Petersfield (UK Parliament constituency)

Petersfield was an English Parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Petersfield in Hampshire. It existed for several hundred years until its abolition for the 1983 general election.

Petersfield
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Petersfield in Hampshire, showing boundaries used from 1974–1983
1547–1983
Seats	1547–1832: two 1832–1983: one
Created from	Hampshire
Replaced by	East Hampshire, Winchester and Fareham[1]

Until 1832, it returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Thereafter, its representation was reduced to one member until its abolition in 1983.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Alton, Droxford, and Petersfield, and part of the Sessional Division of Winchester.

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Alton and Petersfield, and the Rural Districts of Alresford, Alton, Catherington, Droxford, and Petersfield.

1950–1955: The Urban Districts of Alton and Petersfield, the Rural Districts of Alton, Droxford, and Petersfield, and in the Rural District of Winchester the parishes of Botley, Burlesdon, Hamble, Hedge End, Hound, and West End.

1955–1983: The Urban Districts of Alton and Petersfield, and the Rural Districts of Alton, Droxford, and Petersfield.

Members of Parliament

MPs for Petersfield borough (1547–1885)

MPs 1547–1660

Parliament	First member	Second member
1547	George Tadlowe	Lawrence Elveden alias Cattaneo[2]
1553 (Mar)	Sir Anthony Browne	John Vaughan[2]
1553 (Oct)	Sir Anthony Browne	George Rithe[2]
1554 (Apr)	John Vaughan	Henry Weston[2]
1554 (Nov)	John Vaughan	Henry Weston[2]
1555	Christopher Rithe	Henry Weston[2]
1558	Henry Weston	Christopher Rithe[2]
1559	Sir Henry Weston	George Rithe[3]
1563	Sir Henry Weston	Tomas Dering[3]
1571	John Cowper	Robert Rithe[3]
1572	Richard Norton	Ralph Bourchier, sat for Newcastle-under-Lyme and repl. Apr 1572 by Thomas Chatterton[3]
1584	Sir Henry Weston	Edmund Marvyn[3]
1586	Edward Radclyffe	Edmund Marvyn[3]
1588	Benjamin Tichborne	Edmund Marvyn[3]
1593	Sir Walter Covert	Richard Weston (MP for Petersfield)[3]
1597	William Kingswell	Thomas Hanbury[3]
1601	William Kingswell	John Swynnerton[3]
1604	Sir William Hervey	Sir William Kingswell
1614	Sir Walter Tichborne	Walter Savage
1621-1622	Richard Norton	John Hippisley
1624	Sir John Jephson	Sir John Hippisley
1625	Sir John Jephson	William Uvedale
1626	Benjamin Tichborne	William Uvedale
1628-1629	Benjamin Tichborne	William Uvedale
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
1640 (Apr)	William Uvedale	Sir William Lewis
1640 (Nov)	William Uvedale, disabled	Sir William Lewis
1645	Sir William Lewis,excluded 1648	William Uvedale
1653	Petersfield not represented in Barebones Parliament
1654	Petersfield not represented in 1st Protectorate Parliament
1656	Petersfield not represented in 2nd Protectorate Parliament
1659	Josias Child	Sir Henry Norton

MPs 1660–1832

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1660		Thomas Cole[4]			Arthur Bold
1661		Sir Humphrey Bennet
1668		Thomas Neale
1677					Leonard Bilson
1679		Sir John Norton, Bt
1685					Thomas Bilson
1689		Robert Michell
1690					Richard Holt
1698					Peter Bettesworth
January 1701		Ralph Bucknall			Richard Markes
November 1701		Robert Michell
1704					Leonard Bilson
1705		Norton Powlett	Whig
1715					Samuel Pargiter-Fuller
1722					Edmund Miller
January 1727					Joseph Taylor[5]	Tory
May 1727					Edmund Miller
August 1727					Joseph Taylor	Tory
1734		Sir William Jolliffe			Edward Gibbon
1741		John Jolliffe			Francis Fane
1747					William Conolly	Whig
February 1754					William Gerard Hamilton
April 1754		William Beckford[6]
December 1754		Sir John Philipps, Bt
1761		John Jolliffe			Richard Pennant
1767					Richard Croftes
1768		William Jolliffe			Welbore Ellis
1774					Sir Abraham Hume
1780			Tory[7]		Thomas Samuel Jolliffe	Tory[7]
1787					The Viscount Downe
June 1790					Hon. George North	Whig[7]
December 1790					Marquess of Titchfield
1791					Welbore Ellis
1795					Hon. Charles Greville
1796					Hylton Jolliffe
1797					Sir John Sinclair, Bt
March 1802		Hylton Jolliffe
July 1802			Tory[7]		William Best
1806					Hon. John Ward
1807					Booth Grey
October 1812					George Canning	Tory[7]
December 1812					George Canning, junior	Tory[7]
March 1820					The Lord Hotham[8]	Tory[7]
June 1820					Sir Philip Musgrave, Bt	Tory[7]
1825					James Lushington	Tory[7]
1826					William Marshall	Whig[7]
1830		Sir William Jolliffe, Bt	Tory[7]		Gilbert East Jolliffe	Tory[7]
1831					Hylton Jolliffe	Tory[7]
1832	Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1832–1885

Election		Member	Party
1832[9]		John Shaw-Lefevre	Whig[7]
1833 [9]		Hylton Jolliffe	Tory[7]
1834			Conservative Party[7]
1835		Cornthwaite Hector	Radical[7][10][11]
1837[12]		Sir William Jolliffe, Bt	Conservative Party[7]
1838 [12]		Cornthwaite Hector	Radical[7][10][11]
1841		Sir William Jolliffe	Conservative Party[7]
1866 by-election		William Nicholson	Liberal Party
1874[13]		William Sydney Hylton Jolliffe	Conservative Party
1880		William Nicholson	Liberal Party
1885	Borough abolished - name transferred to county division

MPs for Petersfield county constituency (1885–1983)

Election		Member	Party
1885		Viscount Wolmer	Liberal
1886			Liberal Unionist
1892		William Wickham	Conservative
1897		William Graham Nicholson	Conservative
1935		Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith	Conservative
1941		Sir George Jeffreys	Conservative
1951		Peter Legh	Conservative
1960		Joan Quennell	Conservative
1974		Michael Mates	Conservative
1983	Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Petersfield ^[7][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	William Jolliffe	28	41.2
	Tory	Gilbert East Jolliffe	28	41.2
	Nonpartisan	Henry Herbert	6	8.8
	Nonpartisan	John Ogle	6	8.8
Majority			22	32.4
Turnout			c. 34
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

• 201 householders voted for the Jolliffes and 148 for Herbert and Ogle, but these were all rejected^[7]

General election 1831: Petersfield ^[7][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	William Jolliffe	29	41.4	+0.2
	Tory	Hylton Jolliffe	29	41.4	+0.2
	Nonpartisan	John Ogle	6	8.6	−0.2
	Nonpartisan	Charles Marsh	6	8.6	−0.2
Majority			23	32.8	+0.4
Turnout			c. 35
	Tory hold		Swing	+0.2
	Tory hold		Swing	+0.2

General election 1832: Petersfield ^[7][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Shaw Lefevre	101	50.2	N/A
	Tory	William Jolliffe	100	49.8	−33.0
Majority			1	0.4	N/A
Turnout			201	85.9
Registered electors			234
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

On petition, Shaw Lefevre was declared unelected, and Jolliffe was elected.

General election 1835: Petersfield ^[7][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Cornthwaite Hector	103	54.2	N/A
	Conservative	William Jolliffe	87	45.8	−4.0
Majority			16	8.4	N/A
Turnout			190	66.2	−19.7
Registered electors			287
	Radical gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

General election 1837: Petersfield ^[7][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Jolliffe	125	50.2	+4.4
	Radical	Cornthwaite Hector	124	49.8	−4.4
Majority			1	0.4	N/A
Turnout			249	77.8	+11.6
Registered electors			320
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	+4.4

On petition, Jolliffe was unseated and Hector declared elected.

