Dunwich (UK Parliament constituency)


Dunwich was a parliamentary borough in Suffolk, one of the most notorious of all the rotten boroughs. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1298 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

History

In medieval times, when Dunwich was first accorded representation in Parliament, it was a flourishing port and market town about thirty miles from Ipswich. However, by 1670 the sea had encroached upon the town, destroying the port and swallowing up all but a few houses so that nothing was left but a tiny village. The borough had once consisted of eight parishes, but all that was left was part of the parish of All Saints, Dunwich - which by 1831 had a population of 232, and only 44 houses.
In fact, this made Dunwich by no means the smallest of England's rotten boroughs, but the symbolism of two Members of Parliament representing a constituency that was essentially underwater captured the imagination and made Dunwich one of the most frequently-mentioned examples of the absurdities of the unreformed system.
The right to vote was exercised by the freemen of the borough. Originally, these freemen could vote even if they did not live in the borough, and at times this was abused as elsewhere, notably in 1670 when 500 non-resident freemen were created to swamp the resident voters. From 1709, however, by a resolution of the House of Commons, the franchise was restricted to resident freemen who were not receiving alms. By the 19th century, the maximum number of freemen had been set at 32, of whom the two "patrons", Lord Huntingfield and Snowdon Barne, could nominate eight each, so that between them they controlled half of the votes and needed only one other voter to gain control of elections.
Earlier, in the 1760s, Sir Jacob Downing had been the sole patron, but in theory he also was considered to have only influence, rather than the absolute power to dictate the choice of the Members. Unsurprisingly, in 1754 Downing was able to occupy one seat himself and sell the choice of the other member to the Duke of Newcastle for £1,000; it is not recorded whether he needed to share some of this largesse with his co-operative voters.
Dunwich was abolished as a constituency in 1832, when what remained of the village became part of the new Eastern Suffolk county division.

Members of Parliament

Before 1660

ParliamentFirst memberSecond member
1306Robert Codoun-
1332Geoffrey Cuddon-
1372Peter Cuddon I-
1373Peter Cuddon I-
1383Peter Cuddon I-
1386Peter Cuddon IHugh Thorpe
1388 Augustine KnightWilliam Woodward
1388 Peter Cuddon IJohn Bagge
1390 Peter Cuddon IRobert Runton
1390 -
1391Robert RuntonWilliam Havene
1393Robert CookAugustine Knight
1394-
1395Robert Cuddon IWilliam Chock
1397 Peter HelmethNicholas Goodber
1397 -
1399Peter Cuddon IIPeter Helmeth
1401-
1402-
1404 -
1404 -
1406-
1407-
1410Peter Cuddon IIWilliam Barber
1411Richard GristonThomas Clerk
1413 -
1413 Thomas ClerkThomas Brantham
1414 Nicholas BarberPhilip Canon
1414 Thomas JamesPhilip Canon
1415-
1416 -
1416 John LukePhilip Canon
1417-
1419Nicholas BarberPhilip Canon
1420John LukeRichard Russell
1421 William BarberRobert Cuddon II
1421 John LukeNicholas Barber
1467William Rabett-
1472William Rabett -
1478Robert BrewesEdmund Jenny
1510-1523No names known-
1529Sir William RousChristopher Jenney
1536?-
1539?-
1542Robert BrowneGeorge Coppyn
1545Robert BrowneRobert Coppyn
1547Robert CoppynJohn Harrison alias Hall died and
was repl. Nov 1548 by Thomas Heydon
1553 Francis YaxleyRobert Coppyn
1553 Robert CoppynNicholas Hasborough
1554 Robert BrowneGeorge Jerningham
1554 Sir Edmund RousRobert Coppyn
1555George SaxmundhamAndrew Green
1558Thomas PyctoJohn Browne
1558/9Sir Edmund RousGregory Coppyn
1562/3Robert HareRobert Coppyn
1571William HumberstoneArthur Hopton
1572Robert Coppyn, died
and repl.1576 by Godfrey Foljambe		Richard Sone
1584Walter DunchAnthony Wingfield
1586Anthony WingfieldArthur Melles
1588Edward HoningWalter Dunch
1593Henry SavileThomas Corbet
1597Arthur AtyeClipsby Gawdy
1601John SucklingFrancis Myngate
1604Sir Valentine Knightley
elected to sit for Northamptonshire
and replaced by Thomas Smythe		Philip Gawdy
1614Philip GawdyHenry Dade
1621Clement CokeThomas Bedingfield
1624Sir John RousSir Robert Brooke
1625Sir John RousSir Robert Brooke
1626Sir John RousThomas Bedingfield
1628Sir Robert BrookeFrancis Winterton
1629–1640No Parliaments summonedNo Parliaments summoned

1660-1832

In popular culture

Dunwich is satirised in an episode of the British television show Blackadder the Third titled "Dish and Dishonesty". Named Dunny-on-the-Wold, and like Dunwich, described as being located in Suffolk, it has a population of three cows, a dachshund called "Colin", and "a small hen in its late forties"; only one person lives there and he is the voter. After an obviously rigged election, Baldrick is made an MP having received all 16,472 of the votes cast.