THE HOUSE OF COMMONS | |||||
CONSTITUENCIES BEGINNING WITH "O" | |||||
Last updated 13/06/2017 (5 Sep 2024) | |||||
Date | Name | Born | Died | Age | |
Dates in italics in the first column denote that the election held on that date was a by-election or, in some instances, the date of a successful petition against a previous election result. Dates shown in normal type were general elections. | |||||
Dates in italics in the "Born" column indicate that the MP was baptised on that date; dates in italics in the "Died" column indicate that the MP was buried on that date. | |||||
OCHIL | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 May 1997 | Martin John O'Neill, later [2005] Baron O'Neill of Clackmannan [L] | 6 Jan 1945 | 22 Jul 2020 | 75 | |
NAME ALTERED TO "OCHIL AND SOUTH PERTHSHIRE" 2005 | |||||
OCHIL AND SOUTH PERTHSHIRE | |||||
5 May 2005 | Gordon Raymond Banks | 14 Jun 1955 | |||
7 May 2015 | Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh | 5 Oct 1970 | |||
8 Jun 2017 | Luke Patrick Graham | Jun 1985 | |||
12 Dec 2019 | John MacKenzie Nicolson | 23 Jun 1961 | |||
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 2024 | |||||
OGMORE (GLAMORGANSHIRE) | |||||
14 Dec 1918 | Vernon Hartshorn | 16 Mar 1872 | 13 Mar 1931 | 58 | |
19 May 1931 | Edward John Williams [kt 1952] | 1 Jul 1890 | 16 May 1963 | 72 | |
4 Jun 1946 | John Evans | 10 Sep 1875 | 18 Apr 1961 | 85 | |
23 Feb 1950 | Walter Ernest Padley | 24 Jul 1916 | 15 Apr 1984 | 67 | |
3 May 1979 | Raymond Powell [kt 1996] | 19 Jun 1928 | 7 Dec 2001 | 73 | |
14 Feb 2002 | (Ifor) Huw Irranca-Davies | 22 Jan 1963 | |||
5 May 2016 | Christopher Philip James Elmore | 23 Dec 1983 | |||
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 2024 | |||||
OKEHAMPTON (DEVON) | |||||
4 Apr 1660 | Edward Wise (to 1677) | 19 Sep 1632 | 17 Nov 1675 | 43 | |
Josias Calmady | 10 Oct 1619 | Mar 1683 | 63 | ||
Robert Reynolds | |||||
Double return. Wise and Calmady seated 27 Apr 1660 | |||||
3 Apr 1661 | Sir Thomas Hele, 1st baronet | c 1595 | 7 Nov 1670 | ||
2 Jan 1671 | Arthur Harris, later [1673] 1st baronet (to 1685) | c 1650 | 20 Feb 1686 | ||
14 Mar 1677 | Henry Northleigh | 4 Mar 1643 | 31 Jan 1694 | 50 | |
24 Feb 1679 | Josias Calmady | c 1652 | c Nov 1714 | ||
25 Feb 1681 | Sir George Cary | c 1653 | 6 Jan 1685 | ||
18 Mar 1685 | Sir Simon Leach | c 1652 | 30 Jun 1708 | ||
William Cary (to 1695) | c 1661 | by Oct 1710 | |||
11 Jan 1689 | Henry Northleigh | 4 Mar 1643 | 31 Jan 1694 | 50 | |
23 Feb 1694 | John Burrington (to 1698) | 1 May 1634 | by Mar 1708 | ||
1 Nov 1695 | Thomas Northmore (to 1708) | c 1643 | 25 Jul 1713 | ||
28 Jul 1698 | William Harris | c 1652 | 17 Oct 1709 | ||
27 Jul 1702 | Sir Simon Leach | c 1652 | 30 Jun 1708 | ||
15 May 1705 | Thomas Northmore (to 1708) | c 1643 | 25 Jul 1713 | ||
John Dibble (to 1713) | 26 Jan 1728 | ||||
Sir Simon Leach | c 1652 | 30 Jun 1708 | |||
Double return. Northmore and Dibble declared elected 20 Dec 1705 | |||||
12 May 1708 | William Harris | c 1652 | 17 Oct 1709 | ||
1 Dec 1709 | Christopher Harris (to 1722) | c 1687 | 4 Jul 1718 | ||
3 Sep 1713 | William Northmore | 1 Jul 1690 | 17 Mar 1735 | 44 | |
26 Mar 1722 | Robert Pitt | c 1680 | 21 May 1727 | ||
John Crowley | 3 Nov 1689 | 2 Jan 1728 | 38 | ||
21 Aug 1727 | William Northmore | 1 Jul 1690 | 17 Mar 1735 | 44 | |
Thomas Pitt (to 1754) | c 1705 | 17 Jul 1761 | |||
28 Mar 1735 | George Lyttelton, later [1751] 5th baronet and [1756] 1st Baron Lyttelton (to 1756) | 17 Jan 1709 | 22 Aug 1773 | 64 | |
17 Apr 1754 | Robert Vyner (to 1761) | 27 Jun 1717 | 19 Jul 1799 | 82 | |
11 Dec 1756 | William Pitt, later [1766] 1st Earl of Chatham | 15 Nov 1708 | 11 May 1778 | 69 | |
13 Jul 1757 | Thomas Potter | c 1718 | 17 Jun 1759 | ||
24 Nov 1759 | George Brydges Rodney, later [1764] 1st baronet and [1782] 1st Baron Rodney | 13 Feb 1719 | 24 May 1792 | 73 | |
27 Mar 1761 | Alexander Forrester | c 1711 | 2 Jul 1787 | ||
Wenman Coke | 7 Jan 1717 | 11 Apr 1776 | 59 | ||
19 Mar 1768 | Thomas Pitt, later [1784] 1st Baron Camelford (to 1774) | 3 Mar 1737 | 19 Jan 1793 | 55 | |
Thomas Brand | c 1717 | 22 Aug 1770 | |||
20 Oct 1770 | Richard Fitzpatrick | 24 Jan 1748 | 25 Apr 1813 | 65 | |
7 Oct 1774 | Richard Vernon (to 1784) | 18 Jun 1726 | 16 Sep 1800 | 74 | |
Alexander Wedderburn, later [1801] 1st Earl of Rosslyn | 13 Feb 1733 | 2 Jan 1805 | 71 | ||
11 Jun 1778 | Humphrey Minchin | c 1727 | 26 Mar 1796 | ||
6 Apr 1784 | John Luxmoore | 11 Jul 1726 | 30 Jan 1788 | 61 | |
Thomas Wiggens | 18 Jan 1785 | ||||
Both members were unseated on petition in favour of Viscount Malden and Humphrey Minchin 27 Apr 1785 | |||||
27 Apr 1785 | George Capel-Coningsby, styled Viscount Malden, later [1799] 5th Earl of Essex | 13 Nov 1757 | 23 Apr 1839 | 81 | |
Humphrey Minchin | c 1727 | 26 Mar 1796 | |||
22 Jun 1790 | John Hayes St. Leger | 22 Jul 1756 | 1799 | 43 | |
Robert Ladbroke | c 1739 | 1 Jul 1814 | |||
John Townson | c 1725 | 3 Mar 1797 | |||
John William Anderson | Oct 1735 | 21 May 1813 | 77 | ||
Double return. St. Leger and Ladbroke declared elected 28 Feb 1791 | |||||
28 May 1796 | Thomas Tyrwhitt [kt 1812] | 12 Aug 1762 | 24 Feb 1833 | 70 | |
Richard Bateman-Robson | 1753 | 10 Mar 1827 | 73 | ||
10 Jul 1802 | Henry Holland (to 1806) | c 1775 | 20 Jan 1855 | ||
James Charles Stuart Strange | 8 Aug 1753 | 6 Oct 1840 | 87 | ||
27 Apr 1804 | John Charles Spencer, styled Viscount Althorp, later [1834] 3rd Earl Spencer | 30 May 1782 | 1 Oct 1845 | 63 | |
1 Nov 1806 | Richard Bateman-Robson | 1753 | 10 Mar 1827 | 73 | |
Joseph Foster-Barham | 1 Jan 1759 | 28 Sep 1832 | 73 | ||
9 May 1807 | Gwyllym Lloyd Wardle | c 1761 | 30 Nov 1833 | ||
Albany Savile (to Jun 1820) | c 1783 | 26 Jan 1831 | |||
7 Oct 1812 | Thomas North Graves, 2nd Baron Graves [I] | 28 May 1775 | 7 Feb 1830 | 54 | |
17 Jun 1818 | Christopher Atkinson Savile | c 1738 | 23 Apr 1819 | ||
11 May 1819 | Henry Sadlier Prittie, 2nd Baron Dunalley [I] (to 1824) | 3 Mar 1775 | 19 Oct 1854 | 79 | |
16 Jun 1820 | John Campbell, styled Lord Glenorchy, later [1834] 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane (to 1826) | 26 Oct 1796 | 8 Nov 1862 | 66 | |
2 Jun 1824 | William Henry Trant | Feb 1781 | 1 Oct 1859 | 78 | |
10 Jun 1826 | Sir Compton Pocklington Domvile, 1st baronet | c 1775 | 23 Feb 1857 | ||
Joseph Holden Strutt | 21 Nov 1758 | 18 Feb 1845 | 86 | ||
30 Jul 1830 | Edward Adolphus Seymour, styled Baron Seymour, later [1855] 12th Duke of Somerset (to 1855) | 20 Dec 1804 | 28 Nov 1885 | 80 | |
George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, later [1831] 1st Baron Dover | 17 Jan 1797 | 10 Jul 1833 | 36 | ||
30 Apr 1831 | William Henry Trant | Feb 1781 | 1 Oct 1859 | 78 | |
John Thomas Hope (to 1832) | 10 Jan 1807 | 17 Apr 1835 | 28 | ||
14 Jul 1831 | Sir Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan, 8th baronet | 6 Jun 1800 | 15 Aug 1879 | 79 | |
CONSTITUENCY DISENFRANCHISED 1832 | |||||
OLD BEXLEY AND SIDCUP (LONDON) | |||||
9 Jun 1983 | Edward Richard George Heath [KG 1992] | 9 Jul 1916 | 17 Jul 2005 | 89 | |
7 Jun 2001 | Derek Leslie Conway | 15 Feb 1953 | |||
6 May 2010 | James Peter Brokenshire | 7 Jan 1968 | 7 Oct 2021 | 53 | |
2 Dec 2021 | Louie Thomas French | 14 Feb 1988 | |||
OLDBURY AND HALESOWEN | |||||
23 Feb 1950 | Arthur Moyle, later [1966] Baron Moyle [L] | 25 Sep 1894 | 23 Dec 1974 | 80 | |
15 Oct 1964 | Frederick John Horner | 5 Nov 1911 | 11 Feb 1997 | 85 | |
18 Jun 1970 | John Heydon Romaine Stokes [kt 1988] | 23 Jul 1917 | 27 Jun 2003 | 85 | |
NAME ALTERED TO "HALESOWEN AND STOURBRIDGE" FEB 1974 | |||||
OLDHAM (LANCASHIRE) | |||||
14 Dec 1832 | William Cobbett | 9 Mar 1762 | 18 Jun 1835 | 73 | |
John Fielden (to 1847) | 17 Jan 1784 | 29 May 1849 | 65 | ||
8 Jul 1835 | John Frederick Lees | 1809 | 18 Sep 1867 | 58 | |
28 Jul 1837 | William Augustus Johnson | 1777 | 26 Oct 1863 | 86 | |
31 Jul 1847 | William Johnson Fox | 1786 | 3 Jun 1864 | 77 | |
John Duncuft (to Dec 1852) | 27 Jul 1852 | ||||
9 Jul 1852 | John Morgan Cobbett (to 1865) | 1800 | 13 Feb 1877 | 76 | |
3 Dec 1852 | William Johnson Fox | 1786 | 3 Jun 1864 | 77 | |
31 Mar 1857 | James Platt For information on this MP's death, see the note at the foot of this page |
1823 | 27 Aug 1857 | 34 | |
19 Oct 1857 | William Johnson Fox | 1786 | 3 Jun 1864 | 77 | |
6 May 1862 | John Tomlinson Hibbert [kt 1893] (to 1874) | 5 Jan 1824 | 7 Nov 1908 | 84 | |
13 Jul 1865 | John Platt | 16 Sep 1817 | 18 May 1872 | 54 | |
5 Jun 1872 | John Morgan Cobbett (to 1877) | 1800 | 13 Feb 1877 | 76 | |
This was the last election in which a public ballot (as opposed to a secret ballot) was used. The first election to use a secret ballot was held in Pontefract on 15 Aug 1872, at which Hugh Childers was re-elected following his appointment to a ministerial post | |||||
6 Feb 1874 | Frederick Lowten Spinks (to 1880) | 27 Dec 1816 | 27 Dec 1899 | 83 | |
1 Mar 1877 | John Tomlinson Hibbert [kt 1893] (to 1886) | 5 Jan 1824 | 7 Nov 1908 | 84 | |
2 Apr 1880 | Edward Lyulph Stanley, later [1903] 4th Baron Stanley of Alderley | 16 May 1839 | 5 Nov 1925 | 86 | |
25 Nov 1885 | James Mackenzie Maclean (to 1892) | 13 Aug 1835 | 22 Apr 1906 | 70 | |
3 Jul 1886 | Elliott Lees, later [1897] 1st baronet | 23 Oct 1860 | 16 Oct 1908 | 47 | |
Jul 1892 | Joshua Milne Cheetham | 1835 | 27 Nov 1902 | 67 | |
John Tomlinson Hibbert [kt 1893] | 5 Jan 1824 | 7 Nov 1908 | 84 | ||
15 Jul 1895 | Robert Ascroft | 1847 | 19 Jun 1899 | 51 | |
James Francis Oswald | 21 Nov 1838 | 14 Sep 1908 | 69 | ||
6 Jul 1899 | Alfred Emmott, later [1911] 1st Baron Emmott (to 1911) | 8 May 1858 | 13 Dec 1926 | 68 | |
Walter Runciman, later [1933] 2nd Baron Runciman and [1937] 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford | 19 Nov 1870 | 13 Nov 1949 | 78 | ||
1 Oct 1900 | Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill [KG 1953] | 30 Nov 1874 | 25 Jan 1965 | 90 | |
15 Jan 1906 | John Albert Bright | 1848 | 11 Nov 1924 | 76 | |
17 Jan 1910 | Andrew William Barton [kt 1917] (to 1922) | 5 Aug 1862 | 9 Jul 1957 | 94 | |
13 Nov 1911 | Edward Robert Bartley Denniss [kt 1922] (later Bartley‑Denniss) | 9 Apr 1854 | 20 Mar 1931 | 76 | |
15 Nov 1922 | William John Tout | 1870 | 24 Feb 1946 | 75 | |
Sir Edward William Macleay Grigg, later [1945] 1st Baron Altrincham (to 1925) | 8 Sep 1879 | 1 Dec 1955 | 76 | ||
29 Oct 1924 | Alfred Duff Cooper, later [1952] 1st Viscount Norwich (to 1929) | 22 Feb 1890 | 1 Jan 1954 | 63 | |
24 Jun 1925 | William Martin Wiggins | 4 Aug 1870 | 4 Oct 1950 | 80 | |
30 May 1929 | James Wilson | 24 Aug 1879 | 15 Aug 1943 | 63 | |
Gordon Lang | 25 Feb 1893 | 20 Jun 1981 | 88 | ||
27 Oct 1931 | Anthony Crommelin Crossley | 13 Aug 1903 | 15 Aug 1939 | 36 | |
Hamilton William Kerr, later [1957] 1st baronet (to 1945) | 1 Aug 1903 | 26 Dec 1974 | 71 | ||
14 Nov 1935 | John Samuel Dodd [kt 1947] | 13 Oct 1904 | 3 Sep 1973 | 68 | |
26 Jul 1945 | Charles Leslie Hale, later [1972] Baron Hale [L] | 13 Jul 1902 | 9 May 1985 | 82 | |
Frank Fairhurst | 1892 | 30 Aug 1953 | 61 | ||
CONSTITUENCY SPLIT INTO "EAST" AND "WEST" DIVISIONS 1950 | |||||
OLDHAM CENTRAL AND ROYTON | |||||
9 Jun 1983 | James Alexander Lamond | 29 Nov 1928 | 20 Nov 2007 | 78 | |
9 Apr 1992 | Bryan Davies, later [1997] Baron Davies of Oldham [L] | 9 Nov 1939 | |||
NAME ALTERED TO "OLDHAM WEST AND ROYTON" 1997 | |||||
OLDHAM EAST | |||||
23 Feb 1950 | Frank Fairhurst | 1892 | 30 Aug 1953 | 61 | |
25 Oct 1951 | Ian Macdonald Horobin [kt 1955] | 16 Nov 1899 | 5 Jun 1976 | 76 | |
8 Oct 1959 | Charles Mapp | 1903 | 3 May 1978 | 74 | |
18 Jun 1970 | James Alexander Lamond | 29 Nov 1928 | 20 Nov 2007 | 78 | |
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 1983 | |||||
OLDHAM EAST AND SADDLEWORTH | |||||
1 May 1997 | Philip James Woolas | 11 Dec 1959 | |||
Following the May 2010 General Election, one of Woolas's opponents (Elwyn Watkins) in that election challenged the result under the Representation of the People Act 1983, accusing Woolas of making false statements in relation to Watkins's character and conduct. On 5 Nov 2010 Woolas was found to have breached the Act, with the result that his election was declared void, and that as a result he lost his seat. He was also barred from holding public office for 3 years. | |||||
13 Jan 2011 | Deborah Angela Elspeth Abrahams | 15 Sep 1960 | |||
OLDHAM WEST | |||||
23 Feb 1950 | Charles Leslie Hale, later [1972] Baron Hale [L] | 13 Jul 1902 | 9 May 1985 | 82 | |
13 Jun 1968 | Keith Bruce Campbell | 25 Oct 1916 | 27 Sep 1990 | 73 | |
18 Jun 1970 | Michael Hugh Meacher | 4 Nov 1939 | 20 Oct 2015 | 75 | |
NAME ALTERED TO "OLDHAM WEST AND ROYTON" 1997 | |||||
OLDHAM WEST, CHADDERTON AND ROYTON | |||||
4 Jul 2024 | James Ignatius O'Rourke McMahon | 7 Jul 1980 | |||
OLDHAM WEST AND ROYTON | |||||
1 May 1997 | Michael Hugh Meacher | 4 Nov 1939 | 20 Oct 2015 | 75 | |
3 Dec 2015 | James Ignatius O'Rourke McMahon | 7 Jul 1980 | |||
NAME ALTERED TO "OLDHAM WEST, CHADDERTON AND ROYTON" 2024 | |||||
OLD SARUM (WILTSHIRE) | |||||
14 Apr 1660 | Seymour Bowman | c 1621 | 6 May 1704 | ||
John Norden | c 1612 | c Jun 1669 | |||
Algernon Cecil | |||||
Double return. Bowman and Norden seated 27 Apr 1660 | |||||
29 Apr 1661 | Edward Nicholas (to 1679) | 6 Mar 1625 | 21 May 1696 | 71 | |
John Denham | 1615 | 20 Mar 1669 | 53 | ||
c Oct 1669 | Sir Eliab Harvey | 3 Jun 1635 | 20 Feb 1699 | 63 | |
17 Feb 1679 | Eliab Harvey | 2 Nov 1659 | 3 Jun 1681 | 21 | |
John Young | c 1639 | 1 Feb 1710 | |||
27 Aug 1679 | Henry Hare, 2nd Baron Coleraine [I] | 21 Apr 1636 | 15 Jul 1708 | 72 | |
Sir Eliab Harvey (to Jan 1689) | 3 Jun 1635 | 20 Feb 1699 | 63 | ||
17 Feb 1681 | Sir Thomas Mompesson | 4 Jan 1630 | 11 Jun 1701 | 71 | |
16 Jan 1689 | John Young | c 1639 | 1 Feb 1710 | ||
Thomas Pitt | 5 Jul 1653 | 28 Apr 1726 | 72 | ||
Election declared void 14 Mar 1689 | |||||
25 Mar 1689 | William Harvey (to 1705) | 18 Dec 1663 | 31 Oct 1731 | 67 | |
John Hawles [kt 1695] | 18 Mar 1645 | 2 Aug 1716 | 71 | ||
27 Feb 1690 | Sir Thomas Mompesson | 4 Jan 1630 | 11 Jun 1701 | 71 | |
28 Oct 1695 | Thomas Pitt | 5 Jul 1653 | 28 Apr 1726 | 72 | |
27 Jul 1698 | Charles Mompesson (to 1708) | 26 Jan 1670 | 12 Jul 1714 | 44 | |
10 May 1705 | Robert Pitt (to 1710) | c 1680 | 21 May 1727 | ||
Charles Mompesson | 26 Jan 1670 | 12 Jul 1714 | 44 | ||
John Fitzgerald Villiers, 5th Viscount Grandison [I] | c 1682 | 14 May 1766 | |||
Double return between Mompesson and Villiers. Mompesson declared elected 11 Dec 1705 | |||||
4 May 1708 | William Harvey | 18 Dec 1663 | 31 Oct 1731 | 67 | |
6 Oct 1710 | Thomas Pitt (to 1716) | 5 Jul 1653 | 28 Apr 1726 | 72 | |
William Harvey | 20 Apr 1689 | 24 Dec 1742 | 53 | ||
28 Aug 1713 | Robert Pitt (to 1722) | c 1680 | 21 May 1727 | ||
3 Aug 1716 | Sir William Strickland, 3rd baronet | Mar 1665 | 12 May 1724 | 59 | |
21 Mar 1722 | Thomas Pitt (to 1726) | 5 Jul 1653 | 28 Apr 1726 | 72 | |
Robert Pitt [he was also returned for Okehampton, for which he chose to sit] | c 1680 | 21 May 1727 | |||
3 Nov 1722 | George Morton Pitt | 1693 | 9 Feb 1756 | 62 | |
20 Jan 1724 | John Pitt (to 1727) | c 1698 | 9 Feb 1754 | ||
30 May 1726 | George Pitt | c 1663 | 28 Feb 1735 | ||
16 Aug 1727 | Thomas Pitt [he was also returned for Okehampton, for which he chose to sit] | c 1705 | 17 Jul 1761 | ||
Thomas Pitt, 1st Earl of Londonderry [I] (to May 1728) | c 1688 | 12 Sep 1729 | |||
1 Mar 1728 | Matthew Chitty St. Quintin (to 1734) | c 1701 | 8 May 1783 | ||
30 May 1728 | Thomas Harrison | 24 Apr 1681 | by 1755 | ||
26 Apr 1734 | Thomas Pitt [he was also returned for Okehampton, for which he chose to sit] | c 1705 | 17 Jul 1761 | ||
Robert Nedham (to 1741) | 1704 | 13 Aug 1762 | 58 | ||
18 Feb 1735 | William Pitt, later [1766] 1st Earl of Chatham (to Jul 1747) | 15 Nov 1708 | 11 May 1778 | 69 | |
8 May 1741 | George Lyttelton, later [1751] 5th baronet and [1756] 1st Baron Lyttelton [he was also returned for Okehampton, for which he chose to sit] | 17 Jan 1709 | 22 Aug 1773 | 64 | |
5 Jan 1742 | James Grenville | 12 Feb 1715 | 14 Sep 1783 | 68 | |
28 May 1747 | Edward Willes | 6 Nov 1723 | 14 Jan 1787 | 63 | |
3 Jul 1747 | Thomas Pitt [he was also returned for Okehampton, for which he chose to sit] | c 1705 | 17 Jul 1761 | ||
Sir William Irby, 2nd baronet, later [1761] 1st Baron Boston [he was also returned for Bodmin, for which he chose to sit] | 8 Mar 1707 | 30 Mar 1775 | 68 | ||
17 Dec 1747 | Charles Sackville, styled Earl of Middlesex, later [1765] 2nd Duke of Dorset (to 1754) | 6 Feb 1711 | 6 Jan 1769 | 57 | |
Arthur Mohun St. Leger, 3rd Viscount Doneraile [I] | 7 Aug 1718 | Aug 1750 | 32 | ||
25 Jan 1751 | Paul Jodrell | c 1715 | 30 Jun 1751 | ||
22 Nov 1751 | Simon Fanshawe | 4 Mar 1716 | 1 Jan 1777 | 60 | |
19 Apr 1754 | William Pulteney, styled Viscount Pulteney (to 1761) | 9 Jan 1731 | 11 Feb 1763 | 32 | |
Thomas Pitt | c 1705 | 17 Jul 1761 | |||
18 Mar 1755 | Sir William Calvert | c 1703 | 3 May 1761 | ||
30 Mar 1761 | Thomas Pitt | c 1705 | 17 Jul 1761 | ||
Howell Gwynne (to 1768) | 16 Apr 1718 | 1780 | 62 | ||
17 Dec 1761 | Thomas Pitt, later [1784] 1st Baron Camelford | 3 Mar 1737 | 19 Jan 1793 | 55 | |
16 Mar 1768 | William Gerard Hamilton | 28 Jan 1729 | 16 Jul 1796 | 67 | |
John Crauford | c 1742 | 26 May 1814 | |||
11 Oct 1774 | Pinckney Wilkinson (to Mar 1784) | c 1693 | 26 Feb 1784 | ||
Thomas Pitt, later [1784] 1st Baron Camelford | 3 Mar 1737 | 19 Jan 1793 | 55 | ||
6 Jan 1784 | John Charles Villiers, later [1824] 3rd Earl of Clarendon (to 1790) | 14 Nov 1757 | 22 Dec 1838 | 81 | |
11 Mar 1784 | George Hardinge (to 1802) | 22 Jun 1743 | 26 Apr 1816 | 72 | |
19 Jun 1790 | John Sullivan | 7 Apr 1749 | 1 Nov 1839 | 90 | |
30 May 1796 | Richard Colley Wellesley, 2nd Earl of Mornington [I], later [1799] 1st Marquess Wellesley | 20 Jun 1760 | 26 Sep 1842 | 82 | |
29 Jul 1797 | Charles Watkin Williams‑Wynn | 9 Oct 1775 | 2 Sep 1750 | 74 | |
20 Mar 1799 | Sir George Yonge | Mar 1733 | 25 Sep 1812 | 79 | |
14 Feb 1801 | John Horne-Tooke | 25 Jun 1736 | 18 Mar 1812 | 75 | |
12 Jul 1802 | Nicholas Vansittart, later [1823] 1st Baron Bexley (to 1812) | 29 Apr 1766 | 8 Feb 1851 | 84 | |
Henry Alexander | 1763 | 6 May 1818 | 54 | ||
1 Nov 1806 | Thomas Andrew Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney [I] | 30 Nov 1770 | 8 Apr 1834 | 63 | |
9 May 1807 | Josias du Pre Porcher (to 1818) | c 1761 | 4 May 1820 | ||
30 May 1812 | James Alexander (to 1832) | 1769 | 12 Sep 1848 | 79 | |
17 Jun 1818 | Arthur Johnston Crawford | 1786 | 13 Oct 1826 | 40 | |
17 Jul 1820 | Josias du Pre Alexander | 1771 | 20 Aug 1839 | 68 | |
2 Apr 1828 | Stratford Canning, later [1852] 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe | 4 Nov 1786 | 14 Aug 1880 | 93 | |
31 Jul 1830 | Josias du Pre Alexander | 1771 | 20 Aug 1839 | 68 | |
CONSTITUENCY DISENFRANCHISED 1832 | |||||
OPENSHAW (MANCHESTER) | |||||
26 May 1955 | William Richard Williams | 7 Mar 1895 | 11 Sep 1963 | 68 | |
5 Dec 1963 | Charles Richard Morris | 14 Dec 1926 | 8 Jan 2012 | 85 | |
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 1983 | |||||
ORFORD (SUFFOLK) | |||||
13 Apr 1660 | Walter Devereux | c 1621 | Dec 1683 | ||
Sir Allen Brodrick | 28 Jul 1623 | 25 Nov 1680 | 57 | ||
24 Feb 1679 | Lionel Tollemache, styled Lord Huntingtower, later [1698] 3rd Earl of Dysart [S] | 30 Jan 1649 | 23 Feb 1727 | 78 | |
Sir John Duke, 2nd baronet (to 1685) | 3 Jan 1633 | 24 Jul 1705 | 72 | ||
5 Sep 1679 | Henry Parker | c 1608 | Feb 1681 | ||
23 Feb 1681 | Thomas Glemham (to 1695) | c 1647 | 24 Sep 1704 | ||
17 Mar 1685 | Lionel Tollemache, styled Lord Huntingtower, later [1698] 3rd Earl of Dysart [S] | 30 Jan 1649 | 23 Feb 1727 | 78 | |
11 Jan 1689 | Sir John Duke, 2nd baronet | 3 Jan 1633 | 24 Jul 1705 | 72 | |
26 Feb 1690 | Thomas Felton, later [1697] 4th baronet (to 1700) | 12 Oct 1649 | 3 Mar 1709 | 59 | |
2 Nov 1695 | Sir Adam Felton, 3rd baronet | after 1637 | 9 Feb 1697 | ||
4 Mar 1697 | Sir John Duke, 2nd baronet | 3 Jan 1633 | 24 Jul 1705 | 72 | |
28 Jul 1698 | Sir Charles Hedges | 30 Jan 1650 | 10 Jun 1714 | 64 | |
Both sitting members (Sir Thomas Felton and Sir Charles Hedges) were unseated on petition in favour of Sir Edmund Bacon and William Johnson 10 Feb 1700 | |||||
10 Feb 1700 | Sir Edmund Bacon, 4th baronet (to 1708) | 6 Apr 1672 | 10 Jul 1721 | 49 | |
William Johnson | c 1660 | Nov 1718 | |||
10 Jan 1701 | Sir Edward Turnor (to 1709) [he was unseated on petition in favour of William Thompson 29 Jan 1709] | c 1646 | 3 Dec 1721 | ||
4 May 1708 | Clement Corrance (to 1722) | c 1684 | 30 Mar 1724 | ||
29 Jan 1709 | William Thompson | c 1676 | 27 Oct 1739 | ||
10 Oct 1710 | Sir Edward Turnor | c 1646 | 3 Dec 1721 | ||
29 Dec 1721 | Sir Edward Duke, 3rd baronet | c 1694 | 25 Aug 1732 | ||
21 Mar 1722 | Dudley North (to 1730) | c 1686 | 4 Feb 1730 | ||
William Acton | c 1684 | 23 Jan 1744 | |||
17 Aug 1727 | Price Devereux, later [1740] 10th Viscount Hereford [he was also returned for Montgomeryshire, for which he chose to sit] | 9 Jun 1694 | 29 Jul 1748 | 54 | |
31 Jan 1729 | William Acton (to 1734) | c 1684 | 23 Jan 1744 | ||
23 Feb 1730 | Robert Kemp, later [1734] 4th baronet | 9 Nov 1699 | 15 Feb 1752 | 52 | |
29 Apr 1734 | Richard Powys (to 1741) | c 1707 | 10 Sep 1743 | ||
Lewis Barlow | 22 Oct 1737 | ||||
1 Feb 1738 | John Cope | 1690 | 28 Jul 1760 | 70 | |
9 May 1741 | John Campbell, styled Lord Glenorchy, later [1752] 3rd Earl of Breadalbane | 10 Mar 1696 | 26 Jan 1782 | 85 | |
Henry Legge (Bilson-Legge from 1754) (to 1759) | 29 May 1708 | 23 Aug 1764 | 56 | ||
31 Jan 1746 | John Bateman, 2nd Viscount Bateman [I] | Apr 1721 | 2 Mar 1802 | 80 | |
30 Jun 1747 | John Waldegrave, later [1763] 3rd Earl Waldegrave | 28 Apr 1718 | 22 Oct 1784 | 66 | |
15 Apr 1754 | John Offley (to 1768) | c 1717 | 3 Apr 1784 | ||
20 Dec 1759 | Charles Fitzroy, later [1780] 1st Baron Southampton | 25 Jun 1737 | 21 Mar 1797 | 59 | |
28 Mar 1761 | Thomas Worsley | 22 Nov 1710 | 13 Dec 1778 | 68 | |
22 Mar 1768 | Francis Seymour-Conway (Seymour‑Ingram from Dec 1807), styled Viscount Beauchamp, later [1794] 2nd Marquess of Hertford (to 1794) | 12 Feb 1743 | 17 Jun 1822 | 79 | |
Edward Colman | c 1734 | 29 Jul 1815 | |||
15 May 1771 | Robert Seymour-Conway | 20 Dec 1748 | 23 Nov 1831 | 82 | |
2 Apr 1784 | George Seymour-Conway | 21 Jul 1763 | 10 Mar 1848 | 84 | |
21 Jun 1790 | William Seymour-Conway (styled Lord William Seymour‑Conway from 1793) (to 1796) | 3 Oct 1760 | 31 Jan 1837 | 76 | |
7 Jul 1794 | Lord Robert Seymour-Conway (to 1807) [at the general election in May 1807, he was also returned for Carmarthenshire, for which he chose to sit] | 20 Dec 1748 | 23 Nov 1831 | 82 | |
26 May 1796 | Robert Stewart, styled Viscount Castlereagh from Aug 1796, later [1821] 2nd Marquess of Londonderry [I] | 18 Jun 1769 | 12 Aug 1822 | 53 | |
31 Jul 1797 | Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, styled Earl of Yarmouth, later [1822] 3rd Marquess of Hertford | 11 Mar 1777 | 1 Mar 1842 | 64 | |
7 Jul 1802 | James Trail | 19 Dec 1745 | 16 Aug 1808 | 62 | |
1 Nov 1806 | Lord Henry Seymour Moore (to 1812) | 15 Mar 1784 | Aug 1825 | 41 | |
27 Jul 1807 | William Sloane | 1781 | 11 Apr 1860 | 78 | |
7 Oct 1812 | Charles Arbuthnot | 14 Mar 1767 | 18 Aug 1850 | 83 | |
Edmund Alexander Macnaghten (to 1820) | 2 Aug 1762 | 15 Mar 1832 | 69 | ||
18 Jun 1818 | John Douglas (to 1821) | 1 Feb 1774 | 6 Aug 1838 | 64 | |
9 Mar 1820 | Horace Beauchamp Seymour [he was also returned for Lisburn, for which he chose to sit] | 22 Nov 1791 | 21 Nov 1851 | 59 | |
23 May 1820 | Edmund Alexander Macnaghten (to 1826) | 2 Aug 1762 | 15 Mar 1832 | 69 | |
28 Apr 1821 | Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry [I] | 18 Jun 1769 | 12 Aug 1822 | 53 | |
1 Oct 1822 | Charles Ross | 6 Jul 1799 | 21 Mar 1860 | 60 | |
10 Jun 1826 | Sir Henry Frederick Cooke (to 1832) | 13 Apr 1783 | 10 Mar 1837 | 53 | |
Horace Beauchamp Seymour [he was also returned for Bodmin, for which he chose to sit] | 22 Nov 1791 | 21 Nov 1851 | 59 | ||
26 Dec 1826 | Quintin Dick | 7 Feb 1777 | 26 Mar 1858 | 81 | |
3 Aug 1830 | Spencer Horsey Kilderbee (de Horsey from 1832) | c Aug 1790 | 20 May 1860 | 69 | |