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Jolliffe	Unopposed
Registered electors			352
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Jolliffe	Unopposed
Registered electors			380
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Jolliffe	Unopposed
Registered electors			353
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Jolliffe	Unopposed
Registered electors			331
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Jolliffe	Unopposed
Registered electors			332
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Jolliffe	Unopposed
Registered electors			296
	Conservative hold

Jolliffee was elevated to the peerage, becoming 1st Baron Hylton and causing a by-election.

By-election, 23 July 1866: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Nicholson	Unopposed
	Liberal gain from Conservative

General election 1868: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Nicholson	370	62.5	N/A
	Conservative	Frederic Du Pré Thornton	222	37.5	N/A
Majority			148	25.0	N/A
Turnout			592	76.5	N/A
Registered electors			774
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Sydney Hylton Jolliffe	372	50.8	+13.3
	Liberal	William Nicholson	361	49.2	−13.3
Majority			11	1.6	N/A
Turnout			733	84.3	+7.8
Registered electors			870
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+13.3

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Petersfield ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Nicholson	406	55.9	+6.7
	Conservative	William Sydney Hylton Jolliffe	320	44.1	−6.7
Majority			86	11.8	N/A
Turnout			726	90.6	+6.3
Registered electors			801
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.7

General election 1885: Petersfield ^[16][17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Viscount Wolmer	3,414	49.9	−6.0
	Liberal-Conservative	William Nicholson	3,253	47.5	+3.4
	Ind. Conservative	Douglas Henty	179	2.6	New
Majority			161	2.4	−9.4
Turnout			6,846	83.5	−7.1
Registered electors			8,202
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.7

General election 1886: Petersfield ^[16][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Viscount Wolmer	3,188	50.9	+1.0
	Liberal-Conservative	William Nicholson	3,077	49.1	+1.6
Majority			111	1.8	N/A
Turnout			6,265	76.4	−7.1
Registered electors			8,202
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

Wickham

General election 1892: Petersfield ^[16][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Wickham	3,912	56.5	+5.6
	Liberal	John Bonham-Carter	3,008	43.5	−5.6
Majority			904	13.0	+11.2
Turnout			6,920	82.1	+5.7
Registered electors			8,431
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.6

General election 1895: Petersfield ^[16][19][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Wickham	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Nicholson

1897 Petersfield by-election^[20][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Nicholson	3,748	53.0	N/A
	Liberal	John Bonham-Carter	3,328	47.0	New
Majority			420	6.0	N/A
Turnout			7,076	83.5	N/A
Registered electors			8,474
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Petersfield ^[16][19][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Nicholson	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1906: Petersfield ^[16][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Nicholson	4,349	50.6	N/A
	Liberal	Hugh Money-Coutts	4,253	49.4	New
Majority			96	1.2	N/A
Turnout			8,602	86.2	N/A
Registered electors			9,983
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Petersfield ^[21][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Nicholson	6,279	63.6	+13.0
	Liberal	Herbert Arthur Baker	3,594	36.4	−13.0
Majority			2,685	27.2	+26.0
Turnout			9,873	88.9	+2.7
Registered electors			11,110
	Conservative hold		Swing	+13.0

General election December 1910: Petersfield ^[21][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Nicholson	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1918: Petersfield^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	William Nicholson	10,730	71.5	N/A
	Labour	John Pile	4,267	28.5	New
Majority			6,463	43.0	N/A
Turnout			14,997	52.7	N/A
	Unionist hold		Swing
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Petersfield ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Nicholson	12,600	64.2	−7.3
	Labour	Dudley Aman	7,036	35.8	+7.3
Majority			5,564	28.4	−14.6
Turnout			19,636	65.7	+13.0
	Unionist hold		Swing	-7.3

General election 1923: Petersfield ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Nicholson	12,195	65.6	+1.4
	Labour	Dudley Aman	6,403	34.4	−1.4
Majority			5,792	31.2	+2.8
Turnout			18,598	60.6	−5.1
	Unionist hold		Swing	+1.4

General election 1924: Petersfield ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Nicholson	14,646	69.8	+4.2
	Liberal	George Spencer	3,755	17.9	New
	Labour	George Gilbert Desmond	2,582	12.3	−22.1
Majority			10,891	51.9	+20.7
Turnout			20,983	66.3	+5.7
	Unionist hold		Swing

