Commons 1660-1690

The nomination of the returning officer for Peterborough was in dispute between the Earl of Exeter, as lord of the hundred of Nassaburgh, and the dean and chapter, as lords of the city. The latter interest was replaced during the Interregnum by those of the St. John and Orme families, who occupied most of the property in the soke and the city, respectively. At the general election of 1660 Humphrey Orme was returned unopposed, but for the other seat there was a double return of Lord le Despenser, heir to the principal landowner in the eastern division of Northamptonshire, and Francis St.

Few constituencies had a more turbulent history than Northampton, at least in the opening years of this period. This was partly due to the existence of an ‘obstinate and numerous’ body of sectaries in the town, partly to the efforts of the corporation to retain the exclusive franchise which they had arrogated to themselves early in the 16th century. This body fluctuated somewhat in number, but in 1674 consisted of 13 aldermen, 26 bailiffs and 48 ‘burgesses’.

All the candidates for Higham Ferrers in this period were resident within the county, except Dacres and Rudd, and they owned property in the town. Under the charter of 1556, the franchise was granted to the mayor, aldermen and ‘burgesses’ but whether this was limited to the ‘select burgesses’, i.e. the corporation, was subject to interpretation. Both candidates in 1660 had previously been elected for the borough, Dacres as long ago as 1626, Harby as a recruiter.

For most of the period control of Brackley was disputed between the proprietary interests of the Egertons and Wenmans, on the one hand, and the natural interests of the Crews and the Lisles on the other. The Egertons had been lords of the manor since 1592, and the 2nd Earl of Bridgwater was much offended when he learnt on 13 Mar. 1660 that all but six of the corporation had already promised their votes without reference to him. His steward pointed out that the Earl did more than anyone else to ‘support your magistracy’ and that his estate paid the highest rates.

‘Northampton, a town and country of very eminent disaffection to the King throughout the war’, could only be induced to return court candidates with extreme artifice throughout this period. For the general election of 1660 the gentry selected two Presbyterians, John Crew and Richard Knightley. But as early as 5 Apr. it was reported that ‘Northamptonshire hath resolved to choose none of the Long Parliament’.

The franchise at Thetford was enjoyed by the corporation, consisting under the Elizabethan charter of the mayor, who acted as returning officer, ten ‘burgesses’ or aldermen, and 20 common councilmen. To the great inconvenience of most of the county it was an assize town; and the proximity of the sporting delights of Newmarket and Thetford Chase ensured a strong gentry interest in a town that was otherwise little more than a posting station and a cluster of medieval ruins on the Norwich road.

A large, open constituency, Norwich appears to have shared the moderate political and religious views of its most celebrated resident, Sir Thomas Browne, and his friend and neighbour Augustine Briggs, whose only handicap as a candidate was his reluctance to ‘ride’ in the procession which local custom required before as well as after the election.

The flourishing port of Lynn served as regional capital for the conservative Marshland of West Norfolk. Its confidence and prosperity in this period are attested by such buildings as the Exchange (now the Custom House) and the Duke’s Head, and further by the return of at least one townsman at every election after the dissolution of the Cavalier Parliament. The town had suffered severely at the hands of the parliamentary forces in 1643, and the franchise had been restricted to the purged corporation under the Protectorate.

‘The multitude’ at Yarmouth had shown unmistakable royalist sympathies during the second Civil War, and, though the freeman roll did not rise above 600 in a population of many thousands, it was thought wise during the Protectorate to restrict the franchise to the corporation, which under the guidance of the recorder Miles Corbet (the regicide) was purged of all except Independents.

Castle Rising was a pocket borough of the Howard family, though they were usually content to nominate to a single seat. The dukes of Norfolk were lords of the manor, and most of the burgages which carried the franchise were held by their dependants and nominees. The 5th duke was a lunatic, and until 1679 the family interest was exercised by his brother Henry Howard, a Roman Catholic. On 19 Apr. 1660 it was reported that his distant cousin Charles Howard of Naworth had been elected to the Convention for Rising with the Presbyterian Royalist John Spelman.