Number of voters: about 7000
| Date | Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Feb. 1715 | JOHN BLAND | |
| RICHARD SHUTTLEWORTH | ||
| 27 Mar. 1722 | SIR JOHN BLAND | 3,784 |
| RICHARD SHUTTLEWORTH | 3,726 |
|
| Sir Henry Hoghton | 3,367 |
|
| 5 Sept. 1727 | SIR EDWARD STANLEY | |
| RICHARD SHUTTLEWORTH | ||
| 7 May 1734 | SIR EDWARD STANLEY | |
| RICHARD SHUTTLEWORTH | ||
| 4 May 1736 | PETER BOLD vice Stanley, called to the Upper House | |
| 26 May 1741 | JAMES STANLEY, Lord Strange | |
| RICHARD SHUTTLEWORTH | ||
| 14 July 1747 | JAMES SMITH STANLEY, Lord Strange | 247 |
| RICHARD SHUTTLEWORTH | 170 |
|
| Peter Bold | 140 |
|
| 23 Jan. 1750 | PETER BOLD vice Shuttleworth, deceased |
The representation of Lancashire was usually shared without a contest by the Earls of Derby, with the local gentry each choosing one Member. Apparently owing to the 10th Earl’s reluctance to intervene in county elections this practice was interrupted in 1713 and 1715 when two Jacobites, Sir John Bland and Richard Shuttleworth, were returned unopposed.
In 1722 Bland and Shuttleworth standing jointly, were opposed by a Whig, Sir Henry Hoghton, the leader of the Lancashire nonconformists. According to a pre-election report to Sunderland, Hoghton
spoke to Lord Derby, who has interest of his own besides that of being lord lieutenant and his Lordship’s answer was that he would not meddle, but if a right person was chose to set up and those would exert themselves that ought to do it, both the old Members might be turned out.1E. Hamilton to Sunderland, undated, Sunderland (Blenheim) mss.
‘After a vast expense and fatigue’ Hoghton was narrowly defeated. Sunderland’s informant reported:
Our lord lieutenant is not a little indolent else a pert person would not have carried off some hundreds of his own tenants. Lord Lechmere [the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster] was very ill used by his people of the duchy ... Most if not all went against Sir Harry.2Hamilton to Sunderland, 6 Apr. 1722, ibid.
In 1727 the normal pattern was restored with the unopposed return of Shuttleworth and Sir Edward Stanley, afterwards 11th Earl of Derby, both of whom were re-elected without opposition in 1734. On Stanley’s succession to the earldom in 1736, when his only son, Lord Strange, was a minor, the vacancy was filled by a Tory, Peter Bold. In 1741 Strange, having come of age, was returned unopposed along with Shuttleworth, though the new Lord Derby, like his predecessors, would ‘not ask anybody for their votes or interest’.3Ld. Barrymore to Sir Roger Bradshaigh, 18 May 1739, Rylands, Crawford mss. They were again returned in 1747, when Bold also stood but withdrew on the opening of the poll. On Shuttleworth’s death in 1750 Bold was returned unopposed.