Defoe heartily approved of Wiltshire, its agriculture and industries, especially weaving, making it in his view ‘one of the most important counties of England’. The northern and western parts, ‘infinitely populous’ and ‘full of . . . manufactures’, where Dissenting interests were especially well entrenched, pleased him best, but it was in the south-east, at Wilton, that the knights of the shire were elected, and there ‘the clothing trade’ and Nonconformity were much less in evidence. For most of this period the Tories dominated county elections.

Appleby Castle physically dominated the adjoining borough, and the castle interest exerted considerable influence over Appleby elections. The castle had formed part of the extensive Westmorland estates of the Cliffords, lands which in 1676 passed to the earls of Thanet. The Clifford estate also brought with it the hereditary shrievalty of Westmorland, and the substantial interest afforded by this inheritance was wielded in this period by the Tory 6th Earl of Thanet (Thomas Tufton†).

Electoral conflict in Westmorland stemmed from the influence of party which itself had two roots, the national prominence and political identities of the county’s leading political figures and the strong partisan sentiments of many of the other families and individuals possessed of significant electoral interests. The first of these factors was most clearly demonstrated by the disputes between Sir John Lowther, 2nd Bt.

Despite its large and potentially independent electorate, Warwick during the 1690s and 1700s continued to lie under the personal influence of the 5th Lord Brooke (Fulke Greville†). His principal seat was the Castle, which overlooked the borough, and from this vantage point he tended an interest which stemmed jointly from his position as recorder and from his ownership of much property within the town limits, the extent of which is revealed in an estate account for 1686 showing a rent roll totalling £695.

Coventry, as Sir John Perceval (John, Viscount Perceval†) observed on his visit there in 1701, was ‘a very populous and trading place’ in which the manufacture, dressing and marketing of cloth was an economic mainstay. The organization of most of the city’s trades into companies endowed the wide freemen electorate with a semblance of political infrastructure. This impression obtains particular weight from the flow of petitions from these trades to Parliament concerning their various economic grievances.

In Warwickshire there continued a strong preference among the gentry for deciding elections in advance through general meetings. The infrequency with which polls were held during this period in itself testifies to the general acceptability of this manner of proceeding. None the less, it was always appreciated how easily the ‘unanimity’ of the county might be disturbed by dissentient or ambitious spirits.

The right of election at Steyning lay in the inhabitants paying scot and lot, but gradually the assessment of these rates was restricted to certain houses built on ancient foundation. The borough had no corporation, the constable who was elected annually at the court of the lord of the manor, the Duke of Norfolk, acting as the returning officer. There was no controlling interest but a strong influence was exercised by two rival local families, the Whig Faggs of Wiston and the Tory Gorings of Highden, both of whom owned houses within the town.

New Shoreham was a manorial borough consisting of about 150 houses in this period, with the constable, chosen at the manorial court, acting as returning officer. However, the lords of the manor, the Howard family, dukes of Norfolk, made no attempt to intervene in parliamentary elections. The borough became increasingly venal, frequently returning wealthy London merchants.

The right of election at Midhurst lay in the burgage holders and potentially the strongest interest lay with the lord of the borough, who controlled the appointment of the returning officer, the bailiff, who was chosen annually at the capital court by a jury selected by the lord’s steward. In this period the lordships of the borough and the manor of Midhurst, although technically separate, were both held by the viscounts Montagu of the neighbouring Cowdray estate.

Lewes did not have a charter, the borough being governed by a self-selecting body of the wealthier citizens, known as ‘the twelve’ or the ‘fellowship’, although it often consisted of more than 12 members. They were supported by an inferior council of ‘the twenty four’, although this also often comprised more than 24 members.