Penryn and Falmouth (UK Parliament constituency)

Penryn and Falmouth was the name of a constituency in Cornwall, England, UK, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1950. From 1832 to 1918 it was a parliamentary borough, initially returning two Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by the bloc vote system.

Penryn and Falmouth
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
County	Cornwall
Major settlements	Penryn and Falmouth
1918–1950
Seats	One
Created from	Penryn and Falmouth, St Austell and Truro
Replaced by	Truro and Falmouth & Camborne
1832–1918
Seats	1832-1885: Two; 1885-1918: One
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Created from	Cornwall and Penryn
Replaced by	Penryn and Falmouth

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, its representation was reduced to one member, elected by the first past the post system. In 1918 the borough was abolished and the name was transferred to a county constituency electing one MP.

Boundaries

1918–1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Falmouth, Penryn, and Truro, the Urban District of St Austell, the Rural District of St Austell except the civil parishes of St Sampson and Tywardreath, the Rural District of East Kerrier except the civil parishes of Constantine, Mabe, and Perranarworthal, and the Rural District of Truro except the civil parishes of Kea, Kenwyn Rural, Perranzabuloe, St Agnes, St Allen, and Tregavethan.^[1]

History

The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1832 (the "Great Reform Act") as a replacement for the Penryn constituency, which had become a notoriously rotten borough. The new borough consisted of Penryn, Falmouth and parts of Budock and St Gluvias parishes, giving it a mostly urban population of nearly 12,000, of whom 875 were registered to vote at its first election in 1832.

Initially Penryn and Falmouth elected two MPs, but this was reduced to one in 1885. It was one of the smallest constituencies in England for the next thirty years. At this period its voters were politically unpredictable; though generally among the more Conservative Cornish constituencies, they were influenced by personal factors and often swung against the national tide of opinion. Falmouth, which had a stronger non-conformist presence, was the more Liberal part of the constituency in the late 19th century, but was thought to become more Conservative as it developed its economy as a destination seaside resort.

In 1918 the borough was abolished, but the Penryn and Falmouth name was applied to the county constituency in which the two towns were placed. This was a much more extensive constituency, covering the whole of south central Cornwall, including the towns of Truro and St Austell as well a long stretch of coastline. The constituency had a more industrial character (a sixth of the population were engaged in tin mining); the area suffered badly from unemployment in the 1930s, and in 1935 the Labour Party came within 3,031 votes of winning what would have been their first seat in Cornwall.

The constituency was abolished for the 1950 general election, most of its area being moved into the Truro constituency. Penryn and Falmouth were assigned to the new Falmouth and Camborne division.

Members of Parliament

Penryn & Falmouth borough 1832–1885

Election	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
1832		Sir Robert Rolfe	Whig[2][3][4]		Lord Tullamore	Tory[2]
1834						Conservative[2]
1835					James William Freshfield	Conservative[2]
1840		Edward John Hutchins[5]	Whig[2][6][7][8]
1841		John Vivian	Whig[2][9][10][11]		James Hanway Plumridge	Whig[2][11]
1847		Howel Gwyn	Conservative		Francis Mowatt	Radical[12][13]
1852					James William Freshfield	Conservative
1857		Thomas Baring	Whig[14][15]		Samuel Gurney[16]	Ind. Whig
1859			Liberal			Ind. Liberal
1866		Jervoise Smith	Liberal
1868		Robert Fowler	Conservative		Edward Eastwick	Conservative
1874		David James Jenkins	Liberal		Henry Thomas Cole	Liberal
1880					Reginald Brett	Liberal
1885	Representation reduced to one member

Penryn & Falmouth borough 1885–1918

Election		Member	Party
	1885	David James Jenkins	Liberal
	1886	William George Cavendish-Bentinck	Conservative
	1895	Frederick John Horniman	Liberal
	1906	Sir John Barker	Liberal
	1910	Charles Sydney Goldman	Unionist
	1918	Borough abolished; name transferred to county division

Penryn & Falmouth division of Cornwall 1918–1950

Election		Member	Party
	1918	Sir Edward Nicholl	Coalition Conservative
	1922	Capt Denis Shipwright	Conservative
	1923	Sir Courtenay Mansel	Liberal
	1924	George Pilcher[17]	Conservative
	1929	Sir Tudor Walters	Liberal
	1931	Maurice Petherick	Conservative
	1945	Evelyn King	Labour
1950		constituency abolished

Elections

St Austell area election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Penryn and Falmouth^[18][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Y Robert Rolfe	490	36.6
	Tory	Y Charles Bury	428	32.0
	Tory	James William Freshfield	338	25.2
	Tory	Charles Stewart	83	6.2
Turnout			717	81.9
Registered electors			875
Majority			62	4.6
	Whig win (new seat)
Majority			90	6.8
	Tory win (new seat)

General election 1835: Penryn and Falmouth^[18][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Y James William Freshfield	464	36.1	+10.9
	Whig	Y Robert Rolfe	424	33.0	−3.6
	Conservative	Charles Bury	397	30.9	−1.1
Turnout			736	90.8	+8.9
Registered electors			811
Majority			40	3.1	−3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.4
Majority			27	2.1	−2.5
	Whig hold		Swing	−4.3

