The principal interests at Malton, a borough by prescription, belonged to the Eure and Hebblethwaite families. The widow and daughters of Colonel William Eure held the manors of Old and New Malton, and claimed the right to appoint the returning officer, while the Hebblethwaites lived at Norton, just outside the borough.
The franchise at Knaresborough was derived from the burgage tenements, variously estimated from 82 to 88; but plural voting was not allowed, and during this period temporary transfers for electoral purposes became the practice. The strongest burgage interest was held by William Stockdale, who represented the borough throughout the period.
By the charter of 1440 Hull was separated from Yorkshire and governed by a corporation, consisting of the mayor, 12 aldermen, two chamberlains, and the sheriff, who acted as returning officer. The office of high steward enabled the borough to acquire a patron at Court. A major commercial centre with an extensive hinterland, it ranked fourth among the outports in volume of trade after the Restoration. The customs house and the large garrison provided the basis for the government interest, usually exercised by the governor.
The corporation of Hedon, which controlled the freeman roll, consisted of the mayor, who acted as returning officer, nine aldermen, and two bailiffs. The borough had been controlled by the Constables in Tudor times and the Hildyards before the Civil War; but both were driven out of politics by recusancy. Hugh Bethell of Rise controlled one seat until his death in 1679; but the most remarkable feature was the interest gained by a courtier, Henry Guy from Hertfordshire, as farmer of the Yorkshire excise.G. Poulson, Holderness, ii. 140-2; G. R.
Towards the end of the period it was asserted that ‘the queen dowager always recommends one to be chosen’ at Boroughbridge, the bailiwick forming part of her jointure. But the return in 1661 of Robert Long, surveyor to Queen Henrietta Maria, is the only one that can be certainly ascribed to this interest, and it is clear that the local magnate families were more important. The Stapletons of Myton may already have owned burgages in the borough, but after the Restoration they were eclipsed by the Mauleverers, who leased the mills, and Sir Henry Goodricke of Ribston.
The corporation of Beverley consisted of the mayor and 12 ‘life governors’ to whom were added 13 ‘freemen’ elected annually by the companies from a list of 26 submitted by the ‘governors’. For most of the period Michael Warton, as lord of the manor, was content to divide the borough with Sir John Hotham of Scorborough, a prominent local landowner.
The right of election at Aldborough originally lay in the holders of nine burgages, which at the outset of the period were each owned separately. John Wentworth of Woolley had bought the manor in 1653, and the bailiff, who acted as returning officer, was chosen in his court leet; but he did not own any of the burgages, and much of the history of the borough in this period is concerned with his attempt to establish electoral control by widening the franchise. Sir John Reresby’s Memoirs, written after the events described, give a detailed account of this struggle.
Yorkshire was the largest constituency in England, and this made election contests so expensive that there was a marked reluctance on the part of candidates to go to the poll. Seven of the nine Members who sat as knight of the shire in this period were drawn from the West Riding, which predominated both in population and wealth. On 26 Mar.
Under its charter of 1621 the corporation of Worcester, which controlled the roll of freemen, consisted of the mayor and sheriff, six aldermen, 18 common councilmen, and 48 assistants. There was no territorial interest, but the corporation showed a strong preference for local lawyers. The city was famous for its loyalty in the Civil War, and even in 1660 chose two Royalists whose eligibility under the Long Parliament ordinance was doubtful. Thomas Street came from a family long prominent in municipal affairs, and was accompanied by the town clerk, Thomas Hall.
Under the charter of 1605 the corporation of Evesham, which controlled the freeman roll, consisted of the mayor, six aldermen, 12 ‘capital burgesses’, the recorder and the chamberlain. The 24 ‘assistant burgesses’ had no definite function or political weight. In 1660 John Egioke and Sir Thomas Rous, two country gentlemen of parliamentarian background, defeated the recorder Theophilus Andrews, who had represented the borough in Richard Cromwell’s Parliament.