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Bere Alston
Double Member Borough
Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790, ed. L. Namier, J. Brooke., 1964
Available from Boydell and Brewer
Available from Boydell and Brewer
Constituency Detail
Related Resources
Background Information
Right of Election:
in burgage holders
Number of voters:
below 30
Elections
| Date | Candidate |
|---|---|
| 22 Apr. 1754 | Sir Francis Henry Drake |
| John Bristowe | |
| 31 Mar. 1761 | Sir Francis Henry Drake |
| George Hobart | |
| 18 Mar. 1768 | Sir Francis Henry Drake |
| George Hobart | |
| 29 Jan. 1771 | Francis William Drake vice Sir Francis Henry Drake, appointed to office |
| 8 Oct. 1774 | Sir Francis Henry Drake |
| George Hobart | |
| 9 Sept. 1780 | Lord Algernon Percy |
| George Macartney, Baron Macartney | |
| 2 Dec. 1780 | William Robert Feilding, Visct. Feilding, vice Percy, chose to sit for Northumberland |
| 14 Feb. 1781 | Laurence Cox vice Macartney, vacated his seat |
| 3 Apr. 1784 | Richard Wellesley, Earl of Mornington |
| William Robert Feilding, Visct. Feilding | |
| 1 Feb. 1787 | Charles Rainsford vice Mornington, appointed to office |
| 23 Dec. 1788 | John Mitford vice Rainsford, vacated his seat |
| 29 July 1789 | Mitford re-elected after appointment to office |
Main Article
The borough was shared by the Drake and Hobart families. Under proper management the number of burgages was kept down, and the creation of faggot votes was prevented. By 1754 only extreme neglect could have lost the borough to the two families. Sir Francis Henry Drake of Buckland Abbey, within three or four miles of Bere Alston, managed it for both; and when he sold his share in it to Hugh, 1st Duke of Northumberland, the Earl of Buckinghamshire did likewise. Northumberland, dying 6 June 1786, left Bere Alston to his second son, Lord Algernon Percy.