Rolfe was appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 28 April 1835: Penryn and Falmouth^[18][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Y Robert Rolfe	348	51.6	+18.6
	Conservative	Charles Bury	326	48.4	−18.6
Majority			22	3.2	+1.1
Turnout			674	83.1	−7.7
Registered electors			811
	Whig hold		Swing	+18.6

General election 1837: Penryn and Falmouth^[18][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Y Robert Rolfe	523	39.6	+23.1
	Conservative	Y James William Freshfield	434	32.9	−34.1
	Whig	James Hanway Plumridge	363	27.5	+11.0
Turnout			761	85.7	−5.1
Registered electors			888
Majority			89	6.7	+4.6
	Whig hold		Swing	+20.1
Majority			71	5.4	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−34.1

Elections in the 1840s

Rolfe resigned after being appointed a Judge of the Court of the Exchequer, causing a by-election.

By-election, 23 January 1840: Penryn and Falmouth^[18][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Y Edward John Hutchins	462	66.0	−1.1
	Conservative	William Carne	238	34.0	+1.1
Majority			224	32.0	+25.3
Turnout			700	79.1	−6.6
Registered electors			885
	Whig hold		Swing	−1.1

General election 1841: Penryn and Falmouth^[18][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Y John Vivian	462	30.5	−9.1
	Whig	Y James Hanway Plumridge	432	28.5	+1.0
	Conservative	Howel Gwyn	381	25.1	+8.7
	Conservative	Edward John Sartoris	240	15.8	−0.7
Majority			51	3.4	−3.3
Turnout			768	86.9	+1.2
Registered electors			884
	Whig hold		Swing	−6.6
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	−1.5

General election 1847: Penryn and Falmouth^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Y Howel Gwyn	548	54.2	+29.1
	Radical	Y Francis Mowatt	377	37.3	−21.7
	Conservative	Peter Borthwick[19]	87	8.6	−7.2
Turnout			506 (est)	58.6 (est)	−28.3
Registered electors			884
Majority			171	16.9	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+20.0
Majority			290	28.7	N/A
	Radical gain from Whig		Swing	−21.8

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Penryn and Falmouth^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Y Howel Gwyn	464	37.5	−16.7
	Conservative	Y James William Freshfield	435	35.1	+26.5
	Whig	Thomas Baring	339	27.4	−9.9
Majority			96	7.7	−9.2
Turnout			789 (est)	87.0 (est)	+28.4
Registered electors			906
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.9
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	+15.7

General election 1857: Penryn and Falmouth^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Y Thomas Baring	Unopposed
	Independent Whig	Y Samuel Gurney	Unopposed
Registered electors			856
	Whig gain from Conservative
	Ind. Whig gain from Conservative

Baring was appointed a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 27 May 1857: Penryn and Falmouth^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Y Thomas Baring	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1859: Penryn and Falmouth^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Y Thomas Baring	389	30.2	N/A
	Independent Liberal	Y Samuel Gurney	373	29.0	N/A
	Conservative	Howel Gwyn	324	25.2	New
	Conservative	John Fitzgerald Leslie Foster[20]	200	15.6	New
Turnout			643 (est)	77.4 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			856
Majority			16	1.2	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			49	3.8	N/A
	Independent Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Penryn and Falmouth^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Y Thomas Baring	Unopposed
	Independent Liberal	Y Samuel Gurney	Unopposed
Registered electors			837
	Liberal hold
	Independent Liberal hold

Baring succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Northbrook and causing a by-election.

By-election, 15 October 1866: Penryn and Falmouth^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Y Jervoise Smith	376	54.6	N/A
	Conservative	Robert Fowler	313	45.4	New
Majority			63	9.2	N/A
Turnout			689	82.3	N/A
Registered electors			837
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: Penryn and Falmouth (2 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Y Robert Fowler	732	27.9	N/A
	Conservative	Y Edward Eastwick	683	26.0	N/A
	Liberal	Jervoise Smith	611	23.3	N/A
	Liberal	Kirkman Hodgson[21]	597	22.8	N/A
Majority			72	2.7	N/A
Turnout			1,312 (est)	72.5 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			1,808
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
	Conservative gain from Independent Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Penryn and Falmouth (2 seats)^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Y David James Jenkins	851	28.1	+4.8
	Liberal	Y Henry Thomas Cole	784	25.9	+3.1
	Conservative	Robert Fowler	743	24.6	−3.7
	Conservative	Edward Eastwick	646	21.4	−4.6
Majority			41	1.3	N/A
Turnout			1,512	81.3	−8.8
Registered electors			1,860
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Penryn and Falmouth (2 seats)^[22][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Y David James Jenkins	1,176	30.2	+2.1
	Liberal	Y Reginald Brett	1,071	27.5	+1.6
	Conservative	Julius Vogel	882	22.7	−1.9
	Conservative	John D. Mayne	765	19.6	−1.8
Majority			189	4.8	+3.5
Turnout			1,947 (est)	88.4 (est)	+7.1
Registered electors			2,202
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.7

