Haverfordwest was a parliamentary constituency in Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
Contents
History
The constituency was enfranchised in 1545, as the second borough constituency in the historic county of Pembrokeshire. In the previous election of 1542, the first at which Wales is known to have sent members to the Parliament of England, this borough was one of the ancient boroughs contributing to the wages and being in some sense represented by the member for Pembroke. unlike most of the other Parliamentary districts, Haverfordwest was composed as a single member district, apparently in order to better maintain the conservative nature of the chamber.
During the eighteenth century, Haverfordwest was considered to be little more than a pocket borough for the Philipps family of Picton Castle. But unlike many "rotten boroughs", it was not disbanded in 1832.
From 1832 to 1885, it was a district of boroughs constituency, similar to those used in Scotland. It consisted of the three boroughs of Haverfordwest, Fishguard and Narberth.
The constituency was abolished for the 1885 general election, and merged into the newly created constituency of Pembroke and Haverfordwest.
Members of Parliament
Election results
Elections in the 1870s
Edwardes was appointed a Groom in Waiting, requiring a by-election.
The election was declared void on petition, causing a by-election, after a separate potential candidate, Mr Davis, had been refused his nomination by the local sheriff without a deposit for security of costs. However, in the resulting by-election, Davis did not stand and Edwardes was re-elected.
Elections in the 1880s
Edwardes was appointed Comptroller of the Household, requiring a by-election.