Frome (UK Parliament constituency)

Frome was a constituency centred on the town of Frome in Somerset. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832, until it was abolished for the 1950 general election. Between 1832 and 1885, it was a parliamentary borough; after 1885 it was a county constituency, a division of Somerset.

History

Frome was one of the boroughs created by the Great Reform Act 1832, as the town was at that point one of the bigger towns in England which was not already represented, and its then-flourishing woollen manufacturing industry made it seem likely to grow further. The new borough consisted only of the town of Frome, and had a population (according to the 1831 census) of approximately 11,240. The registered electorate at the 1832 election was 322. Frome was near to Longleat, and the Marquess of Bath was influential in election outcomes throughout its life as a borough.

However, the town did not increase dramatically in size in the next few years, and the electorate was still only just over 400 by 1865, although the extension of the franchise at the 1868 election trebled this. By the time of the Third Reform Act, Frome was too small to continue as a constituency in itself and the borough was abolished with effect from the 1885 election.

The new county division into which the town was placed consisted of the whole north-eastern corner of Somerset, except for Bath, and was named after the town, as The Frome Division of Somerset. Nevertheless, Frome contributed only a minority of the voters in the constituency, which also included Weston (Bath), Radstock, Bathampton and Batheaston, to say nothing of the freeholders of Bath, who voted in this division under the arrangements that gave property owners in boroughs a vote in the adjoining county constituency; by the time of the First World War, the population was around 60,000. This constituency was a mixed one, with suburban voters at Weston and in the Bath suburbs, agricultural villages between Bath and Frome, growing mining interests round Radstock and some industry at Twerton. This made the constituency marginal between the Conservatives and Liberals, and the victor's majority was rarely more than a few hundred votes.

There were further boundary changes in 1918, when the number of constituencies in Somerset was reduced from nine to seven. Frome's boundaries were extended westwards to the fringes of Bristol, bringing in Midsomer Norton and the areas round Clutton, Chew Magna and Keynsham (previously in the Northern division): the revised constituency consisted of the urban districts of Frome, Midsomer Norton and Radstock, the Bath, Clutton and Keynsham rural districts and all but six parishes of Frome Rural District. This, too, was a marginal constituency, and except in 1923 was always won at general elections by the party which was successful nationally.

The Frome constituency was abolished in the boundary changes which came into effect at the 1950 election, Frome itself being transferred to the Wells division but most of the remainder of the constituency forming the bulk of the new Somerset North.

Members of Parliament

Frome parliamentary borough

Election		Member	Party	Notes
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1832	Thomas Sheppard	Whig
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1835		Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1847	Hon. Robert Boyle	Whig	4th son of Edmund Boyle, 8th Earl of Cork
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1854 by-election	Richard Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan	Whig	later 9th Earl of Cork
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1856 by-election	Hon. William Boyle	Whig	younger brother of Richard Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1857	Donald Nicoll	Radical
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1859	Lord Edward Thynne	Conservative	previously MP for Weobley 1826–32
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1865	Sir Henry Rawlinson, Bt.	Liberal	noted orientalist, previously MP for Reigate
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1868	Thomas Hughes	Liberal	author of Tom Brown's Schooldays
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1874	Henry Lopes	Conservative	previously MP for Launceston, later a Lord Justice of Appeal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1876 by-election	Henry Samuelson	Liberal	previously MP for Cheltenham
	1885	parliamentary borough constituency abolished, name transferred to a new county division

Frome division of Somerset

Election		Member	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1885	Lawrence James Baker	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1886	Thomas Thynne, Viscount Weymouth	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1892	John Barlow	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1895	Thomas Thynne, Viscount Weymouth	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1896	Sir John Barlow	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1918	Percy Hurd	Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1923	Frederick Gould	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1924	Geoffrey Peto	Unionist
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1929	Frederick Gould	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1931	Henry Thynne, Viscount Weymouth	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1935	Mavis Tate	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1945	Walter Farthing	Labour
	1950	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

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General election 1832: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Thomas Sheppard		62.0
		Sir Thomas Swymmer Mostyn-Champneys, 2nd Baronet		38.0
Turnout			263	81.7
	win (new seat)

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General election 1835: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Matthew Bridges	78	34.1
		Courtenay Boyle	51	22.3
Majority			22	9.6
Turnout			229	80.4
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	−1.3

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General election 1837: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Courtenay Boyle	120	49.2
Majority			4	1.6
Turnout			244	83.8
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	−9.9

Elections in the 1840s

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General election 1841: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Jesser Sturch	129	45.6
Majority			25	8.8
Turnout			283	83.2
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	+3.6

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General election 1847: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from

Elections in the 1850s

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General election 1852: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold

The election was declared void on petition after Boyle was declared ineligible due to his holding of the office of Secretary to the Order of St Patrick. Ahead of the ensuing by-election, Boyle resigned this position.

