Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Parliamentary

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

from 1295 until 1885, when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...

History

The constituency consisted of the historic county

Historic counties of England

The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...

of Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

. (Although Bedfordshire contained the borough of Bedford

Bedford (UK Parliament constituency)

Bedford is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The seat was established in its current form in 1997, restoring a centuries old name. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election...

, which elected two MPs in its own right, this was not excluded from the county constituency, and owning property within the borough could confer a vote at the county election.)

As in other county constituencies the franchise between 1430 and 1832 was defined by the Forty Shilling Freeholder Act

Forty Shilling Freeholders

Forty shilling freeholders were a group of landowners who had the Parliamentary franchise to vote in county constituencies in various parts of the British Isles. In England it was the only such qualification from 1430 until 1832...

, which gave the right to vote to every man who possessed freehold property within the county valued at £2 or more per year for the purposes of land tax; it was not necessary for the freeholder to occupy his land, nor even in later years to be resident in the county at all.

At the time of the Great Reform Act in 1832, Bedfordshire had a population of approximately 95,000, but under 4,000 votes were cast at the election of 1826, and under 3,000 in election of 1830, even though each voter could cast two votes. Although local landowners could never control a county the size of Bedfordshire in the way they could own a pocket borough, titled magnates still exercised considerable influence over deferential county voters, and the Duke of Bedford

Duke of Bedford

thumb|right|240px|William Russell, 1st Duke of BedfordDuke of Bedford is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 in favour of Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of France. He was made Earl of Kendal at the same time...

was regarded as the hereditary "patron" of the constituency.

Elections were held at a single polling place, Bedford

Bedford

Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...

, and voters from the rest of the county had to travel to the county town to exercise their franchise. In many other counties this could make the cost of a contested election prohibitive, since it was normal for voters to expect the candidates for whom they voted to meet their expenses in travelling to the poll; but this was less of a factor in a small county like Bedfordshire, and contested elections were not uncommon.

Under the terms of the Great Reform Act of 1832, the county franchise was extended to occupiers of land worth £50 or more, as well as the forty-shilling freeholders, but Bedfordshire was otherwise left unchanged. Under the new rules, 3,966 were registered and entitled to vote at the general election of 1832. While Bedford remained the place of election, where nominations were taken and the result declared, polling also took place at Luton

Luton

Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....

, Leighton Buzzard

Leighton Buzzard

-Lower schools:*Beaudesert Lower School - Apennine Way*Clipstone Brook Lower School - Brooklands Drive*Greenleas Lower School - Derwent Road*Dovery Down Lower School - Heath Road*Heathwood Lower School - Heath Road*Leedon Lower School - Highfield Road...

, Ampthill

Ampthill

Ampthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...

, Biggleswade

Biggleswade

Biggleswade is a market town and civil parish located on the River Ivel in Bedfordshire, England. It is well served by transport routes, being close to the A1 road between London and the North, as well as having a railway station on the main rail link North from London .-Geography:Located about 40...

and Sharnbrook

Sharnbrook

Sharnbrook is a village and civil parish located in the Bedford Borough of Bedfordshire, England.The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey but was probably first developed in Saxon times. The oldest surviving building, St Peter's Church, is...

.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

, the constituency was abolished and the county divided into two single-member county constituencies, Biggleswade

Biggleswade (UK Parliament constituency)

Biggleswade was a county constituency in Bedfordshire which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until its abolition in 1918...

and Luton

Luton (UK Parliament constituency)

Luton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Luton in Bedfordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....

MPs 1290–1640

Constituency created (1290)

Parliament	First member	Second member
Parliament of 1295	Sir David de Flitwick
Parliament of 1316	Roger Dakeney
Good Parliament (1376) Good Parliament The Good Parliament is the name traditionally given to the English Parliament of 1376. Sitting in London from April 28 to July 10, it was the longest Parliament up until that time....	Johannes Trayle
Parliament of Jan 1377	Sir Gerard Braybrooke
Parliament of 1379	William Mordaunt
Parliament of 1381	Johannes Trayle
Parliament of 1386	Ralph Fitzrichard	John Hervey
Parliament of Feb 1388	Sir Gerard Braybrooke II	Robert Digswell
Parliament of Sep 1388	William Terrington	Ralph Walton
Parliament of Jan 1390	William Terrington	Baldwin Pigot
Parliament of Nov 1390	Sir Gerard Braybrooke	Thomas Zouche
Parliament of 1391	William Terrington	Ralph Walton
Parliament of 1393	William Terrington	John Worship
Parliament of 1394	Reynold Regan	John Worship
Parliament of 1395	Philip Walwyn	Giles Daubeney
Parliament of Jan 1397	William Terrington	John Worship
Parliament of Sep 1397	Sir Baldwin Pigot	John Worship
Parliament of 1399	Sir Gerard Braybrooke II	Sir Roger Beauchamp
Parliament of 1401	Sir Baldwin Pigot	Giles Daubeney
Parliament of 1402	Raynold Ragon	John Worship
Parliament of Jan 1404	Reynold Ragon	William Terrington
Parliament of Oct 1404	Thomas Durant	William Wenlock
Parliament of 1406	Thomas Durant	Hugh Hasilden
Parliament of 1407	William Bosom	John Worship
Parliament of 1409	Returns lost
Parliament of 1411	Returns lost
Parliament of May 1413	William Bosom	Thomas Waweton Thomas Walton Sir Thomas Walton was an English MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.He was born the son of John de Walton of Great Staughton, Huntingdonshire, who was a previous MP for Huntingdonshire....
Parliament of Apr 1414	John Goldington	Thomas Waweton Thomas Walton Sir Thomas Walton was an English MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.He was born the son of John de Walton of Great Staughton, Huntingdonshire, who was a previous MP for Huntingdonshire....
Parliament of Nov 1414	John Enderby	Roger Hunt Roger Hunt (speaker) Roger Hunt was an English MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.He was of obscure origins, but acquired the manor of Molesworth in Huntingdonshire and acquired a circle on influential friends such as Sir John Tiptoft and John Mowbray, the future Duke of Norfolk...
Parliament of Mar 1416	William Bosom	Roger Hunt Roger Hunt (speaker) Roger Hunt was an English MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.He was of obscure origins, but acquired the manor of Molesworth in Huntingdonshire and acquired a circle on influential friends such as Sir John Tiptoft and John Mowbray, the future Duke of Norfolk...
Parliament of 1417	William Bosom	Thomas Roxton
Parliament of 1419	John Enderby	Sir Thomas Waweton Thomas Walton Sir Thomas Walton was an English MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.He was born the son of John de Walton of Great Staughton, Huntingdonshire, who was a previous MP for Huntingdonshire....
Parliament of 1420	Roger Scott	Roger Hunt Roger Hunt (speaker) Roger Hunt was an English MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.He was of obscure origins, but acquired the manor of Molesworth in Huntingdonshire and acquired a circle on influential friends such as Sir John Tiptoft and John Mowbray, the future Duke of Norfolk...
Parliament of May 1421	John Goldington II	Thomas Mordaunt
Parliament of Dec 1421	Thomas Manningham Thomas Manningham -Life:He was born about 1651 in the parish of St. George, Southwark, the son of Richard Manningham, rector of Michelmersh, Hampshire. He was admitted in 1661 scholar of Winchester College, then going with a scholarship to New College, Oxford, where he matriculated on 12 August 1669. He was fellow...	Henry Cockayne
Parliament of 1424	Sir Thomas Waweton Thomas Walton Sir Thomas Walton was an English MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.He was born the son of John de Walton of Great Staughton, Huntingdonshire, who was a previous MP for Huntingdonshire....
Parliament of 1431	Sir Thomas Waweton Thomas Walton Sir Thomas Walton was an English MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.He was born the son of John de Walton of Great Staughton, Huntingdonshire, who was a previous MP for Huntingdonshire....
