swing	-5.0

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Ashburton^[36][37][38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	4,361	54.4	+1.2
	Conservative	Charles Robert Collins	3,650	45.6	−1.2
Majority			711	8.8	+2.4
Turnout			8,011	85.3	+16.3
Registered electors			9,392
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.2

General election 1895: Ashburton^[36][37][39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	4,380	52.4	−2.0
	Conservative	John A Nix	3,976	47.6	+2.0
Majority			4,004	4.8	−4.0
Turnout			8,356	85.9	+0.6
Registered electors			9,726
	Liberal hold		Swing	-2.0

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Ashburton^[36][37][39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seale-Hayne	4,487	54.7	+2.3
	Conservative	John A Nix	3,716	45.3	−2.3
Majority			771	9.4	+4.6
Turnout			8,203	83.9	−2.0
Registered electors			9,777
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.3

Eve

1904 Ashburton by-election^[36][37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Harry Eve	5,034	58.6	+3.9
	Conservative	Richard Harrison	3,558	41.4	−3.9
Majority			1,476	17.2	+7.8
Turnout			8,592	85.1	+1.2
Registered electors			10,097
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.9

General election 1906: Ashburton^[36][37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Harry Eve	5,079	57.3	+2.6
	Conservative	Ernest Morrison-Bell	3,790	42.7	−2.6
Majority			1,289	14.6	+5.2
Turnout			8,869	85.0	+1.1
Registered electors			10,429
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.6

1908 Ashburton by-election^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ernest Morrison-Bell	5,191	52.8	+10.1
	Liberal	Charles Buxton	4,632	47.2	−10.1
Majority			559	5.6	N/A
Turnout			9,823	89.5	+4.5
Registered electors			10,976
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+10.1

Elections in the 1910s

Buxton

General election January 1910: Ashburton^[36][40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Buxton	5,668	51.1	+3.9
	Conservative	Ernest Morrison-Bell	5,421	48.9	−3.9
Majority			247	2.2	−3.4
Turnout			11,089	92.6	+3.1
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.9

General election December 1910: Ashburton^[36][40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ernest Morrison-Bell	5,579	51.6	+2.7
	Liberal	Charles Buxton	5,225	48.4	−2.7
Majority			354	3.2	N/A
Turnout			10,804	90.2	−2.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.7

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Ernest Morrison-Bell
• Liberal: