Aldborough was a parliamentary borough

Parliamentary borough

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

 located in the West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

, abolished in the Great Reform Act

Reform Act 1832

The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...

 of 1832. Aldborough returned two Members of Parliament

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,...

 (MPs) from 1558 until 1832.

Aldborough was a "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...

" borough, meaning that any man paying the poor rate was eligible to vote. Nevertheless, it was a small borough (not even including the whole parish of Aldborough

Aldborough, North Yorkshire

Aldborough is a village in the civil parish of Boroughbridge, part of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England.Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, what is now known as Aldborough was built on the site of a major Romano-British town, Isurium Brigantum...

, since Boroughbridge

Boroughbridge

Boroughbridge is a small town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of York. Until its bypass was built, it was on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh...

, also within the boundaries, was also a borough with its own two MPs), and by the time of the Reform Act it had a population only just over 500 and an electorate of less than 100. This made it a pocket borough and easy for the local landowner to dominate.

In the 18th century, Aldborough was controlled by the Duke of Newcastle. In April 1754 Newcastle, who had just become Prime Minister, selected his junior colleague and future Prime Minister, William Pitt

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...

 (Pitt the Elder), to sit as its MP. Pitt represented Aldborough for two-and-a-half years, but having fallen out with Newcastle and been dismissed from his ministry, he was forced to find a new constituency when he next needed to be re-elected to the Commons in 1756.

MPs 1558–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1558	John Gascoigne II	John Browne II
1559	Richard Onslow Richard Onslow (Solicitor General) Richard Onslow was a 16th century English lawyer who served as Solicitor General and Speaker of the House of Commons....	Richard Assheton
1563	William Lambarde William Lambarde William Lambarde was an antiquarian and writer on legal subjects.-Life:Lambarde was born in London. His father was a draper , an alderman and a sheriff of London. In 1556, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn...	Anthony Tailboyes
1571	Thomas Eynns	Barnaby Googe
1572	Richard Bunny II	Richard Tempest
1584	William Waad	Robert Waterhouse
1586	George Horsey	Ralph Hurleston
1588	Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron was an English soldier, diplomat and politician, his title being in the Peerage of Scotland.-Life:...	David Waterhouse
1593	Andrew Fisher	Edward Hancock
1597	Henry Bellasis	Richard Gargrave Richard Gargrave Sir Richard Gargrave was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1609....
1601	Sir Edward Cecil Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon was an English military and naval commander.-Life:The third son of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter and grandson of Queen Elizabeth's great minister Lord Burghley, Cecil served with the English forces in the Netherlands between 1596 and 1610, becoming a captain...	Richard Theakston
1604–1611	Sir Edward Cecil Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon was an English military and naval commander.-Life:The third son of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter and grandson of Queen Elizabeth's great minister Lord Burghley, Cecil served with the English forces in the Netherlands between 1596 and 1610, becoming a captain...	Sir Henry Savile
1614	Sir Henry Savile	George Wetherid
1621	Christopher Wandesford Christopher Wandesford Christopher Wandesford , was an English politician administrator, Lord Deputy of Ireland at the end of his life.-Life:He was the son of Sir George Wandesford of Kirklington, Yorkshire, and was born on 24 September 1592....	John Carswill
1624	Christopher Wandesford Christopher Wandesford Christopher Wandesford , was an English politician administrator, Lord Deputy of Ireland at the end of his life.-Life:He was the son of Sir George Wandesford of Kirklington, Yorkshire, and was born on 24 September 1592....	John Carswill
1625	Richard Aldborough Richard Aldborough Richard Aldborough was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640. He supported the Royalist side in the English Civil War....	John Carvill
1626	Richard Aldborough Richard Aldborough Richard Aldborough was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640. He supported the Royalist side in the English Civil War....	John Carvill
1628	Henry Darley	Robert Stapleton
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1832

Year			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		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...	Richard Aldeburgh	Royalist	Robert Strickland Robert Strickland Sir Robert Strickland of Sizergh English Member of Parliament for Westmorland. Supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War....	Royalist
		September 1642			Strickland disabled to sit – seat vacant
		January 1643	Aldeburgh disabled to sit – seat vacant
		1645	Thomas Scott (died January 1648)		Brian Stapylton
		March (?) 1648	James Chaloner James Chaloner James Chaloner was an English politician on the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War, and commissioner at the trial of King Charles I.On the 10 April 1648 he became the Member of Parliament for Aldborough, Yorkshire...
		December 1648			Stapylton not recorded as having sat after Pride's Purge Pride's Purge Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
		1653	Aldborough 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...	Francis Goodricke Francis Goodricke Francis Goodricke was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1673....		John Lambert John Lambert (general) John Lambert was an English Parliamentary general and politician. He fought during the English Civil War and then in Oliver Cromwell's Scottish campaign , becoming thereafter active in civilian politics until his dismissal by Cromwell in 1657...
		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....	No representatives in the restored Rump 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....
		1660	Sir Solomon Swale, Bt Sir Solomon Swale, 1st Baronet Sir Solomon Swale, 1st Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1678.Swale was the son of Francis Swale of South Stainley, Yorkshire, and his wife Anne Ingleby, daughter of Sampson Ingleby...		Francis Goodricke Francis Goodricke Francis Goodricke was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1673....
		1673			Sir John Reresby, Bt
		1678	Ruisshe Wentworth
		February 1679	Henry Arthington Henry Arthington Henry Arthington was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1646 and 1660.Arthington was the eldest son of William Arthington of Arthington and his wife Anne Tancred, daughter of Thomas Tancred of Brampton Hall. He was baptised on 1 January 1616 and came...
		May 1679			Sir Godfrey Copley, Bt
		August 1679	Sir Brian Stapylton, Bt Sir Brian Stapylton, 2nd Baronet Sir Brian Stapylton, 2nd Baronet , of Myton in Yorkshire, was an English Member of Parliament.He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Stapylton, who had been a Member of Parliament during the Commonwealth and who was created a baronet shortly after the Restoration in 1660; Sir Bryan succeeded to the...
		1681	Sir John Reresby, Bt
		1685	Sir Michael Wentworth		Sir Roger Strickland Roger Strickland For the basketball player, see Roger Strickland Sir Roger Strickland was an English admiral and Member of Parliament....
		1689			Christopher Tancred Christopher Tancred Christopher Tancred , of Whixley in Yorkshire, was Member of Parliament for Aldborough from 1689 to 1698.He also served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1684 and Master of the Harriers to King William III.-References:...
		1696	Henry Fairfax
		January 1698	William Wentworth
		July 1698	Sir George Cooke		Sir Abstrupus Danby Abstrupus Danby Sir Abstrupus Danby was an English wool merchant and country gentleman. He was the son of Christopher Danby and Anne Culpepper, niece of Lord Colepeper....
		1701	Robert Monckton		Cyril Arthington
		1702			William Jessop
		1713	John Dawnay		Paul Foley Paul Foley (politician) Paul Foley was an English barrister and politician, the second son of Paul Foley, sometime Speaker of the House of Commons.Admitted to Lincoln's Inn, he was a member of Parliament for Aldborough from 1713 to 1715...
		February 1715 British general election, 1715 The British general election of 1715 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707...	James Stanhope James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope PC was a British statesman and soldier who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He is probably best remembered for his service during War of the Spanish Succession...	Whig	William Jessop
		April 1715 by-election	William Monson
		1722 British general election, 1722 The British general election of 1722 elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This event took place following the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was fiercely fought, with contests taking place...	Charles Stanhope
		1734 British general election, 1734 The British general election, 1734 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's increasingly unpopular Whig government lost ground to the...	Henry Pelham Henry Pelham Henry Pelham was a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death in 1754...	Whig
		1735 by-election	John Jewkes John Jewkes John Jewkes was a British classical liberal economist. He was Professor of Economic Organisation at Merton College, Oxford.His main work, Ordeal by Planning, was written in 1946; in it he argues that the central planning implemented in the United Kingdom during World War II can only lead to...		Andrew Wilkinson Andrew Wilkinson Andrew Wilkinson was a British politician and racehorse breeder.A resident of Boroughbridge, he was returned in 1735 as Member of Parliament for Aldborough, succeeding his late father-in-law William Jessop...	Whig
		1743 by-election	Nathaniel Newnham
		1754 British general election, 1754 The British general election, 1754 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707....	William Pitt William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...	Whig
		1756 by-election	Nathaniel Cholmley
		1765 by-election			Viscount Villiers
		1768 British general election, 1768 The British general election, 1768 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.-Summary of the Constituencies:...	Hon. Aubrey Beauclerk Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans was the son of Admiral the 1st Baron Vere and a grandson of the 1st Duke of St Albans...		Andrew Wilkinson Andrew Wilkinson Andrew Wilkinson was a British politician and racehorse breeder.A resident of Boroughbridge, he was returned in 1735 as Member of Parliament for Aldborough, succeeding his late father-in-law William Jessop...	Whig
		1772 by-election			Earl of Lincoln	Tory
		1774 British general election, 1774 The British general election, 1774 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 14th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.-Summary of the Constituencies:...	Charles Wilkinson Charles Wilkinson Charles Anderson Wilkinson CBE was a New Zealand Reform Party, then Independent Member of Parliament for Egmont, in the North Island.-Member of Parliament:...		Abel Smith	Tory
		1777 by-election	William Baker William Baker (1743–1824) William Baker was a British politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Aldborough 4 March 1777 – 8 September 1780, Hertford 7 September 1780 – 30 March 1784, Hertfordshire 23 June 1790 – 10 July 1802 and 11 February 1805 – 11 May 1807 and Plympton Erle 22 March 1768 – 10 October 1774.He died...
		1778 by-election			Hon. William Hanger
		September 1780 British general election, 1780 The British general election, 1780 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 15th Parliament of Great Britain to be held after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707...	Sir Richard Sutton, Bt Sir Richard Sutton, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Sutton, 1st Baronet , of Norwood Park in Nottinghamshire was an English Member of Parliament....		Charles Mellish Charles Mellish Charles Mellish was a British MPHe was born in London the only surviving son of William Mellish, MP, of Blyth, Nottinghamshire and his wife Catherine da Costa Villa Real. He entered Lincolns Inn in 1761 and was called to the Bar in 1766. He was the Recorder of Newarke, Nottinghamshire from 1770 to...
		November 1780 by-election	Edward Onslow Edward Onslow Edward Onslow was a British nobleman, the younger son of George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow.Onslow was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, matriculating in 1774...
		1781 by-election	Sir Samuel Brudenell Fludyer, Bt
		January 1784 by-election			John Gally Knight John Gally Knight John Gally Knight was an English barrister who served in the House of Commons from 1784 to 1796.He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Aldborough at a by-election in January 1784, and held the seat until the 1796 general election, which he did not contest.He was born John Gally, but...
		March 1784 British general election, 1784 The British general election of 1784 resulted in William Pitt the Younger securing an overall majority of about 120 in the House of Commons of Great Britain, having previously had to survive in a House which was dominated by his opponents.-Background:...	Richard Pepper Arden Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley PC, KC was a British barrister and politician.He was born on 20 May 1744 in Bredbury, the son of John Arden , and Mary Pepper, and baptised on 20 June 1744 in Stockport. Educated at The Manchester Grammar School, he matriculated at Trinity College,...	Whig
		1790 British general election, 1790 The British general election, 1790 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.-Political Situation:...	Trench Chiswell Trench Chiswell Richard Muilman Trench Chiswell was an antiquary and English Member of Parliament.Chiswell was Richard Muilman, but assumed the extra surnames of Trench and Chiswell by royal licence on 28 November 1772 following the death of his mother’s brother, Richard Chiswell, when he inherited a fortune of...
		1796 British general election, 1796 The British general election, 1796 returned members to serve in the 18th and last House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain to be held before the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801...			Charles Duncombe Charles Duncombe, 1st Baron Feversham Charles Duncombe, 1st Baron Feversham was a British Member of Parliament.Feversham was appointed High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1790. He was elected to the House of Commons for Shaftesbury in 1790, a seat he held until 1796, and then represented Aldborough from 1796 to 1806, Heytesbury from 1812 to...
		1797 by-election	John Blackburn
		1802 United Kingdom general election, 1802 The United Kingdom general election, 1802 was the election to the 2nd Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was the first to be held after the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...	John Sullivan
		1806 United Kingdom general election, 1806 The United Kingdom general election, 1806 was the election of members to the 3rd Parliament of the United Kingdom. This was the second general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland....	Henry Fynes Henry Fynes Clinton Henry Fynes Clinton was an English classical scholar and chronologist.-Life:He was born in Gamston, Nottinghamshire; for some generations his family bore the name of Fynes, but his father resumed the older family name of Clinton in 1821...	Tory	Gilbert Jones	Tory
		1812			Henry Dawkins	Tory
		1814 by-election			Henry Gally Knight Henry Gally Knight Henry Gally Knight, FRS was an English M.P., traveller and writer.Henry Gally Knight was a country gentleman of Yorkshire, educated at Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was the author of several Oriental tales, Ilderim, a Syrian Tale , Phrosyne, a Grecian Tale, and Alashtar, an Arabian Tale...	Tory
		1815 by-election			Granville Harcourt-Vernon Granville Harcourt-Vernon (1792–1879) -Background:Harcourt-Vernon was the sixth son of the Most Reverend Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt, Archbishop of York, third son of George Venables-Vernon, 1st Baron Vernon. His mother was Lady Anne, daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford...	Tory
		1820 United Kingdom general election, 1820 The 1820 UK general election, held shortly after the Radical War in Scotland and the Cato Street Conspiracy. In this atmosphere, the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool were able to win a substantial majority over the Whigs....			Gibbs Antrobus	Tory
		1826 United Kingdom general election, 1826 The 1826 United Kingdom general election saw the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool win a substantial and increased majority over the Whigs. In Ireland, Home Rule candidates, working with the Whigs, won large gains from Unionist candidates....	Clinton James Fynes Clinton	Tory	Sir Alexander Cray Grant, Bt	Tory
		1830 United Kingdom general election, 1830 The 1830 United Kingdom general election, was triggered by the death of King George IV and produced the first parliament of the reign of his successor, William IV. Fought in the aftermath of the Swing Riots, it saw electoral reform become a major election issue...			Viscount Stormont	Tory
		1831 United Kingdom general election, 1831 The 1831 general election in the United Kingdom saw a landslide win by supporters of electoral reform, which was the major election issue. As a result it was the last unreformed election, as the Parliament which resulted ensured the passage of the Reform Act 1832. Polling was held from 28 April to...			Michael Thomas Sadler Michael Thomas Sadler Michael Thomas Sadler was a radical British Tory Member of Parliament , opponent of Catholic emancipation and leader of the factory reform movement...	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