Parliament of 1433	John Wenlock John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock Sir John Wenlock KG was an English soldier, courtier and politician. He fought on the side of both the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses...
Parliament of 1436	John Wenlock John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock Sir John Wenlock KG was an English soldier, courtier and politician. He fought on the side of both the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses...
Parliament of 1437	John Wenlock John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock Sir John Wenlock KG was an English soldier, courtier and politician. He fought on the side of both the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses...
Parliament of 1439	John Wenlock John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock Sir John Wenlock KG was an English soldier, courtier and politician. He fought on the side of both the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses...
Parliament of 1455	Sir John Wenlock John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock Sir John Wenlock KG was an English soldier, courtier and politician. He fought on the side of both the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses...
Parliament of 1529	Sir William Gascoigne William Gascoigne Sir William Gascoigne Kt. was Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV. Sir William Gascoigne was born in Gawthorpe W-Riding, Yorks. In 1369, William married Elizabeth de Mowbray...	George Acworth George Acworth George Acworth LL.D. was an English Protestant divine and civilian of the 16th century.Acworth was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge. During the reign of Queen Mary, he travelled in France and Italy, where he studied civil law... (died 1532) ?Sir John St John
Parliament 0f 1536	Sir William Gascoigne William Gascoigne Sir William Gascoigne Kt. was Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV. Sir William Gascoigne was born in Gawthorpe W-Riding, Yorks. In 1369, William married Elizabeth de Mowbray...
Parliament of 1539	Sir John St John	John Gostwick John Gostwick -Life:He was born the son of John Gostwick in Willington, Bedfordshire, and educated in Potton. Around 1510 he entered the service of Cardinal Wolsey and became a Gentleman Usher to Henry VII. He was also a merchant importing caps and hats from the continent of Europe. By 1517 he was a wax chandler...
Parliament of 1542	Sir John St John	Sir John Gascoigne
Parliament of 1545	?	Edmund Conquest
Parliament of 1547-1552	Oliver St John Oliver St John, 1st Baron St John of Bletso Oliver St John of Bletsoe, 1st Baron St John of Bletso was an English peer.St John was the son of Sir John St John of Bletsoe and Spelsbury and his wife Margaret . His paternal great-great-great-grandfather Sir Oliver St John of Bletsoe, Spelsbury and Lydiard Tregoze Oliver St John of Bletsoe,...	Lewis Dyve Lewis Dyve Sir Lewis Dyve was an English Member of Parliament and a Royalist adherent during the English Civil War. His surname is sometimes also spelt Dive or Dives....
Parliament of March 1553	Sir Humphrey Radclyffe
Parliament of October 1553	Sir John Gascoigne John Gascoigne John Gascoigne was an English lawyer and author.-Life:Gascoigne was a member of the University of Oxford and became a doctor of canon law. In that capacity he was called to give evidence before a commission of five bishops, appointed 20 June 1376 to examine controversies between the masters of...	Sir John Mordaunt John Mordaunt, 2nd Baron Mordaunt John Mordaunt, 2nd Baron Mordaunt was an English baron and member of the House of Lords. He represented Bedfordshire in the House of Commons.He inherited the title Baron Mordaunt in 1562 from John Mordaunt, 1st Baron Mordaunt.-References:...
Parliament of 1554	Sir Humphrey Radclyffe
Parliament of 1554-1555
Parliament of 1555
Parliament of 1558		Sir John Gascoigne John Gascoigne John Gascoigne was an English lawyer and author.-Life:Gascoigne was a member of the University of Oxford and became a doctor of canon law. In that capacity he was called to give evidence before a commission of five bishops, appointed 20 June 1376 to examine controversies between the masters of...
