Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1801–1868
Thetford was a constituency of the British House of Commons . It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election . It was disenfranchised under the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 , which had resulted in a net increase of seven seats in Scotland, offset by the disenfranchisement of seven English Boroughs.
Below are those MPs who held the seat from just prior to the Restoration onwards.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1529–1660
Year
First member
Second member
1529
Giles Heron
William Dauntesey (or Daunce)[ 1]
1536
?
1539
?
1542
?
1545
?
1547
John Brende
Richard Heydon [ 1]
1553 (Mar)
Sir John Clere
Henry Northey [ 1]
1553 (Oct)
William Hunston
Robert Drury [ 1]
1554 (Apr)
Robert Drury
Nicholas Rookwood [ 1]
1554 (Nov)
Robert Drury
Nicholas Rookwood [ 1]
1555
Nicholas Rookwood
Robert Barker [ 1]
1558
Edward Clere
Walter Haddon [ 1]
1559
Edmund Gascoigne
Thomas Poley I [ 2]
1562–3
Sir Richard Fulmerston
Edward Clere [ 2]
1571
Philip Appleyard
Thomas Hogan [ 2]
1572
William Humberston , died and repl. Jan 1576 by Sir Valentine Browne
Thomas Colby [ 2]
1584
Edward Eden
Robert Whitney [ 2]
1586
Sir Roger Woodhouse
Thomas Poley II [ 2]
1588–9
William Waad
Philip Gawdy [ 2]
1593
Charles Chewte
Bassingbourne Gawdy [ 2]
1597
John Crofts
Philip Gawdy [ 2]
1601
Henry Warner
Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet [ 2]
1604
Bassingbourne Gawdy died and repl. 1606 by Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet
Sir William Paddy
1614
Framlingham Gawdy
Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet
1621
Framlingham Gawdy
Sir Thomas Holland
1624
Framlingham Gawdy
Drue Drury
1625
Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington
Framlingham Gawdy
1626
Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet
Framlingham Gawdy
1628
Edmund Moundeford
Sir Henry Spiller sat for Middlesex and repl.by Sir Henry Vane
1629–1640
No Parliaments summoned
Apr 1640
Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet
Framlingham Gawdy
Nov 1640
Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet
Framlingham Gawdy secluded 1648
1648
Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet
1653–1658
Thetford not represented in Barebones and Protectorate Parliaments
1659
William Stene
Robert Steward
MPs 1660–1868
FitzRoy family Due to the town's close proximity to Euston Hall (the main residence of the FitzRoy family), the seat for Thetford has been held by various members of the family:
Election results
Elections in the 1830s
FitzRoy's death caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1840s
Due to the triple return, on petition, one vote was knocked off FitzRoy's total and Flower was declared elected in 1842.
Baring was appointed Paymaster General , requiring a by-election.
Baring succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Baron Ashburton and causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Baring resigned , causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1860s FitzRoy succeeded to the peerage, becoming 6th Duke of Grafton and causing a by-election.
Baring resigned , causing a by-election.
References
^ a b c d e f g h Virgoe, Roger (1982). "DAUNTESEY (DAUNCE), William (by 1501–48), of London" . In Bindoff, S. T. (ed.). The House of Commons 1509–1558 . The History of Parliament Trust . Retrieved 13 June 2024 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j "History of Parliament" . Retrieved 11 October 2011 .
^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)
^ Escott, Margaret. "FITZROY, Lord Charles (1791–1865), of 49 Piccadilly, Mdx" . The History of Parliament . Retrieved 27 April 2020 .
^ Escott, Margaret. "BARING, William Bingham (1799–1864), of Buckenham House, Brandon, Norf. and 12 Great Stanhope Street, Mdx" . The History of Parliament . Retrieved 27 April 2020 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 227–228 . ISBN 0-900178-13-2 .
^ Mackie, Charles (1901). Norfolk Annals: A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteen Century, 1801-1850 (Reprint ed.). Digipublishing. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-4710-8854-4 . Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books .
^ Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc . p. 168. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books .
^ a b Escott, Margaret. "Thetford" . The History of Parliament . Retrieved 27 April 2020 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Craig, F. W. S. , ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3 .
^ "Eastern Counties Elections" . Bury and Norwich Post . 18 July 1865. p. 6. Retrieved 25 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive .
Sources D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington , Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [1]