North Northamptonshire 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 ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, 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 ...

. This constituency included the majority of the

Soke of Peterborough The Soke of Peterborough is a historic area of England associated with the City and Anglican Diocese of Peterborough, Diocese of Peterborough. It was part of Northamptonshire, but was administered by Soke of Peterborough County Council, its own ...

(also known as the 'Liberty of Peterborough'), with the exception of the actual city of Peterborough itself, which was a borough constituency that returned its own MP.

Boundaries

1832–1885: The Liberty of Peterborough, and the Hundreds of Willybrook, Polebrook, Huxloe, Navisford, Corby, Higham Ferrers, Rothwell, Hamfordshoe and Orlingbury. 1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Oundle and Thrapstone, part of the Sessional Division of Kettering ''(with the exceptions below)'', the Liberty of the Soke of Peterborough, and the part of the Municipal Borough of Stamford in the county of Northamptonshire. ''(The part of the Sessional Division of Kettering included in North Northamptonshire excluded the parishes of Broughton, Cransley, Kettering and Pytchley, which were assigned to

East Northamptonshire East Northamptonshire was a local government district in Northamptonshire, England, from 1974 to 2021. Its council was based in Thrapston and Rushden. Other towns included Oundle, Raunds, Irthlingborough and Higham Ferrers. The town of Rushde ...

, and also excluded the parishes of Draughton, Faxton, Glendon, Harrington, Loddington, Mawsley, Orton, Rothwell and Thorpe Malsor, which were assigned to Mid Northamptonshire).'' The constituency was created by the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

for the 1832 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election, when it was merged into

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

Members of Parliament

From 1832 until 1885, the constituency returned two Members of Parliament elected by the bloc vote system. Under 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 ...

, with effect from the 1885 general election, its area was reduced and representation reduced to one member, elected 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 ...

voting system.

1832 - 1885

1885 - 1918

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

Wentworth-Fitzwilliam succeeded to the peerage, becoming 5th Earl Fitzwilliam and causing a by-election. Wentworth-Fitzwilliam's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

Stafford's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

Cecil was appointed

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief ...

, requiring a by-election. Cecil succeeded to the peerage, becoming 3rd Marquess of Exeter, causing a by-election. Hunt was appointed

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

Hunt was appointed

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

, causing a by-election. Hunt's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

Cecil was appointed

Groom in Waiting The office of Groom in Waiting (sometimes hyphenated as Groom-in-Waiting) was a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, which in earlier times was usually held by more than one person at a time – in the late Middle Ages there might be d ...

, requiring a by-election.

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; *Unionist: Henry Brassey *Liberal:

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northamptonshire North Parliamentary constituencies in Northamptonshire (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1832 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918