Carrickfergus
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyCounty Antrim
BoroughCarrickfergus
1801–1885
Seats1
Created fromCarrickfergus
Replaced byEast Antrim

Carrickfergus was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland represented from 1801 to 1885 by one MP.

History and boundaries

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Carrickfergus which was a county corporate in County Antrim. It was disenfranchised under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, which took effect at the 1885 general election.[1] The county of the town of Carrickfergus became part of the county division of East Antrim.[2]

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberPartyNote
1801, January 1 Noah Dalway 1801: Co-opted
1802, July 30 Lord Spencer Chichester Tory Resigned
1807, April 29 James Craig Whig Initially elected four weeks earlier, in the 31 March 1807 Carrickfergus by-election
1812, November 5 Arthur Chichester Tory
1818, July 1 Earl of Belfast Tory
1820, March 16 Sir Arthur Chichester, Bt Tory[3] Created Baronet 13 September 1821
1830, August 10 Lord George Hill Whig[4]
1832, December 9 Conway Richard Dobbs Tory[5] Election declared void on petition
1833, March Writ suspended
1835, January 10 Peter Kirk Conservative[5]
1847, August 3 Hon. Wellington Stapleton-Cotton Conservative
1857, April 2 William Cary Dobbs Conservative
1859, May 6 Robert Torrens Conservative
1868, November 21 Marriott Dalway[n 1][6][7][8] Liberal-Conservative
1880, April 2 Thomas Greer Conservative Last MP for the constituency
1885 Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Carrickfergus[6][5][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig George Hill 311 39.1
Whig Marcus Hill 241 30.3
Tory Charles Adair 198 24.9
Tory Arthur Chichester 46 5.8
Majority 70 8.8
Turnout 796 c. 92.6
Registered electors c. 860
Whig gain from Tory Swing
General election 1831: Carrickfergus[6][5][9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig George Hill Unopposed
Registered electors 860
Whig hold
General election 1832: Carrickfergus[6][5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Conway Richard Dobbs 495 52.2
Whig Arthur Chichester 447 47.2
Tory James Wills 6 0.6
Majority 48 5.0
Turnout 948 92.6
Registered electors 1,024
Tory gain from Whig
  • On petition, the election was declared void and the writ for the seat was suspended.
General election 1835: Carrickfergus[6][5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Peter Kirk Unopposed
Registered electors 1,431
Conservative hold
General election 1837: Carrickfergus[6][5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Peter Kirk 446 51.6
Whig Matthew Boulton Rennie 418 48.4
Majority 28 3.2
Turnout 864 59.3
Registered electors 1,458
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Carrickfergus[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Kirk Unopposed
Registered electors 1,326
Conservative hold
General election 1847: Carrickfergus[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Wellington Stapleton-Cotton Unopposed
Registered electors 1,426
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Carrickfergus[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Wellington Stapleton-Cotton 311 51.3 N/A
Whig Warren Hastings Leslie Frith[10] 295 48.7 New
Majority 16 2.6 N/A
Turnout 606 84.2 N/A
Registered electors 720
Conservative hold Swing N/A
General election 1857: Carrickfergus[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Cary Dobbs 560 59.4 +8.1
Whig Francis Macdonogh[11] 383 40.6 −8.1
Majority 177 18.8 +16.2
Turnout 943 82.8 −1.4
Registered electors 1,139
Conservative hold Swing +8.1
General election 1859: Carrickfergus[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Torrens 668 72.1 +12.7
Liberal William McMechan[12] 259 27.9 −12.7
Majority 409 44.2 +25.4
Turnout 927 74.6 −8.2
Registered electors 1,243
Conservative hold Swing +12.7

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Carrickfergus[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Torrens 498 63.6 −8.5
Liberal Luke White 285 36.4 +8.5
Majority 213 27.2 −17.0
Turnout 783 69.6 −5.0
Registered electors 1,125
Conservative hold Swing −8.5
General election 1868: Carrickfergus[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal-Conservative Marriott Dalway[n 1] 669 62.2 +25.8
Conservative Robert Torrens 407 37.8 −25.8
Majority 262 24.4 N/A
Turnout 1,076 83.4 +13.8
Registered electors 1,290
Liberal-Conservative gain from Conservative Swing +25.8

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Carrickfergus[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal-Conservative Marriott Dalway[n 1] 628 58.1 −4.1
Conservative George Augustus Chichester May 452 41.9 +4.1
Majority 176 16.2 −8.2
Turnout 1,080 78.8 −4.6
Registered electors 1,370
Liberal-Conservative hold Swing −4.1

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Carrickfergus[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Thomas Greer 591 51.6 +9.7
Liberal-Conservative Marriott Dalway[n 1] 554 48.4 −9.7
Majority 37 3.2 N/A
Turnout 1,145 81.0 +2.2
Registered electors 1,414
Conservative gain from Liberal-Conservative Swing +9.7

Notes and References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Various sources refer to Dalway as 'Conservative', 'Liberal', and 'Liberal-Conservative'. Due to his support for Gladstone and Home Rule, he has been designated a 'Liberal-Conservative'

References

  1. ↑ First Schedule Part I: Boroughs to cease to exist as such. "Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, 48 & 49 Vict. C. 23". The public general acts. Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales.
  2. ↑ Seventh Schedule (Counties at Large); Part III (Ireland)."Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, 48 & 49 Vict. C. 23". The public general acts. Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales.
  3. ↑ Farrell, Stephen. "CHICHESTER, Arthur I (1769-1847), of Greencastle and Castlecary, co. Donegal and 15 Sackville Street, Mdx.". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Farrell, Stephen. "HILL, Lord George Augusta (1801-1879)". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 217–218. Retrieved 9 May 2020 – via Google Books.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 200–201, 257–258. ISBN 0901714127.
  7. ↑ "Biographical Sketches". Armagh Guardian. 11 December 1868. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  8. ↑ "New Parliament". Western Times. 10 February 1874. p. 7. Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. 1 2 Salmon, Philip. "Carrickfergus". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Belfast Mercantile Register and Weekly Advertiser". 13 July 1852. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 15 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ Wood-Martin, William Gregory (1882–1892). History of Sligo ; county and town ; with illustrations from original drawings and plans. Dublin: Hodges Figgis. p. 58.
  12. ↑ "The Elections". Belfast News-Letter. 7 May 1859. p. 3. Retrieved 15 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources


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