Finsbury Central (UK Parliament constituency)
# Finsbury Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Finsbury Central was a parliamentary constituency that covered the Clerkenwell district of Central London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

## History

The constituency was created when the two-member Finsbury constituency was divided by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election. It was abolished for the 1918 general election, when it was replaced by a new single-member Finsbury constituency.

## Boundaries

The constituency was created, in 1885, as a division of the parliamentary borough of Finsbury, in the historic county of Middlesex to the north of the City of London. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 provided that the constituency was to consist of the parish of St James and St John, Clerkenwell.

The seat was mostly located in the Clerkenwell district, with a detached portion at Muswell Hill containing about 5% of the population. The two areas were connected for historic reasons. The Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910, explains that the Knights of St John had once owned more than half of Clerkenwell, including a deer park at Muswell Hill.

In 1889 Clerkenwell was severed from Middlesex to become part of the County of London.

In 1894, when the lower tier of local government in Middlesex was altered, the Muswell Hill area formed part of the Hornsey Urban District, which became the Municipal Borough of Hornsey in 1903.

In 1900 the lower tier of local government in London was rationalised. The old local boards and parish vestries were replaced, in the Clerkenwell area, by the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury.

The local government changes did not affect the parliamentary boundaries until the redistribution of 1918, when the Central division ceased to be a separate constituency.

## Members of Parliament

| Year | Year | Member | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1885 | Howard Spensley | Liberal |
| | 1886 | Frederick Penton | Conservative |
| | 1892 | Dadabhai Naoroji | Liberal |
| | 1895 | William Massey-Mainwaring | Conservative |
| | 1906 | W. C. Steadman | Liberal |
| | 1910 | Martin Archer-Shee | Conservative |
| 1918 | 1918 | constituency abolished: see Finsbury | constituency abolished: see Finsbury |

## Election results

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Finsbury Central :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Howard Spensley | 2,861 | 55.3 | |
| | Conservative | Saul Isaac | 2,314 | 44.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 547 | 10.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,175 | 69.4 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,462 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |

General election 1886: Finsbury Central :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Frederick Penton | 2,245 | 50.1 | +5.4 |
| | Liberal | Howard Spensley | 2,240 | 49.9 | -5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,485 | 60.1 | -9.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,462 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.4 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Finsbury Central :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Dadabhai Naoroji | 2,961 | 50.0 | +0.1 |
| | Conservative | Frederick Penton | 2,956 | 50.0 | -0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5 | 0.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,917 | 71.2 | +11.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,311 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +0.1 | |

General election 1895: Finsbury Central :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | William Massey-Mainwaring | 3,588 | 56.3 | +6.3 |
| | Liberal | Dadabhai Naoroji | 2,783 | 43.7 | -6.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 805 | 12.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,371 | 71.5 | +0.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,911 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +6.3 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Finsbury Central :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | William Massey-Mainwaring | 2,872 | 53.2 | −3.1 |
| | Liberal | Joseph Benson | 2,523 | 46.8 | +3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 349 | 6.4 | −6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,395 | 63.3 | −8.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,523 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.1 | |

General election 1906: Finsbury Central :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Lib-Lab | W. C. Steadman | 3,493 | 55.5 | +8.7 |
| | Conservative | Edward Goulding | 2,799 | 44.5 | −8.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 694 | 11.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,292 | 76.0 | +12.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,279 | | |
| | Lib-Lab gain from Conservative | Lib-Lab gain from Conservative | Swing | +8.7 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Finsbury Central :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Martin Archer-Shee | 3,559 | 52.8 | +8.3 |
| | Lib-Lab | W. C. Steadman | 3,187 | 47.2 | -8.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 372 | 5.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,746 | 83.3 | +7.3 |
| | Conservative gain from Lib-Lab | Conservative gain from Lib-Lab | Swing | +8.3 | |

General election December 1910: Finsbury Central :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Martin Archer-Shee | 3,335 | 54.3 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal | Felix Rosenheim | 2,804 | 45.7 | -1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 531 | 8.6 | +3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,139 | 75.8 | -7.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.5 | |