Parliament of 1559	Hon. John St John John St John, 2nd Baron St John of Bletso John St John, 2nd Baron St John of Bletso was an English peer. The son of Oliver St John, 1st Baron St John of Bletso, and Agnes Fisher, he succeeded to the barony upon his father's death in 1582....	Thomas Pigott
Parliament of 1563-1567		Lewis Mordaunt Lewis Mordaunt, 3rd Baron Mordaunt Lewis Mordaunt, 3rd Baron Mordaunt was an English peer and politician.He was the son of John Mordaunt, 2nd Baron Mordaunt and Ela Mordaunt...
Parliament of 1571	George Rotherham	Thomas Snagge Thomas Snagge Sir Thomas Snagge was an M.P., lawyer and wealthy landowner who served as Speaker of the English House of Commons, Attorney General for Ireland and as the Queen's Sergeant.-Life:...
Parliament of 1572-1583		Sir Henry Cheyne Henry Cheyne, 1st Baron Cheyne Henry Cheyne, 1st Baron Cheyne was an English politician.He was the son of Sir Thomas Cheyne of Shurland, Isle of Sheppey, Kent.He was elected knight of the shire for Kent from 1562 to 1567.... (1572 - created a peer) John Thompson (1572-1583)
Parliament of 1584-1585		Nicholas Luke
Parliament of 1586-1587		Thomas Snagge Thomas Snagge Sir Thomas Snagge was an M.P., lawyer and wealthy landowner who served as Speaker of the English House of Commons, Attorney General for Ireland and as the Queen's Sergeant.-Life:...
Parliament of 1588-1589	Hon. Oliver St John Oliver St John, 3rd Baron St John of Bletso Oliver St John, 3rd Baron St John of Bletso was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1588 until 1596 when he inherited the peerage as Baron St John of Bletso....	Edward Radclyffe Edward Radclyffe, 6th Earl of Sussex Edward Radclyffe, 6th Earl of Sussex was a British peer and Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire 1588-1589, Petersfield and Portsmouth....
Parliament of 1593		George Rotherham
Parliament of 1597-1598	Hon. Oliver St John Oliver St John, 1st Earl of Bolingbroke Oliver St John, 1st Earl of Bolingbroke , known from 1618 until 1624 as 4th Baron St John of Bletso, was an English nobleman and politician.-Life:...	Sir Edward Radclyffe Edward Radclyffe, 6th Earl of Sussex Edward Radclyffe, 6th Earl of Sussex was a British peer and Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire 1588-1589, Petersfield and Portsmouth....
Parliament of 1601
Parliament of 1604-1611
Addled Parliament (1614) Addled Parliament The Addled Parliament was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James I of England , which sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614...	Sir Henry Grey Henry Grey, 8th Earl of Kent Henry Grey, 8th Earl of Kent was Earl of Kent from 1623 to his death.He was born the only son of Charles Grey, 7th Earl of Kent and his wife Susan Cotton and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge....	Sir Oliver Luke Oliver Luke Oliver Luke was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England from 1614 to 1648.Luke was born at Cople Bedfordshire, the son of Sir Nicholas Luke and his wife Margaret St John....
Parliament of 1621-1622	Sir Beauchamp St John Beauchamp St John Sir Beauchamp St John was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1621 and 1653. He supported the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War....
Happy Parliament (1624-1625) Happy Parliament The Happy Parliament was the fourth and last Parliament of England of the reign of King James I, sitting from 19 February 1624 to 24 May 1624 and then from 2 November 1624 to 16 February 1625...	Oliver St John Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1624 to 1629 and in the House of Lords from 1639. He died fighting in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War....
Useless Parliament (1625) Useless Parliament The Useless Parliament was the first Parliament of England of the reign of King Charles I, sitting only from June until August 1625. It gained its name because it transacted no significant business, making it 'useless' from the king's point of view...
Parliament of 1625-1626
Parliament of 1628-1629	Oliver St John Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1624 to 1629 and in the House of Lords from 1639. He died fighting in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War....
No Parliament summoned 1629-1640

