Fowey was a rotten borough

Rotten borough

A "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....

 in Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

 which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 in the English

Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...

 and later British Parliament from 1571 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

History

The borough consisted of the town of Fowey

Fowey

Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.-Early history:...

, a seaport and market town, and the neighbouring hamlet of Mixtow

Mixtow

Mixtow is a hamlet near Par in Cornwall, England, UK....

. Unlike many of the most notorious Cornish rotten boroughs

Cornish rotten boroughs

The Cornish rotten boroughs were one of the most striking anomalies of the Unreformed House of Commons in the Parliament that ruled Britain before the Reform Act of 1832...

 which were enfranchised in Tudor

Tudor period

The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...

 times, Fowey had once been a town of reasonable size, and returned members to a national council in 1340, although it had to wait until 1571 for representation in Parliament.

Fowey was a feudal tenure of the Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...

, and by a judgment of 1701 the right to vote was held to rest with "the Prince's tenants", which in practice was interpreted to include all the householders paying scot and lot

Scot and lot

Scot and lot is a phrase common in the records of English medieval boroughs, applied to householders who were assessed for a tax paid to the borough for local or national purposes.They were usually members of a merchant guild.Before the Reform Act 1832, those who paid scot and bore...

; there were 331 voters in 1831. However, most of the property in the borough was owned by the Rashleigh family, and in 1816 they and the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe

Earl of Mount Edgcumbe

Earl of Mount Edgcumbe is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for George Edgcumbe, 3rd Baron Edgcumbe. The Edgcumbe family descends from Sir Piers Edgcumbe of Cotehele in Cornwall, who acquired the Mount Edgcumbe estate near Plymouth through marriage in the early 16th...

 shared the "patronage", each having considerable influence if not quite absolute power to choose one of the MPs.

In 1831, the borough had a population of 1,600, and 340 houses.

1571-1629

Parliament	First member	Second member
Parliament of 1571	Robert Peter	Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (Parliamentary diarist) Thomas Cromwell , born in Putney, third surviving son of The 1st Baron Cromwell and grandson of the famous Thomas Cromwell, was an English Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I...
Parliament of 1572-1583	William Russell	Edward Harrington
Parliament of 1584-1585	Reginald Mohun	William Treffry
Parliament of 1586-1587		John Bonython
Parliament of 1588-1589	John Rashleigh John Rashleigh John Rashleigh was an English merchant and Member of Parliament. The son of John Rashleigh, a merchant at Fowey in Cornwall, he built himself a mansion at nearby Menabilly. He was Member for Fowey in the parliaments of 1588 and 1597, and High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1608. He married Alice Bonython...	Arthur Atye
Parliament of 1593	William Killigrew William Killigrew (Chamberlain of the Exchequer) Sir William Killigrew was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1571 and 1614. He was chamberlain of the exchequer between 1605 and 1608....	Samuel Lennard
Parliament of 1597-1598	John Rashleigh John Rashleigh John Rashleigh was an English merchant and Member of Parliament. The son of John Rashleigh, a merchant at Fowey in Cornwall, he built himself a mansion at nearby Menabilly. He was Member for Fowey in the parliaments of 1588 and 1597, and High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1608. He married Alice Bonython...	Thomas Treffry
Parliament of 1601	Carew Raleigh Carew Raleigh Sir Carew Raleigh or Ralegh , elder brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, was an English naval commander who served on the expedition led by his half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 1578, and was on the list of sea-captains drawn up to meet the threat of a Spanish invasion in 1586; from 1591 to 1603 he...	Sir William Courtney, junior
Parliament of 1604-1611	Henry Peter	Francis Vivian
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...	Jonathan Rashleigh Jonathan Rashleigh Jonathan Rashleigh , was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1675. He supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War....	Sir Edward Boys
Parliament of 1621-1622		John Treffry
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...	William Noy William Noy William Noy was a noted British jurist.He was born on the family estate of Pendrea in St Buryan, Cornwall. He left Exeter College, Oxford without taking a degree, and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1594. From 1603 until his death he was elected, with one exception, to each parliament, sitting...	Robert Cook
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...	Jonathan Rashleigh Jonathan Rashleigh Jonathan Rashleigh , was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1675. He supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War....	Arthur Basset
Parliament of 1625-1626	William Murray
Parliament of 1628-1629	Robert Rashleigh	Sir Richard Grenville Sir Richard Grenville, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Grenville, 1st Baronet was a Cornish Royalist leader during the English Civil War.He was the third son of Sir Bernard Grenville , and a grandson of the famous seaman, Sir Richard Grenville...
No Parliament summoned 1629-1640

