in burgage holders
Number of voters: about 100
| Date | Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Jan. 1715 | CHARLES LONGUEVILLE | |
| JOHN EYRE | ||
| 2 Dec. 1715 | GILES EYRE vice John Eyre, deceased | |
| 27 Mar. 1722 | JOHN VERNEY | |
| GILES EYRE | ||
| 25 Jan. 1727 | VERNEY re-elected after appointment to office | |
| 21 Aug. 1727 | JOHN VERNEY | |
| GILES EYRE | ||
| 26 Jan. 1734 | VERNEY re-elected after appointment to office | |
| 26 Apr. 1734 | ANTHONY DUNCOMBE | |
| JOSEPH WINDHAM ASHE | ||
| 4 May 1741 | ANTHONY DUNCOMBE | |
| JOHN VERNEY | ||
| 4 Jan. 1742 | JOSEPH WINDHAM ASHE vice Verney, deceased | |
| 28 Nov. 1746 | GEORGE PROCTOR vice Ashe, deceased | |
| 29 June 1747 | GEORGE PROCTOR | |
| GEORGE LYTTELTON | ||
| 17 Dec. 1747 | RICHARD TEMPLE vice Lyttelton, chose to sit for Okehampton | 134 |
| Peter Bathurst | 9 |
|
| 24 Nov. 1749 | HENRY VANE vice Temple, deceased | |
| 22 Apr. 1751 | THOMAS DUNCOMBE vice Proctor, deceased | |
| William Escott | ||
| 12 May 1753 | JAMES HAYES vice Vane, vacated his seat |
In 1715 the principal burgage owners were the Eyres of Brickworth and Anthony Duncombe, afterwards Lord Feversham. Another interest was vested in the Ashes of Heytesbury who, as lessees of the manor of Downton from the bishop of Winchester, appointed the returning officer. All these interests were pro-Administration.
In 1742 Duncombe strengthened his hold on the borough by buying the lease of the manor from Joseph Windham Ashe. By 1745 he owned 55 burgages,1Map in Radnor mss at Longford Castle, cited by J. A. Cannon, ‘Parl. Rep. six Wilts. Boroughs, 1754-90’ (Bristol Univ. Ph.D. thesis). thus acquiring complete control. His method of electing Members was
to make a small part of one of these burgage tenures by lease to his tenants and tradesmen in the neighbourhood, which leases are by his agent delivered to them on the day of election, and after voting they are delivered up to his agent again, so that these voters are never in the possession or receive any rent of the land by virtue of which they claim their right of voting.2State of the borough of Downton, Newcastle (Clumber) mss.
The second Lord Egmont, in his electoral survey, c.1749-50, describes Downton as ‘in Lord Feversham totally’.