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By-election, 7 March 1853: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	hold

Boyle's death caused a by-election.

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By-election, 24 October 1854: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Donald Nicoll	129	41.6
Majority			52	16.8
Turnout			310	84.9
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	N/A

Boyle succeeded to the peerage, becoming 9th Earl of Cork and Orrery, causing a by-election.

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By-election, 23 July 1856: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Donald Nicoll	157	49.8
Majority			1	0.4
Turnout			315	86.1
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	N/A

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General election 1857: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William George Boyle	92	28.2
		Edward Thynne	72	22.1
Majority			70	21.5
Turnout			326	89.8
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	N/A

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General election 1859: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Donald Nicoll	147	43.1
Majority			47	13.8
Turnout			341	88.6
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+34.8

Elections in the 1860s

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General election 1865: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James Whalley Dawe Thomas Wickham	183	47.0
Majority			23	6.0
Turnout			389	94.0
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+9.9

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General election 1868: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Campbell Sleigh	476	45.5
Majority			95	9.0
Turnout			1,047	82.6
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	+1.5

Elections in the 1870s

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General election 1874: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Henry Willans	557	46.5
Majority			85	7.0
Turnout			1,199	90.4
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+8.0

Lopes resigned after being appointed a judge of the Common Pleas Division of the High Court of Justice.

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By-election, 24 Nov 1876: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James Fergusson	568	46.2
Majority			93	7.6
Turnout			1,229	91.0
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+7.3

Elections in the 1880s

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General election 1880: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from

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General election 1885: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Thomas Thynne	3,972	45.6
Majority			763	8.8
Turnout			8,707	82.9
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	N/A

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General election 1886: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Godfrey Samuelson	3,645	45.6
Majority			703	8.8
Turnout			7,993	76.1
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+8.8

Elections in the 1890s

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General election 1892: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Thomas Thynne	4,260	47.3
Majority			487	5.4
Turnout			9,007	81.7
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+7.1

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General election 1895: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Barlow	4,660	48.0
Majority			383	4.0
Turnout			9,703	83.4
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+4.7

File:John Emmott Barlow.jpg

Barlow

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1896 Frome by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Alexander Thynne	4,763	48.5
Majority			299	3.0
Turnout			9,825	83.7
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+3.5

Elections in the 1900s

File:1906 John Barlow.jpg

Barlow

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General election 1900: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Ellis Hume-Williams	4,708	48.2
Majority			358	3.6
Turnout			9,774	79.4
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+3.8

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General election 1906: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Charles Foxcroft	4,552	42.0
Majority			1,745	16.0
Turnout			10,849	86.0
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	+6.2

Elections in the 1910s

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General election January 1910: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Charles Foxcroft	5,469	46.7
Majority			779	6.6
Turnout			11,717	89.0
	hold		Swing	-4.7

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General election December 1910: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Charles Foxcroft	5,366	47.4
Majority			578	5.2
Turnout			11,310	85.9
	hold		Swing	-0.7

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: John Barlow
• Unionist: H. Barker-Hahlo

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link coalition 1918Template:Election box end 1918

Elections in the 1920s

General election December 1918: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Gill	10,454	43.9
		John Barlow	2,004	8.4
		Thomas Kincaid-Smith	258	1.1
Majority			664	2.7
Turnout			23,834	67.7
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+21.7

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General election 1922: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Gill	14,311	48.8
Majority			706	2.4
Turnout			29,328	82.2
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	−0.2

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General election 1923: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Percy Hurd	13,306	45.6
Majority			2,596	8.8
Turnout			29,208	79.7
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+5.6

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General election 1924: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Frederick Gould	14,652	47.2
Majority			1,745	5.6
Turnout			31,049	82.9
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+7.2

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General election 1929: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Geoffrey Peto	16,378	40.3
		Colin Stratton-Hallett	5,774	14.2
Majority			2,146	5.2
Turnout			40,676	86.5
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+5.4

Elections in the 1930s

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General election 1931: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Frederick Gould	17,748	41.7
Majority			7,110	16.6
Turnout			42,606	87.3
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+10.9

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General election 1935: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Kim Mackay	18,690	43.9
		Philip William Hopkins	4,177	9.8
Majority			994	2.4
Turnout			42,551	82.5
	hold		Swing	-7.1

General Election 1939–40:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Guy Dalrymple Fanshawe
• Labour: Kim Mackay
• British Union: Charles Hewitt

Elections in the 1940s

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General election 1945: Frome

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mavis Tate	24,228	44.9
Majority			5,507	10.2
Turnout			53,963	78.4
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+6.8

Further reading

• The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949 (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969)
• Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885–1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)
• J. Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)