Down (UK Parliament constituency)
Down | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
1801–1885 | |
Replaced by | East Down, North Down, South Down and West Down |
1922–1950 | |
Replaced by | North Down and South Down |
Created from | East Down, Mid Down, North Down, South Down and West Down |
Down was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland. It was a two-member constituency and existed in two periods, 1801-1885 and 1922-1950.
Boundaries
1801-1885: The whole of County Down, excluding the Boroughs of Downpatrick and Newry.
1922-1950: The Administrative county of Down, that is the whole of County Down excluding the part in the City of Belfast.
Members of Parliament
1801–1885
Election | First member | First party | Second member | Second party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1801 | Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | Tory | Francis Savage | |||
1805 | Hon. John Meade | |||||
May 1812 | Hon. Robert Ward | |||||
October 1812 | Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | Tory | ||||
1817 | Lord Arthur Hill | Whig | ||||
1821 | Mathew Forde | Tory | ||||
1826 | Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | Conservative | ||||
1836 | Earl of Hillsborough | Conservative | ||||
1845 | Lord Arthur Hill-Trevor | Conservative | ||||
1852 | David Stewart Ker | Conservative | ||||
1857 | William Brownlow Forde | Conservative | ||||
1874 | James Sharman Crawford | Liberal | ||||
1878 | Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | Conservative | ||||
1880 | Lord Arthur Hill | Conservative | ||||
1884 | Richard William Blackwood Ker | Conservative | ||||
1885 | constituency abolished: see East Down, West Down, South Down and North Down |
1922–1950
Election | First member | First party | Second member | Second party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1922 | David Reid | Ulster Unionist Party | John Morrow Simms | Ulster Unionist Party | ||
1931 | Viscount Castlereagh | Ulster Unionist Party | ||||
1939 | James Little | Ulster Unionist Party | ||||
1945 | Independent Unionist | Walter Smiles | Ulster Unionist Party | |||
1946 | Charles Heron Mullan | Ulster Unionist Party |
Elections
Elections in the 1940s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Charles Heron Mullan | 50,699 | 51.4 | N/A | |
NI Labour | Desmond Donnelly | 28,846 | 29.3 | N/A | |
Independent Unionist | J. Hastings-Little | 16,895 | 17.1 | N/A | |
Independent Unionist | James Brown | 2,125 | 2.2 | -16.9 | |
Majority | 21,853 | 22.2 | |||
Turnout | 98,565 | ||||
UUP gain from Independent Unionist | Swing | N/A | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent Unionist | James Little | 46,732 | 40.4 | N/A | |
UUP | Walter Smiles | 24,148 | 20.9 | N/A | |
UUP | John Blakiston Houston | 22,730 | 19.6 | N/A | |
Independent Unionist | James Brown | 22,163 | 19.1 | N/A | |
Turnout | 39.8 | ||||
Independent Unionist gain from UUP | Swing | N/A | |||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1930s
- At the Down by-election, 1939, James Little was elected unopposed as an Ulster Unionist. He subsequently left the party in the run-up to the 1945 general election in a dispute over re-selection.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | David Reid | 66,324 | 43.5 | N/A | |
UUP | Robin Vane-Tempest-Stewart | 58,777 | 46.4 | N/A | |
Independent Republican | Patrick O'Hagan | 20,236 | 13.3 | N/A | |
Turnout | 56.7 | ||||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
- At the 1931 general election, David Reid and Robin Vane-Tempest-Stewart were elected unopposed.
Elections in the 1920s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | David Douglas Reid | 54,073 | 36.3 | -10.2 | |
UUP | John Morrow Simms | 53,943 | 36.2 | -10.2 | |
Liberal | Robert Pollock | 20,999 | 14.1 | n/a | |
Liberal | David Johnston | 20,013 | 13.4 | n/a | |
Turnout | 58.5 | -7.3 | |||
UUP hold | Swing | n/a | |||
UUP hold | Swing | n/a | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | David Reid | 58,929 | 46.5 | N/A | |
UUP | John Morrow Simms | 58,777 | 46.4 | N/A | |
Sinn Féin | Michael Murney | 8,941 | 7.1 | N/A | |
Turnout | 65.8 | ||||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
At the 1922 and 1923 general elections, David Reid and John Morrow Simms were elected unopposed.