CONSTITUENCY DISENFRANCHISED 1832 | |||||
ORKNEY AND SHETLAND | |||||
15 Jun 1708 | Sir Alexander Douglas | Jan 1718 | |||
23 Oct 1713 | George Douglas, later [1730] 13th Earl of Morton | 1662 | 4 Jan 1738 | 75 | |
2 Mar 1715 | James Moodie | 4 Feb 1724 | |||
24 Apr 1722 | George Douglas, later [1730] 13th Earl of Morton | 1662 | 4 Jan 1738 | 75 | |
7 May 1730 | Robert Douglas | c 1703 | 30 Apr 1745 | ||
19 Feb 1747 | James Halyburton | 10 May 1765 | |||
15 May 1754 | Sir James Douglas, later [1786] 1st baronet | 1703 | 2 Nov 1787 | 84 | |
6 May 1768 | Thomas Dundas | c 1708 | 16 Apr 1786 | ||
31 Jan 1771 | Thomas Dundas | 30 Jun 1750 | 3 Jun 1794 | 43 | |
10 Oct 1780 | Robert Baikie [he was unseated on petition in favour of Charles Dundas 23 Feb 1781] | 4 Apr 1817 | |||
23 Feb 1781 | Charles Dundas, later [1832] 1st Baron Amesbury | 5 Aug 1751 | 30 Jun 1832 | 80 | |
4 May 1784 | Thomas Dundas | 30 Jun 1750 | 3 Jun 1794 | 43 | |
28 Jul 1790 | John Balfour | 6 Nov 1750 | 15 Oct 1842 | 91 | |
29 Jun 1796 | Robert Honyman | ||||
1 Dec 1806 | Robert Honyman | c 1781 | 20 Nov 1808 | ||
9 Jun 1807 | Malcolm Laing | 1762 | 6 Nov 1818 | 56 | |
6 Nov 1812 | Richard Bempde Johnstone Honyman, later [1825] 2nd baronet | 4 May 1787 | 23 Feb 1842 | 54 | |
18 Jul 1818 | George Heneage Lawrence Dundas | 8 Sep 1778 | 7 Oct 1834 | 56 | |
8 Apr 1820 | John Balfour | 6 Nov 1750 | 15 Oct 1842 | 91 | |
12 Jul 1826 | George Heneage Lawrence Dundas | 8 Sep 1778 | 7 Oct 1834 | 56 | |
1 Sep 1830 | George Traill | 5 Nov 1787 | 29 Sep 1871 | 83 | |
9 Feb 1835 | Thomas Balfour | 2 Apr 1810 | 1838 | 28 | |
4 Aug 1837 | Frederick Dundas | 14 Jun 1802 | 26 Oct 1872 | 70 | |
1 Sep 1847 | Arthur Anderson | 1792 | 28 Feb 1868 | 75 | |
3 Aug 1852 | Frederick Dundas | 14 Jun 1802 | 26 Oct 1872 | 70 | |
11 Jan 1873 | Samuel Laing | 12 Dec 1812 | 6 Aug 1897 | 84 | |
Dec 1885 | Leonard Lyell, later [1894] 1st baronet and [1914] 1st Baron Lyell | 21 Oct 1850 | 18 Sep 1926 | 75 | |
23 Oct 1900 | John Cathcart Wason | 17 Nov 1848 | 19 Apr 1921 | 72 | |
17 May 1921 | Sir Malcolm Smith | 1 Dec 1856 | 12 Mar 1935 | 78 | |
15 Nov 1922 | Sir Robert William Hamilton | 26 Aug 1867 | 15 Jul 1944 | 76 | |
14 Nov 1935 | Sir Basil Hamilton Hebden Neven‑Spence | 12 Jun 1888 | 13 Sep 1974 | 86 | |
23 Feb 1950 | Joseph Grimond, later [1983] Baron Grimond [L] | 29 Jul 1913 | 24 Oct 1993 | 80 | |
9 Jun 1983 | James Robert Wallace, later [2007] Baron Wallace of Tankerness [L] | 25 Aug 1954 | |||
7 Jun 2001 | Alexander Morrison ["Alistair"] Carmichael | 15 Jul 1965 | |||
ORMEAU (BELFAST) | |||||
14 Dec 1918 | Thomas Moles | Nov 1871 | 3 Feb 1937 | 65 | |
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 1922 | |||||
ORMSKIRK (LANCASHIRE) | |||||
1 Dec 1885 | Arthur Bower Forwood, later [1895] 1st baronet | 23 Jun 1836 | 27 Sep 1898 | 62 | |
20 Oct 1898 | Arthur Stanley [kt 1917] | 18 Nov 1869 | 4 Nov 1947 | 77 | |
14 Dec 1918 | James Bell | 1872 | 28 Dec 1955 | 83 | |
15 Nov 1922 | Francis Nicholas Blundell | 16 Oct 1880 | 28 Oct 1936 | 56 | |
30 May 1929 | Samuel Thomas Rosbotham [kt 1933] | 26 Jun 1864 | 12 Mar 1950 | 85 | |
27 Oct 1939 | William Stephen Richard King‑Hall [kt 1954], later [1966] Baron King‑Hall [L] | 21 Jan 1893 | 2 Jun 1966 | 73 | |
26 Jul 1945 | James Harold Wilson [KG 1976], later [1983] Baron Wilson of Rievaulx [L] | 11 Mar 1916 | 24 May 1995 | 79 | |
23 Feb 1950 | Sir Ronald Hibbert Cross, 1st baronet | 9 May 1896 | 3 Jun 1968 | 72 | |
5 Apr 1951 | Sir James Arthur Salter, later [1953] 1st Baron Salter | 15 Mar 1881 | 27 Jun 1975 | 94 | |
12 Nov 1953 | Douglas Glover [kt 1960] | 13 Feb 1908 | 15 Jan 1982 | 73 | |
18 Jun 1970 | Harold Benjamin Soref | 18 Dec 1916 | 14 Mar 1993 | 76 | |
28 Feb 1974 | Robert Michael Kilroy‑Silk | 19 May 1942 | |||
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 1983 | |||||
ORPINGTON | |||||
26 Jul 1945 | Sir Waldron Smithers | 5 Oct 1880 | 9 Dec 1954 | 74 | |
20 Jan 1955 | William Donald Massey Sumner | 13 Aug 1913 | 12 May 1990 | 76 | |
14 Mar 1962 | Eric Reginald Lubbock, later [1971] 4th Baron Avebury | 29 Sep 1928 | 14 Feb 2016 | 87 | |
18 Jun 1970 | Ivor Robert Stanbrook | 13 Jan 1924 | 18 Feb 2004 | 80 | |
9 Apr 1992 | John Rhodes Horam, later [2013] Baron Horam [L] | 7 Mar 1939 | |||
6 May 2010 | Joseph Edmund Johnson, later [2020] Baron Johnson of Marylebone [L] | 23 Dec 1971 | |||
12 Dec 2019 | Gareth Andrew Bacon | 7 Apr 1972 | |||
OSGOLDCROSS (YORKSHIRE) | |||||
5 Dec 1885 | Sir John William Ramsden, 5th baronet | 14 Sep 1831 | 15 Apr 1914 | 82 | |
10 Jul 1886 | John Austin, later [1894] 1st baronet | 9 Mar 1824 | 30 Mar 1906 | 81 | |
26 Jan 1906 | Joseph Compton Compton-Rickett [kt 1907] | 13 Feb 1847 | 30 Jul 1919 | 72 | |
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 1918 | |||||
OSSETT AND DENBY DALE | |||||
4 Jul 2024 | Jade Alexandra Botterill | ||||
OSSORY (QUEEN'S COUNTY) | |||||
5 Dec 1885 | Arthur O'Connor [he was also returned for Donegal East, for which he chose to sit] | 1 Oct 1844 | 30 Mar 1923 | 78 | |
12 Feb 1886 | Stephen O'Mara | ||||
9 Jul 1886 | William Archibald Macdonald For further information on this MP, see the note at the foot of this page |
1841 | Oct 1911 | 70 | |
Jul 1892 | Eugene Crean | 1854 | 12 Jan 1939 | 84 | |
5 Oct 1900 | William P Delany | 1855 | 7 Mar 1916 | 60 | |
28 Apr 1916 | John Lalor Fitzpatrick | 1875 | Jan 1952 | 76 | |
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 1918 | |||||
OSWESTRY (SHROPSHIRE) | |||||
1 Dec 1885 | Stanley Leighton | 1837 | 4 May 1901 | 63 | |
24 May 1901 | George Ralph Ormsby-Gore, later [1904] 3rd Baron Harlech | 21 Jan 1855 | 8 May 1938 | 83 | |
27 Jul 1904 | Allan Heywood Bright | 24 May 1862 | 3 Aug 1941 | 79 | |
19 Jan 1906 | William Clive Bridgeman, later [1929] 1st Viscount Bridgeman | 31 Dec 1864 | 14 Aug 1935 | 70 | |
30 May 1929 | Bertie Edward Parker Leighton | 26 Nov 1875 | 15 Feb 1952 | 76 | |
26 Jul 1945 | Oliver Brian Sanderson Poole, later [1958] 1st Baron Poole | 11 Aug 1911 | 28 Jan 1993 | 81 | |
23 Feb 1950 | William David Ormsby‑Gore, later [1964] 5th Baron Harlech | 20 May 1918 | 26 Jan 1985 | 66 | |
8 Nov 1961 | William John Biffen, later [1997] Baron Biffen [L] | 3 Nov 1930 | 14 Aug 2007 | 76 | |
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 1983 | |||||
OTLEY (YORKSHIRE) | |||||
3 Dec 1885 | Sir Andrew Fairbairn | 5 Mar 1828 | 30 May 1901 | 73 | |
14 Jul 1886 | John Barran, later [1895] 1st baronet | 3 Aug 1821 | 3 May 1905 | 83 | |
24 Jul 1895 | Marmaduke D'Arcy Wyvill | 5 Mar 1849 | 23 Sep 1918 | 69 | |
10 Oct 1900 | James Hastings Duncan [kt 1914] | 4 Mar 1855 | 31 Jul 1928 | 73 | |
NAME ALTERED TO "PUDSEY AND OTLEY" 1918 | |||||
OXFORD (OXFORDSHIRE) | |||||
5 Apr 1660 | Henry Cary, 4th Viscount Falkland [S] | 21 Nov 1634 | 2 Apr 1663 | 28 | |
James Huxley | 6 Nov 1614 | c 1672 | |||
16 Apr 1661 | Richard Croke | c 1625 | 14 Sep 1683 | ||
Brome Whorwood (to 1685) | 10 Oct 1615 | 12 Apr 1684 | 68 | ||
12 Feb 1679 | William Wright | 29 Jun 1619 | 26 Oct 1693 | 74 | |
9 Mar 1685 | Henry Bertie (to 1695) | c 1656 | 4 Dec 1734 | ||
Sir George Pudsey | Jun 1688 | ||||
11 Jan 1689 | Sir Edward Norreys (to 1701) | 28 Aug 1634 | 5 Oct 1712 | 78 | |
24 Oct 1695 | Thomas Rowney (to Mar 1722) | Apr 1668 | 31 Aug 1727 | 59 | |
6 Jan 1701 | Francis Norreys | 23 May 1666 | 6 Jun 1706 | 40 | |
11 Dec 1706 | Sir John Walter, 3rd baronet (to Oct 1722) | c 1674 | 11 Jun 1722 | ||
20 Mar 1722 | Thomas Rowney (to 1759) | c 1693 | 27 Oct 1759 | ||
24 Oct 1722 | Francis Knollys | c 1697 | 24 Jun 1754 | ||
23 Apr 1734 | Matthew Skinner | 22 Oct 1689 | 21 Oct 1749 | 59 | |
8 Feb 1739 | James Herbert | c 1713 | 21 Nov 1740 | ||
3 Dec 1740 | Philip Herbert | c 1716 | 22 Jul 1749 | ||
21 Nov 1749 | Philip Wenman, 6th (or 3rd) Viscount Wenman [I] | 23 Nov 1719 | 16 Aug 1760 | 40 | |
15 Apr 1754 | Robert Lee, later [1772] 4th Earl of Lichfield (to 1768) | 3 Jul 1706 | 3 Nov 1776 | 70 | |
19 Nov 1759 | Sir Thomas Stapleton, 5th baronet | 27 Feb 1727 | 1 Jan 1781 | 53 | |
17 Mar 1768 | George Nares | 1716 | 20 Jul 1786 | 70 | |
William Harcourt, later [1809] 3rd Earl Harcourt (to 1774) | 20 Mar 1743 | 17 Jun 1830 | 87 | ||
31 Jan 1771 | Lord Robert Spencer (to Jun 1790) | 8 May 1747 | 23 Jun 1831 | 84 | |
5 Oct 1774 | Peregrine Francis Bertie (to Dec 1790) | 13 Mar 1741 | 20 Aug 1790 | 49 | |
16 Jun 1790 | Francis Burton (to 1812) | c 1744 | 28 Nov 1832 | ||
21 Dec 1790 | Arthur Annesley | 16 Aug 1760 | 20 Jan 1841 | 80 | |
27 May 1796 | Henry Peters | c 1763 | 21 Dec 1827 | ||
9 Jul 1802 | John Atkyns-Wright | c 1760 | 5 Mar 1822 | ||
4 May 1807 | John Ingram Lockhart (to 1818) | 5 Sep 1765 | 13 Aug 1835 | 69 | |
17 Oct 1812 | John Atkyns-Wright (to 1820) | c 1760 | 5 Mar 1822 | ||
22 Jun 1818 | Frederick St. John | 20 Dec 1765 | 19 Nov 1844 | 78 | |
10 Mar 1820 | Charles Wetherell [kt 1824] | 1770 | 17 Aug 1846 | 76 | |
John Ingram Lockhart (to 1830) | 5 Sep 1765 | 13 Aug 1835 | 69 | ||
16 Jun 1826 | James Haughton Langston (to 1835) | c 1797 | 19 Oct 1863 | ||
4 Aug 1830 | William Hughes-Hughes | 2 Sep 1792 | 10 Oct 1874 | 82 | |
13 Dec 1832 | Thomas Stonor, later [1839] 3rd Lord Camoys [his election was declared void 8 Mar 1833] | 22 Oct 1797 | 18 Jan 1881 | 83 | |
18 Mar 1833 | William Hughes-Hughes (to 1837) | 2 Sep 1792 | 10 Oct 1874 | 82 | |
10 Jan 1835 | Donald Maclean (to 1847) | 1800 | 21 Mar 1874 | 73 | |
26 Jul 1837 | William Erle | 1 Oct 1793 | 28 Jan 1880 | 86 | |
30 Jun 1841 | James Haughton Langston (to 1863) | c 1797 | 19 Oct 1863 | ||
29 Jul 1847 | William Page Wood [kt 1851], later [1868] 1st Baron Hatherley | 29 Nov 1801 | 10 Jul 1881 | 79 | |
4 Jan 1853 | Edward Cardwell, later [1874] 1st Viscount Cardwell | 24 Jul 1813 | 15 Feb 1886 | 72 | |
31 Mar 1857 | Charles Neate [his election was declared void 8 Jul 1857] | 1806 | 7 Feb 1879 | 72 | |
21 Jul 1857 | Edward Cardwell, later [1874] 1st Viscount Cardwell (to 1874) | 24 Jul 1813 | 15 Feb 1886 | 72 | |
7 Nov 1863 | Charles Neate | 1806 | 7 Feb 1879 | 72 | |
8 Nov 1868 | Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon‑Harcourt (to May 1880) | 14 Oct 1827 | 30 Sep 1904 | 76 | |
16 Mar 1874 | Alexander William Hall | 20 Jun 1838 | 29 Apr 1919 | 80 | |
3 Apr 1880 | Joseph William Chitty [kt 1881] (to 1881) [he was appointed a judge in Sep 1881 and no new writ was issued until Nov 1885] | 28 May 1828 | 15 Feb 1899 | 70 | |
10 May 1880 | Alexander William Hall [his election was declared void 4 Aug 1880. No writ was issued until Nov 1885] | 20 Jun 1838 | 29 Apr 1919 | 80 | |
REPRESENTATION REDUCED TO ONE MEMBER 1885 | |||||
26 Nov 1885 | Alexander William Hall | 20 Jun 1838 | 29 Apr 1919 | 80 | |
Jul 1892 | Sir George Tomkyns Chesney | 30 Apr 1830 | 31 Mar 1895 | 64 | |
20 Apr 1895 | Arthur Annesley, 11th Viscount Valentia [I] | 23 Aug 1843 | 20 Jan 1927 | 83 | |
22 Mar 1917 | John Arthur Ransome Marriott [kt 1924] | 17 Aug 1859 | 6 Jun 1945 | 85 | |
15 Nov 1922 | Frank Gray [following the general election in Dec 1923, his election was declared void 14 May 1924] For further information on this MP, see the note at the foot of this page |
31 Aug 1880 | 2 Mar 1935 | 54 | |
5 Jun 1924 | Robert Croft Bourne | 15 Jul 1888 | 7 Aug 1938 | 50 | |
27 Oct 1938 | Quintin McGarel Hogg, later [1950] 2nd Viscount Hailsham and [1970] Baron Hailsham of St. Marylebone [L] | 9 Oct 1907 | 12 Oct 2001 | 94 | |
2 Nov 1950 | Henry Frederic Lawrence Turner | 30 Dec 1908 | 17 Dec 1977 | 68 | |
8 Oct 1959 | Christopher Montague Woodhouse, later [1998] 5th Baron Terrington | 11 May 1917 | 13 Feb 2001 | 83 | |
31 Mar 1966 | David Evan Trant Luard | 31 Oct 1926 | 8 Feb 1991 | 64 | |
18 Jun 1970 | Christopher Montague Woodhouse, later [1998] 5th Baron Terrington | 11 May 1917 | 13 Feb 2001 | 83 | |
10 Oct 1974 | David Evan Trant Luard | 31 Oct 1926 | 8 Feb 1991 | 64 | |
3 May 1979 | John Haggitt Charles Patten, later [1997] Baron Patten [L] | 17 Jul 1945 | |||
SPLIT INTO "OXFORD EAST" AND "OXFORD WEST AND ABINGDON" 1983 | |||||
OXFORD EAST | |||||
9 Jun 1983 | Steven John Norris | 24 May 1945 | |||
11 Jun 1987 | Andrew David Smith | 1 Feb 1952 | |||
8 Jun 2017 | Anneliese Dodds | 16 Mar 1978 | |||
OXFORD WEST AND ABINGDON | |||||
9 Jun 1983 | John Haggitt Charles Patten, later [1997] Baron Patten [L] | 17 Jul 1945 | |||
1 May 1997 | Evan Leslie Harris | 21 Oct 1965 | |||
6 May 2010 | Nicola Claire Blackwood, later [2019] Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford [L] | 16 Oct 1979 | |||
8 Jun 2017 | Layla Michelle Moran | 12 Sep 1982 | |||
OXFORDSHIRE | |||||
c Apr 1660 | Thomas Wenman, 2nd Viscount Wenman [I] | c 1596 | 24 Jan 1665 | ||
James Fiennes, later [1662] 2nd Viscount Saye & Sele | c 1602 | 15 Mar 1674 | |||
20 Mar 1661 | Henry Cary, 4th Viscount Falkland [S] | 21 Nov 1634 | 2 Apr 1663 | 28 | |
Sir Anthony Cope, 4th baronet (to 1675) | 16 Nov 1632 | 11 Jun 1675 | 42 | ||
c May 1663 | William Knollys | c 1620 | 4 Sep 1664 | ||
21 Dec 1664 | Sir Francis Wenman, 1st baronet (to Feb 1679) | c 1630 | 2 Sep 1680 | ||
10 Nov 1675 | Sir Edward Norreys (to Aug 1679) | 28 Aug 1634 | 5 Oct 1712 | 78 | |
26 Feb 1679 | Sir John Cope, 5th baronet (to 1681) | 19 Nov 1634 | 11 Jan 1721 | 86 | |
13 Aug 1679 | Thomas Horde (to 1685) | 26 Jul 1625 | 6 Nov 1715 | 90 | |
23 Feb 1681 | Sir Philip Harcourt | 15 Dec 1638 | 30 Mar 1688 | 49 | |
18 Mar 1685 | Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland [S] | 15 Feb 1656 | 24 May 1694 | 38 | |
Thomas Tipping, later [1698] 1st baronet | 20 Apr 1653 | 1 Jul 1718 | 65 | ||
14 Jan 1689 | Sir Robert Jenkinson, 2nd baronet (to Feb 1710) | c 1654 | 30 Jan 1710 | ||
Sir John Cope, 5th baronet | 19 Nov 1634 | 11 Jan 1721 | 86 | ||
5 Mar 1690 | Montagu Venables-Bertie, styled Baron Norreys, later [1699] 2nd Earl of Abingdon | 4 Feb 1673 | 16 Jun 1743 | 70 | |
29 Nov 1699 | Sir Robert Dashwood, 1st baronet | 6 Nov 1662 | 14 Jul 1734 | 71 | |
22 Jan 1701 | Sir Edward Norreys | 28 Aug 1634 | 5 Oct 1712 | 78 | |
5 May 1708 | Francis Godolphin, styled Viscount Rialton, later [1712] 2nd Earl of Godolphin (to Oct 1710) | 3 Sep 1678 | 17 Jan 1766 | 87 | |
22 Feb 1710 | Sir Robert Jenkinson, 3rd baronet (to 1717) | 23 Nov 1685 | 29 Oct 1717 | 31 | |
10 Oct 1710 | Francis Clerke | c 1655 | 2 May 1715 | ||
25 May 1715 | James Herbert (to 1721) | 28 Oct 1688 | 25 Apr 1721 | 32 | |
4 Dec 1717 | Sir Robert Bankes Jenkinson, 4th baronet (to 1727) | 24 Jan 1687 | 2 Jul 1738 | 51 | |
17 May 1721 | Henry Perrot (to Feb 1740) | 29 Sep 1689 | 6 Jan 1740 | 50 | |
30 Aug 1727 | Sir William Stapleton, 4th baronet | c 1698 | 12 Jan 1740 | ||
30 Jan 1740 | Sir James Dashwood, 2nd baronet (to 1754) | 7 Aug 1715 | 10 May 1779 | 63 | |
27 Feb 1740 | George Henry Lee, styled Viscount Quarendon, later [1743] 3rd Earl of Lichfield | 21 May 1718 | 19 Sep 1772 | 54 | |
23 Mar 1743 | Norreys Bertie | c 1718 | 25 Oct 1766 | ||
17 Apr 1754 | Thomas Parker, styled Viscount Parker, later [1764] 3rd Earl of Macclesfield | 12 Oct 1723 | 9 Feb 1795 | 71 | |
Sir Edward Turner, 2nd baronet | 18 Apr 1719 | 31 Oct 1766 | 47 | ||
Philip Wenman, 6th (or 3rd) Viscount Wenman [I] | 23 Nov 1719 | 16 Aug 1760 | 40 | ||
Sir James Dashwood, 2nd baronet | 7 Aug 1715 | 10 May 1779 | 63 | ||
Double return. Parker and Turner declared elected 23 Apr 1755 | |||||
8 Apr 1761 | Lord Charles Spencer (to 1790) | 31 Mar 1740 | 16 Jun 1820 | 80 | |
Sir James Dashwood, 2nd baronet | 7 Aug 1715 | 10 May 1779 | 63 | ||
30 Mar 1768 | Philip Wenman, 7th (or 4th) Viscount Wenman [I] (to 1796) | 18 Apr 1742 | 26 Mar 1800 | 57 | |
24 Jun 1790 | George Spencer, styled Marquess of Blandford, later [1817] 5th Duke of Marlborough | 6 Mar 1766 | 5 Mar 1840 | 73 | |
3 Jun 1796 | John Fane (to 1824) | 6 Jan 1751 | 8 Feb 1824 | 73 | |
Lord Charles Spencer | 31 Mar 1740 | 16 Jun 1820 | 80 | ||
6 Mar 1801 | Lord Francis Almeric Spencer, later [1815] 1st Baron Churchill | 26 Dec 1779 | 10 Mar 1845 | 65 | |
12 Oct 1815 | William Henry Ashhurst (to 1830) | 19 Oct 1778 | 3 Jun 1846 | 67 | |
8 Mar 1824 | John Fane (to 1831) | 9 Jul 1775 | 4 Oct 1850 | 75 | |
5 Aug 1830 | Montagu Bertie, styled Baron Norreys, later [1854] 6th Earl of Abingdon | 19 Jun 1808 | 8 Feb 1884 | 75 | |
