Hedon, sometimes spelt Heydon, 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...

 in the East Riding of Yorkshire

East Riding of Yorkshire

The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...

, represented by 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,...

 in the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 briefly in the 13th century and again from 1547 to 1832.

History

The constituency consisted of the market town of Hedon

Hedon

Hedon is a small town and civil parish in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of Hull city centre. It lies to the north of the A1033 road at the crossroads of the B1240 and B1362 roads....

, in Holderness

Holderness

Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common with the Netherlands than other parts of Yorkshire...

 to the east of Hull

Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

, which had been of some importance in medieval times but which by 1831 had dwindled to 217 houses and a population of 1,080, and the borough was disfranchised in the Great Reform Act of 1832.

The right of election in Hedon was vested in the burgesses generally, meaning that a high proportion of the male population had the vote. In 1826, when the election was contested, 331 burgesses recorded their votes. Nevertheless, the result was rarely in doubt, Hedon being a classic example of a pocket borough where the influence of the landowner or "patron" was substantial if not absolute. At first the influence seems to have been shared between two families of important local landowners, the Constables of Burton Constable

Burton Constable

Burton Constable is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located approximately north east of Hull city centre and south east of the village of Skirlaugh....

 and the Hildyards of Winestead

Winestead

Winestead is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately south east of the town of Hedon and north west of the village of Patrington. It lies to the north of the A1033 road...

. The patron at the start of the 18th century was Henry Guy; he bequeathed it to his protege William Pulteney

William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath

William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, PC was an English politician, a Whig, created the first Earl of Bath in 1742 by King George II; he is sometimes stated to have been Prime Minister, for the shortest term ever , though most modern sources reckon that he cannot be considered to have held the...

, who not only sat for the borough himself for much of his career but made the other seat available to his cousin and his brother. After Pulteney's death the borough passed to the distinguished admiral Lord Anson

George Anson, 1st Baron Anson

Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson PC, FRS, RN was a British admiral and a wealthy aristocrat, noted for his circumnavigation of the globe and his role overseeing the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War...

, who used his patronage to provide seats for some of his naval colleagues; one of these, Admiral Sir Charles Saunders

Charles Saunders (admiral)

Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, KB was a Royal Navy officer in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and later served as First Lord of the Admiralty. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1766.-Early career:...

, inherited the patronage in turn when Anson died.

MPs 1547–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1547	Edward Elrington	Robert Googe
1553 (Mar)	Sir John Constable	Robert Shakerley
1553 (Oct)	Sir John Constable	Robert Shakerley
1554 (Apr)	Hon. Sir Thomas Wharton Thomas Wharton, 2nd Baron Wharton Thomas Wharton, 2nd Baron Wharton was an English peer. He was knighted in 1543 by Seymour-Hertford and married to Anne Radcliffe, elder daughter of Robert first earl of Sussex, in 1547....	Richard Cuthbert
1554 (Nov)	John Long	Richard Cuthbert
1555	George Brooke alias Cobham	Richard Cuthbert
1558	Sir John Constable	John Goldwell
1558/9	John Vaughan	John Salveyn
1562/3	Sir John Constable	Christopher Hilliard
1571	Christopher Hilliard	William Paler
1572	Christopher Hilliard	John Moore
1584 (Oct)	Sir Henry Constable	Fulke Greville Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, de jure 13th Baron Latimer and 5th Baron Willoughby de Broke , known before 1621 as Sir Fulke Greville, was an Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and statesman....
1586 (Oct)	Sir Henry Constable	John Hotham
1588 (Oct)	John Alford	Christopher Hilliard Christopher Hilliard (died 1634) Sir Christopher Hilliard was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1629....
1593	Henry Brooke alias Cobham II	Christopher Hilliard Christopher Hilliard (died 1634) Sir Christopher Hilliard was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1629....
1597 (Sep)	Tomas Salveyn	Christopher Hilliard Christopher Hilliard (died 1634) Sir Christopher Hilliard was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1629....
1601 (Oct)	Matthew Patteson	Christopher Hilliard Christopher Hilliard (died 1634) Sir Christopher Hilliard was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1629....
1604	Christopher Hilliard Christopher Hilliard (died 1634) Sir Christopher Hilliard was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1629....	Sir Henry Constable, replaced 1610 by John Digby John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol , was an English diplomat and a moderate royalist during the English Civil War.- Early career :...
1614	Christopher Hilliard Christopher Hilliard (died 1634) Sir Christopher Hilliard was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1629....	Clement Coke, sat for Clitheroe replaced by William Sheffield
1621	Sir Matthew Boynton, Bt Sir Matthew Boynton, 1st Baronet Sir Matthew Boynton, 1st Baronet , of Barmston and Bainton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, was an English Member of Parliament....	Sir Thomas Fairfax of Walton
1624	Sir Thomas Fairfax of Walton	Christopher Hilliard Christopher Hilliard (died 1634) Sir Christopher Hilliard was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1629....
1625
1626
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1832

Year			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		April 1640 Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....	John Alured John Alured John Alured was an army officer who fought for the parliamentary cause in the English Civil War and was one of the regicides of King Charles I in 1649....	Parliamentarian	Sir Phi;ip Stapleton Philip Stapleton Sir Philip Stapleton , of Warter-on-the Wolds in Yorkshire, was an English Member of Parliament, a supporter of the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. His surname is also sometimes spelt Stapylton or Stapilton.-Life:...
		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...			Sir William Strickland Sir William Strickland, 1st Baronet Sir William Strickland, 1st Baronet was an English Member of Parliament who supported the parliamentary cause during the English Civil War....	Parliamentarian
		1651	Alured died 1651, seat vacant thereafter
		1653	Hedon 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...	Thomas Strickland Sir Thomas Strickland, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Strickland, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659.Strickland was son of Sir William Strickland, 1st Baronet of Boynton, East Riding of Yorkshire, and his second wife Frances Finch, daughter of Thomas Finch, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea...		Colonel Matthew Alured
		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....	Sir William Strickland Sir William Strickland, 1st Baronet Sir William Strickland, 1st Baronet was an English Member of Parliament who supported the parliamentary cause during the English Civil War....		One seat vacant
		April 1660	Sir John Cloberry John Cloberry Sir John Cloberry was an English soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1660 and 1685....		Sir Hugh Bethell Hugh Bethell (died 1679) Hugh Bethell was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1679....
		July 1660	Henry Hildyard Henry Hildyard General Sir Henry John Thoroton Hildyard GCB was a British Army general who saw active service in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 and the Second Boer War.He was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa, from 1905 to 1908....
		1661	Sir Matthew Appleyard
		1670	Henry Guy
		1680			William Boynton William Boynton Lieutenant-Colonel William Boynton was an English Member of Parliament.He was the eldest son of Sir Francis Boynton, 2nd Baronet of Barmston.He entered Parliament in 1680 as member for Hedon, remaining an MP until 1685....
		1685			Charles Duncombe	Tory
		1689			Matthew Appleyard
		October 1695	Lord Spencer Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland Sir Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland KG PC , known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was an English statesman...		Sir William Trumbull William Trumbull Sir William Trumbull was an English statesman who held high office as a member of the First Whig Junto.-Biography:...
		December 1695	Thomas Frankland Sir Thomas Frankland, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Frankland, 2nd Baronet , of Thirkelby in Yorkshire, was an English Member of Parliament.He was the eldest son of Sir William Frankland, 1st Baronet, and succeeded to the baronetcy on 2 August 1697...		Hugh Bethell
		1698	Anthony Duncombe
		January 1701			Sir Robert Bedingfield
		December 1701			Sir Robert Hildyard Sir Robert Hildyard, 2nd Baronet Sir Robert Hildyard, 2nd Baronet , of Patrington and Winestead in the East Riding of Yorkshire, was an English landowner and Member of Parliament....
		July 1702	Sir Charles Duncombe	Tory	Henry Guy
		November 1702	Anthony Duncombe
		1705			William Pulteney William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, PC was an English politician, a Whig, created the first Earl of Bath in 1742 by King George II; he is sometimes stated to have been Prime Minister, for the shortest term ever , though most modern sources reckon that he cannot be considered to have held the...	Whig
		1708	Hugh Cholmley	Whig
		March 1722	Daniel Pulteney Daniel Pulteney Daniel Pulteney was an English government official and Member of Parliament.Pulteney was the son of John Pulteney , MP for Hastings and Commissioner of Customs, and Lucy Colville. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, matriculating in 1699.He was one of the Commissioners for Trade and Plantations...	Whig
		November 1722	Harry Pulteney Harry Pulteney General Harry Pulteney was an English soldier and Member of Parliament.He was the younger son of Colonel William Pulteney, of Misterton in Leicestershire, and Mary Floyd...	Whig
		1734	Sir Francis Boynton Sir Francis Boynton, 4th Baronet Sir Francis Boynton, 4th Baronet , of Barmston in the East Riding of Yorkshire, was an English landowner and Member of Parliament.-Life:...		George Berkeley
		1739	Harry Pulteney Harry Pulteney General Harry Pulteney was an English soldier and Member of Parliament.He was the younger son of Colonel William Pulteney, of Misterton in Leicestershire, and Mary Floyd...	Whig
		1741 British general election, 1741 The British general election, 1741 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707...	Francis Chute		Luke Robinson
		1742	The Earl of Mountrath Algernon Coote, 6th Earl of Mountrath Algernon Coote, 6th Earl of Mountrath PC , styled The Honourable Algernon Coote until 1720, was an Irish peer who sat as a Member of Parliament in the Parliament of Ireland as well as in the Parliament of Great Britain.Coote was the third son of the 3rd Earl of Mountrath...	Whig	George Berkeley
		1744	George Anson George Anson, 1st Baron Anson Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson PC, FRS, RN was a British admiral and a wealthy aristocrat, noted for his circumnavigation of the globe and his role overseeing the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War...
		1746			Samuel Gumley
		February 1747			Luke Robinson
		July 1747	Sir John Savile John Savile, 1st Earl of Mexborough Sir John Savile , later 1st Lord Pollington and 1st Earl of Mexborough, was an English peer and Member of Parliament.Savile was the eldest son of Charles Savile of Methley...
		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....	Captain Sir Charles Saunders, RN Charles Saunders (admiral) Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, KB was a Royal Navy officer in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and later served as First Lord of the Admiralty. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1766.-Early career:...		Captain Peter Denis, RN Sir Peter Denis, 1st Baronet Admiral Sir Peter Denis, 1st Baronet was an English naval officer and Member of Parliament.-Life:The son of a Huguenot refugee, Denis joined the navy as a young man and was a midshipman in HMS Centurion under the command of Commodore George Anson at the start of his famous circumnavigation . He...
		1768			Beilby Thompson Beilby Thompson Beilby Thompson was a British landowner and politician, the son of Beilby Thompson and Sarah Dawes...
		1776	Hon. Lewis Watson
		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...	Christopher Atkinson		William Chaytor William Chaytor (MP) William Chaytor was a British politician and judge.Born in Croft, Yorkshire, Chaytor was the son of Henry Chaytor and his wife Jane . He entered Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1750 and was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1753...
		1783	Stephen Lushington Sir Stephen Lushington, 1st Baronet Sir Stephen Lushington, 1st Baronet , of South Hill Park in Easthampstead, Berkshire, was an English Member of Parliament and Chairman of the East India Company....	Foxite Foxite The term Foxite generally refers to an 18th or 19th century British Whig politician who adhered to the ideals and political beliefs of Charles James Fox, the 18th century member of parliament and leader of the Whig party....  Whig
		1784	Lionel Darell
		1790			Beilby Thompson Beilby Thompson Beilby Thompson was a British landowner and politician, the son of Beilby Thompson and Sarah Dawes...
		1796			Christopher Atkinson
		1802	George Johnstone
		1806			Anthony Browne
		1813	John Broadhurst (MP)
		1818	Edmund Turton		Robert Farrand	Whig
		1820	John Baillie	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....			Thomas Hyde Villiers Thomas Hyde Villiers Thomas Hyde Villiers was a British politician.The second son of the Hon. George Villiers , he was educated at St John's College, Cambridge...	Whig
		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...	Sir Thomas Clifford-Constable	Tory	Robert Farrand	Tory