General election 1929: Petersfield ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Nicholson	15,605	55.0	−14.8
	Liberal	Gerald Bailey	9,334	32.9	+15.0
	Labour	Gertrude Speedwell Massingham	3,418	12.1	−0.2
Majority			6,271	22.1	−29.8
Turnout			28,357	68.2	+1.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	-14.9

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Petersfield^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Nicholson	26,081	88.0	+33.0
	Labour	AE Albery	3,559	12.0	−0.1
Majority			22,522	76.0	+53.9
Turnout			29,640	67.8	−0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

• Liberal candidate Gerald Bailey withdrew at the last minute.

General election 1935: Petersfield^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reginald Dorman-Smith	22,877	79.1	−8.9
	Labour	John Ernest Lionel Birch	6,061	20.9	+8.9
Majority			16,816	58.1	−17.9
Turnout			28,938	63.4	−4.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.9

General Election 1939–40:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Reginald Dorman-Smith
• Liberal: Basil Goldstone^[24]
• Labour: D Muir Hunter^[25]
• British Union: Muriel G Whinfield

Elections in the 1940s

1941 Petersfield by-election^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Jeffreys	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold

General election 1945: Petersfield^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Jeffreys	20,838	58.4	−20.7
	Liberal	Basil Goldstone	8,269	23.2	New
	Common Wealth	Thomas Sargant	6,600	18.5	New
Majority			12,569	35.2	−22.9
Turnout			35,707	64.4	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Jeffreys	27,401	55.15
	Labour	I Candy	15,472	31.14	New
	Liberal	Harold Hugh Lindsay Dickson	6,813	13.71
Majority			11,929	24.01
Turnout			49,686	78.36
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Legh	29,845	58.75
	Labour	Edward E Preidel	15,770	31.05
	Liberal	Harold Hugh Lindsay Dickson	5,182	10.20
Majority			14,075	27.70
Turnout			50,797	77.84
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Legh	24,826	69.81
	Labour	Frederick R Mason	10,736	30.19
Majority			14,090	39.62
Turnout			35,562	69.74
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1959: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Legh	23,687	60.93
	Labour	John Stuart Paul Davey	8,278	21.29
	Liberal	Richard Michael Digby	6,912	17.78	New
Majority			15,409	39.64
Turnout			38,877	73.64
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

1960 Petersfield by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Quennell	15,613	54.40	−6.53
	Liberal	Michael Digby	8,310	28.95	+11.17
	Labour	William Royle	4,777	16.64	−4.65
Majority			7,303	25.45	−14.19
Turnout			28,700
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Quennell	23,603	54.00
	Liberal	Michael Digby	11,338	25.94
	Labour	M C Wilson	8,477	19.39
	Independent Loyalist	Rosine de Bounevialle	292	0.67	New
Majority			12,265	28.06
Turnout			43,710	75.50
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1966: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Quennell	23,933	52.33
	Liberal	Michael Digby	10,931	23.90
	Labour	M C Wilson	10,874	23.77
Majority			13,002	28.43
Turnout			45,738	75.72
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Quennell	30,414	60.50
	Labour	Kelvin Horrocks	10,307	20.50
	Liberal	Penelope Jessel	7,783	15.48
	Independent	Michael Digby	1,766	3.51	New
Majority			20,107	40.00
Turnout			50,270	72.12
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Quennell	30,732	51.49
	Liberal	Timothy Willatt Slack	21,152	35.44
	Labour	PF Whitely	7,703	12.91
	Technical Consultant	PHH Bishop	101	0.17	New
Majority			9,580	16.05
Turnout			59,688	81.13
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Mates	28,689	50.50
	Liberal	Timothy Willatt Slack	19,702	34.68
	Labour	JM Bloom	8,301	14.61
	United Democratic Party	PHH Bishop	117	0.21	New
Majority			8,987	15.82
Turnout			56,809	76.50
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1979: Petersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Mates	39,200	61.15
	Liberal	John Madeley	16,825	26.25
	Labour	BW Clough	8,082	12.61
Majority			22,375	34.90
Turnout			64,107	78.29
	Conservative hold		Swing