MPs 1640–1885

	First member	First party	Second member	Second party
April 1640 Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....	The Lord Wentworth Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth, KB, PC was an English soldier and politician who supported King Charles I in the English Civil War....	Royalist	Sir Oliver Luke Oliver Luke Oliver Luke was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England from 1614 to 1648.Luke was born at Cople Bedfordshire, the son of Sir Nicholas Luke and his wife Margaret St John....	Parliamentarian
1641	Roger Burgoyne Sir Roger Burgoyne, 2nd Baronet Sir Roger Burgoyne, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1641 and 1656....	Parliamentarian		Parliamentarian
December 1648	Burgoyne and Luke excluded in Pride's Purge Pride's Purge Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents... - both seats vacant
1653 Barebones Parliament Barebone's Parliament, also known as the Little Parliament, the Nominated Assembly and the Parliament of Saints, came into being on 4 July 1653, and was the last attempt of the English Commonwealth to find a stable political form before the installation of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector...	Nathaniel Taylor		Edward Cater

{ class="wikitable" Representation increased to five members in First
First Protectorate Parliament
The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....

and Second
Second Protectorate Parliament
The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons...

Parliaments of the Protectorate YearFirst memberSecond memberThird memberFourth memberFifth member 1654

First Protectorate Parliament

The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....

Sir William Boteler

William Boteler

William Boteler was a Colonel of Horse in the New Model Army during the English Civil War. By the end of the war, Boteler had been appointed Major-General for Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland during the Rule of the Major-Generals....

John Harvey Edmund Wingate

Edmund Wingate

Edmund Wingate was an English mathematical and legal writer, one of the first to publish in the 1620s on the principle of the slide rule, and later the author of some popular expository works...

John Neale Samuel Bedford 1656

Second Protectorate Parliament

The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons...

Richard Wagstaffe Richard Edwards { class="wikitable" Representation reverted to two members in Third Protectorate Parliament
Third Protectorate Parliament
The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons...

YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party January 1659

Third Protectorate Parliament

The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons...

Major Richard Wagstaffe Colonel John Okey

John Okey

John Okey was an English soldier, member of Parliament, and one of the regicides of King Charles I.-Early life and military career:...

May 1659

Rump Parliament

The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....

Not represented in the restored Rump
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....

April 1660 Lord Bruce of Whorlton

Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury

Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury and 2nd Earl of Elgin, PC, FRS was the son of Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin....

Samuel Browne

Samuel Browne (judge)

Samuel Browne , of Arlesey, Bedfordshire, was the Member of Parliament during the English Civil War and the First Commonwealth who supported the Parliamentary cause. However he refused to support the trial and execution of Charles I and along with five of his colleagues, resigned his seat on the...

1661 Sir Humphrey Winch, 1st Bt

Sir Humphrey Winch, 1st Baronet

Sir Humphrey Winch, 1st Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1660 and 1689.Winch was the son of Onslow Winch of Everton Huntingdonshire and grandson of Sir Humphry Winch...

1664 Sir John Napier, 4th Bt 1679 William Russell, Lord Russell

William Russell, Lord Russell

William Russell, Lord Russell was an English politician. He was a leading member of the Country Party, forerunners of the Whigs, who opposed the succession of James II during the reign of Charles II, ultimately resulting in his execution for treason.-Early life and marriage:Russell was the third...

Whig

British Whig Party

The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...

Sir Humphrey Monoux, 2nd Bt 1685 Sir Villiers Chernock, 2nd Bt William Boteler 1689 Lord Edward Russell William Duncombe 1690 Thomas Browne 1695 William Duncombe 1698 Sir William Gostwick, 4th Bt 1705 Sir Pynsent Chernock, 3rd Bt 1708 Lord Edward Russell 1713 Sir Pynsent Chernock, 3rd Bt John Harvey February 1715 William Hillersden July 1715 John Cater 1722 Hon. Charles Leigh

Charles Leigh

Charles "Charlie" Leigh is a former National Football League running back. He is best known for backing up Mercury Morris and Jim Kiick and returning kicks for the Miami Dolphins' back to back Super Bowl champions in the 1972 and 1973 seasons. He also played for the Cleveland Browns and Green...

Sir Rowland Alston, 4th Bt 1727 Hon. Pattee Byng

Pattee Byng, 2nd Viscount Torrington

Pattee Byng, 2nd Viscount Torrington, PC , was a British naval officer and statesman of the late 17th and early 18th centuries...

replaced by Charles Leigh

Charles Leigh

1733 Charles Leigh

Charles Leigh

1735 Sir Roger Burgoyne, 6th Bt 1741 Sir John Chester, 6th Bt 1747 Sir Danvers Osborn, 3rd Bt

Danvers Osborn

Sir Danvers Osborne, 3rd Baronet was colonial governor of New York province briefly in 1753...