General election 1885: Penryn and Falmouth^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David James Jenkins	1,170	52.3	−5.4
	Conservative	William Cavendish-Bentinck	1,069	47.7	+5.4
Majority			101	4.6	−0.2
Turnout			2,239	87.4	−1.0 (est)
Registered electors			2,562
	Liberal hold		Swing	−5.4

General election 1886: Penryn and Falmouth^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Cavendish-Bentinck	1,089	52.2	+4.5
	Liberal	David James Jenkins	998	47.8	−4.5
Majority			91	4.4	N/A
Turnout			2,087	81.5	−5.9
Registered electors			2,562
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.5

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Penryn and Falmouth^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Cavendish-Bentinck	1,218	58.1	+5.9
	Liberal	Arthur Serena	880	41.9	−5.9
Majority			338	16.2	+11.8
Turnout			2,098	81.3	−0.2
Registered electors			2,580
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.9

F.J.Horniman

General election 1895: Penryn and Falmouth^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick John Horniman	1,150	51.1	+9.2
	Conservative	William Cavendish-Bentinck	1,101	48.9	−9.2
Majority			49	2.2	N/A
Turnout			2,251	86.0	+4.7
Registered electors			2,616
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.2

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Penryn and Falmouth^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick John Horniman	1,184	50.4	−0.7
	Conservative	Nathaniel Louis Cohen	1,164	49.6	+0.7
Majority			20	0.8	−1.4
Turnout			2,348	85.2	−0.8
Registered electors			2,756
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.7

John Barker

General election 1906: Penryn and Falmouth^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Barker	1,345	51.9	+1.5
	Conservative	D B Hall	1,248	48.1	−1.5
Majority			97	3.8	+3.0
Turnout			2,593	88.6	+3.4
Registered electors			2,926
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.5

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Penryn and Falmouth^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Sydney Goldman	1,593	53.0	+4.9
	Liberal	John Barker	1,412	47.0	−4.9
Majority			181	6.0	N/A
Turnout			3,005	93.5	+4.9
Registered electors			3,215
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.9

General election December 1910: Penryn and Falmouth^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Sydney Goldman	1,585	55.1	+2.1
	Liberal	Walter Burt	1,291	44.9	−2.1
Majority			294	10.2	+4.2
Turnout			2,876	89.5	−4.0
Registered electors			3,215
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.1

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: Charles Sydney Goldman
• Liberal:

General election 1918: Penryn and Falmouth,^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Edward Nicholl	10,050	50.6	−4.5
	Liberal	Arthur Carkeek (businessman)	9,815	49.4	+4.5
Majority			235	1.2	−9.0
Turnout			19,865	56.6	−32.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	−4.5
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Penryn and Falmouth^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Denis Shipwright	11,566	42.7	−7.9
	Liberal	Courtenay Mansel	8,879	32.8	−16.6
	Labour	Joseph Harris	4,482	16.6	New
	National Liberal	George Hay Morgan	2,129	7.9	New
Majority			2,687	9.9	+8.7
Turnout			27,056	72.5	+15.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	+4.3

General election 1923: Penryn and Falmouth^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Courtenay Mansel	17,015	62.0	+23.2
	Unionist	Denis Shipwright	10,429	38.0	−4.7
Majority			6,586	24.0	N/A
Turnout			27,444	73.0	+0.5
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+17.0

General election 1924: Penryn and Falmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Pilcher	12,485	43.3	+5.3
	Liberal	Courtenay Mansel	9,913	34.3	−27.7
	Labour	Frederick Jesse Hopkins	6,462	22.4	New
Majority			2,572	9.0	N/A
Turnout			22,398	74.7	+1.7
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+16.5

General election 1929: Penryn and Falmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Tudor Walters	14,274	37.0	+2.7
	Unionist	Maurice Petherick	13,136	34.1	−9.2
	Labour	Frederick Jesse Hopkins	11,166	28.9	+6.5
Majority			1,138	2.9	N/A
Turnout			38,576	78.4	+3.7
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+6.0

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Penryn and Falmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maurice Petherick	16,388	40.5	+6.4
	Liberal	Ernest Simon	14,006	34.6	−2.4
	Labour	A.L.Rowse	10,098	24.9	−4.0
Majority			2,382	5.9	N/A
Turnout			40,492	79.8	+1.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.4

General election 1935: Penryn and Falmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maurice Petherick	16,136	39.6	−0.9
	Labour	A.L.Rowse	13,105	32.1	+7.2
	Liberal	Ronald Wilberforce Allen	11,527	28.3	−6.3
Majority			3,031	7.5	+1.6
Turnout			40,778	77.6	−2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.0

A General election was due to take place before the end of 1940, but was postponed due to the Second World War. By 1939, the following candidates had been selected to contest this constituency;

• Conservative: Maurice Petherick
• Labour: A.L.Rowse

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Penryn and Falmouth ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Evelyn King	17,962	43.8	+11.7
	Conservative	Maurice Petherick	15,169	36.9	−2.7
	Liberal	Percy Harris	7,917	19.3	−9.0
Majority			2,793	6.9	N/A
Turnout			41,048	73.0	−4.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing