The historic county of Cumberland in north west England was represented in Parliament from the 13th century. This article provides a list of constituencies constituting the Parliamentary representation from Cumberland.
In 1889 Cumberland became an administrative county. In 1974 Cumberland was combined with Westmorland and northern Lancashire to form a new shire county of Cumbria.
The first part of this article covers the constituencies wholly or predominantly within the area of the historic county of Cumberland, both before and after the administrative changes of 1974. The second part refers to constituencies mostly in another historic county, which included some territory from the historic county of Cumberland. The summaries section only refers to the constituencies included in the first section of the constituency list.
List of constituencies
Article names are followed by (UK Parliament constituency). The constituencies which existed in 1707 were those previously represented in the Parliament of England.
Key to abbreviations:-
- (Type) BC Borough constituency, CC County constituency.
- (Administrative County in Notes) C1 historic/administrative county of Cumberland (to 1974), C2 shire county of Cumbria (from 1974).
Constituencies wholly or predominantly in the historic county
| Constituency | Type | From | To | MPs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle | BC | 1295 | * | 2 (1295-1885) | C1, C2 |
| 1 (1654–1659) | |||||
| 2 (1659–1885) | |||||
| 1 (1885-*) | |||||
| Cockermouth | BC (1295–96, 1640–1885) | 1295 | 1296 | 2 (1295–96, 1640–1868) | C1: Unrepresented 1654-1659 |
| CC (1885–1918) | 1640 | 1918 | 1 (1868–1918) | ||
| Copeland | CC | 1983 | * | 1 | C2 |
| Cumberland | CC | 1290 | 1832 | 2 | C1 |
| East Cumberland | CC | 1832 | 1885 | 2 | C1 |
| North Cumberland | CC | 1918 | 1950 | 1 | C1 |
| West Cumberland | CC | 1832 | 1885 | 2 | C1 |
| Egremont | BC (1295–96) | 1295 | 1296 | 2 (1295–96) | C1 |
| CC (1885–1918) | 1885 | 1918 | 1 (1885–1918) | ||
| Eskdale | CC | 1885 | 1918 | 1 | C1 |
| Penrith | CC | 1885 | 1918 | 1 | C1 |
| Penrith and Cockermouth | CC | 1918 | 1950 | 1 | C1 |
| Penrith and The Border | CC | 1950 | * | 1 | C1, C2: From 1983 inc. part of Westmorland |
| Whitehaven | BC (1832–1918) | 1832 | 1983 | 1 | C1, C2 |
| CC (1918–1983) | |||||
| Workington | CC | 1918 | * | 1 | C1, C2 |
Constituencies mostly in another historic county
| Constituency | Type | From | To | MPs | Notes |
|---|
Periods constituencies represented
| 1290–1295 | 1295–1296 | 1296–1640 | 1640–1654 | 1654–1659 | 1659–1832 | 1832–1868 | 1868–1885 | 1885–1918 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle | 1295–* | ||||||||
| Cockermouth | 1295–1296 | 1640–1654 | 1659–1918 | ||||||
| Cumberland | 1290–1832 | ||||||||
| East Cumberland | 1832–1885 | ||||||||
| West Cumberland | 1832–1885 | ||||||||
| Egremont | 1295–1296 | 1885–1918 | |||||||
| Eskdale | 1885–1918 | ||||||||
| Penrith | 1885–1918 | ||||||||
| Whitehaven | 1832–1983 | ||||||||
| 1918–1950 | 1950–1983 | 1983–* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle | 1295–* | ||
| Copeland | 1983–* | ||
| North Cumberland | 1918–1950 | ||
| Penrith and Cockermouth | 1918–1950 | ||
| Penrith and The Border | 1950–* | ||
| Whitehaven | 1832–1983 | ||
| Workington | 1918–* | ||
Summaries
Note: Dates for representation before 1509 are provisional.
Summary of Constituencies by Type and Period
| Type | 1290 | 1295 | 1296 | 1640 | 1654 | 1659 | 1832 | 1868 | 1885 | 1918 | 1950 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borough | - | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| County | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Total | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
Summary of Members of Parliament by Type and Period
| Type | 1290 | 1295 | 1296 | 1640 | 1654 | 1659 | 1832 | 1868 | 1885 | 1918 | 1950 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borough | - | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| County | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Total | 2 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
See also
- Parliamentary representation by historic counties
- First Protectorate Parliament
- Unreformed House of Commons
References
- Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
- British Parliamentary Constituencies: A Statistical Compendium, by Ivor Crewe and Anthony Fox (Faber and Faber 1984)
- British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977)
- The House of Commons 1509-1558, by S.T. Bindoff (Secker & Warburg 1982)
- The House of Commons 1558-1603, by P.W. Hasler (HMSO 1981)
- The House of Commons 1660-1690, by Basil Duke Henning (Secker & Warburg 1983)
- The House of Commons 1715-1754, by Romney Sedgwick (HMSO 1970)
- The House of Commons 1754-1790, by Sir Lewis Namier and John Brooke (HMSO 1964)
- The House of Commons 1790-1820, by R.G. Thorne (Secker & Warburg 1986)
- 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) out of copyright