Tory Sir Thomas Alston, 5th BaronetThomas Alston Tory 1753 The Earl of Upper Ossory

John FitzPatrick, 1st Earl of Upper Ossory

John FitzPatrick, 1st Earl of Upper Ossory lived in County Cork in Ireland.He married Lady Evelyn Leveson-Gower, daughter of the 1st Earl Gower, on 29 June 1744. They had four children:...

Whig

British Whig Party

1758 Henry Osborn

Henry Osborn (governor)

Admiral Henry Osborn was a British naval officer who served as Commodore Governor of Newfoundland. He was a younger son of Sir John Osborn, 2nd Baronet.-Naval career:...

Tory 1761 Marquess of Tavistock

Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock

Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock was a British politician and the eldest son of the 4th Duke of Bedford....

Whig

British Whig Party

Robert Henley-Ongley Tory 1767 The Earl of Upper Ossory

John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory

John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory , styled Lord Gowran from 1751 to 1758, was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament....

Whig

British Whig Party

1780 Hon. St Andrew St John

St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso

St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso PC FRS was an English politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 until 1806 when he inherited a peerage....

Whig

British Whig Party

1784 The Lord Ongley Tory 1785 Hon. St Andrew St John

St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso

St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso PC FRS was an English politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 until 1806 when he inherited a peerage....

Whig

British Whig Party

1794 John Osborn Tory 1806 Francis Pym Whig

British Whig Party

1807 Hon. Richard FitzPatrick

Richard FitzPatrick

General Richard FitzPatrick , styled The Honourable from birth, was an Anglo-Irish soldier, wit, poet, Whig politician and ‘sworn brother’ of the illustrious statesman of Charles James Fox...

Whig

British Whig Party

1812 Marquess of Tavistock

Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford

Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford KG, PC , styled Marquess of Tavistock from 1802 to 1839, was a British peer and Whig politician.-Background and education:...

Whig

British Whig Party

1818 Sir John Osborn, 5th Bt Tory 1820 Francis Pym Whig

British Whig Party

1826 Thomas Potter Macqueen Tory 1830 William Stuart Tory 1831 Sir Peter Payne Whig

British Whig Party

1832 Lord Charles Russell

Lord Charles Russell

Lord Charles James Fox Russell , was a British soldier and Whig politician.-Background:Russell was the third son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, by his second wife Lady Georgiana, daughter of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon...

Whig

British Whig Party

William Stuart Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1835 Viscount Alford

John Egerton, Viscount Alford

John Hume Egerton, Viscount Alford was a British Tory Member of Parliament.Born John Hume Cust, he was the eldest son of John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow by his first wife Sophia Hume, daughter of Sir Abraham Hume, 2nd Baronet and Lady Amelia Egerton, great-granddaughter of John Egerton, 3rd Earl of...

Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

1841 William Thornton Astell Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

March 1847 Lord Charles Russell

Lord Charles Russell

Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

August 1847 Francis Russell

Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford

Francis Charles Hastings Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford KG was an English politician and agriculturalist.-Life:...

Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

1851 Sir Richard Gilpin, 1st Bt

Sir Richard Gilpin, 1st Baronet

Sir Richard Thomas Gilpin, 1st Baronet was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1851 to 1880.Gilpin was the only son of Richard Gilpin of Hockliffe, who was Lieutenant-Colonel of...

Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

1872 Francis Bassett Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

1875 Marquess of Tavistock

George Russell, 10th Duke of Bedford

George William Francis Sackville Russell, 10th Duke of Bedford DL was the son of Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford....

Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

1880 James Howard

James Howard (agriculturalist)

James Howard , was an English agriculturalist, Liberal politician, manufacturer, and Bedfordshire landowner.-Life:Howard was one of the sons of John Howard, of Cauldwell House, Bedford, and was educated at Bedford Modern School....

Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

1885

United Kingdom general election, 1885

-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

|constituency divided: see Luton
Luton (UK Parliament constituency)
Luton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Luton in Bedfordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....

and Biggleswade
Biggleswade (UK Parliament constituency)
Biggleswade was a county constituency in Bedfordshire which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until its abolition in 1918...