Hedon, sometimes spelt Heydon, was a parliamentary borough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons briefly in the 13th century and again from 1547 to 1832.

History The constituency consisted of the market town of Hedon, in Holderness to the east of Hull, which had been of some importance in medieval times but which by 1831 had dwindled to 217 houses and a population of 1,080, and the borough was disfranchised in the Reform Act 1832.

The right of election in Hedon was vested in the burgesses generally, meaning that a high proportion of the male population had the vote. In 1826, when the election was contested, 331 burgesses recorded their votes. Nevertheless, the result was rarely in doubt, Hedon being a classic example of a pocket borough where the influence of the landowner or "patron" was substantial if not absolute. At first the influence seems to have been shared between two families of important local landowners, the Constables of Burton Constable and the Hildyards of Winestead. The patron at the start of the 18th century was Henry Guy; he bequeathed it to his protégé William Pulteney, who not only sat for the borough himself for much of his career but made the other seat available to his cousin and his brother. After Pulteney's death the borough passed to the distinguished admiral Lord Anson,Page 144, Lewis Namier, "The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III" (2nd edition - London: Macmillan, 1957) who used his patronage to provide seats for some of his naval colleagues;Pages 29-30, Lewis Namier, "The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III" (2nd edition - London: Macmillan, 1957) one of these, Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, inherited the patronage in turn when Anson died.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1547–1640 ParliamentFirst memberSecond member 1547 Edward Elrington Robert Googe 1553 (Mar) Sir John Constable Robert Shakerley 1553 (Oct) Sir John Constable Robert Shakerley 1554 (Apr) Hon. Sir Thomas Wharton Richard Cuthbert 1554 (Nov) John Long Richard Cuthbert 1555 George Brooke alias Cobham Richard Cuthbert 1558 Sir John Constable John Goldwell 1558/9 John Vaughan John Salveyn 1562/3 Sir John Constable Christopher Hilliard 1571 Christopher Hilliard William Paler 1572 Christopher Hilliard John Moore 1584 (Oct) Sir Henry Constable Fulke Greville 1586 (Oct) Sir Henry Constable John Hotham 1588 (Oct) John Alford Christopher Hilliard 1593 Henry Brooke alias Cobham II Christopher Hilliard 1597 (Sep) Thomas Salveyn Christopher Hilliard 1601 (Oct) Matthew Patteson Christopher Hilliard 1604 Christopher Hilliard Sir Henry Constable, replaced 1610 by John Digby 1614 Christopher Hilliard Clement Coke, sat for Clitheroe replaced by William Sheffield 1621 Sir Matthew Boynton, Bt Sir Thomas Fairfax of Walton 1624 Sir Thomas Fairfax of Walton Christopher Hilliard 1625 1626 1628 Sir Christopher Hilliard Thomas Alured 1629–1640No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1832 YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party April 1640 John Alured Parliamentarian Sir Philip Stapleton November 1640 Sir William Strickland Parliamentarian1651Alured died 1651, seat vacant thereafter1653Hedon was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the ProtectorateJanuary 1659 Thomas StricklandStrickland was also elected for Beverley, which he chose to represent. The vacancy was unfilled when the Parliament ended Colonel Matthew Alured May 1659 Sir William Strickland One seat vacant April 1660Sir John CloberryCloberry was also elected for Launceston, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Hedon Sir Hugh Bethell July 1660Henry Hildyard 1661Sir Matthew Appleyard 1670Henry Guy 1680William Boynton 1685Charles Duncombe Tory 1689Matthew Appleyard (younger) October 1695Lord SpencerSpencer was also elected for Tiverton, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Hedon Sir William TrumbullTrumbull was also elected for Oxford University, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Hedon December 1695Thomas Frankland Hugh Bethell 1698Anthony Duncombe January 1701Sir Robert Bedingfield December 1701Sir Robert Hildyard July 1702Sir Charles DuncombeSir Charles Duncombe was also elected for Downton, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Hedon in this parliament ToryHenry Guy November 1702Anthony Duncombe 1705William Pulteney Whig 1708Hugh Cholmley Whig March 1722Daniel PulteneyPulteney was also elected for Preston, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for HedonWhig November 1722Harry Pulteney Whig 1734Sir Francis Boynton George Berkeley 1739Harry Pulteney Whig 1741Francis ChuteChute and Robinson were initially declared elected at the general election, but Mountrath and Berkeley were seated in their place on petition Luke Robinson 1742The Earl of Mountrath WhigGeorge Berkeley 1744George Anson 1746Samuel GumleyGumley was initially declared elected at the by-election, but Robinson was returned on petition February 1747Luke Robinson July 1747Sir John SavileSavile was created Lord Pollington in the peerage of Ireland in 1753 1754Captain Sir Charles Saunders, RNRear Admiral from 1756Captain Peter Denis, RNCreated Sir Peter Denis, Bt., in 1767 1768Beilby Thompson 1776Hon. Lewis Watson 1780Christopher AtkinsonExpelled from the House for perjury, 1783 William Chaytor 1783Stephen LushingtonFoxite Whig 1784Lionel DarellCreated Sir Lionel Darell, Bt., in 1795 1790Beilby Thompson 1796Christopher AtkinsonCalled Christopher Atkinson Savile from October 1798 1802George JohnstoneJohnstone was re-elected at the general election of 1812, but shortly afterwards began to suffer from epileptic seizures, and never retook his seat 1806Anthony Browne 1813John BroadhurstWhig 1818Edmund Turton Robert Farrand Whig 1820John Baillie Tory 1826Thomas Hyde VilliersWhig 1830Sir Thomas Clifford-Constable, Bt ToryRobert Farrand Tory

Notes

References Michael Brock, The Great Reform Act (London: Hutchinson, 1973) D Brunton & D H Pennington, “Members of the Long Parliament” (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) J E Neale, "The Elizabethan House of Commons" (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949) J Holladay Philbin, "Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales" (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965) Henry Stooks Smith, "The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847" (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973) Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol II" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1991)