1640-1832

Year		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....		Jonathan Rashleigh Jonathan Rashleigh Jonathan Rashleigh , was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1675. He supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War....	Royalist		Edwin Rich Edwin Rich Sir Edwin Rich was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640.Rich was born at Thetford, Norfolk, the son of Sir Edwin Rich of Mulbarton, Norfolk and his wife Honora Worlick, daughter of Charles Worlick...
November 1640 Long Parliament The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...					Sir Richard Buller Richard Buller Sir Richard Buller was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1621 and 1642. He was a Parliamentarian officer during the English Civil War....	Parliamentarian
November 1642				Buller died - seat vacant
January 1644	Rashleigh disabled from sitting - seat vacant
1646		Nicholas Gould			Gregory Clement Gregory Clement Gregory Clement was an English Member of Parliament and one of the regicides of King Charles I.Clement was the son of John Clement, a merchant and one time Mayor of Plymouth. After working in India for the British East India Company, Clement returned to London and on outbreak of the Civil War...
May 1652				Clement expelled - seat vacant
1653	Fowey was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament 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...  and the 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
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...		John Barton John Barton (MP) John Barton was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659 and 1660.Barton was the son of Francis Barton of Brigstock, Northamptonshire. He entered Middle Temple in 1632 and was called to the bar in 1639. In 1659, he was elected Member of Parliament for Fowey in the...			Edward Herle Edward Herle Edward Herle was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1660. He fought in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War....
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....		Nicholas Gould		One seat vacant
April 1660		John Barton John Barton (MP) John Barton was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659 and 1660.Barton was the son of Francis Barton of Brigstock, Northamptonshire. He entered Middle Temple in 1632 and was called to the bar in 1639. In 1659, he was elected Member of Parliament for Fowey in the...			Edward Herle Edward Herle Edward Herle was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1660. He fought in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War....
1661		Jonathan Rashleigh Jonathan Rashleigh Jonathan Rashleigh , was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1675. He supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War....			John Rashleigh John Rashleigh (1619-1693) John Rashleigh was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1679.Rashleigh was the son of Jonathan Rashleigh, of Menabilly, Cornwall who had been a long-serving member for his local borough of Fowey...
1675		Jonathan Rashleigh
1679					John Treffry
1685		Bevil Granville Bevil Granville Sir Bevil Grenville or Granville was an English soldier, governor of Barbados.Grenville was the grandson of Sir Bevil Grenville, and the son of Bernard Grenville, M.P., and groom of the bedchamber to Charles II, by his wife Anne, daughter and sole heiress of Cuthbert Morley of Hornby, Yorkshire....
1689		Jonathan Rashleigh			Shadrach Vincent
1695		Thomas Vivian			Sir Bevil Granville Bevil Granville Sir Bevil Grenville or Granville was an English soldier, governor of Barbados.Grenville was the grandson of Sir Bevil Grenville, and the son of Bernard Grenville, M.P., and groom of the bedchamber to Charles II, by his wife Anne, daughter and sole heiress of Cuthbert Morley of Hornby, Yorkshire....
January 1701		John Williams John Williams (d. 1751) John Williams was a Member of Parliament for Fowey within Cornwall, England, UK in January 1701 and December 1701.-References:...			John Granville
December 1701					John Hicks
1702		George Granville George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne PC was an English poet, playwright, and politician who served as a Privy Counsellor from 1712.-Early life:...	Tory
1708					Henry Vincent (junior)
1710		Viscount Dupplin George Hay, 8th Earl of Kinnoull George Henry Hay, 8th Earl of Kinnoull was a British peer and diplomat.He was the son of Thomas Hay, 7th Earl of Kinnoull....
1712		Bernard Granville
1713		Jermyn Wych
1715		Jonathan Elford
1719					Nicholas Vincent
1722		John Goodall
