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West Gloucestershire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
West Gloucestershire, showing boundaries used from 1983-1997
County	Gloucestershire
1950–1997
Seats	One
Created from	Forest of Dean and Stroud
Replaced by	Forest of Dean, Tewkesbury
1832–1885
Seats	Two
Type of constituency	County constituency
Created from	Gloucestershire
Replaced by	Forest of Dean Thornbury

West Gloucestershire was a parliamentary constituency in Gloucestershire, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

It was first created by the Great Reform Act for the 1832 general election as a 2-seat constituency (i.e. electing two Members of Parliament). It was abolished for the 1885 general election.

Its namesake, a seat of about half the physical size of the above, took up a north-west side of the Severn estuary similar to the Forest of Dean, and came into being for the 1950 general election. It was abolished for the 1997 general election.

History

The 1950 to 1997 single-member constituency was held by the Labour Party from its creation in 1950 until 1979 and then held by the Conservative Party until its abolition.

Boundaries

1832 to 1885

1832–1885: The Hundreds of Berkeley, Thornbury, Langley and Swineshead, Grumbald's Ash, Pucklechurch, Lancaster Duchy, Botloe, St Briavel's, Westbury, and Bledisloe, and the parts of the Hundreds of Henbury and Barton Regis that are not included in the limits of the City of Bristol.

The place of election was the small town of Dursley. This was where the hustings were put up and electors voted (by spoken declaration in public, before the secret ballot was introduced in 1872).

The qualification to vote in county elections, in the period, was to be a forty-shilling freeholder.

The county's five parliamentary boroughs were all in East Gloucestershire. Qualified freeholders from those boroughs could vote in the eastern county division. Bristol was a "county of itself", so its freeholders qualified to vote in the borough, not in a county division.

There were no electors qualified to vote in the western division, because they were freehold owners of land in a parliamentary borough.

1950 to 1997

1950–1983: The Rural Districts of East Dean, Lydney, Newent, and West Dean, and part of the Rural District of Gloucester.

1983–1997: The District of Forest of Dean, and the Borough of Tewkesbury wards of Brockworth Glebe, Brockworth Moorfield, Brockworth Westfield, Churchdown Brookfield, Churchdown Parton, Churchdown Pirton, De Winton, Haw Bridge, Highnam, Horsbere, and Innsworth.

The constituency in this period was a smaller part of the county of Gloucestershire than its nineteenth century namesake. It was centred on the Forest of Dean, and indeed the majority of the constituency at abolition formed the new Forest of Dean constituency. About a fifth of the constituency moved to Tewkesbury, with 735 constituents moving to Gloucester.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

MPs 1950–1997

Election results

Election in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1880s

• Caused by Kingscote's appointment as Commissioner of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues.

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1860s

• Caused by Rolt's appointment as a judge of the Court of Appeal in Chancery

• Caused by Rolt's appointment as Attorney General for England and Wales.

Elections in the 1850s

• Appointment of Kingscote as a Groom in Waiting to Her Majesty Queen Victoria

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1830s

• Succession of Worcester to the peerage as 7th Duke of Beaufort

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire

Notes and references

1. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1985-1972. Chichester, Sussex: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4.
2. "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
3. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p. 220 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995).
4. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 1)
5. ^ Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) . Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 113–114. ISBN 0-900178-13-2. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
6. Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 130. Retrieved 3 August 2018 – via Google Books.
7. Succeeded as the 7th Duke of Beaufort, in November 1835.
8. 2 January 1836 by-election.
9. Joined the Liberal Party, when it was formally created following the 1859 general election. Appointed Commissioner of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues in 1885.
10. "West Gloucestershire Election". Gloucester Journal. 24 July 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 3 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette". 8 July 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 3 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. Appointed Attorney General and knighted in 1866. Appointed Judge of the Court of Appeal in Chancery in 1867.
13. 25 July 1867 by-election.
14. 12 March 1885 by-election.
15. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
16. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
17. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
18. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
19. Percentage change and swing for February 1974 is calculated relative to the BBC notional 1970 constituency result, not actual 1970 result. Notional 1970 results were rounded to the nearest hundred. Constituency data for 1974-83 including 1970 notionals, retrieved 18 July 2017
20. ^ Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 391. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
21. "West Gloucestershire Election". Western Daily Press. 3 March 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
22. "Liberalism in the Forest: Meeting at Cinderford". Gloucester Journal. 29 August 1874. p. 7. Retrieved 30 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

• British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
• The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F. W. S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973))
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)

• Parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire (historic)
• Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1832
• Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885
• Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950
• Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1997