King's Lynn was a constituency in Norfolk which was represented continuously in the House of Commons of England from 1298 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

History

The Parliamentary Borough of King's Lynn, which was known as Lynn or Bishop's Lynn prior to 1537, returned two Members of Parliament until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. It was abolished as a Borough under the Representation of the People Act 1918 and was reconstituted as a Division of the Parliamentary County of Norfolk (from 1950, a County Constituency), absorbing the bulk of the abolished North Western Division. It was abolished for the February 1974 general election, being replaced by the re-established constituency of North West Norfolk.

Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister, was an MP for the constituency for almost the entirety of his parliamentary career, from 1702 to 1742.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1885–1918

• The existing parliamentary borough, and so much of the municipal borough of King's Lynn as was not already included in the parliamentary borough.^[1]

1918–1950

• The Borough of King's Lynn;
• The Urban Districts of New Hunstanton and Walsoken;
• The Rural Districts of Docking, Freebridge Lynn, King's Lynn, and Marshland (except the parishes of Outwell and Upwell); and
• The Rural District of Downham parishes of Wiggenhall St Germans, Wiggenhall St Mary the Virgin, Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen, and Wiggenhall St Peter.^[2]

1950–1974

• The Municipal Borough of King's Lynn;
• The Urban District of New Hunstanton; and
• The Rural Districts of Docking, Freebridge Lynn, and Marshland.^[3]

Minor changes to the boundary with South West Norfolk to align with boundaries of local authorities, which had been rationalised.  Also marginal changes to county boundaries with Isle of Ely and Parts of Holland.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William ffolkes	1,286	26.3	+2.2
	Conservative	Robert Bourke	1,257	25.7	−2.3
	Conservative	Claud Hamilton	1,192	24.4	−1.9
	Liberal	Frank Lockwood	1,151	23.6	+2.0
Turnout			2,443 (est)	87.9 (est)	+3.2
Registered electors			2,779
Majority			84	1.9	N/A
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.1
Majority			106	2.1	−0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.2

• representation reduced to one member

Sir William ffolkes

General election 1885: King's Lynn^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Bourke	1,472	53.1	+3.0
	Liberal	William ffolkes	1,302	46.9	−3.0
Majority			170	6.2	+4.1
Turnout			2,774	89.7	+1.8 (est)
Registered electors			3,094
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.0

General election 1886: King's Lynn^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Bourke	1,417	55.3	+2.2
	Liberal	John Briscoe	1,146	44.7	−2.2
Majority			271	10.6	+4.4
Turnout			2,563	82.8	−6.9
Registered electors			3,094
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.2

Bourke's resignation on appointment as Governor of Madras caused a by-election.

By-election, 25 Aug 1886: King's Lynn^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Weston Jarvis	1,423	54.9	−0.4
	Liberal	James Harris Sanders[26]	1,168	45.1	+0.4
Majority			255	9.8	−0.8
Turnout			2,591	83.7	+0.9
Registered electors			3,094
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.4

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: King's Lynn ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,319	50.2	−5.1
	Liberal	Thomas R. Kemp	1,308	49.8	+5.1
Majority			11	0.4	−10.2
Turnout			2,627	88.5	+5.7
Registered electors			2,970
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.1

Beaumont

General election 1895: King's Lynn ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,395	51.3	+1.1
	Liberal	Hubert Beaumont	1,326	48.7	−1.1
Majority			69	2.6	+2.2
Turnout			2,721	91.3	+2.8
Registered electors			2,979
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.1

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: King's Lynn ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,499	52.9	+1.6
	Liberal	Handel Booth	1,332	47.1	−1.6
Majority			167	5.8	+3.2
Turnout			2,831	88.2	−3.1
Registered electors			3,209
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6

C. W. Bellairs

General election 1906: King's Lynn ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Carlyon Bellairs	1,506	43.8	−3.3
	Ind. Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,164	33.8	New
	Conservative	Alan Burgoyne	772	22.4	−30.5
Majority			342	10.0	N/A
Turnout			3,442	93.2	+5.0
Registered electors			3,692
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.6

References

Sources

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
• The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)