PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION.
Tewkesbury became a parliamentary borough by its
charter of 1610, (fn. 1) and returned two members of
parliament from then until 1868. In 1868 the
borough's representation was reduced to one
member, and in 1885 the borough was merged for
parliamentary purposes in the Tewkesbury division
of the county. (fn. 2) The extent of the franchise was not
clear in the 17th century: (fn. 3) in 1640 there was a
double return to what became the Long Parliament,
and the whole election was declared void. The next
year the bailiffs made one return and the inhabitants
another, Sir Robert Cook being named in both, and
in 1643 the House of Commons upheld the return
made by the inhabitants. (fn. 4) No member for Tewkesbury was summoned in 1653, and only one in 1654
and 1656. (fn. 5) James II's charter of 1686 gave the
right of electing to the borough corporation, (fn. 6) but in
1695, and presumably in 1689 and 1692, there was a
wider franchise. (fn. 7) In 1792, with the bailiffs as
returning officers, it was said that the right of
election was in the magistrates and the inhabitants
paying scot and lot, and that the parliamentary
voters numbered c. 5,000. (fn. 8) In 1796, however, the
House of Commons ruled that the right of election
was not in the householders generally, as was claimed
by the unsuccessful petitioners of whom one was
Sir Philip Francis, reputed author of the letters of
'Junius', but in the freemen at large and the freeholders of an entire dwelling within the borough. (fn. 9)
In 1831 there were thought to be c. 550 parliamentary voters; the Reform Act reduced the number
to 386 in 1832. (fn. 10) There were 407 voters in 1847. (fn. 11)
With few exceptions the M.P.s for the borough
were connected with families owning large estates
not very distant from Tewkesbury. (fn. 12) In the first
parliament in which Tewkesbury was represented
Sir Dudley Digges's colleague was Edward Ferrers
of Fiddington, brother of William Ferrers (fn. 13) after
whom was called the grammar school at Tewkesbury
to which Digges had also been a benefactor. (fn. 14)
Digges's later colleagues included Baptist Hicks,
afterwards Viscount Campden, who had an estate in
Tewkesbury and was succeeded as M.P. for the
borough by his nephew, Sir William Hicks, in 1628
and by his daughter's stepson, Anthony Ashley
Cooper, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury, and the
daughter's third husband, Sir Edward Alford, who
together represented the borough in the Short
Parliament. The daughter's grandson, Henry Capell,
afterwards Lord Capell of Tewkesbury, to whom
Lord Campden's estate in Tewkesbury passed, sat
for the borough from 1660. (fn. 15) His colleague was
Richard Dowdeswell, the first of nine members of
the Dowdeswell family of Pull Court to sit for the
borough between 1660 and 1865, (fn. 16) including William
Dowdeswell (1721–75), Chancellor of the Exchequer, and two of his sons. (fn. 17) Borough M.P.s in
the 18th century included Nicholas Lechmere
(1675–1727), attorney general and afterwards Lord
Lechmere, (fn. 18) John Martin, the first of eight members
of his family to represent the borough between 1741
and 1885, (fn. 19) and Thomas, Viscount Gage, who in
1753, as sitting member, tried to prevent an arrangement whereby election was offered to candidates
who would subscribe generously towards the cost of
road-making and was defeated in 1754 by Nicolson
Calvert and John Martin (son of the M.P. of 1741)
who gave £1,500 and £2,000 respectively towards the
roads. (fn. 20) It appears to be true, as stated in 1792, that
the borough was not under the immediate influence
of any individual. 'Its independence is evinced by the
honour it derives from so exemplary a representative
as Mr. James Martin, whose integrity has manifested
that rigid virtue which so deservedly ennobled the
Grecian and Roman character.' (fn. 21)
From 1690 until 1790 all the M.P.s elected for
Tewkesbury were described as Whigs. Thereafter
the representation was usually divided between the
two main parties. (fn. 22) In 1835 party feeling became
strong in the town and entered even into the election
of churchwardens. (fn. 23) In 1847, after an abortive
attempt to avoid the disturbances of a contested
election, (fn. 24) two Liberals were elected after the one
Conservative candidate had withdrawn on the day
before the election; a Chartist candidate who had
started to campaign withdrew before nomination. (fn. 25)