Right of election
in the freemen
in the freemen
Number of voters: about 800
| Date | Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Jan. 1715 | JOHN RUDGE | |
| JOHN DEACLE | ||
| Sir Edward Goodere | ||
| 24 Mar. 1722 | JOHN RUDGE | |
| SIR JOHN RUSHOUT | ||
| John Deacle | ||
| 22 Aug. 1727 | JOHN RUDGE | 411 |
| SIR JOHN RUSHOUT | 390 |
|
| William Taylor | 383 |
|
| 30 Apr. 1734 | SIR JOHN RUSHOUT | 417 |
| WILLIAM TAYLOR | 352 |
|
| John Rudge | 264 |
|
| 7 May 1741 | SIR JOHN RUSHOUT | |
| EDWARD RUDGE | ||
| 24 Feb. 1742 | RUSHOUT re-elected after appointment to office | |
| 28 Dec. 1743 | RUSHOUT re-elected after appointment to office | |
| 1 July 1747 | SIR JOHN RUSHOUT | |
| EDWARD RUDGE |
<p>The representation of Evesham was practically monopolized by two Whig families, the Rudges, who owned the manor of Evesham, and the Rushouts, whose seat at Northwick was not far away. Only in 1734 did William Taylor, the recorder of the borough and a Tory, succeed in ousting Rudge. Elections there were expensive: in 1753 Sir John Rushout estimated that the forthcoming contest would cost him not less than £4,000.<a class='fnlink' id='t1' href='#fn1'>1<span>15 Sept. 1753, Sir Dudley Ryder’s diary, Harrowby mss.</span></a></p>