Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1801–1918
Wigtownshire , was a Scottish constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was represented by one Member of Parliament .
Creation The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Wigtownshire which had previously been represented by two Shire Commissioners . The first British general election in Wigtownshire was in 1708. In 1707–08, members of the 1702–1707 Parliament of Scotland were co-opted to serve in the 1st Parliament of Great Britain . See Scottish representatives to the 1st Parliament of Great Britain , for further details.
Boundaries Wigtownshire was a Scottish shire (later known as a county). The constituency included the whole shire, except that between 1708 and 1885 the burghs of Stranraer , New Galloway , Whithorn and Wigtown , formed part of the Wigtown Burghs constituency.
History The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was abolished in 1918.[ 1]
[ 2]
[ 3]
[ 4]
[ 5] In 1918 the Wigtownshire area was combined with Kirkcudbrightshire to form the Galloway constituency.
Members of Parliament
Election
Member
Party
Notes
1708, 17 June
John Stewart (c 1670–1748)
1710, 10 November
Patrick Vanse
Unseated on petition
1711, 3 March
John Stewart (c 1670–1748)
Seated on petition
1727, 21 September
William Dalrymple
1741, 15 May
James Stewart (c 1699–1768)
1747, 31 July
John Stewart (?-c 1769)
1754, 2 May
James Stewart
1761, 23 April
John Hamilton
Resigned
1762, 18 March
James Murray
Of Cally and Broughton
1768, 22 April
Keith Stewart
Appointed Receiver of Land Taxation for Scotland
1784, 17 September
Andrew McDouall
Returned at a by-election
1796, 17 June
William Stewart
1802, 27 July
Andrew McDouall
Resigned
1805, 15 April
William Maxwell
Tory [ 6]
Returned at a by-election
1812, 28 October
Sir William Stewart
Resigned
1816, 2 August
James Hunter-Blair
Returned at a by-election; resigned
1822, 30 July
Sir William Maxwell
Tory [ 6]
Returned at a by-election
1830, 17 August
Sir Andrew Agnew, 7th Baronet
Whig [ 7] [ 8]
1837, 5 August
James Blair
Conservative [ 7] [ 8]
1841, 15 July
John Dalrymple Viscount Dalrymple (from 1853)
Whig [ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
Resigned; the 10th Earl of Stair from 1864
1856, 9 February
Sir Andrew Agnew, 8th Baronet
Whig [ 8]
Returned at a by-election; joined the Liberal Party
1859
Liberal [ 8]
1868, 21 November
Alan Stewart, Lord Garlies
Conservative [ 8]
Succeeded as the 10th Earl of Galloway
1873, 24 February
Robert Vans-Agnew
Conservative [ 8]
Returned at a by-election
1880, 10 April
Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet [ 8]
Conservative
1906, 23 January
John Dalrymple, Viscount Dalrymple
Conservative
Succeeded as the 12th Earl of Stair
1915, 12 February
Hon. Hew Hamilton Dalrymple
Conservative
Returned at a by-election
1918
constituency abolished
Pre-1832 election results
Elections in the 1830s
Election results 1832-1868
Elections in the 1830s
Elections in the 1840s
Elections in the 1850s
Dalrymple resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead , causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1860s
Election results 1868-1880
Elections in the 1860s
Elections in the 1870s Stewart succeeded to the peerage, becoming Earl of Galloway.
Elections in the 1880s
Election results 1885-1918
Elections in the 1880s
In July 1886, Sir Herbert Maxwell accepted office as a Junior Lord of the Treasury , causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1900s
Waring
Elections in the 1910s Macpherson
General Election 1914–15 :
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
At the 1915 Wigtownshire by-election , Hew Hamilton Dalrymple (Conservative) was returned unopposed on 12 February 1915.
References
^ "Wigtownshire" . History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 9 June 2019 .
^ "Wigtownshire" . History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 9 June 2019 .
^ "Wigtownshire" . History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 9 June 2019 .
^ "Wigtownshire" . History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 9 June 2019 .
^ "Wigtownshire" . History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 9 June 2019 .
^ a b Fisher, David R. "MAXWELL, Sir William, 5th bt. (1779-1838), of Monreith, Wauphill, Wigtown" . The History of Parliament . Retrieved 9 May 2020 .
^ a b c d e f g h Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 213. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via Google Books .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Craig, F. W. S. , ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 607. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3 .
^ "London Evening Standard" . 20 July 1841. p. 4. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive .
^ a b c d Fisher, David R. "Wigtownshire" . The History of Parliament . Retrieved 9 May 2020 .
^ a b c d e f g h i Craig, F. W. S. , ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918 . London: Macmillan Press. p. 563. ISBN 9781349022984 .
^ a b c d e f The Liberal Year Book, 1907
^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
Sources British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 , compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918 , compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973))
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 4)
Current constituencies (2024)