Elections in the 1880s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Lord Arthur William Hill | 5097 | N/A | ||
Liberal | John Shaw Brown | 4696 | N/A | ||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Richard William Blackwood Ker | 4387 | N/A | ||
Liberal | Arthur Sharman Crawford | 3998 | N/A | ||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Lord Arthur William Hill | 5873 | N/A | ||
Conservative | Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | 5599 | N/A | ||
Liberal | John Sharman Crawford | 5579 | N/A | ||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1870s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | 6076 | N/A | ||
Liberal | William Drennan Andrews | 4701 | N/A | ||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Lord Arthur Edwin Hill-Trevor | 5029 | N/A | ||
Liberal | James Sharman Crawford | 4814 | N/A | ||
Conservative | William Brownlow Forde | 4683 | N/A | ||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1860s
At the 1865 and 1868 general elections, Lord Arthur Edwin Hill, later known as Lord Arthur Edwin Hill-Trevor, and William Brownlow Forde were returned unopposed.
Elections in the 1850s
At the 1859 general election, Lord Arthur Edwin Hill, later known as Lord Arthur Edwin Hill-Trevor, and William Brownlow Forde were returned unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Lord Arthur Edwin Hill | 5839 | N/A | ||
Conservative | William Brownlow Forde | 5341 | N/A | ||
Whig | David Stewart Ker | 3735 | N/A | ||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
The Poll Books for part of County Down, showing how each elector voted in the 1857 general election are available in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland under reference D/671/O/2/7-8.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Lord Arthur Edwin Hill | 4654 | N/A | ||
Conservative | David Stewart Ker | 4117 | N/A | ||
Whig | William Sharman Crawford | 3113 | N/A | ||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
The Poll Books for part of County Down, showing how each elector voted in the 1852 general election are available in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland under reference D/671/O/2/5-6.
Elections in the 1840s
At the 1847 general election, Lord Arthur Edwin Hill and Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh were elected unopposed.
At the by-election on 3 June 1845 following Arthur Hill, Earl of Hillsborough's succession as Marquess of Downshire, Lord Arthur Edwin Hill was returned unopposed.
At the 1841 general election, Arthur Hill, Earl of Hillsborough and Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh were elected unopposed.
Elections in the 1830s
At the 1837 general election, Arthur Hill, Earl of Hillsborough and Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh were elected unopposed.
At the by-election on 30 August 1836 following Lord Arthur Hill's succession as Baron Sandys, Arthur Hill, Earl of Hillsborough was returned unopposed.
At the 1832 and 1835 general elections, Lord Arthur Hill and Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh were elected unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Lord Arthur Hill | 1671 | N/A | ||
Tory | Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | 1067 | N/A | ||
Radical | William Sharman Crawford | 917 | N/A | ||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | 930 | N/A | ||
Whig | Lord Arthur Hill | 837 | N/A | ||
Tory | Mathew Forde | 766 | N/A | ||
Elections in the 1820s
At the by-election on 15 July 1829 following Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh's appointment as a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, he was re-elected unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Lord Arthur Hill | 667 | N/A | ||
Tory | Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | 665 | N/A | ||
Tory | John Stewart | 16 | N/A | ||
At the by-election on 9 May 1821 following Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh vacating his seat, Mathew Forde was returned unopposed.
Elections in the 1810s
At the 1818 and 1820 general elections, Lord Arthur Hill and Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh were elected unopposed.
At the by-election on 26 February 1817 following the Hon. John Meade's appointment as consul general in Spain, Lord Arthur Hill was returned unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | 55 | N/A | ||
Non Partisan | Hon. John Meade | 52 | N/A | ||
Non Partisan | Eldred Pottinger | 13 | N/A | ||
At the by-election on 30 May 1812 following Francis Savage's acceptance of the Chiltern Hundreds, Robert Ward was returned unopposed.
Elections in the 1800s
At the 1806 and 1807 general elections, Francis Savage and the Hon. John Meade were elected unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non Partisan | Hon. John Meade | 1973 | N/A | ||
Tory | Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh | c. 1481 | N/A | ||
At the 1802 general election Francis Savage and Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh were elected unopposed.
At the creation of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1801, the sitting members of the Parliament of Ireland for County Down, Francis Savage and Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, continued as MP's for the county.
References
- The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973) - including pre-1832 party allegiances.
- Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978) - including post-1832 party allegiances.
- ElectionsIreland.org
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 3)