Political History - Parliamentary representation
Newton's first MPs
At the Parliament which met at Westminster on 13th November 1295, the representation for each county was two knights from each shire, two citizens from each city and two burghers from each borough. From Lancashire, there were two knights for the shire and two burghers each for the boroughs of Lancaster, Preston, Wigan and Liverpool. At that time there were no cities in Lancashire.
These boroughs did not continue to send representatives to Parliament however, because with the privilege came expenses which were considered too great, and for two centuries, Lancashire was represented in Parliament only by the two knights of the shire.
In the first Parliament of Edward VI, in 1547, the four boroughs again sent two burghers each, and in the first Parliament of Elizabeth I's reign, in 1559, Clitheroe and Newton were added, making, with the two knights of the shire, fourteen representatives from Lancashire. The first two Members for the Borough of Newton, in 1559, were Richard Chetwood and Sir George Hawarde, who was probably the same George Howard who was the brother of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. With a brief interlude during the Commonwealth in the 1650s, this Parliamentary Representation for Lancashire continued until the Reform Act of 1832.
In 1651 and 1656, the system was changed and there were four members for the county and one each for Lancaster, Preston, Liverpool, Wigan and Manchester. After the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, the system reverted to how it was before the Commonwealth, and Newton again sent two Members to Parliament, and Manchester sent none until the Reform Act of 1832!
Reform Act
By the Reform Act of 1832, the Parliamentary Representation of Lancashire changed to two knights for the Northern Division of the county and two for the Southern Division. There were also twenty-two other Members from Boroughs, some sending one Member and some sending two. Newton was no longer to send any, although it did become an important Polling Station in the South Lancashire Division, and the Return of Members was made from Newton. This was before the modern system of the secret ballot was introduced. The 'hustings' (or stage) at Newton where people voted in the election of 1844 can be seen in an engraving in an edition of the Illustrated London News.
One of the intentions of the Reform Act was to take away the power of the so-called 'Rotten Boroughs', each of which was under the control of a local family who 'rigged' the elections to make sure their candidate was elected. In Newton's case this is what happened for hundreds of years, until in 1797 there was a challenge by Mr Langford Brooke, who became the M.P.. His triumph was short-lived, for a petition was made against him, and in the House of Commons a number of votes were struck off each side which gave a majority of six for his opponent, Colonel Patten, who was given the seat. The Rotten Boroughs sent Members to Parliament even though they were usually small, insignificant places. Exactly at this time, the 1830s, Newton was becoming not so insignificant, but it still lost its M.P.. Another example of a Rotten Borough was Dunwich in Suffolk which was a cathedral city in Anglo-Saxon times and a large and prosperous port in the Middle Ages, but most of which had disappeared by 1832 because of erosion by the sea!
Other Parliamentary Representation Acts
After the Reform Act of 1832, further changes in Parliamentary Representation for Lancashire were made. In 1861 a third Member was added for South Lancashire, and by the Reform Act of 1867, the Northern and Southern Divisions were each divided further, into the North, North-East, South-East and South-West Divisions, each returning two Members. With other changes the total number of Members for Lancashire became thirty-two. One very famous M.P. for South Lancashire from 1865, and South-West Lancashire in 1868, was W.E. Gladstone, who became Prime Minister in 1868, and again in 1880 and 1886.
In 1885 the Redistribution Act again gave Newton a separate Member of Parliament. This was a reflection of how Newton had grown since the Reform Act of 1832. According to the Census figures, the population of Newton in 1831 was 2,139, and this had increased to 10,580 by 1881. It was seen at the time that Newton was one of the very few disfranchised (meaning that it had lost the right to elect an M.P.) boroughs in which a marked increase of population had taken place since 1832.
Newton's first MPs
At the Parliament which met at Westminster on 13th November 1295, the representation for each county was two knights from each shire, two citizens from each city and two burghers from each borough. From Lancashire, there were two knights for the shire and two burghers each for the boroughs of Lancaster, Preston, Wigan and Liverpool. At that time there were no cities in Lancashire.
These boroughs did not continue to send representatives to Parliament however, because with the privilege came expenses which were considered too great, and for two centuries, Lancashire was represented in Parliament only by the two knights of the shire.
In the first Parliament of Edward VI, in 1547, the four boroughs again sent two burghers each, and in the first Parliament of Elizabeth I's reign, in 1559, Clitheroe and Newton were added, making, with the two knights of the shire, fourteen representatives from Lancashire. The first two Members for the Borough of Newton, in 1559, were Richard Chetwood and Sir George Hawarde, who was probably the same George Howard who was the brother of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. With a brief interlude during the Commonwealth in the 1650s, this Parliamentary Representation for Lancashire continued until the Reform Act of 1832.
In 1651 and 1656, the system was changed and there were four members for the county and one each for Lancaster, Preston, Liverpool, Wigan and Manchester. After the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, the system reverted to how it was before the Commonwealth, and Newton again sent two Members to Parliament, and Manchester sent none until the Reform Act of 1832!
Reform Act
By the Reform Act of 1832, the Parliamentary Representation of Lancashire changed to two knights for the Northern Division of the county and two for the Southern Division. There were also twenty-two other Members from Boroughs, some sending one Member and some sending two. Newton was no longer to send any, although it did become an important Polling Station in the South Lancashire Division, and the Return of Members was made from Newton. This was before the modern system of the secret ballot was introduced. The 'hustings' (or stage) at Newton where people voted in the election of 1844 can be seen in an engraving in an edition of the Illustrated London News.
One of the intentions of the Reform Act was to take away the power of the so-called 'Rotten Boroughs', each of which was under the control of a local family who 'rigged' the elections to make sure their candidate was elected. In Newton's case this is what happened for hundreds of years, until in 1797 there was a challenge by Mr Langford Brooke, who became the M.P.. His triumph was short-lived, for a petition was made against him, and in the House of Commons a number of votes were struck off each side which gave a majority of six for his opponent, Colonel Patten, who was given the seat. The Rotten Boroughs sent Members to Parliament even though they were usually small, insignificant places. Exactly at this time, the 1830s, Newton was becoming not so insignificant, but it still lost its M.P.. Another example of a Rotten Borough was Dunwich in Suffolk which was a cathedral city in Anglo-Saxon times and a large and prosperous port in the Middle Ages, but most of which had disappeared by 1832 because of erosion by the sea!
Other Parliamentary Representation Acts
After the Reform Act of 1832, further changes in Parliamentary Representation for Lancashire were made. In 1861 a third Member was added for South Lancashire, and by the Reform Act of 1867, the Northern and Southern Divisions were each divided further, into the North, North-East, South-East and South-West Divisions, each returning two Members. With other changes the total number of Members for Lancashire became thirty-two. One very famous M.P. for South Lancashire from 1865, and South-West Lancashire in 1868, was W.E. Gladstone, who became Prime Minister in 1868, and again in 1880 and 1886.
In 1885 the Redistribution Act again gave Newton a separate Member of Parliament. This was a reflection of how Newton had grown since the Reform Act of 1832. According to the Census figures, the population of Newton in 1831 was 2,139, and this had increased to 10,580 by 1881. It was seen at the time that Newton was one of the very few disfranchised (meaning that it had lost the right to elect an M.P.) boroughs in which a marked increase of population had taken place since 1832.