Thetford (constituency)

Thetford
Thetford
Former borough constituency; for the House of Commons
County	Norfolk
1529–1868
Seats	Two
Replaced by	West Norfolk

Thetford was a constituency of the British House of Commons. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election. It was disenfranchised under the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868, which had resulted in a net increase of seven seats in Scotland, offset by the disenfranchisement of seven English Boroughs.

Below are those MPs who held the seat from just prior to the Restoration onwards.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1529–1660

Year	First member	Second member
1529	Giles Heron	William Dauntesey (or Daunce)^[1]
1536	?
1539	?
1542	?
1545	?
1547	John Brende	Richard Heydon^[1]
1553 (Mar)	Sir John Clere	Henry Northey^[1]
1553 (Oct)	William Hunston	Robert Drury^[1]
1554 (Apr)	Robert Drury	Nicholas Rookwood^[1]
1554 (Nov)	Robert Drury	Nicholas Rookwood^[1]
1555	Nicholas Rookwood	Robert Barker^[1]
1558	Edward Clere	Walter Haddon^[1]
1559	Edmund Gascoigne	Thomas Poley I^[2]
1562–3	Sir Richard Fulmerston	Edward Clere^[2]
1571	Philip Appleyard	Thomas Hogan^[2]
1572	William Humberston, died and repl. Jan 1576 by Sir Valentine Browne	Thomas Colby^[2]
1584	Edward Eden	Robert Whitney^[2]
1586	Sir Roger Woodhouse	Thomas Poley II^[2]
1588–9	William Waad	Philip Gawdy^[2]
1593	Charles Chewte	Bassingbourne Gawdy^[2]
1597	John Crofts	Philip Gawdy^[2]
1601	Henry Warner	Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet^[2]
1604	Bassingbourne Gawdy died and repl. 1606 by Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet	Sir William Paddy
1614	Framlingham Gawdy	Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet
1621	Framlingham Gawdy	Sir Thomas Holland
1624	Framlingham Gawdy	Drue Drury
1625	Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington	Framlingham Gawdy
1626	Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet	Framlingham Gawdy
1628	Edmund Moundeford	Sir Henry Spiller sat for Middlesex and repl.by Sir Henry Vane
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
Apr 1640	Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet	Framlingham Gawdy
Nov 1640	Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet	Framlingham Gawdy secluded 1648
1648	Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet
1653–1658	Thetford not represented in Barebones and Protectorate Parliaments
1659	William Stene	Robert Steward

MPs 1660–1868

Year		First member^[3]	First party	Second member^[3]	Second party
April 1660		Sir Philip Wodehouse		Robert Paston
March 1661		Sir Allen Apsley		William Gawdy
October 1669		Sir Allen Apsley		Sir Joseph Williamson
February 1679		William Harbord		Sir Joseph Williamson
March 1685		Henry Heveningham		William de Grey
January 1689		Sir Henry Hobart	Whig	William Harbord
February 1689		Sir Francis Guybon		William Harbord
June 1689				John Trenchard	Whig
February 1690				William Harbord
May 1690				Baptist May
November 1695		Sir Joseph Williamson		Sir John Wodehouse
January 1696		James Sloane	Whig^[4]	Sir John Wodehouse
July 1698				Sir Joseph Williamson
January 1699				Lord Paston
January 1701		Sir Joseph Williamson		Edmund Soame
March 1701		Sir Thomas Hanmer		Edmund Soame
November 1701		Sir Thomas Hanmer		Sir John Wodehouse
July 1702		Robert Benson		Edmund Soame
May 1705		Sir Thomas Hanmer		Sir John Wodehouse
May 1708		Robert Baylis		Thomas de Grey
October 1710		Sir Thomas Hanmer		Dudley North
December 1710		Sir Edmund Bacon
August 1713		Sir William Barker	Tory
January 1715		John Ward
1722		Sir Edmund Bacon	Tory	Robert Jacomb
1733 by-election		Sir Edmund Bacon	Tory	Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore
1739 by-election		Lord Augustus FitzRoy
Dec. 1741 by-election		Lord Henry Beauclerk	Whig
1754		Lord Henry Beauclerk	Whig	Herbert Westfaling
1761		Henry Seymour Conway	Rockingham Whig	Hon. Aubrey Beauclerk
1768				John Drummond
Sept. 1774 by-election				Viscount Petersham
1774		Hon. Charles FitzRoy		Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore
1780		Richard Hopkins		Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore
1782 by-election		Richard Hopkins		Earl of Euston	Whig
1784		Sir Charles Kent, Bt		George Jennings
1790		Robert John Buxton		Joseph Randyll Burch
May 1796		John Harrison		Joseph Randyll Burch
1802		John Harrison		Thomas Creevey
1806		Lord William FitzRoy		James Mingay
February 1807		Lord William FitzRoy		Thomas Creevey
1812		Lord John FitzRoy		Thomas Creevey
1818		Lord Charles FitzRoy	Whig^[5]	Nicholas Ridley-Colborne
1826		Lord Charles FitzRoy	Whig^[5]	Bingham Baring	Whig^[6]
1830		Lord James FitzRoy	Whig^[7]	Francis Baring	Whig^[7]
1831				Alexander Baring	Tory^[7]
1832				Francis Baring	Tory^[7]
August 1834 by-election		Henry FitzRoy, Earl of Euston	Whig^[8]^[9]^[7]		Tory^[7]
December 1834					Conservative^[7]
1841				Hon. Bingham Baring	Conservative^[7]
May 1842		Sir James Flower, Bt	Conservative^[7]
1847		William FitzRoy, Earl of Euston	Whig
1848 by-election				Francis Baring	Conservative^[7]
1857 by-election				Alexander Baring	Conservative
1859			Liberal
1863 by-election		Lord Frederick FitzRoy	Liberal
1865		Robert Harvey	Conservative
1867 by-election		Robert Harvey	Conservative	Edward Gordon	Conservative
1868	Constituency abolished

