May

1831

Northampton

2411 voters

Contested

GENERAL ELECTION

In the general election of May 1831, 2411 people voted. There were 4 candidates, with Robert Vernon Smith & George Robinson elected.

Poll book data from:
Citation: The poll at the election… (Northampton: Frs. Cordeux, 1831)
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

Dates: Monday 2 May - Wednesday 4 May 1831

Poll book reference: The poll at the election... (Northampton: Frs. Cordeux, 1831)

Candidates: Sir George Robinson (Independent Whig), Robert Vernon Smith (Whig), Sir Robert Henry Gunning (Tory), and James Lyon (Tory).

Sir George Robinson of Cranford owned property in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, and Middlesex. He was the son of a Whig MP for Northampton who sat for the constituency from 1774 to 1780. Robinson supported Catholic emancipation and parliamentary reform. He ran in the harness with Robert Vernon Smith.

Sir Robert Henry Gunning of Horton came from a family of career diplomats and MPs. He ran in the harness with James Lyon, an army captain, both advocating an anti-reform platform.

The election returned Robinson and Smith. Gunning demanded a scrutiny 'on the grounds that a great fraud must have taken place by polling persons with no connection with the town'. The scrutiny took place from 16 to 30 May 1831, rejecting 187 votes. However, the scrutiny did not alter the result of the election, and the chairing of the Whig MPs took place on 31 May.

Cultural Artefacts
Poll Book

Below is a digitised version of the poll book for this election:

Features related to this Election