PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION.
Calne borough chose two members of the parliament which met in 1295 and of two later
parliaments which met in Edward I's reign; it
chose none in the period 1298-1302 when three
parliaments met, and one member in 1306. The
borough chose two members in 1307 and was
not represented again until 1361, when it again
chose two members. It chose two members
both in 1362 and 1378, and between 1378 and
1425 is known to have been represented, each
time by two members, at about half the parliaments held. From 1425 to 1832 the borough
sent two members to nearly all parliaments. (fn. 14)
The bailiff of the lord of Calne manor was the
returning officer in the 13th and 14th centuries,
and probably directed elections in the 15th century. In the 16th century and later the precept
for the election of members was sent by the
sheriff to the two guild stewards, who supervised elections. (fn. 15)
From the 16th century, and probably from
the 13th, only the burgesses, including the
stewards, had the right to choose members of
parliament. In 1565 there were 17 burgesses, (fn. 16)
and between then and 1685 usually no more
than c. 20. New burgesses were chosen by the
existing ones. In 1685 one charter restricted the
number of burgesses to 13, including the steward, and a second increased it to 31, including
the steward, and gave a majority to gentlemen
living outside the town; an election was held in
1685 on the franchise imposed by the second
charter. Despite the charters, in 1685 the court
at Ogbourne St. George admitted 25 new burgesses, presumably residents of the town who
opposed the Crown's attempt to control elections in the borough, but a challenge to the
result of the election in that year failed. From
1689 the franchise was apparently exercised by
the burgesses as it had been until 1685, (fn. 17) and
between 1691 and 1724 a renewed attempt to
increase the number eligible to vote came from
within the town. The court at Ogbourne St.
George began to admit as burgesses, besides
those chosen by the burgesses themselves, all
who used the borough's common pastures at
Calne and presented themselves at the court to
be sworn; c. 60 burgesses voted at parliamentary elections in 1715 and 1722, both of which
were contested. In 1724 the House of Commons restricted the right to vote to burgesses
chosen by the old method, and from then to
1830 there were usually 25 or fewer voters. (fn. 18)
Inhabitants of the town again tried to increase
the number eligible to vote by proposing candidates at an election in 1830, giving them a
majority of the votes cast, and contesting the
return of the candidates voted for by the burgesses; their attempt failed. (fn. 19)
The M.P.s for Calne in 1295, and most of
those elected in the late 14th century and early
15th, apparently lived in or near the town or
were members of locally prominent families. (fn. 20)
In the 16th and 17th centuries most of those
who sat for the borough were apparently either
prosperous inhabitants or local landowners and
their nominees. (fn. 21) The first group included
clothiers. William Allen, who attended six parliaments between 1553 and 1572, was a clothier
and until 1552 the lord of Blackland manor, (fn. 22)
and William Swaddon, who was elected in
1603, was a member of a local family of clothiers. (fn. 23) Local landowners who were M.P.s
included Sir John Mervyn, the lord of
Compton Bassett manor, who was elected in
1554, (fn. 24) and Walter Norborne, elected in 1640,
and his son Walter, elected in 1679 and 1681,
each of whom was lord of Hilmarton manor. (fn. 25)
From the mid 16th century both the lord of
Calne manor and the lessee of the Prebendal
estate and members of their families stood for
election. Sir Lionel Duckett bought Calne
manor in 1572, between then and 1685 Ducketts
were successful at eight elections, and Thomas
Edwards, who held the manor in his wife's
right, was elected in 1593 and 1597. (fn. 26) Members
of the Lowe family were lessees of the Prebendal estate, and Lowes were successful at seven
elections between 1597 and 1661. (fn. 27) Occasionally
men apparently without strong local connexion
were elected: they included John Pym, who was
elected in 1614, 1621, and 1624. (fn. 28) Between 1685
and 1724, the period in which the franchise was
altered and challenged, the borough continued
to elect the same classes of men. (fn. 29) Henry
Chivers (d. 1720), elected five times between
1689 and 1702, was of a family of Calne clothiers and owned land in the parish, (fn. 30) Henry
Blake (d. 1731), elected thrice between 1695
and 1701, held Pinhills estate, (fn. 31) and George
Hungerford (d. 1697), elected in 1695, and
Walter Hungerford (d. 1754), elected in 1701,
1734, and 1741, were the sons of Sir George
Hungerford, whom Walter succeeded as lord of
Studley manor. (fn. 32) George Duckett was elected
thrice between 1705 and 1722, (fn. 33) and other
members included Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Bt.,
elected in 1715, the lessee and later the owner
of Bowood park. (fn. 34) The results of elections were
disputed in 1701 and 1710. (fn. 35) William Petty, earl
of Shelburne, bought Calne manor in 1763 and
the lease of the Prebendal estate in 1765, and
from then to 1832 he and his successors as owners
of Bowood House had a controlling influence
over parliamentary elections at Calne. (fn. 36) Apart
from that in 1830 (fn. 37) elections were uncontested,
and few M.P.s had local connexions. Those
elected included, in 1768, 1774, and 1780, John
Dunning, solicitor-general 1768-70 and a prominent opponent of government policy towards
the American colonies, (fn. 38) and, twice in 1830, the
historian T. B. Macaulay. (fn. 39) In 1831 the guild
stewards of Calne petitioned for parliamentary
reform. (fn. 40)
Under the Reform Act of 1832 the borough
lost one seat and the franchise was extended
from the burgesses to all parishioners of Calne
qualified to vote. (fn. 41) The influence of successive
marquesses of Lansdowne, the owners of Bowood House, remained strong, and members of
their family were M.P.s for Calne 1833-6,
1837-56, and 1868-85. (fn. 42) The last was Edmond
Petty-Fitzmaurice (cr. Baron Fitzmaurice 1906,
d. 1935), a radical who was chairman of
Wiltshire county council 1896-1906. (fn. 43) Calne
lost its remaining seat in 1885, when it became
part of the Chippenham division of the
county. (fn. 44)