Cardiff was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Cardiff in South Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1918 general election.
Boundaries Under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, most Welsh shire towns returned one MP, including Cardiff as the shire town of Glamorgan; however, other ancient boroughs in the shire contributed to the expense of the borough MP and in return gained a share in the vote. In the case of Cardiff, the relevant "contributory boroughs" were Llantrisant and Cowbridge, and until 1832 also Swansea, Loughor, Neath, Aberavon, and Kenfig. Elections were often held at Bridgend, which was not a contributory borough but was conveniently central in Glamorgan. The Reform Act 1832 separated the contributory boroughs other than Llantrisant and Cowbridge into the new Swansea District of Boroughs. As proposed in 1830, the reform bill would have added Llandaff, Aberdare, and Merthyr Tydfil as Cardiff contributory boroughs, but in the event Merthyr and Aberdare became a separate borough while Llandaff remained part of Glamorgan county constituency, which gained a second seat. The Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 extended the boundary of the Cardiff District of Boroughs constituency to include those parts of the Cardiff parishes of St Mary's and St. John outside the old borough boundary. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 extended the parliamentary boundary to Cardiff's enlarged municipal borough boundary.Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Schedule 5
Members of Parliament
MPs 1542–1645 ParliamentMember 1542 John Bassett 1545 Unknown 1547 John Cock, sat for Calne, repl. by Sir Philip Hoby 1553 (Mar) ?David Evans 1553 (Oct)David Evans 1554 (Apr) David Evans 1554 (Nov) William Colchester 1555 William Herbert 1558 Lleisan Pryce 1559 David Evans 1562–3 Henry Lewes 1571 Henry Morgan 1572 David Roberts 1584 Nicholas Herbert 1586 George Lewis 1588 Gabriel Lewys 1593 David Roberts 1597 Nicholas Hawkins 1601 William Lewis 1604 Matthew Davies 1614 Matthew Davies 1621 William Herbert 1624 William Price 1625 William Price 1626 William Price 1628 Lewis Morgan 1629–1640 No Parliaments summoned 1640 William Herbert killed at Battle of Edgehill 1642 1642–1645 Not represented
MPs 1645–1832 YearMemberParty 1645 Algernon Sidney 1653 Not represented in Barebones Parliament 1654 John Price 1656 1659 1660 Bussy Mansell Double return, Herbert Evans disallowed 1661 Sir Richard Lloyd Elected to sit for Radnorshire 1661 William Bassett Election voided by Parliament on petition 1661 Robert Thomas 1679 Feb Robert Thomas 1679 Sep Robert Thomas 1681 Bussy Mansell 1685 Francis Gwyn 1689 Thomas Mansel Tory 1698 Sir Edward Stradling, Bt 1701 Thomas Mansel 1706 Sir John Aubrey, Bt 1710 Sir Edward Stradling, Bt 1722 Edward Stradling 1727 Bussy Mansel Tory 1734 Herbert Windsor 1739 Herbert Mackworth 1741 Herbert Mackworth 1747 Herbert Mackworth 1754 Herbert Mackworth 1761 Herbert Mackworth 1766 Herbert Mackworth 1768 Herbert Mackworth 1774 Herbert Mackworth 1780 Sir Herbert Mackworth 1784 Sir Herbert Mackworth 1790 Lord Mount Stuart Tory 1794 Lord Evelyn Stuart Tory 1802 Lord William Stuart Tory 1814 Lord Evelyn Stuart Tory 1818 Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart 1820 Wyndham Lewis Tory 1826 Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart Whig1832 Franchise extended under Reform Act 1832
MPs 1832–1918 ElectionMemberParty 1832 John Iltyd Nicholl Conservative 1852 Walter Coffin Radical 1857 James Crichton-Stuart Whig 1859 Liberal 1880 Sir Edward Reed Liberal 1895 James Mackenzie Maclean Unionist 1900 Sir Edward Reed Liberal 1904 Liberal Unionist 1906 Ivor Guest Liberal 1910 (Jan) D. A. Thomas Liberal 1910 (Dec) Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart Unionist 1915 by-election Sir James Cory, 1st Baronet Conservative1918 constituency abolished: see Cardiff Central, Cardiff East and Cardiff South
Election results Elections in the 1830s
Nicholl was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1840s
Nicholl was appointed Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Elections in the 1860s
Elections in the 1870s
Elections in the 1880s
Reed was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
References
W R Williams The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales
Bibliography