Hedon

Borough

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754, ed. R. Sedgwick, 1970
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Background Information

Right of Election:

in the freemen

Number of voters:

about 130

Elections

DateCandidateVotes
1 Feb. 1715WILLIAM PULTENEY 
 HUGH CHOLMLEY 
7 Nov. 1721DANIEL PULTENEY vice Cholmley, appointed to office 
29 Mar. 1722WILLIAM PULTENEY 
 DANIEL PULTENEY 
5 Nov. 1722HARRY PULTENEY vice Daniel Pulteney, chose to sit for Preston 
12 June 1723WILLIAM PULTENEY re-elected after appointment to office 
19 Aug. 1727WILLIAM PULTENEY 
 HARRY PULTENEY 
27 Apr. 1734GEORGE BERKELEY 
 SIR FRANCIS BOYNTON 
24 Nov. 1739HARRY PULTENEY vice Boynton, deceased 
6 May 1741FRANCIS CHUTE 
 LUKE ROBINSON 
 Algernon Coote, Earl of Mountrath 
 George Berkeley 
 MOUNTRATH and BERKELEY vice Chute and Robinson, on petition, 4 Mar. 1742 
8 Dec. 1744GEORGE ANSON vice Mountrath, deceased 
 Luke Robinson 
21 Jan. 1745ANSON re-elected after appointment to office 
29 Nov. 1746SAMUEL GUMLEY vice Berkeley, deceased65
 Luke Robinson64
29 Nov. 1746ROBINSON vice Gumley, on petition, 11 Feb. 1747 
1 July 1747JOHN SAVILE 
 LUKE ROBINSON 
 Charles Saunders 
 Samuel Gumley 

Main Article

Hedon, a venal borough, was controlled for many years by William Pulteney, who had inherited the interest there of Henry Guy, M.P. Hedon 1679-95 and 1702-5. His nominees were unopposed till 1741, when two Walpole Whigs, Luke Robinson and Francis Chute, captured both seats, which Pulteney recovered on an undefended petition for bribery after Walpole’s fall. Robinson stood again at a by-election in 1744, when Pulteney, now Earl of Bath, put up Admiral, later Lord, Anson, who was returned, a petition by Robinson alleging bribery being withdrawn. At a second by-election in 1746 Robinson lost by one vote to Bath’s brother-in-law, Samuel Gumley. This time his petition, based on the partiality of the returning officer, was successful, as ministers ‘wanted to show the King that Lord Bath had not the interest he boasted’ in the House of Commons.1 At the general election of 1747 Bath resigned his interest at Hedon to Anson, who put up his shipmate, Captain Charles Saunders. On this Robinson’s friends at Hedon offered not to oppose Saunders provided that Anson would engage that none of his friends should oppose Robinson. As Anson would not agree to this, the Robinson party put up John Savile, later Lord Pollington, a government supporter, who was returned with Robinson, defeating Saunders and Gumley.2 The 2nd Lord Egmont’s electoral survey, c.1749-50, describes Hedon as ‘to be bought’.

Author: Romney R. Sedgwick

Notes

  • 1. CJ, xxiv. 110-11, 700, 704; xxv. 210; HMC Polwarth, v. 202.
  • 2. Joseph Hill to Rockingham, undated, Rockingham mss.