The Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 (
2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 64) was an
act 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 ...
which defined the parliamentary divisions (
constituencies
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
) in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
required by the
Reform Act 1832
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 ...
. The boundaries were largely those recommended by a
boundary commission headed by the surveyor
Thomas Drummond.
Provisions
Sections 1 to 25 of the act defined the divisions of those larger
counties of England
The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremoni ...
which under the Reform Act 1832 were to be divided into two divisions. This did not include the seven counties which were to return three members each.
Sections 26 and 27 and schedule M dealt with
detached parts of counties. It provided that
most detached parts (identified in schedule M) were to form part of the parliamentary county and division in which they were geographically located, rather than of the county to which they otherwise formed a part. Section 28 provided that
liberties and other places with a separate jurisdiction (but not the
counties corporate of
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
,
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
,
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...
,
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
, or
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
) were to be included in the county and division in which they were geographically located.
Sections 29 to 34 prescribed polling districts and polling places within each constituency.
Sections 35 to 37 and schedule O defined the boundaries of each
parliamentary borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
. In
ancient borough
An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...
s these replaced boundaries established by charter or
prescription, often centuries out of date. The commissioners favoured rational boundaries, encompassing an urban centre with some suburban room for growth. However, some of the smaller boroughs to escape disfranchisement were given large rural tracts to increase the represented population.
See also
*
List of constituencies enfranchised and disfranchised by the Reform Act 1832
References
Footnote
Sources
*
*
Further reading
* Reports of Boundary Commissioners covering England and Wales :
*
Eight volumes on boroughs(text from
HathiTrust
HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries. Its holdings include content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digit ...
)
*
One volume on county divisions(text from
HathiTrust
HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries. Its holdings include content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digit ...
)
*
Zoomable map(from
Vision of Britain) — links to high-resolution scans of the maps associated with the preceding nine volumes
External links
Text of the Act
{{UK electoral reform
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1832
Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament
1832 in British law
Representation of the People Acts
1832 in politics
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (historic)
*
Historic counties of Wales