FitzRoy family

Due to the town's close proximity to Euston Hall (the main residence of the FitzRoy family), the seat for Thetford has been held by various members of the family:

1733-54 & 1774-82: Charles FitzRoy-Scudamore
1739-41: Lord Augustus FitzRoy
1774-80: Hon. Charles FitzRoy
1782-84: George FitzRoy, Earl of Euston
1806-12: Lord William FitzRoy
1812-18: Lord John FitzRoy
1818-30: Lord Charles FitzRoy
1830-34: Lord James FitzRoy
1847-63: William FitzRoy, Earl of Euston
1863-65: Lord Frederick FitzRoy

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Thetford^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Lord James FitzRoy	Unopposed
	Whig	Francis Baring	Unopposed
Registered electors			31
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Thetford^[7]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Lord James FitzRoy	Unopposed
	Tory	Alexander Baring	Unopposed
Registered electors			31
	Whig hold
	Tory gain from Whig

General election 1832: Thetford^[7]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Lord James FitzRoy	Unopposed
	Tory	Francis Baring	Unopposed
Registered electors			146
	Whig hold
	Tory hold

FitzRoy's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 8 August 1834: Thetford^[7]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Henry FitzRoy	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Thetford^[7]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Henry FitzRoy	Unopposed
	Conservative	Francis Baring	Unopposed
Registered electors			160
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1837: Thetford^[7]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Henry FitzRoy	Unopposed
	Conservative	Francis Baring	Unopposed
Registered electors			161
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Thetford^[11]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bingham Baring	86	37.7	*N/A*
	Whig	Henry FitzRoy	71	31.1	*N/A*
	Conservative	James Flower	71	31.1	*N/A*
Turnout			137	87.8	N/A
Registered electors			156
Majority			15	6.6	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			0	0.0	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative win

Due to the triple return, on petition, one vote was knocked off FitzRoy's total and Flower was declared elected in 1842.

Baring was appointed Paymaster General, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 24 February 1845: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bingham Baring	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Bingham Baring	Unopposed
	Whig	William FitzRoy	Unopposed
Registered electors			200
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

Baring succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Baron Ashburton and causing a by-election.

By-election, 3 August 1848: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Baring	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Francis Baring	Unopposed
	Whig	William FitzRoy	Unopposed
Registered electors			200
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

General election 1857: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Francis Baring	Unopposed
	Whig	William FitzRoy	Unopposed
Registered electors			218
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

Baring resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 9 December 1857: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Baring	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Alexander Baring	Unopposed
	Liberal	William FitzRoy	Unopposed
Registered electors			231
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

FitzRoy succeeded to the peerage, becoming 6th Duke of Grafton and causing a by-election.

By-election, 21 April 1863: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Lord Frederick FitzRoy	93	53.4	*N/A*
	Conservative	Robert Harvey	81	46.6	N/A
Majority			12	6.8	N/A
Turnout			174	75.0	N/A
Registered electors			232
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1865: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Harvey	193	48.4	*N/A*
	Liberal	Alexander Baring	137	34.3	*N/A*
	Liberal	Thomas Dakin^[12]	69	17.3	N/A
Majority			124	31.1	N/A
Turnout			200 (est)	89.1 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			224
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Baring resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 2 December 1867: Thetford^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Gordon	Unopposed
	Conservative gain from Liberal

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Virgoe, Roger (1982). "DAUNTESEY (DAUNCE), William (by 1501–48), of London". In Bindoff, S. T. (ed.). The House of Commons 1509–1558. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History of Parliament". Retrieved 11 October 2011.
1 2 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)
↑ Hayton, D. W. (2002). "Thetford". History of Parliament Online. Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
↑ Escott, Margaret. "FITZROY, Lord Charles (1791–1865), of 49 Piccadilly, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
↑ Escott, Margaret. "BARING, William Bingham (1799–1864), of Buckenham House, Brandon, Norf. and 12 Great Stanhope Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 227–228. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
↑ Mackie, Charles (1901). Norfolk Annals: A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteen Century, 1801-1850 (Reprint ed.). Digipublishing. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-4710-8854-4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
↑ Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 168. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books.
1 2 Escott, Margaret. "Thetford". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
↑ "Eastern Counties Elections". Bury and Norwich Post. 18 July 1865. p. 6. Retrieved 25 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)

[HoP2-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Virgoe, Roger (1982). "DAUNTESEY (DAUNCE), William (by 1501–48), of London". In Bindoff, S. T. (ed.). The House of Commons 1509–1558. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 13 June 2024.

[HoP3-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History of Parliament". Retrieved 11 October 2011.

[rayment-t1-3] 1 2 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)

[4] Hayton, D. W. (2002). "Thetford". History of Parliament Online. Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2026.

[5] Escott, Margaret. "FITZROY, Lord Charles (1791–1865), of 49 Piccadilly, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2020.

[6] Escott, Margaret. "BARING, William Bingham (1799–1864), of Buckenham House, Brandon, Norf. and 12 Great Stanhope Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2020.

[stooks-smith-7] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 227–228. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.

[8] Mackie, Charles (1901). Norfolk Annals: A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteen Century, 1801-1850 (Reprint ed.). Digipublishing. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-4710-8854-4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

[mosse-9] Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 168. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books.

[hop1820-1832-10] 1 2 Escott, Margaret. "Thetford". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2020.

[craig1832-11] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

[12] "Eastern Counties Elections". Bury and Norwich Post. 18 July 1865. p. 6. Retrieved 25 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

Thetford
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	Norfolk
1529–1868
Seats	Two
Replaced by	West Norfolk