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Bedfordshire

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One of the two county seats was regularly conceded to the Duke of Bedford, and usually filled by one of his family. Even in filling the other seat the Bedford influence was exerted; discussing the forthcoming general election, Philip Yorke wrote on 5 Aug. 1753 that he saw no other choice that could ‘be made in order to keep up the Whig interest’ than Thomas Alston, and ‘the Duke of Bedford is very willing to consent’. Ossory and Alston were returned unopposed. When Ossory died, 23 Sept. 1758, Henry Osborn was returned on the Bedford interest as a stop-gap till Lord Tavistock was of age.

Introduction to Survey

When this period opens George II had been on the throne for nearly 27 years; and Henry Pelham, first lord of the Treasury and leader of the House of Commons, had held these offices for nearly 11 years. The nation was at peace; Jacobitism no longer menaced the Hanoverian dynasty; and no deep-seated party divisions disturbed the House of Commons.

Method

The basic elements of these volumes are the biographical studies in volumes II and III and the accounts of the constituencies in the second part of this volume. The biographies and constituency histories, though distinct in themselves, are complementary and the reader is advised to consult not only the biography of the Member in whom he is interested but also the relevant entry on the constituency or constituencies the Member represented or contested. The introductory survey, though it too complements the biographies and constituency histories, derives its subject matter from them.

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