9 May 1831 | George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt (to 1862) | 6 Aug 1785 | 19 Dec 1861 | 76 | |
Richard Weyland (to 1837) | 25 Mar 1780 | 14 Oct 1864 | 84 | ||
REPRESENTATION INCREASED TO THREE MEMBERS 1832 | |||||
17 Dec 1832 | Montagu Bertie, styled Baron Norreys, later [1854] 6th Earl of Abingdon (to 1852) | 19 Jun 1808 | 8 Feb 1884 | 75 | |
29 Jul 1837 | Thomas Augustus Wolstenholme Parker, later [1850] 6th Earl of Macclesfield | 17 Mar 1811 | 24 Jul 1896 | 85 | |
5 Jul 1841 | Joseph Warner Henley (to 1878) | 3 Mar 1793 | 9 Dec 1884 | 91 | |
12 Jul 1852 | John Sidney North (to 1885) | 1804 | 11 Oct 1894 | 90 | |
3 Feb 1862 | John William Fane | 1 Sep 1804 | 19 Nov 1875 | 71 | |
18 Nov 1868 | William Cornwallis Cartwright (to 1885) | 24 Nov 1826 | 8 Nov 1915 | 88 | |
5 Feb 1878 | Edward William Harcourt | 1825 | 19 Dec 1891 | 66 | |
SPLIT INTO VARIOUS DIVISIONS 1885, SEE "BANBURY", "HENLEY" AND "WOODSTOCK" | |||||
OXFORDSHIRE MID | |||||
28 Feb 1974 | Douglas Richard Hurd, later [1997] Baron Hurd of Westwell [L] | 8 Mar 1930 | |||
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 1983 | |||||
OXFORD UNIVERSITY | |||||
12 Apr 1660 | Thomas Clayton | c 1612 | 4 Oct 1693 | ||
John Mylles | c 1604 | Mar 1676 | |||
1 Apr 1661 | Laurence Hyde, later [1681] Viscount Hyde of Kenilworth and [1682] 1st Earl of Rochester (to 1679) | 15 Mar 1642 | 2 May 1711 | 69 | |
Sir Heneage Finch, 1st baronet, later [1681] 1st Earl of Nottingham | 23 Dec 1621 | 18 Dec 1682 | 60 | ||
16 Jan 1674 | Thomas Thynne, later [1680] 2nd baronet and [1682] 1st Viscount Weymouth | 8 Sep 1640 | 28 Jul 1714 | 73 | |
27 Feb 1679 | Heneage Finch, later [1703] 1st Baron Guernsey and [1714] 1st Earl of Aylesford | c 1649 | 22 Jul 1719 | ||
John Edisbury | c 1646 | 16 May 1713 | |||
19 Aug 1679 | Sir Leoline Jenkins | c 1625 | 1 Sep 1685 | ||
Charles Perrot (to 1689) | 29 Nov 1642 | 10 Jun 1686 | 43 | ||
23 Nov 1685 | George Clarke | 7 May 1661 | 22 Oct 1736 | 75 | |
7 Jan 1689 | Heneage Finch, later [1714] 1st Earl of Aylesford (to 1698) | c 1649 | 22 Jul 1719 | ||
Sir Thomas Clarges | c 1618 | 4 Oct 1695 | |||
21 Oct 1695 | Sir William Trumbull | 12 Aug 1639 | 14 Dec 1716 | 77 | |
23 Jul 1698 | Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th baronet (to Mar 1701) [at the general election in Mar 1701, Musgrave was also returned for Westmorland, for which he chose to sit] | c 1631 | 29 Jul 1704 | ||
Sir William Glynne, 2nd baronet | 17 May 1663 | 3 Sep 1721 | 58 | ||
3 Jan 1701 | Heneage Finch, later [1703] 1st Baron Guernsey and [1714] 1st Earl of Aylesford (to 1703) | c 1649 | 22 Jul 1719 | ||
21 Mar 1701 | William Bromley (to 1732) | 31 Aug 1663 | 13 Feb 1732 | 68 | |
22 Nov 1703 | Sir William Whitlock | 27 Dec 1636 | 22 Nov 1717 | 80 | |
4 Dec 1717 | George Clarke (to 1737) | 7 May 1661 | 22 Oct 1736 | 75 | |
26 Feb 1732 | Henry Hyde, styled Viscount Cornbury, later [1751] Baron Hyde of Hindon (to 1751) | 28 Nov 1710 | 26 Apr 1753 | 42 | |
9 Feb 1737 | William Bromley | c 1701 | 12 Mar 1737 | ||
31 Mar 1737 | Edward Butler | c 1686 | 29 Oct 1745 | ||
12 Nov 1745 | Peregrine Palmer (to 1762) | c 1703 | 30 Nov 1762 | ||
31 Jan 1751 | Sir Roger Newdigate, 5th baronet (to 1780) | 20 May 1719 | 23 Nov 1806 | 87 | |
16 Dec 1762 | Sir Walter Wagstaffe Bagot, 5th baronet | 3 Aug 1702 | 20 Jan 1768 | 65 | |
3 Feb 1768 | Sir William Dolben, 3rd baronet | 12 Jan 1727 | 20 Mar 1814 | 87 | |
23 Mar 1768 | Francis Page (to 1801) | c 1726 | 24 Nov 1803 | ||
11 Sep 1780 | Sir William Dolben, 3rd baronet (to 1806) | 12 Jan 1727 | 20 Mar 1814 | 87 | |
23 Mar 1801 | Sir William Scott, later [1821] 1st Baron Stowell (to 1821) | 17 Oct 1745 | 28 Jan 1836 | 90 | |
6 Nov 1806 | Charles Abbot, later [1817] 1st Baron Colchester | 14 Oct 1757 | 7 May 1829 | 71 | |
10 Jun 1817 | Robert Peel, later [1830] 2nd baronet (to 1829) | 5 Feb 1788 | 2 Jul 1850 | 62 | |
24 Aug 1821 | Richard Heber | 5 Jan 1774 | 4 Oct 1833 | 59 | |
22 Feb 1826 | Thomas Grimston Bucknall Estcourt (to 1847) | 3 Aug 1775 | 26 Jul 1853 | 77 | |
28 Feb 1829 | Sir Robert Harry Inglis, 2nd baronet (to 1854) | 12 Jan 1786 | 5 May 1855 | 69 | |
3 Aug 1847 | William Ewart Gladstone (to 1865) | 29 Dec 1809 | 19 May 1898 | 88 | |
7 Feb 1854 | Sir William Heathcote, 5th baronet (to 1868) | 17 May 1801 | 18 Aug 1881 | 80 | |
18 Jul 1865 | Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, later [1878] 1st Viscount Cranbrook and [1892] 1st Earl of Cranbrook (to 1878) | 1 Oct 1814 | 30 Oct 1906 | 92 | |
18 Nov 1868 | John Robert Mowbray, later [1880] 1st baronet (to 1899) | 3 Jun 1815 | 22 Apr 1899 | 83 | |
17 May 1878 | John Gilbert Talbot (to 1910) | 24 Feb 1835 | 1 Feb 1910 | 74 | |
11 May 1899 | Sir William Reynell Anson, 3rd baronet (to 1914) | 14 Nov 1843 | 4 Jun 1914 | 70 | |
15 Jan 1910 | Lord Hugh Richard Heathcote Cecil, later [1941] 1st Baron Quickswood (to 1937) | 14 Oct 1869 | 10 Dec 1956 | 87 | |
30 Jun 1914 | Rowland Edmund Prothero, later [1919] 1st Baron Ernle | 6 Sep 1851 | 1 Jul 1937 | 85 | |
19 Mar 1919 | Charles William Chadwick Oman [kt 1920] | 12 Jan 1860 | 23 Jun 1946 | 86 | |
14 Nov 1935 | Alan Patrick Herbert [kt 1945] (to 1950) For further information on this MP, see the note at the foot of this page |
24 Sep 1890 | 11 Nov 1971 | 81 | |
27 Feb 1937 | Sir James Arthur Salter, later [1953] 1st Baron Salter | 15 Mar 1881 | 27 Jun 1973 | 92 | |
CONSTITUENCY ABOLISHED 1950 | |||||
James Platt | |||||
MP for Oldham Mar‑Aug 1857 | |||||
Platt died following a gun accident whilst on a shooting expedition, as is described in this report which appeared in the Leeds Mercury of 29 August 1857:- | |||||
We regret to have to record the death of Mr. Jas. Platt, the Hon. Member for Oldham, by accident, yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, whilst on a shooting excursion, on the moors in Saddleworth. Yesterday morning, about eleven o'clock, Mr. Platt, with a shooting party, amongst whom were Josiah Radcliffe, Esq., mayor, and Joshua Radcliffe, Esq., left Ashway Gap, Mr. Platt's hunting box - which is situated about two miles from the Greenfield railway station - for a shooting excursion. About a quarter past one o'clock, the party were proceeding through a gully, Mr. Platt being foremost, and Mr. Josiah Radcliffe about six yards behind him, when the latter unfortunately stumbled, and his gun went off, the shot being discharged into the calf of Mr. Platt's right leg. The wound was immediately bandaged, and the unfortunate gentleman was conveyed to his house at Ashway Gap, but he never rallied from the shock, and although he bled but little, he expired between two and three o'clock. This shocking occurrence has thrown the principal families in Oldham and the neighbourhood into the deepest grief, and has cast a gloom over the general population of the borough, by whom the deceased gentleman was justly respected. | |||||
William Archibald Macdonald | |||||
MP for Ossory 1886‑1892 | |||||
Macdonald's obituary in The Weekly Irish Times of 14 October 1911 reads as follows:- | |||||
One of the strangest figures in Irish politics of the last quarter of a century has passed away in the person of Mr. William Archibald Macdonald, ex-M.P. for the Ossory Division of Queen's County. Mr. Macdonald was very greatly handicapped in the political arena by the fact that he was blind, but this defect did not interfere with his determination to take part in the affairs of the day in Ireland. In 1886 he was returned unopposed for the Ossory Division, which he represented continuously until the General Election of 1892, when he knew that he had no chance, as a Parnellite, of being returned for the division. He had taken Mr. Parnell's side at the time of the split, and stuck to "The Chief" and to his memory. After he lost his seat Mr. Macdonald used to make most vigorous and long-winded speeches at the meetings of the National League. Blind as he was, he became almost insuppressible. Finally he retired from public life and settled down in England. His death took place suddenly at Chalfont St. Peters, Bucks. Mr. Macdonald was for many years quite a familiar figure in the streets of Dublin, as he was led along by his wife or little son. | |||||
Frank Gray | |||||
MP for Oxford 1922‑1924 | |||||
Gray, together with Charles Ainsworth, MP for Bury 1918-1935, were involved in a challenge issued by Gray in August 1923. Gray had issued a sporting challenge that he would walk, carrying the full equipment of an infantryman, against anyone of his own age from Oxford to Banbury, or vice versa, a distance of 23 miles. The challenge was taken up by his fellow MP, Charles Ainsworth, and the match was held on 27 August 1923. The following report of the outcome of the challenge appeared in The Irish Times on the following day:- | |||||
Dramatic scenes marked the finish of yesterday's walking match between Mr. Frank Gray, Liberal M.P. for Oxford City, the challenger, and Captain Charles Ainsworth, Conservative M.P. for Bury. The men, aged respectively 42 and 48, were in full marching order, with rifle, and the course, twenty-three miles, was from Banbury Cross to Oxford. | |||||
The last few miles provided tense scenes, both walkers collapsing in turn almost within sight of each other. One and a half miles from home Captain Ainsworth was unable to continue. Mr. Gray just managed to complete the distance, to collapse in a faint after touching the winning-post. | |||||
It was three miles from the winning-post that the walking match became unexpectedly dramatic. Captain Ainsworth had made up the ground that he had lost by a halt soon after the half-way mark, and went ahead, walking well. The Oxford City member, on the other hand, was now showing the effects of his exertions. His face was strained and drawn and he staggered as he walked. On the Banbury side of the level crossing he collapsed. His friends removed his pack and bathed his face and massaged his limbs. After a few minutes' rest he staggered to his feet and resumed the walk, but sank to the roadside in a faint. | |||||
Mrs. Gray, who was following in a car, stood by her husband, and a doctor was summoned. Spectators advised Mrs. Gray to hide his pack and rifle. She refused, however, saying that if Mr. Gray was fit to carry on she would not be the one to oppose him. | |||||
Within a few minutes Mr. Gray had recovered and once again he took the road. By this time Captain Ainsworth had gained a very substantial lead. About two miles from Oxford, however, he, too, began to show obvious signs of distress. His right leg, which had been terribly wounded in the war, failed him. As he was staggering along he was overtaken by Mr. Gray. | |||||
When he had staggered a few hundred yards further Captain Ainsworth sank back onto one of his supporters. A doctor felt his pulse and strongly advised that he should retire. Captain Glover, who was accompanying the M.P., recognised that his man could go no further and insisted on taking off the pack and relieving him of the rifle. Captain Ainsworth resisted feebly, but was carried into the car in which Mrs. Ainsworth had covered the course and was driven to an hotel, having covered in all twenty-one miles in five and a half hours. | |||||
Mr. Gray had forged steadily ahead. His condition was pitiable, but refused to give in. His head was craned forward and his sweat-lined cheeks were sunken and drawn. Only by a supreme effort did he manage to reach the winning-post. He stretched out his hand, touched the railings surrounding the memorial [the Martyrs' Memorial in St. Giles Church] and fainted dead away. Mr. Gray was then carried to a private motor car and driven home. He had finished the walk in just under six hours. | |||||
Sir Alan Patrick Herbert | |||||
MP for Oxford University 1935‑1950 | |||||
The following biographical sketch of Sir A.P. Herbert appeared in the Australian monthly magazine Parade in its issue for June 1972:- | |||||
From 1916 the English humorist A.P. Herbert lived in a rambling house on the bank of the Thames at Hammersmith. And here, in succeeding years, as his fame grew, he virtually became one of the sights of London while sitting in the garden writing. As a pleasure boat laden with tourists went chugging by, the voice of the guide pointing out the sights over the loudspeaker floated up to Herbert. "We are now passing the ancient Doves public 'ouse. The island ahead is Chiswick Eyot. Between them the gent in bathing trunks is A.P. Herbert, the well-known 'umorist." | |||||
A. P. Herbert, or Sir Alan Herbert as he became, was much more that a humorist. Indeed, he could be described as a phenomenon of literary versatility. He was essayist, novelist, versifier, playwright, librettist, lawyer, social reformer, sailor, politician-and for years the acknowledged champion writer of letters to The Times. Author of more than 60 books and 17 plays, he was also Britain's leading divorce reformer, and, as an independent MP in 1937, pushed through the first changes in Britain's antiquated divorce laws for 80 years. | |||||
A.P.H., as he was known in Punch for more than half a century, was both jester and crusader. In an attack in the House of Commons on the high tax on whisky and gin he once demanded that the Chancellor of the Exchequer put a similar tax on tea. "If this country is going to go down the drain", thundered A. P. Herbert, "it won't be on tiny nips of whisky, but in a cataract of tea. All day long workmen are interrupted by tea and so are offices, factories, docks and ships. I honestly think that tea has become a national peril." Understandably, that remained one of Herbert's failures as a reformer - like his campaign to stop small boys spitting from London's bridges on boatmen passing beneath. | |||||
Born in 1890 Alan Patrick Herbert began writing in childhood. "I can remember having measles and producing a limerick", he once said. While still at Winchester Public School he achieved publication of a book of comic verse and by 20 he was appearing regularly in Punch. Herbert went up to New College, Oxford, to read law and in 1914, after graduating with first class honours, he enlisted as a private in the Royal Naval Division. After demobilisation he was called to the Bar in 1919, but never practised because, he said, "I really couldn't afford to because by that time I had to support a wife and four children - well, three and a half". So he took the security of a salaried job as secretary to Sir Leslie Scott, a distinguished lawyer and MP [for the Exchange division of Liverpool 1910-1929] and in his spare time poured out articles, verses and an acclaimed war novel The Secret Battle. After a couple of years the success of his novel, said A.P. Herbert years later, "inflamed me to leave my nice employer and become a struggling freelance, which I have been ever since". It was not really such a struggle for the talented A.P.H. He made money with novels such as Water Gypsies and became one of the mainstays of Punch. | |||||
By the 1930s the crusader, social reformer and debunker that lurked inside A.P.H. the writer was beginning to blossom. Thus in 1934 he became excited about English drinking laws and hotel closing hours, especially when he discovered that in the bars of the House of Commons MPs could get a drink at any time. So A.P.H. went to court with a complaint that liquor was being sold in the House of Commons without a licence. Parliamentarians choked over their whisky, said he was either a lunatic or a Bolshevik and ordered the Attorney-General to fight the case. In due course, Mr. Justice Avory decided that the MPs did have the right to drink liquor 24 hours a day without a licence, but he refused to grant costs against A.P. Herbert. | |||||
Undaunted, Herbert took up another crusade - to publicise the "nonsense" in the law relating to banks and cheques. He began writing his cheques on eggs, bottle labels and table napkins. His bank calmly passed them and on one occasion even returned to him a full bottle of brandy after it had been through the clearing house. [For an example of one of Herbert's cheques written in verse, see below.] | |||||
In 1935 Herbert turned to reform the divorce laws and wrote a popular novel, Holy Deadlock, satirising the fact that adultery was the only legal ground for divorce in Britain. The novel made money, but the law remained unchanged, so A.P.H. set out to win the Oxford University seat in the House of Commons and fight his battle there. As an Independent, Herbert was triumphantly returned at the head of the poll and with his back-bench seat only two days warm he bounced up to deliver his maiden speech. Brandishing a draft bill "to reform the indecent, hypocritical, cruel and unjust marriage laws of this country", he vowed: "I swear it shall be passed before this Parliament is over". Meeting Herbert outside later, his old friend Winston Churchill chuckled: "Call that a maiden speech? It was a brazen hussy of a speech. Never did such a painted lady of a speech parade itself before a modest Parliament." | |||||
Undeterred, Herbert set about the herculean task of drawing up what became the Matrimonial Causes Act and added desertion, cruelty and incurable insanity to adultery as grounds for divorce. Herbert's work involved the scrutiny of all existing marriage laws, lobbying for support, conferences with law officers and preparation of speeches on each phase of the Bill. Yet he stuck at it, neglected his own writing and lived on his meagre parliamentary salary (less than £400 a year then) until the day of triumph in 1938 when his Bill was finally passed and members of all parties rushed across the floor to congratulate him. | |||||
As an Independent MP untrammelled by party ties, A.P. Herbert continued to fight for his pet beliefs, but generally they were lost causes. Thus he got nowhere with his Public Refreshments Bill in which he wanted Parliament to adopt holus bolus the liquor and refreshment laws of France. This meant in effect an open go for everyone, at any time of the day and night, and prompted tee-totaller Lady Astor to attack him as "the playboy of the drink world". Snapped back A.P.H.: "A little alcoholic indulgence would be extremely good for the noble lady and would make her less restive". Similarly, A.P.Herbert got nowhere with an indignant attack upon a government Bill that permitted census-takers trying to fathom the reason for the falling birth-rate to ask searching questions of British families. Herbert, the father of four children, described the Bill as "an insult to the nation's women" and declared: "I think that I have ceased to breed. But nobody is going to ask me about that, even if you pass their Nosey Parker Bill." | |||||
During World War II A. P. Herbert divided his time between the House of Commons and command of his own motor cruiser, Water Gypsy, as a member of the Naval Auxiliary Patrol in in the Thames. His job was simply to watch for mine-laying German planes and therefore his vessel was supposed to be unarmed, but in fact, the Water Gypsy mounted on deck a Lewis gun obtained from one of her skipper's friends in "a certain Ministry". There came a night at the height of the Blitz when Nazi planes took to skimming low over the cruiser and A.P.H. and his crew blazed away happily at them for several hours. They didn't bag any enemy bombers, but next day Herbert had to explain to the Air Ministry how one of their barrage balloons had been shot down. | |||||
In one of his last acts before his government was voted out in 1945, Winston Churchill recommended Herbert for a knighthood. Over the next five years Sir Alan Herbert MP combined with his parliamentary duties the writing for .P. [Charles B.] Cochran of the smash hit musical comedies Bless The Bride, Big Ben and Tough at the Top. | |||||
That he was still one of the sights of London was also proved one hot summer afternoon in those years when he decided to swim the half-mile up the Thames from Waterloo Bridge to Westminster Bridge. After only 100 yards a canoeist paddled up and asked: "Aren't you A.P. Herbert the famous humorist?" Herbert said he was and stroked on steadily under Charing Cross Bridge - where a small boy spat at him but missed. He was 50 yards from Westminster Bridge when the usual tourist boat passed and from its deck came the megaphone voice of the guide: "On our left are the Houses of Parliament, on our right the County Hall, and in the water A. P. Herbert, the well-known humorist." | |||||
Sir Alan's Parliamentary career came to an end in 1950 when England's Labour Government abolished the university seats. Thereafter he had to fight for his pet causes with letters to The Times, books and public speeches. From frequent observation of the night sky on his wartime patrols he had become an enthusiastic amateur astronomer. The result was a book urging the renaming of the stars. Tired of such labels as Betelgeuse he wanted to dot the the heavens with stars called Nelson, Drake and Cook. Herbert sent his book to the Royal Astronomical Society which replied noncommittally: "Your suggestion was received with appreciation." | |||||
Another A.P.H. hobby horse was campaigning against jargon and officialese. He pointed out that Nelson's famous signal, "England expects that every man will do his duty", today would probably be changed by some shipboard bureaucrat to read: "England anticipates that, with regard to the current emergency, personnel will duly implement their obligations in accordance with the functions allocated to their respective age groups". | |||||
On a visit to Australia in 1955 Sir Alan Herbert said he wanted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his marriage in a country with a lower divorce rate than Britain's. | |||||
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On one occasion, Herbert received a demand for payment from the Inland Revenue for surtax of £85. He took a sheet of his own notepaper, affixed a 2d duty stamp, and then wrote the cheque as follows (words in capitals were in red):- | |||||
Dear Bankers, PAY the undermentioned hounds The shameful sum of FIVE-AND-EIGHTY POUNDS By 'hounds', of course, by custom, one refers To SPECIAL INCOME TAX COMMISSIONERS And these progenitors of woe and worry You'll find at LYNWOOD ROAD, THAMES DITTON, SURREY. This is the second lot of tax, you know, On money that I earned two years ago. (The shark, they say, by no means Nature's knight, Will rest contented with a single bite: The barracuda who's a fish more fell Comes back and takes the other leg as well.) Two years ago. But things have changed since then. My earnings dwindle; and the kindly State Gives me a tiny pension - with my mate. You'd think the State would generously roar At least he shan't pay SURTAX any more. Instead, by this un-Christian attack They get two-thirds of my poor pension back. Oh very well. No doubt it's for the best; At all events, pay do as I request; And let the good old custom be enforced Don't cash this cheque, unless it is endorsed. |
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To his amazement, the tax authorities, displaying a sense of humour not normally found in such an organisation, replied:- | |||||
Dear Sir, It is with pleasure that I thank You for your letter and the order to your bank To pay the sum of five and eighty pounds To those here whom you designate as hounds. Their appetite is satisfied, In fact, You paid too much and I am forced to act, Though such a course is easy, it would seem. Your liability for later years Is giving your accountants many tears: And till such time as they and we can come To amicable settlement on the sum That represents your tax bill to the State I'll leave the overpayment to its fate. I do not think this step will make you frown: The sum involved is only half a crown. |
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Knowing when he was beaten, Herbert replied:- | |||||
I thank you, Sir, but am afraid Of such a rival in my trade: One never should encourage those - In future I shall pay in prose. |
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