Mid Durham was a

county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituen ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

system of election from 1885 to 1918.

History

Creation

The constituency was created by the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

, when the

North Durham North Durham is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2024 by Luke Akehurst of th ...

and South Durham county divisions were replaced by eight new single-member county constituencies. These were

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit ...

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street () is a market town in County Durham, England. It is located around north of Durham and is close to Newcastle. The town holds markets on Saturdays. In 2021, the town had a population of 23,555. The town's history is ancient; ...

Houghton-le-Spring Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the Sunderland district, in Tyne and Wear, England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It lies betw ...

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

, Mid Durham,

North West Durham North West Durham was a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. The seat was abolished f ...

and South East Durham. In addition there were seven County Durham borough constituencies.

Boundaries

The Sessional Division of Durham and Willington (including all the parish of

Shadforth Shadforth is a village in County Durham, England, a few miles east of Durham. The historic centre of the village is a conservation area. The population at the 2011 census was 2,118. Shadforth is also a civil parish In England, a civil ...

and excluding all the parish of Moorhouse) and the

Municipal Borough of Durham Durham and Framwelgate was a municipal borough with the status of city in County Durham, England. The corporation of the ancient borough of Durham and Framwelgate was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The borough was abolished ...

.Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886 ''See map on Vision of Britain website.'' NB: 1) Boundary Commission proposed name was "Brancepeth" 2) Included only non-resident freeholders in the parliamentary borough of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

Abolition

The seat was abolished for the 1918 general election, when its contents were distributed as follows: * Parish of

Witton Gilbert Witton Gilbert is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England. Geography Witton Gilbert is situated about to the north-west of Durham, England, Durham. River Browney passes to the south of the village, while ...

; * Remaining northern areas, including Brandon and Willington, to the newly created county division of

, which also absorbed the abolished parliamentary borough; * South-western areas, including Brandon and Willington, to the new constituency of

Spennymoor Spennymoor is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is south of the River Wear and is south of Durham. The civil parish includes the villages of Kirk Merrington, Middlestone Moor, Byers Green and Tudhoe. In 2011 the paris ...

; and * South-eastern areas, including

Ferryhill Ferryhill is a towns in England, town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, England, with an estimated population in 2018 of 9,362. The town grew in the 1900s around the coal mining industry. The last mine officially clo ...

, to the new constituency of

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 4,986 in the 2021 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. Etymology The name ''Sedgefield'' is of Old English origin. It ...

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; *Liberal: Samuel Galbraith *Unionist: *Labour: Joseph Batey

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Durham Mid Parliamentary constituencies in County Durham (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918