In this period Lymington was a mesne roeshe borough with a mayor, recorder, town clerk, serjeant and burgesses. The high steward was Sir Henry Wallop, whose son Henry was joined with him in the office in December 1594. In 1600 the manor and borough were granted to Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham.
Newport was a ‘revived’ borough in the sense that it had once, in 1295, sent representatives to Parliament in conjunction with Yarmouth. At the time of its enfranchisement in 1584 ‘at the special instance and procurement’ of Sir George Carey, captain of the island, Newport is said to have promised Carey the nomination to one seat for his lifetime. In the event only two Newport MPs in this period were local men, Hardy and James, and these were no doubt acceptable to Carey. All the others were nominated by him.
There was a strong conservative strain in Hampshire in accord with the lead it received from its principal nobleman, William Paulet, Marquess of Winchester. This famous statesman was in his seventies at the time of Elizabeth’s accession. A superlative administrator, he served four successive sovereigns, and for 22 years, until his death in 1572, was lord treasurer of England, accommodating himself with easy flexibility to the political and religious changes of those dangerous years.
Early in Elizabeth’s reign Andover instituted the office of high steward, the Earl of Leicester being the first incumbent in 1574. Leicester’s successor is not known, but in April 1597 the Earl of Essex was appointed. While in office, Essex was responsible for obtaining a new charter for the town in 1599. After his fall, the office may have remained vacant for a while, but by 1604 it was held by the Earl of Southampton.
The borough of Cirencester was the property of the abbey there until the dissolution of the monasteries. By the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign the borough had been acquired by John Danvers, whose son Charles represented the town in the 1586 and 1589 Parliaments. Charles Danvers succeeded his father in 1594 but was executed in 1601 for his part in the Essex rebellion. His property escheated to the Crown and was not restored to the family until July 1603.
Gloucester received a renewal of its charter in 1561, vesting the government of the city in a mayor (elected by the aldermen and 12 common councilmen), recorder, town clerk (or deputy recorder), two sheriffs, 12 aldermen, various minor officials and a common council. The election writs went direct to the city sheriffs and some four or five hundred citizens could vote at the elections held at the guildhall. The size of the electorate, while ensuring independence from outside patrons, encouraged contested elections and faction struggles.
Sir John St. Loe (1559) of Tormarton, who had been under house arrest in the previous reign for his opposition to the government, was elected senior knight of the shire for the first Parliament, but no evidence of a by-election to replace him has been found. His fellow MP, Sir Giles Poole, of Sapperton, had on the contrary been regarded as a ‘safe Catholic’ during Mary’s reign, and yet continued on the Gloucestershire commission of the peace under Elizabeth until his death in 1589. He was related through his mother to the Brydges family and represented the shire a second time in 1571.
When Elizabeth succeeded, the government of Bristol was vested in the mayor, six aldermen, a recorder, two sheriffs, a number of minor officials, and 43 common councilmen. By a charter of 1581 the number of aldermen was increased to 12. MPs were chosen by the mayor, aldermen, common councilmen, 40s. freeholders and principal merchants. The return was made by the sheriffs.
Colchester received a charter of confirmation in 1559. The Elizabethan electorate was composed of the bailiffs, aldermen and common council. The office of recorder was held by local men until 1579, when it became an honorary office held by Sir Francis Walsingham until 1589, Sir Thomas Heneage until 1595, and Sir Robert Cecil until the end of the reign.
During the Elizabethan period Maldon was governed by two bailiffs, a recorder, a town clerk, six aldermen and eighteen head-burgesses. There was also an honorary office of high recorder, held by the Earl of Leicester from about 1565 until his death and afterwards by the Earl of Essex. The borough chamberlain’s accounts for 1598 show that it was intended to give Essex a gift of wine that year, but for some reason not ascertained, but which it would be interesting to know, the entry was deleted.
