Commons 1690-1715

Edward Nicholas, a local Tory landowner who was first returned in 1689, possessed sufficient interest at Shaftesbury to retain one seat throughout the period. The other principal interest in the town belonged to the earls of Shaftesbury, though the 2nd Earl (Anthony Ashley†) was far less active than his son, Lord Ashley (Anthony*), a Country Whig. In 1690 Nicholas had been returned with Sir Matthew Andrews, a Whig standing on his own interest, which was based on possession of a nearby estate, an alliance with the recorder and justified popularity through his frequent ‘charitable acts’.

The franchise at Poole was disputed between the corporation and freemen on the one hand, and the inhabitants paying scot and lot on the other. A double return in 1689 had not produced a clear decision. The elections committee had declared in favour of the candidates elected on the scot-and-lot vote, but the House had disagreed and seated the two returned on the freeman franchise.

The main interest at Lyme Regis lay with two local Whig families, the Henleys, who owned land in and around the town and had established an almost hereditary right to one seat, and the Burridges, a merchant family whose members had frequently filled the mayor’s office and who had become sufficiently influential by 1689 to supply a parliamentary representative. John Burridge I had been returned after a contest in 1689, when a longstanding controversy over the right of election was also revived. Since 1660 returns had been made by the mayor, corporation and freemen.

There was no controlling interest at Dorchester. The Members were usually drawn from a number of local families with property and influence in the borough. Of these the two most prominent on the Tory side were the Napiers of Middlemarsh and Puncknowle, and the Goulds, who had started out in Dorchester itself, where one branch headed by James Gould remained, while the senior branch was seated nearby at Upway. They were supported by the leaders of the Dorset Tories, the two county Members, Thomas Freke I, who had been high sheriff of Dorchester since 1684, and Thomas Strangways I.

The chief interest at Corfe Castle lay with John Bankes, whose family had owned the manor since 1635 and usually controlled one seat. The other had been held since 1681 by Richard Fownes, a Dorset landowner and High Tory. In 1690 Bankes, who had only recently succeeded his father, declined to stand, being unwilling immediately to embark on a political career. This gave an opportunity to William Culliford, a local placeman in the customs service with a longstanding association with the borough.

There was no controlling interest at Bridport although some influence was exercised by the Strangways family of Melbury Sampford, strong Tories in whom the high stewardship of the borough was virtually hereditary. Thomas Strangways I sat for the county throughout the period until his death in 1713, and his son (Thomas II) was not of age until the 1705 election. Consequently the Strangways took little part in Bridport elections during William’s reign.

There was not a single contest in Dorset in this period. As previously, the Tories were dominant. Since 1679 the two seats had been held in partnership by Thomas Strangways I and Thomas Freke I. They enjoyed the support of the Tory lord lieutenant, the 3rd Earl of Bristol (John Digby†). The Whig interest in the county, headed by the earls of Shaftesbury, made little impact until after 1698, the only notable event in that election being a delay caused by the inadvertent despatch of the Dorset writs to Cornwall and vice versa.

Totnes was ‘Sir Edward Seymour’s town’, according to Defoe, ‘though he has not one foot of land nor a house in the town’. The family had sold off property in the borough to pay fines during the Interregnum, but had retained their residence at nearby Berry Pomeroy. This, together with Seymour’s status as one of the leading west-country Tories, gave him a strong natural interest. His nominees, Sir John Fowell, 3rd Bt., and Henry Seymour, were returned without opposition in 1690.

Tiverton was one of the larger industrial centres in the south-west, and was notable for the manufacture of serge and kersey. Although the town possessed a population of over 8,500 by the late 17th century, its electorate was restricted to the 25 members of the corporation. The preoccupations of this merchant oligarchy were clearly reflected in a petition of 26 Feb. 1707:

The chief interest at Tavistock was that of the Russells, earls and (after 1694) dukes of Bedford, the lords of the manor. The returning officer was the portreeve, who was chosen at a court leet by 24 freeholders selected by the lord’s steward. The Russells enjoyed the support of fellow Whigs such as Sir Francis Drake, 3rd Bt., who owned nearby Buckland Abbey and property in the borough itself. On the Tory side the leading interest was that of the Manatons of Kilworthy (just over a mile from Tavistock), who were trustees of the parish lands. In 1690 Hon.