Aug
1727
northampton
Contested
GENERAL ELECTION
Poll book data from:
Citation: An account of the poll… (London, 1727)
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).
Timeline & Key Statistics
Contexts & Remarks
Dates: Monday 18 Aug. 1727
Poll book reference: An account of the poll... (London, 1727)
Candidates: George Compton (Tory), Edward Montagu (Whig), and William Wilmer (Whig).
Both Edward Montagu and William Wilmer were returning candidates, having served as MP for Northampton since 1722 and 1715 respectively. Wilmer's previous campaigns had been supported by Lord Halifax, a member of the Montagu family of Horton. Edward Montagu was the earl of Halifax's younger brother.
George Compton was connected to the other powerful family in the area at the time, the Comptons of Castle Ashby (earls of Northampton), brought to represent the constituency by his elder brother, the 5th earl of Northampton.
During the 1727 election, the earls of Northampton and Halifax agreed to divide the seats between their families to avoid the expense of contested elections. However, Wilmer standing for the constituency interfered with these plans, though he was defeated by Compton and Montagu in the final poll.
Poll Book
Below is a digitised version of the poll book for this election:
