May
1741
Newcastle upon Tyne
Contested
GENERAL ELECTION
Poll book data from:
Citation: The poll at the election… (Newcastle: J. White, 1741)
Source: John Sims (ed.), A Handlist of British Parliamentary Poll Books (Leicester, 1984); Jeremy Gibson and Colin Rogers (eds.), Poll Books, 1696–1872: A Directory of Holdings in Great Britain (4th edn., Bury, 2008); L. W. L. Edwards (ed.), Catalogue of Directories and Poll Books in the Possession of the Society of Genealogists (4th edn., 1984).
Timeline & Key Statistics
Contexts & Remarks
Some uncertain/illegible sections.
Dates: Wednesday 13 May-Tuesday 19 May 1741.
Poll book reference: The poll at the election... (Newcastle: J. White, 1741).
Candidates: Walter Calverley Blackett (Tory); Nicholas Fenwick (Tory): Matthew Ridley (??); and William Carr (Tory).
Walter Blackett had been elected for Newcastle in 1734. He was the son of Sir Walter Calverley, a rebel who had fled the country after having been involved in the 1715 Jacobite uprising. Blackett was described in 1741 as being 'at the height of his popularity ... styled the patriot, the opposer of the court, and the father of the poor'.
Nicholas Fenwick, the grandson of the governor of the Merchant Adventurers, had been elected for Newcastle in 1727. He consistently voted against the government, and was commended by Newcastle society for opposing the Excise Bill.
From 1739, Matthew Ridley was the governor of the company of Merchant Adventurers, and had served as the mayor in 1733. He was a leader of Newcastle society, a barrister who was heavily involved in coal mining, glassworks, brewing.
William Carr was a member of Newcastle's companies of Merchant Adventurers and Hostmen. He had previously served as MP for Newcastle in 1722, before being voted out in 1727.
Blackett and Fenwick were once more returned together for the borough.
Cultural Artefacts
Poll Book
Below is a digitised version of the poll book for this election:
