West Essex, formally known as the Western Division of Essex was a parliamentary constituency

United Kingdom constituencies

In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

 in the English county of Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. From 1868 to 1885, it returned 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,...

 (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

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...

, using the bloc vote system of election.

Area Covered

• Saffron Walden
  Saffron Walden
  Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
  
   and Uttlesford
  Uttlesford
  Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in Saffron Walden.Its name is derived from the ancient Hundred of the same name....
  
  
• Parts of Braintree
  Braintree, Essex
  Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.Braintree has grown contiguous...
  
  
• Parts of Chelmsford
  Chelmsford
  Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
  
  

Members of Parliament

The constituency was represented throughout its existence by the same two MPs, both of whom were 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...

s.

Election	|Member	Party
1868 United Kingdom general election, 1868 The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...		Lord Eustace Cecil Lord Eustace Cecil Lord Eustace Brownlow Henry Cecil was a British, Conservative Party politician.Cecil was the youngest son of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury and was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst. He served with the Coldstream Guards in the Crimean War from 1855–56, rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1861...	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...		Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, 1st Baron Rookwood Henry John Selwin-Ibbetson, 1st Baron Rookwood , known as Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt, from 1869 to 1892, was a British Conservative politician...	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...
1874 United Kingdom general election, 1874 -Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
1880 United Kingdom general election, 1880 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
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 abolished. See Saffron Walden Saffron Walden (UK Parliament constituency) Saffron Walden is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...  and Chelmsford Chelmsford (UK Parliament constituency) Chelmsford is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From the 2010 general election it has elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

Election results

At the 1868 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1868

The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...

 and the 1874 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1874

-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

, the two Conservative Party candidates were returned unopposed: Lord Eustace Cecil

Lord Eustace Cecil

Lord Eustace Brownlow Henry Cecil was a British, Conservative Party politician.Cecil was the youngest son of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury and was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst. He served with the Coldstream Guards in the Crimean War from 1855–56, rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1861...

 and Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson

Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, 1st Baron Rookwood

Henry John Selwin-Ibbetson, 1st Baron Rookwood , known as Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt, from 1869 to 1892, was a British Conservative politician...

.

The only contested election in Western Essex was in 1880, when the former King's Lynn

King's Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)

King's Lynn was a constituency in Norfolk, known as Lynn or Bishop's Lynn prior to 1537, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885, and one member thereafter. Until 1918 it was a parliamentary borough, after which the name...

 MP Sir Thomas Buxton failed to win a seat for the Liberal Party

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...

.

Sources