Right of election
in freeholders and leaseholders for life
Ludgershall
Background Information
Number of voters: about 100
Number of seats
2
Constituency business
County
| Date | Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Apr. 1754 | SIR JOHN BLAND | |
| THOMAS HAYWARD | ||
| 21 Nov. 1755 | HENRY DIGBY vice Bland, deceased | |
| 28 Mar. 1761 | THOMAS WHATLEY | |
| JOHN PATERSON | ||
| 21 Mar. 1768 | JOHN STEWART, Lord Garlies | |
| PENISTON LAMB | ||
| 2 July 1768 | GARLIES re-elected after appointment to office | |
| 5 Dec. 1772 | GARLIES re-elected after appointment to office | |
| 22 Jan. 1774 | WHITSHED KEENE vice Garlies, become a peer of Scotland | |
| 11 Oct. 1774 | PENISTONE LAMB, Visct. Melbourne | |
| LORD GEORGE GORDON | ||
| 12 Sept. 1780 | GEORGE AUGUSTUS SELWYN | |
| PENISTONE LAMB, Visct. Melbourne | ||
| 3 Jan. 1784 | SELWYN re-elected after appointment to office | |
| 3 Apr. 1784 | GEORGE AUGUSTUS SELWYN | |
| NATHANIEL WILLIAM WRAXALL |
Main Article
<p>Throughout this period Ludgershall was a pocket borough of the Selwyns of Matson, who owned the manor and a considerable amount of property in the town. The franchise was peculiar, comprising all who owned an ‘estate of inheritance’ in the borough. Ludgershall could never be regarded as absolutely safe, but there was no contest between 1747 and 1791.</p><p>George Augustus Selwyn, who controlled the borough from 1751 to 1791, used it as a source of revenue, selling the seats to Administration. His properties were made over to friends, relatives, or dependants, most of whom were strangers to Ludgershall. He seems to have visited the town as little as possible, and his interest suffered in consequence: at the general election of 1790 he had a hard fight to hold both seats.</p>
Volume