July
1747
Worcester
Contested
GENERAL ELECTION
Poll book data from:
Citation: An alphabetical copy of the poll… (n.p., 1747)
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.
Date: Wednesday 1 July 1747.
Poll book reference: An alphabetical copy of the poll... (n.p., 1747).
Candidates: Thomas Vernon (Whig), Thomas Geers Winford (Tory), and Robert Tracy (Whig).
Thomas Vernon of Hanbury Hall was a returning candidate, having been elected to fill Winnington's seat on his death in 1746.
Thomas Geers Winford was the grandson of a lawyer who was elected as MP for Hereford for two decades before setting his sights on Worcester. Geers Winford served as the town clerk from 1745 onwards, and was supported in the 1747 election by the corporation, which made over 100 honorary freemen to secure his election.
Robert Tracy of Stanway came from a Gloucestershire family. Tracy served as MP for Tewkesbury from 1734 to 1741, before standing for Worcester in 1747. During the campaign, Tracy was vilified by his opponents and the townspeople who had accused him of rape. He issued a denial via broadsheet to deny these accusations.
The election returned Vernon and Geers Winford as MPs for the borough. The result was petitioned by Tracy, on the basis that the votes of the newly created honorary freemen were invalid. As a supporter of the Whig government, Tracy's petition was upheld, striking these votes from the poll and returning Tracy as MP for Worcester in 1748.
Cultural Artefacts
Poll Book
Below is a digitised version of the poll book for this election:
