Wisbech (UK Parliament constituency)

Wisbech is a former United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Parliamentary

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...

constituency. It was created upon the abolition of an undivided Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights...

county constituency in 1885 and was itself abolished in 1918.

Boundaries

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...

split the former three-member Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

parliamentary county into three single-member divisions. One of these was the Northern or Wisbech Division. During the committee stage of the 1885 bill, the MP

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,...

for Cambridge University

Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency)

Cambridge University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950.-Boundaries, Electorate and Election Systems:...

, Henry Raikes

Henry Raikes

Vicar Henry Raikes was Chancellor of the diocese of Chester.He was the son of Thomas Raikes, a London banker and merchant, and Charlotte Finch, daughter of Henry Finch, Earl of Winchelsea....

made an unsuccessful attempt to rename the constituency as the Northern or Isle of Ely
Isle of Ely
The Isle of Ely is a historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.-Etymology:...

Division.

The constituency consisted of the towns of Chatteris

Chatteris

Chatteris is a civil parish and one of four market towns in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely...

, March

March, Cambridgeshire

March is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. March was the county town of the Isle of Ely, a separate administrative county between 1889 and 1965, and is now the administrative centre of Fenland District Council.The town was an important...

, Whittlesey

Whittlesey

Whittlesey, historically known as Whittlesea as the name of the railway station is still spelt, or Witesie, is an ancient Fenland market town around six miles east of Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire in England...

and Wisbech

Wisbech

Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...

with the surrounding parishes of Benwick

Benwick

Benwick is a village and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is approximately from Peterborough and from Cambridge...

, Doddington

Doddington, Cambridgeshire

Doddington is a village in Cambridgeshire, between Chatteris and March. Historically, Doddington was one of the largest parishes in England. Under the Doddington Rectory Division Act of 1856 it was divided into seven rectories, Benwick, Doddington, Wimblington, March Old Town, March St Peter,...

, Downham

Downham

Downham is a district located in south-east London, occupying much of the boundary between the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Bromley; it is the name of an electoral ward covering much of the area on the Lewisham side...

, Elm

Elm, Cambridgeshire

Elm is a Fenland village in Cambridgeshire, England. The civic parish of Elm, had a resident population of 3,295, as recorded during the 2001 United Kingdom census. It is located alongside the county boundary with Norfolk,on the outskirts of the market town of Wisbech. The northern end of Elm,...

, Leverington

Leverington

Leverington is a village and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 2,914 people....

, Littleport

Littleport, Cambridgeshire

Littleport is the largest village in East Cambridgeshire, England, approximately north of Ely and south-east of Welney. It lies on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and Mare Fen...

, Manea

Manea, Cambridgeshire

Manea is a village in the District of Fenland, Cambridgeshire, England. It is an expanding village in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Notable features are Manea railway station and RSPB Welches Dam nature reserve on the Ouse Washes...

, Newton

Newton, Cambridgeshire

Newton is a civil parish and small village in Cambridgeshire, England. Situated around 7 miles to the south-west of Cambridge, its lies on the old coaching road between London and Cambridge...

, Parson Drove

Parson Drove

Parson Drove is a village in the Fens, in Cambridgeshire, England. Located approximately west of Wisbech, the nearest town, the village is named after the central road around which the village developed, formerly a green drove wider than it is now....

, Thorney

Thorney

Thorney is the name of more than one place. It is also used as a common nickname for people with the surname Thorne.It often means "Thorn eyot", or Isle of Thorns; the isle might be in a fen or river, or the sea.In the United Kingdom:...

, Tydd St Giles, Welches Dam

Welches Dam

Welches Dam is a parish in Cambridgeshire around to the north west of Ely. It covers an area of .The parish of Welches Dam is surrounded by those of Coveney, Manea, Mepal, and Witcham. The civil parish was divided between Chatteris and Manea in 1960....

and Wimblington

Wimblington

Wimblington is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 1700 as of the 2001 census.-History:Formerly a hamlet of the large Doddington parish, in 1874 it became a separate parish and a new church, St...

.

The area was bounded by the constituencies of Spalding

Spalding (UK Parliament constituency)

Spalding was a county constituency in Lincolnshire, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

to the north, North West Norfolk and South West Norfolk to the east, the other Cambridgeshire divisions of Newmarket

Newmarket (UK Parliament constituency)

Newmarket is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the splitting up of the three member Cambridgeshire constituency into three single member divisions in 1885. The seat was abolished in 1918.-Boundaries:...

and Chesterton

Chesterton (UK Parliament constituency)

Chesterton is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the splitting up of the three member Cambridgeshire constituency into three single member divisions in 1885...

to the south and Ramsey

Ramsey (UK Parliament constituency)

Ramsey was a parliamentary constituency in Huntingdonshire, which elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

, Peterborough

Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)

Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...

and North Northamptonshire

North Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)

North Northamptonshire was a county constituency in Northamptonshire, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Boundaries :...

to the west.

The constituency was dominated by the Fens, a district of Liberal inclined smallholders. The towns in the division, predominantly Conservative Wisbech and the more Liberal inclined March, were outvoted by the rural areas.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
part of Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights... prior to 1885
	1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918Representation of the People Act 1884Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...	Sir John Rigby	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1886 United Kingdom general election, 1886 -Seats summary:-See also:MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*...	Charles William Selwyn Charles William Selwyn Captain Charles William Selwyn was a British army officer and Conservative politician.He was the eldest son of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Jasper Selwyn, Lord Justice of Appeal, and his wife Hester née Ravenshaw. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, before being commissioned in the...	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...
	1891 by-election	Arthur Brand Arthur Brand Arthur George Brand was a British Liberal politician.Brand was the third son of Henry Brand, 1st Viscount Hampden, second son of Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre. His mother was Eliza, daughter of General Robert Ellice, while Henry Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden, was his elder brother...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1895 United Kingdom general election, 1895 The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...	Charles Tyrrell Giles Charles Tyrrell Giles Sir Charles Tyrrell Giles KC , was a British lawyer and Conservative politician who represented Wisbech.Giles was the son of Alfred Giles MP for Southampton. He became Member of Parliament for Wisbech in the 1895 general election, but lost it in the 1900 General Election. He was appointed King's...	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...
	1900 United Kingdom general election, 1900 -Seats summary:-See also:MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:**-References:F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...	Arthur Brand Arthur Brand Arthur George Brand was a British Liberal politician.Brand was the third son of Henry Brand, 1st Viscount Hampden, second son of Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre. His mother was Eliza, daughter of General Robert Ellice, while Henry Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden, was his elder brother...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906 -Seats summary:-See also:MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:**-References:F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...	Cecil Beck Cecil Beck Sir Arthur Cecil Tyrrell Beck was a British Liberal Party politician.Beck was educated at Haileybury and the University of Cambridge....	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	January 1910	Neil James Archibald Primrose Neil James Archibald Primrose Captain The Honourable Neil James Archibald Primrose PC, MC , was a British Liberal politician and soldier. The second son of Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, he represented Wisbech in parliament from 1910 to 1917 and served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1915 and as...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1917 by-election Wisbech by-election, 1917 The Wisbech by-election, 1917 was a by-election held on 14 December 1917 for the House of Commons constituency of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.-Vacancy:...	Colin Reith Coote Colin Coote Sir Colin Reith Coote DSO was a British journalist and Liberal politician. For fourteen years he was the editor of the Daily Telegraph.-Biography:...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	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, part of Isle of Ely Isle of Ely (UK Parliament constituency) Isle of Ely was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, centred on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire... from 1918

Election results

Redistribution

The constituency ceased to exist when the Representation of the People Act 1918

Representation of the People Act 1918

The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...

redefined constituencies throughout Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

. The new constituencies followed the boundaries of the administrative counties

Administrative counties of England

Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...

and county districts created by the Local Government Acts of 1888

Local Government Act 1888

The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...

and 1894

Local Government Act 1894

The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...

. The historic county of Cambridgeshire had been divided by the legislation into two administrative counties: Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely

Isle of Ely

The Isle of Ely is a historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.-Etymology:...

. Each of these, along with the Parliamentary Borough of Cambridge

Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Cambridge 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 voting system....

, became single-member constituencies. The whole of the former Wisbech constituency was included in the new Isle of Ely

Isle of Ely (UK Parliament constituency)

Isle of Ely was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, centred on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire...

seat, to which were added the City of Ely

Ely, Cambridgeshire

Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...

and surrounding district

Ely Rural District

Ely was a rural district in England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after Ely, and surrounded it to the west and north. The district was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 from the Ely rural sanitary district...

Boundaries

Members of Parliament

Election results

Redistribution

See also