Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridgeshire is a former Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885.
History
The county was represented by two Knights of the Shire until 1832, when the number of members was increased to three by the Great Reform Act. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency was abolished and was divided into three single-member constituencies: the Western or Chesterton Division, the Eastern or Newmarket Division and the Northern or Wisbech Division.Under the Local Government Act 1888, the historic county of Cambridgeshire was divided between the administrative counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. When the parliamentary constituencies were next redistributed under the Representation of the People Act 1918, Cambridgeshire was re-constituted as a single-member Parliamentary County, largely formed from combining the Chesterton Division and the Newmarket Division.
The administrative counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely had been recombined in 1965 and Cambridgeshire was further expanded in 1974 to include Huntingdon and Peterborough under the Local Government Act 1972. Under the subsequent redistribution of seats, which did not come into effect until the 1983 general election, Cambridgeshire was abolished as a county constituency, forming the bulk of the new constituency of South East Cambridgeshire and the majority of South West Cambridgeshire.
Boundaries
1290–1653, 1658-1885: The historic county of Cambridgeshire.1654–1658 The historic county was divided for the First and the Second Protectorate Parliaments, between the two-member Isle of Ely area and the four-member constituency consisting of the rest of the county.
1918–1983: The administrative county of Cambridgeshire, excluding the Municipal Borough of Cambridge. There were minor boundary changes in 1950, when some of the constituency was transferred to the Cambridge seat, which was expanded to align with the Municipal Borough, and in 1974, to align with changes to the county boundary.
Members of Parliament
- Constituency created
MPs 1290-1660
| Year | First member | Second member | Third member | Fourth member |
| 1653 | John Sadler | Thomas French | Robert Castle | Samuel Warner |
| 1654 | John Delbrow | Henry Pickering | Robert Castle | Francis Russell |
| 1656 | Robert West | Henry Pickering | Robert Castle | Francis Russell |
| 1659 | Sir Thomas Willys, 1st Baronet | Sir Henry Pickering |
MPs 1660-1832
MPs 1832–1885
MPs 1918-1983
Elections
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1880s
- Caused by Brand's elevation to the peerage, becoming Viscount Hampden.
- Caused by Rodwell's resignation.
Elections in the 1870s
- Caused by Yorke's death.
- Caused by Manners' death.
- Caused by Yorke's succession to the peerage, becoming Earl of Hardwicke.
Elections in the 1860s
- Caused by Yorke's appointment as Comptroller of the Household.
- Caused by Ball's resignation.
Elections in the 1850s
Elections in the 1840s
Elections in the 1830s
- Caused by Osborne's resignation