Croydon was a constituency

United Kingdom constituencies

In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

 in the House of Commons 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...

 from 1885 to 1918. It elected one Member 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,...

 (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

This constituency 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...

 covering an area based on the town of Croydon

Croydon

Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

. Croydon had been a Municipal Borough

Municipal borough

Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...

 from 1883 and was to become a County Borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

 in 1889. By 1902, at the latest, the parliamentary and local government boroughs had the same boundaries.

The Royal Commission on London Traffic, which reported in 1906, included the borough in its definition of Greater London. It is part of the northern section of the historic county of Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, which was included in 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...

 after 1965.

From 1918 Croydon was divided into two borough constituencies - Croydon North

Croydon North (UK Parliament constituency)

Croydon North is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

 and Croydon South

Croydon South (historic UK Parliament constituency)

-Politics and history of the constituency:The seat was created in 1918 and the first MP was Ian Malcolm who had been the MP for all of Croydon. H.T. Muggeridge, father of Malcolm Muggeridge, fought the seat for Labour four times from 1918, later becoming MP for Romford...

.

History

A large part of the inhabitants of this constituency commuted to work in the City of London. It was however an area where attendance at Nonconformist chapels exceeded that at Anglican churches, according to the Daily News survey of 1902. By the time of the 1911 census a larger artisan population had moved in so the social status of the borough was declining.

The constituency was in general Conservative, but less strongly so than many suburban commuter seats around London. The Labour Party secured 20% of the vote, in a three way contest, in the 1906 election.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...	William Grantham William Grantham William Grantham was a British politician.-Biography:He was educated at King's College School, and was called to the bar in 1863....	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1886 by-election	Hon. Sidney Herbert Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke, 11th Earl of Montgomery GCVO, PC , styled The Honourable Sidney Herbert between 1861 and 1895, was a British politician and peer.-Background and education:...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1895 by-election	Charles Thomson Ritchie	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...	H. O. Arnold-Forster	Liberal Unionist Liberal Unionist Party The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
	1909 by-election	Sir Robert Hermon-Hodge Robert Hermon-Hodge, 1st Baron Wyfold Robert Trotter Hermon-Hodge, 1st Baron Wyfold was a British Conservative politician.Born as Robert Trotter Hodge, he was the son of G W Hodge of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was educated at Clifton College and Worcester College, Oxford... , Bt.	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	Dec 1910	Ian Zachary Malcolm Ian Malcolm (politician) Sir Ian Zachary Malcolm, 17th Laird of Poltalloch, KCMG , was a Conservative Member of Parliament and Chieftain of the Clan Malcolm/MacCallum....	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...		constituency abolished: see Croydon North Croydon North (UK Parliament constituency) Croydon North is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...  & Croydon South Croydon South (UK Parliament constituency) Croydon South is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...