East Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)

East Norfolk
East Norfolk
Former County constituency; for the House of Commons
	Context of 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the north-eastern 'doubly' blue land.
County	Norfolk
1885–1950
Seats	One
Created from	North Norfolk and South Norfolk
Replaced by	North Norfolk, South Norfolk, Central Norfolk and Great Yarmouth
1832–1868
Seats	Two
Created from	Norfolk
Replaced by	North Norfolk and South Norfolk

East Norfolk was a constituency in the county of Norfolk that returned two members of parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1868. It was re-established in 1885 with representation of one member. That seat was abolished in 1950.

History

The constituency was first created by the Great Reform Act for the 1832 general election, and abolished for the 1868 general election. In that period the Parliamentary County of Norfolk was split into two divisions – Eastern Norfolk and Western Norfolk, each returning two members.

Further to the Reform Act of 1867, Norfolk was reorganised into the North, South and West divisions, with each of the three divisions again returning two members. The Eastern division was replaced by the bulk of the North and South Divisions.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the three two-member county divisions were replaced with six single-member divisions. The second version of this constituency was one of the single-member seats. It was abolished under the Representation of the People Act 1948, which came into effect for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1832–1868

The Hundreds of Blofield, Clavering, Depwade, Diss, Earsham, North Erpingham, South Erpingham, Eynesford, East Flegg, West Flegg, Forehoe, Happing, Henstead, Humbleyard, Loddon, Taversham, Tunstead and Walsham.

1885–1918

The Sessional Divisions of Blofield and Walsham, East and West Flegg, Taversham, and Tunstead and Happing;
Part of the Sessional Division of South Erpingham; and
The part of the Borough of Great Yarmouth in the county of Norfolk.

As Great Yarmouth formed a separate Parliamentary Borough, only non-resident freeholders of the Borough were entitled to vote in this constituency.

1918–1950

The Urban District of North Walsham; and
The Rural Districts of Blofield, East and West Flegg, Loddon and Clavering, St Faith's, and Smallburgh.

The division was expanded to the south, with the addition of eastern parts of the Southern Division (Loddon and Clavering Rural District). Also gained small area to the west from the Northern Division.

On its abolition, the contents of the seat were distributed as follows:

North Walsham and the Rural District of Smallburgh to North Norfolk;
area to the north and east of Norwich, mostly comprising the (former) Rural District of St Faiths, to the new constituency of Central Norfolk;
most of the (combined) Rural District of Blofield and Flegg to the new county constituency of Yarmouth; and
the Rural District of Loddon and Clavering (renamed Loddon) back to South Norfolk.

Members of Parliament

1832–1868

Election	1st member		1st party		2nd party
1832		William Windham	Whig	Hon. George Keppel	Whig
1835		Edmond Wodehouse	Conservative	Horatio Walpole	Conservative
1837		Edmond Wodehouse	Conservative	Henry Negus Burroughes	Conservative
1855		Sir Henry Stracey, Bt	Conservative	Henry Negus Burroughes	Conservative
1857		Charles Ash Windham	Whig	Sir Edward Buxton, Bt	Whig
1858		Charles Ash Windham	Whig	Hon. Wenman Coke	Whig
1859		Edward Howes	Conservative	Hon. Wenman Coke	Liberal
1865		Edward Howes	Conservative	Clare Sewell Read	Conservative
1868	abolished

1885–1950

Year		Member	Party
1885		re-created but reduced to one member
	1885	Sir Edward Birkbeck	Conservative
	1892	Sir Robert Price	Liberal
	1918	Michael Falcon	Unionist
	1923	Hugh Seely	Liberal
	1924	Reginald Neville	Unionist
	1929	William Lygon	Liberal
	1931	William Lygon	Liberal National
	1939	Frank Medlicott	Liberal National
	1950	constituency abolished

Elections

Decades:

1830s
1840s
1850s
1860s
1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	William Windham	3,304	26.7
	Whig	George Keppel	3,261	26.3
	Tory	Nathaniel Peach	2,960	23.9
	Tory	William Cholmondeley	2,852	23.0
Majority			301	2.4
Turnout			6,229	88.5
Registered electors			7,041
	Whig win (new seat)
	Whig win (new seat)

General election 1835: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmond Wodehouse	3,482	27.6	+3.7
	Conservative	Horatio Walpole	3,196	25.3	+2.3
	Whig	William Windham	3,076	24.4	−2.3
	Whig	Richard Hanbury Gurney	2,866	22.7	−3.6
Majority			120	0.9	N/A
Turnout			6,385	87.7	−0.8
Registered electors			7,281
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+3.3
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+2.6

General election 1837: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmond Wodehouse	3,654	27.3	−0.3
	Conservative	Henry Negus Burroughes	3,523	26.3	+1.0
	Whig	William Windham	3,237	24.2	−0.2
	Whig	Richard Hanbury Gurney	2,978	22.2	−0.5
Majority			286	2.1	+1.2
Turnout			6,759	81.0	−6.7
Registered electors			8,343
	Conservative hold		Swing	±0.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmond Wodehouse	3,495	42.1	+14.8
	Conservative	Henry Negus Burroughes	3,434	41.3	+15.0
	Whig	William ffolkes	1,378	16.6	−29.8
Majority			2,056	24.8	+22.7
Turnout			c. 4,843	c. 56.6	c. −24.4
Registered electors			8,556
	Conservative hold		Swing	+14.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+15.0

General election 1847: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Edmond Wodehouse	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Negus Burroughes	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,638
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Edmond Wodehouse	Unopposed
	Conservative	Henry Negus Burroughes	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,216
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Wodehouse resigned via accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Hempholme, causing a by-election.

By-election, 17 July 1855: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Stracey	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Charles Ash Windham	Unopposed
	Whig	Edward Buxton	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,755
	Whig gain from Conservative
	Whig gain from Conservative

Buxton's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 1 July 1858: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Wenman Coke	2,933	51.9	*N/A*
	Conservative	Henry Stracey	2,720	48.1	*New*
Majority			213	3.8	N/A
Turnout			5,653	72.9	N/A
Registered electors			7,755
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Wenman Coke	Unopposed
	Conservative	Edward Howes	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,776
	Liberal hold
	Conservative gain from Liberal

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Howes	3,100	30.3	*N/A*
	Conservative	Clare Sewell Read	2,985	29.2	*N/A*
	Liberal	Sir Thomas Proctor-Beauchamp, 4th Baronet	2,150	21.0	N/A
	Liberal	Wenman Coke	1,994	19.5	N/A
Majority			835	8.2	N/A
Turnout			5,115 (est)	64.4 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			7,939
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Edward Birkbeck	4,682	51.3
	Liberal	Philip Falk	4,440	48.7
Majority			242	2.6
Turnout			9,122	81.7
Registered electors			11,161
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Birkbeck	4,578	53.4	+2.1
	Liberal	Henry Lee-Warner	4,000	46.6	−2.1
Majority			578	6.8	+4.2
Turnout			8,578	76.9	−4.8
Registered electors			11,161
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.1

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Price	4,743	52.4	+5.8
	Conservative	Edward Birkbeck	4,303	47.6	−5.8
Majority			440	4.8	N/A
Turnout			9,046	92.2	+15.3
Registered electors			9,812
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.8

General election 1895: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Price	4,606	51.1	−1.3
	Conservative	H. Rider Haggard	4,408	48.9	+1.3
Majority			198	2.2	−2.6
Turnout			9,014	83.2	−9.0
Registered electors			10,839
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.3

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Price	4,563	55.0	+3.9
	Conservative	William Louis St. John Prioleau	3,733	45.0	−3.9
Majority			830	10.0	+7.8
Turnout			8,296	76.9	−6.3
Registered electors			10,791
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.9

General election 1906: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Price	5,631	62.1	+7.1
	Conservative	Sir Raymond Boileau, 4th Baronet	3,435	37.9	−7.1
Majority			2,196	24.2	+14.2
Turnout			9,066	80.7	+3.8
Registered electors			11,237
	Liberal hold		Swing	+7.1

