Camelford (UK Parliament constituency)
# Camelford (UK Parliament constituency)

Camelford was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1552 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

## History

The borough consisted of the town of Camelford, a market town in northern Cornwall, and part of the surrounding Lanteglos-by-Camelford parish. Like most of the Cornish boroughs enfranchised or re-enfranchised during the Tudor period, it was a rotten borough from the start.

The right to vote was disputed in the 18th century, but according to a judgment of 1796, belonged to those "free burgesses" who were resident householders paying scot and lot. The number of voters varied as new free burgesses were created, but was estimated to be 31 in 1831. Free burgesses were made only by nomination of the "patron", who owned all the houses in the borough, and the voters always voted in accordance with the patron's instructions.

The patronage, and the borough, changed hands several times. In the 1760s, before the exclusive voting rights of the free burgesses were established, the elections were managed by Charles Phillips for the government, and Camelford was considered a secure Treasury Borough (one where ministers could nominate the MPs as a form of patronage). Later the power of the patron became more complete, and in 1812 The Duke of Bedford was able to sell it for £32,000, forcing its MP, Henry Brougham, to find a new seat as his radical politics were unacceptable to the new owner. From 1814 until the Great Reform Act, the owner was the Earl of Darlington (later Marquess and Duke of Cleveland).

Cleveland was forced to secure his influence by regular payments to the voters, making Camelford one of the most notorious examples of corruption that were cited at the time of the Reform Act. In 1819, after two successive elections had been declared void and all the candidates disqualified for "treating", the writ was suspended, temporarily depriving the borough of its representation, although this only lasted until a new Parliament was summoned the following year. The Morning Chronicle noted in 1830 that "Everyone has heard of what Camelford cost the Marquess of Cleveland till the arrangement with the Marquess of Hertford. The Members who were returned for the marquess paid the voters in £1 notes enclosed in a deal box marked 'China'."

In 1831, the borough had an estimated population of 597, and 110 houses.

## Members of Parliament

### 1553-1640

| Parliament | First member | Second member |
| - | - | - |
| First Parliament of 1553 | John Huyke | Nicholas St John |
| Second Parliament of 1553 | Francis Roscarock | Ambrose Gilbes |
| Parliament of 1554 | Thomas Arundell | George Stafford |
| Parliament of 1554-1555 | Francis Roscarock | Clement Tyfferd |
| Parliament of 1555 | William Carryl | George Tadlow |
| Parliament of 1558 | Thomas Prideaux | William St Aubyn |
| Parliament of 1559 | John Smith | Sir Thomas Chamberlain |
| Parliament of 1563-1567 | William Patridge | Drue Drury |
| Parliament of 1571 | Nicholas Prideaux | Edward Williams |
| Parliament of 1572-1581 | John Gifford | George Grenville, junior |
| Parliament of 1584-1585 | Richard Trefusis | Emanuel Chamond |
| Parliament of 1586-1587 | Richard Trefusis | Geoffrey Gates |
| Parliament of 1588-1589 | Richard Trefusis | Arthur Gorges |
| Parliament of 1593 | Humphrey Mitchell | Richard Leech |
| Parliament of 1597-1598 | Jerome Horsey | Henry Carnesewe |
| Parliament of 1601 | William Carnesew | Anthony Turpin |
| Parliament of 1604-1611 | John Good | Anthony Turpin |
| Addled Parliament (1614) | George Cotton | Robert Naunton |
| Parliament of 1621-1622 | Sir Henry Carey | Edward Carr |
| Happy Parliament (1624-1625) | Sir Francis Cottington | Edward Hare |
| Useless Parliament (1625) | Sir Henry Hungate | Thomas Coteel |
| Parliament of 1625-1626 | Edward Lyndley | Sir Thomas Monk |
| Parliament of 1628-1629 | Francis Crossing | Evan Edwards |
| No Parliament summoned 1629-1640 |||

### 1640-1832

| Year | | First member | First party | | Second member | Second party |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| April 1640 | | Piers Edgcumbe | Royalist | | Edward Reade | |
| November 1640 | | Piers Edgcumbe | Royalist | | William Glanville | Royalist |
| January 1644 | Edgcumbe and Glanville disabled from sitting - both seats vacant | Edgcumbe and Glanville disabled from sitting - both seats vacant | Edgcumbe and Glanville disabled from sitting - both seats vacant | Edgcumbe and Glanville disabled from sitting - both seats vacant | Edgcumbe and Glanville disabled from sitting - both seats vacant | Edgcumbe and Glanville disabled from sitting - both seats vacant |
| 1647 | | William Say | | | Gregory Clement (?) | |
| May 1652 | | William Say | | Clement expelled - his seat left vacant | Clement expelled - his seat left vacant | Clement expelled - his seat left vacant | Clement expelled - his seat left vacant | Clement expelled - his seat left vacant | Clement expelled - his seat left vacant |
| 1653 | Camelford was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Camelford was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Camelford was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Camelford was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Camelford was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate | Camelford was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate |
| January 1659 | | John Maynard | | | William Bradden | |
| May 1659 | | William Say | | One seat vacant | One seat vacant | One seat vacant |
| April 1660 | | Peter Killigrew | | | Samuel Trelawny | |
| June 1660 | | Thomas Vivian | | | William Cotton | |
| 1661 | | Thomas Coventry | | | Charles Roscarrock | |
| 1665 | | Thomas Coventry | | | (Sir) William Godolphin | |
| February 1679 | | Sir James Smyth | | | William Harbord | |
| April 1679 | | Sir James Smyth | | | Robert Russell | |
| April 1685 | | Humphrey Langford | | | Nicholas Courtney | |
| September 1685 | | Sir Charles Scarborough | | | Nicholas Courtney | |
| 1689 | | Ambrose Manaton | | | Henry Manaton | |
| 1695 | | Ambrose Manaton | | | Robert Molesworth | Whig |
| 1696 | | Sidney Wortley-Montagu | | | Robert Molesworth | Whig |
| 1698 | | Henry Manaton | | | Dennys Glynn | |
| 1704 | | William Pole | | | Dennys Glynn | |
| 1705 | | William Pole | | | Henry Pinnell | |
| 1708 | | Richard Munden | | | John Manley | |
| 1710 | | Bernard Granville | | | Jasper Radcliffe | |
| March 1711 | | Bernard Granville | | | Henry Manaton | |
| May 1711 | | Bernard Granville | | | Paul Orchard | |
| 1712 | | Sir Bourchier Wrey | | | Paul Orchard | |
| 1713 | | Sir Bourchier Wrey | | | James Nicholls | |
| 1715 | | James Montagu | | | Richard Coffin | |
| 1722 | | The Earl of Drogheda | | | William Sloper | |
| 1727 | | Thomas Hales | Whig | | John Pitt | |
| 1734 | | Sir Thomas Lyttelton | | | James Cholmondeley | |
| 1741 | | The Earl of Inchiquin | | | Charles Montagu | |
| 1747 | | The Earl of Londonderry | | | Samuel Martin | |
| 1754 | | John Lade | | | Samuel Martin | |
| 1759 | | Bartholomew Burton | | | Samuel Martin | |
| 1768 | | Charles Phillips | | | William Wilson | |
| 1774 | | John Amyand | | | Francis Herne | |
| 1776 | | John Amyand | | | Sir Ralph Payne | |
| 1780 | | John Pardoe | | | James Macpherson | |
| April 1784 | | Jonathan Phillips | | | James Macpherson | |
| July 1784 | | Sir Samuel Hannay, Bt | | | James Macpherson | |
| 1791 | | William Smith | Whig | | James Macpherson | |
| March 1796 | | William Smith | Whig | | Lord William Bentinck | Whig |
| May 1796 | | William Joseph Denison | | | John Angerstein | Whig |
| 1802 | | Robert Adair | Whig | | John Fonblanque | Whig |
| 1806 | | Robert Adair | Whig | | Viscount Maitland | Whig |
| 1807 | | Robert Adair | Whig | | Lord Henry Petty | Whig |
| 1810 | | Robert Adair | Whig | | Henry Brougham | Whig |
| 1812 | | William Leader | | | Samuel Scott | |
| 1818 | | Mark Milbank | Whig | | John Bushby Maitland | Whig |
| 1819 | | John Stewart | Tory | | Lewis Allsopp | Tory |
| 1819 | Camelford's representation suspended 1819-1820 | Camelford's representation suspended 1819-1820 | Camelford's representation suspended 1819-1820 | Camelford's representation suspended 1819-1820 | Camelford's representation suspended 1819-1820 | Camelford's representation suspended 1819-1820 |
| 1820 | | Mark Milbank | Whig | | Earl of Yarmouth | Tory |
| 1822 | | Mark Milbank | Whig | | Sheldon Cradock | Whig |
| 1832 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

Notes

* ↑ Page 336, Namier, Lewis (1957) The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III, 2nd ed. London: St Martin's Press
* ↑ Sources differ. Cobbett's Parliamentary History lists Clement as MP for Camelford, and the Dictionary of National Biography agrees; however, Brunton & Pennington state that Clement was elected for Fowey, though they list no alternative name for Camelford.
* ↑ Created a baronet as Sir John Lade, March 1758
* ↑ John Anthony (later de Grenier) Fonblanque, elected 1802: see ODNB article, NOT his son, John Samuel Martin Fonblanque.
* ↑ The 1818 election was declared void and a new poll was ordered
* ↑ The 1819 election was declared void. All the candidates (Stewart, Allsopp, Milbank and Maitland) were barred from sitting for any constituency for the remainder of the Parliament for violating the Treating Act, and Camelford's writ was suspended
