The borough of Kidderminster returned two members to Parliamentin 1295, Walter Caldrigan and William Lihtfot, but not to any subsequent one.[2][3] From 1295 to 1832 Kidderminster had no separate representation from Worcestershire.
The Reform Act 1832 enfranchised Kidderminster as a parliamentary borough. The constituency comprised the township of Kidderminster Borough and part of the township of Kidderminster Foreign.[2] The Parliamentary Boundaries Act of the same year set out the boundaries in detail:
From the Point at or near Proud Cross at which the Boundary of the old Borough meets the Broomfield Road, along the Boundary of the old Borough, to the Point at which the Abberley Road meets the Black Brook; thence, Westward, along the Abberley Road to the first Point at which the same is met by a Hedge running due South therefrom; thence along the said Hedge to its Southern Extremity near a Stone Quarry; thence in a straight Line to the said Stone Quarry; thence in a straight Line to the First Mile Stone on the Bewdley Road; thence, Westward, along the Bewdley Road to the Point at which the same is joined by a Footpath leading to the Stourport Road; thence along the said Footpath to the Point at which the same meets the Boundary of the old Borough; thence, Southward, along the Boundary of the old Borough to the Point at which the same meets the South-eastern Fence of a Wood called "The Copse," situated on the Eastern Bank of the River Stour; thence along the said Fence to the Point at which the same meets Hoo Lane; thence across Hoo Lane, over a Stile called "Gallows Stile," along a Footpath leading from the said Stile to the Lane from Hoo Brook to Comberton Hill, to the Point at which the last-mentioned Footpath meets the Lane from Hoo-Brook to Comberton Hill; thence, Northward, along the Lane from Hoo-Brook to Comberton Hill to the Point at which the same meets the Boundary of the old Borough; thence, Northward, along the Boundary of the old Borough to the Point first described.[4]
1868–1918edit
The Representation of the People Act 1867 (also known as the Second Reform Act) redrew parliamentary constituencies. The consequential Boundary Act of the following year extended the boundaries of the parliamentary borough. Three areas of the parish of Kidderminster and part of the parish of Wolverley were added.[5]
1918–1950edit
The next change in constituency boundaries was carried out under the Representation of the People Act 1918. The parliamentary borough was abolished and a new Kidderminster constituency was created as a division of the parliamentary county of Worcestershire. It consisted of a wide area of northern Worcestershire, comprising the following local government districts:[2][6]
The Representation of the People Act 1948 redrew constituencies throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland: the revised boundaries were first used at the 1950 general election. The 1948 legislation also introduced the terms "borough constituency" and "county constituency".[2] The Bromsgrove and Redditch areas were formed into a separate Bromsgrove constituency, while the new Kidderminster County Constituency, now took much of north west Worcestershire. It was defined as follows:[7]
The rural districts of Kidderminster, Martley and Tenbury
The boundaries were not altered at the next redistribution in 1970 and the seat remained unchanged until the 1983 general election, when constituencies were realigned to the administrative geography introduced in 1974. A new seat of Wyre Forest was formed centred on Kidderminster.[8]
Note A:^ Grant was granted the title of baron in the Italian nobility by Victor Emmanuel II in 1868, and styled himself "Baron Albert Grant" thereafter. His election in 1874 was overturned on petition.[20]
Immediately following the election, upon discovering his election agent had been reported for bribery at a previous election, Brinton resigned to seek re-election at a by-election.
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;
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
^ abcd"'Kidderminster', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
^ abcdYoungs, Frederic A Jr. (1991). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.2: Northern England. London: Royal Historical Society. p. 845. ISBN 0-86193-127-0.
^ abcWilliams, William Retlaw (1897). The parliamentary history of the county of Worcester: including the city of Worcester, and the boroughs of Bewdley, Droitwich, Dudley, Evesham, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove and Pershore, from the earliest times to the present day, 1213-1897, with biographical and genealogical notices of the members. Hereford: Privately published for the author. pp. 185–190. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 c.64, Schedule O
^The Public General Acts 1868. London: HMSO. 1868. p. 165. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^Representation of the People Act 1918, Ninth Schedule: Redistribution of Seats
^Representation of the People Act 1948 c.65, First Schedule, Parliamentary Constituencies
^The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983 (S.I. 1983/417)
^ abcdefgStooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 133. Retrieved 11 November 2018 – via Google Books.
^Hall, Catherine; Draper, Nicholas; McClelland, Keith; Donington, Katie; Lang, Rachel (2014). "Appendix 4: MPs 1832-80 in the compensation records". Legacies of British Slave-ownership: Colonial Slavery and the Formation of Victorian Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 291. ISBN 978-1-107-04005-2. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
^"Richard Godson". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
^"The Elections". Worcestershire Chronicle. 4 August 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 14 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^Groom, Richard (2010). "The Conduct of Parliamentary Elections in Kidderminster 1832-1880" (PDF). Worcester Research and Publications. University of Worcester. p. 151. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
^"Kidderminster Election". Cambridge Independent Press. 1 September 1849. p. 3. Retrieved 14 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^Callaghan, Peter; Gillin, Edward (2016). Edexcel A Level History, Paper 3: Protest, agitation and parliamentary reform c1780–1928 Student Book + ActiveBook (Edexcel GCE History 2015)(PDF). Pearson Education. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-4479-8542-6. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
^Ingham, Christopher John (December 2006). "Liberalism Against Democracy: A study of the life, thought and work of Robert Lowe, to 1867" (PDF). White Rose eTheses Online. The University of Leeds. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
^Lang, Sean (1999). "Disraeli and the Second Reform Act". Parliamentary Reform 1785–1928. London: Routledge. p. 62. ISBN 0-203-98094-8. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
^Thomas Seccombe, rev. Michael Reed (2004). "Grant, Albert , Baron Grant in the Italian nobility (1831–1899)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/11241. Retrieved 17 December 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ abcdefghijklmnopqCraig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^"District News". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 3 July 1841. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 11 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Hereford Journal". 5 September 1849. p. 3. Retrieved 11 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Election Riot at Kidderminster". Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper. 5 April 1857. p. 5. Retrieved 14 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Election for the Borough of Kidderminster". Worcestershire Chronicle. 28 May 1862. p. 2. Retrieved 19 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"To the Electors of the Borough of Kidderminster". Worcestershire Chronicle. 15 July 1868. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 19 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Kidderminster". County Express; Brierley Hill, Stourbridge, Kidderminster, and Dudley News. 17 October 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 2 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1974". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results October 1974". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
^Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1979". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
Sourcesedit
Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 1)