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Price	5,592	56.3	−5.8
	Conservative	Cecil Fitch	4,348	43.7	+5.8
Majority			1,244	12.6	−11.6
Turnout			9,940	86.0	+5.3
Registered electors			11,560
	Liberal hold		Swing	−5.8

General election December 1910: East Norfolk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Price	5,265	57.7	+1.4
	Conservative	Frank Meyer	3,865	42.3	−1.4
Majority			1,400	15.4	+2.8
Turnout			9,130	79.0	−7.0
Registered electors			11,560
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.4

General election 1914–15:

Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Liberal: Robert Price
Unionist:

General election 1918: Norfolk East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Michael Falcon	7,030	44.9	+2.6
	Liberal	Fred Henderson	6,691	42.8	−14.9
	National Farmers Union	W. B. Taylor	1,926	12.3	New
Majority			339	2.1	N/A
Turnout			15,647	49.6	−29.4
Registered electors			31,578
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+8.8
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Norfolk East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Michael Falcon	9,270	41.0	−3.9
	Liberal	Hugh Seely	8,962	39.7	−3.1
	Labour	George Edward Hewitt	4,361	19.3	New
Majority			308	1.3	−0.8
Turnout			22,593	70.2	+20.6
Registered electors			32,204
	Unionist hold		Swing	−0.4

General election 1923: Norfolk East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hugh Seely	11,807	49.6	+9.9
	Unionist	Michael Falcon	8,472	35.6	−5.4
	Labour	George Edward Hewitt	3,530	14.8	−4.5
Majority			3,335	14.0	N/A
Turnout			23,809	72.5	+2.3
Registered electors			32,845
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+7.7

General election 1924: Norfolk East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Reginald Neville	11,283	44.6	+9.0
	Liberal	Hugh Seely	9,114	36.0	−13.6
	Labour	Reginald Barrington Bates	4,907	19.4	+4.6
Majority			2,169	8.6	N/A
Turnout			25,304	75.6	+3.1
Registered electors			33,470
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+11.3

General election 1929: Norfolk East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Lygon	13,349	39.6	+3.6
	Unionist	Reginald Neville	12,434	37.0	−7.6
	Labour	Bill Holmes	7,856	23.4	+4.0
Majority			915	2.6	N/A
Turnout			33,639	77.6	+2.0
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+5.6

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Norfolk East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	William Lygon	25,945	79.8	+42.8
	Labour	Bill Holmes	6,562	20.2	−3.2
Majority			19,383	59.6	+57.0
Turnout			32,507	71.7	−5.9
	National Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1935: Norfolk East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	William Lygon	23,108	68.8	−11.0
	Labour	Norman Reeve Tillett	10,461	31.2	+11.0
Majority			12,647	37.6	−22.0
Turnout			33,569	66.8	−4.9
	National Liberal hold		Swing	−11.0

1939 East Norfolk by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Frank Medlicott	18,257	62.9	−5.9
	Labour	Norman Reeve Tillett	10,785	37.1	+5.9
Majority			7,472	25.8	−11.8
Turnout			29,042	53.1	−13.7
	National Liberal hold		Swing	−5.9

General election 1939–40

Until the parliament elected in 1935 was extended, another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties made preparations for an election to take place, and by the autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

Liberal National: Frank Medlicott
Labour: Norman Reeve Tillett
Independent Conservative: James F. Wright (Secretary, Norfolk Farmers Union)

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Norfolk East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Frank Medlicott	23,307	55.8	−13.0
	Labour	Norman Reeve Tillett	18,467	44.2	+13.0
Majority			4,840	11.6	−26.0
Turnout			41,774	68.9	+2.1
	National Liberal hold		Swing	−7.1

East Norfolk
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Context of 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the north-eastern 'doubly' blue land.
County	Norfolk
1885–1950
Seats	One
Created from	North Norfolk and South Norfolk
Replaced by	North Norfolk, South Norfolk, Central Norfolk and Great Yarmouth
1832–1868
Seats	Two
Created from	Norfolk
Replaced by	North Norfolk and South Norfolk