Hackney was a two seat constituency in 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...

 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...

 created under the Representation of the People Act, 1867 from the division of the county constituency of Middlesex

Middlesex (UK Parliament constituency)

Middlesex is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885....

 and reformed 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...

 as Hackney North

Hackney North (UK Parliament constituency)

Hackney North was a parliamentary constituency in the "The Metropolis" . It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- History :...

, Hackney Central

Hackney Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Hackney Central was a borough constituency in what was then the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney, in London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 and Hackney South

Hackney South (UK Parliament constituency)

Hackney South was a parliamentary constituency in "The Metropolis" . It was represented by nine Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, only two of whom, Horatio Bottomley and Herbert Morrison, were returned.- History :The constituency was created...

.

The constituency existed in this two seat form for three general elections and returned two 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...

 Members

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,...

 at each until its abolition and division into one seat constituencies.

Boundaries

The vestry of the civil parish of Hackney

Hackney (parish)

Hackney was a parish in the historic county of Middlesex. The parish church of St John-at-Hackney was built in 1789, replacing the nearby former 16th century parish church dedicated to St Augustine . The original tower of that church was retained to hold the bells until the new church could be...

 became a local government authority in 1855. The parish had a population in 1871 of 115,110 and in 1881 of 163,681.

The parliamentary borough

Parliamentary borough

Parliamentary boroughs are a type of administrative division, usually covering urban areas, that are entitled to representation in a Parliament...

 of Hackney was established in 1868 and its area formed part of the eastern half of the historic county of Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

. It was situated to the north of Shoreditch

Shoreditch

Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...

 and Tower Hamlets

London Borough of Tower Hamlets

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...

 (although Hackney itself was accounted the northernmost of the Hamlets in the nineteenth century). The area was to the east of Islington

Islington

Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...

 and Hornsey

Hornsey

Hornsey is a district in London Borough of Haringey in north London in England. Whilst Hornsey was formerly the name of a parish and later a municipal borough of Middlesex, today, the name refers only to the London district. It is an inner-suburban area located north of Charing Cross.-Locale:The ...

, south of Tottenham

Tottenham

Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...

 and west of Walthamstow

Walthamstow

Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...

 in the historic 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...

.

In 1885 the parliamentary borough was split into Central

Hackney Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Hackney Central was a borough constituency in what was then the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney, in London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

, North

Hackney North (UK Parliament constituency)

Hackney North was a parliamentary constituency in the "The Metropolis" . It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- History :...

 and South

Hackney South (UK Parliament constituency)

Hackney South was a parliamentary constituency in "The Metropolis" . It was represented by nine Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, only two of whom, Horatio Bottomley and Herbert Morrison, were returned.- History :The constituency was created...

 divisions. In 1889 the area, for administrative purposes, became part of the London County Council

London County Council

London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...

 local authority. In 1900 the civil vestry was dissolved and the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney

Metropolitan Borough of Hackney

The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney.-Formation and boundaries:...

 was created (with the same boundaries as before). Since 1965 it has been part of Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

.

Members of Parliament

Election			First member	First party	Second member	Second 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...	Sir Charles Reed	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...	John Holms John Holms John Holms JP, DL , was a Scottish businessman and Liberal politician.-Background:Holms was the son of James Holms of Sancel Bank, Paisley, and his wife Janet Love, daughter of James Love, of Paisley. His brother William Holms was MP for Paisley.-Career:Holms was a partner in W. Holms Bros,...	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...
		1874	Henry Fawcett Henry Fawcett Henry Fawcett PC was a blind British academic, statesman and economist.-Background and education:Fawcett was born in Salisbury, and educated at King's College School and the University of Cambridge: entering Peterhouse in 1852, he migrated to Trinity Hall the following year, and became a fellow...	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...
		1884	James Stuart James Stuart (politician) James Stuart was a British educator and politician. He was born in Markinch, Fife, and attended the University of St Andrews before going to Trinity College, Cambridge. He later became a Fellow of the College and Professor of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics at Cambridge University from 1875; he...	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...

• Constituency abolished (1885)

Elections

Turnout, in multi-member elections, is estimated by dividing the number of votes by two. To the extent that electors did not use both their votes, the figure given will be an underestimate.

Change is calculated for individual candidates, when a party had more than one candidate in an election or the previous one. When a party had only one candidate in an election and the previous one change is calculated for the party vote.

• Election declared void on petition

• Appointment of Fawcett as Postmaster General
  United Kingdom Postmaster General
  The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
  
   and Holms as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury

• Death of Fawcett

Sources

• Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
• Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910. by Henry Pelling
  Henry Pelling
  Henry Mathison Pelling , was a British historian best known for his works on the history of the British Labour Party, including:*The Origins of the Labour Party and*A Short History of the Labour Party ....
  
  (Macmillan 1967)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)