1725		William Bromley William Bromley (politician) William Bromley , was a British politician.Bromley was second son of William Bromley . He was elected upon the foundation at Westminster in 1714, at the age of 15. He was a member of Oriel College, Oxford, and was created D.C.L. on 19 May 1732.He was elected member for the borough of Warwick in 1727...
January 1727					The Viscount FitzWilliam Richard FitzWilliam, 5th Viscount FitzWilliam Richard FitzWilliam, 5th Viscount FitzWilliam PC was an Irish nobleman and politician. He succeeded to the Viscountcy of FitzWilliam in 1704, and became a member of the Irish Privy Council in 1715. He was elected Member of Parliament for Fowey in 1727, a seat he held until 1734.In 1711 he built...
August 1727		Jonathan Rashleigh	Tory
1734					John Hedges
1737					William Wardour
1746					Captain the Hon. George Edgcumbe George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe Admiral George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, PC was a British peer, naval officer and politician....	Whig
1761					Hon. Robert Boyle-Walsingham Robert Boyle-Walsingham Robert Boyle-Walsingham was an Irish sailor and Member of Parliament.Born Robert Boyle, he was a younger son of Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon, by his wife Henrietta, daughter of Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington...
1765		Philip Rashleigh Philip Rashleigh Philip Rashleigh FRS , antiquary and Cornish squire, eldest son of Jonathan Rashleigh, M.P. for Fowey in Cornwall , who married, on 11 June 1728, Mary, daughter of Sir William Clayton of Marden in Surrey, was born at Aldermanbury, London, 28 Dec.1729...	Tory
1768					James Modyford Heywood
1774					The Lord Shuldham Molyneux Shuldham, 1st Baron Shuldham Molyneux Shuldham was an officer of the British Royal Navy. He served for a time as colonial governor of Newfoundland.-Family and early life:...	Whig
1784					John Grant	Tory
1786					Hon. Richard Edgcumbe Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe PC , styled Viscount Valletort between 1789 and 1795, was a British politician and writer on music.-Background:...	Tory
1795					Sylvester Douglas Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie PC, KC, FRS, FSA was a British lawyer, politician and diarist. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1793 and 1794.-Background, education and legal career:...	Tory
1796					Reginald Pole-Carew Reginald Pole Carew Reginald Pole Carew was a British politician.Rt. Hon. Reginald Pole-Carew was born 28 July 1753, the son of Reginald Pole and Anne Buller. He lived at Antony House, Cornwall.-Career:...	Tory
1799					Edward Golding	Tory
July 1802		Reginald Pole Carew Reginald Pole Carew Reginald Pole Carew was a British politician.Rt. Hon. Reginald Pole-Carew was born 28 July 1753, the son of Reginald Pole and Anne Buller. He lived at Antony House, Cornwall.-Career:...	Tory
December 1802					Robert Wigram (senior) Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet was a British merchant shipbuilder and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom between 1802 and 1807....	Tory
1806					Robert Wigram (junior) Sir Robert Fitzwygram, 2nd Baronet Sir Robert Fitzwygram, 2nd Baronet FRS was a Director of the Bank of England and a Tory politician.Fitzwygram, who began life as Robert Wigram, was the eldest son of Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet, merchant and shipbuilder of Walthamstow. Wigram was interested in the foundation of the London...	Tory
1812		William Rashleigh	Tory
1818		George Lucy	Tory		Hon. James Hamilton Stanhope
5 March 1819	Seat vacant (death of Viscount Valletort)				Alexander Glynn Campbell	Tory
24 March 1819		Matthias Attwood	Tory
May 1819		Viscount Valletort Ernest Edgcumbe, 3rd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe Ernest Augustus Edgcumbe, 3rd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , styled Viscount Valletort between 1818 and 1837, was a British peer and politician.-Background:...	Tory
1820					George Lucy	Tory
1826		Hon. Robert Henley Eden Robert Henley, 2nd Baron Henley Robert Henley Henley, 2nd Baron Henley was a British lawyer and Member of Parliament.Born Robert Henley Eden, he was the son of Morton Eden, 1st Baron Henley, and Lady Elizabeth Henley, youngest daughter of Lord Chancellor Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington...	Tory
February 1830		Lord Brudenell	Tory
July 1830					John Cheesment Severn	Tory
1832 United Kingdom general election, 1832 -Seats summary:-Parties and leaders at the general election:The Earl Grey had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806-1807....	Constituency abolished

Notes

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