Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Bridgnorth was won by Conservative at the 1880 general election, with a majority of 320 votes over Liberal. This page covers every general election in Bridgnorth from 1832 to 1880.
This constituency elected more than one MP at once in some years. Before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (and in a shrinking number of boroughs through 1948), most UK constituencies elected two or more MPs together by "multi-member plurality" (block vote): each elector could cast one vote per available seat, and the top vote-getters overall were all elected. In those elections below, "Elected" lists every MP returned, "Votes" is the count that secured the last seat, and "Majority" is the gap between that seat and the first candidate who missed out.
Full Election History, 1832–1880
Election
Elected
Votes
Vote Share
Runner-up
Majority
Turnout
1832
Robert Pigot (Conservative); Thomas Charlton Whitmore (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1835
Thomas Charlton Whitmore (Conservative); Robert Pigot (Conservative)
423
38.7% (top seat)
Henry Hanbury-Tracy (Whig)
70 (5.5 pts)
80.0%
1837
Thomas Charlton Whitmore (Conservative); Henry Hanbury-Tracy (Whig)
371
36.8% (top seat)
Robert Pigot (Conservative)
4 (0.3 pts)
73.9%
1841
Thomas Charlton Whitmore (Conservative); Robert Pigot (Conservative)
475
39.3% (top seat)
Frederick John Howard (Whig)
250 (19.8 pts)
77.9%
1847
Thomas Charlton Whitmore (Conservative); Robert Pigot (Conservative)
388
44.7% (top seat)
John Easthope (Radical)
20 (1.5 pts)
81.6%
1852
Henry Whitmore (Conservative); Robert Pigot (Conservative)
360
40.8% (top seat)
Frederick William Cadogan (Whig)
77 (7.1 pts)
75.7%
1857
Henry Whitmore (Conservative); John Pritchard (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1859
Henry Whitmore (Conservative); John Pritchard (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
John Pritchard (Conservative); John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton (Liberal)
289
34.1% (top seat)
Henry Whitmore (Conservative)
1 (0.1 pts)
71.3%
1868
Henry Whitmore (Conservative)
548
52.4%
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton (Liberal)
51 (4.9 pts)
81.7%
1874
William Henry Foster (Liberal)
701
71.8%
George Barbour (Conservative)
426 (43.6 pts)
77.0%
1880
William Henry Foster (Conservative)
641
66.6%
Edward Reid Vyvyan (Liberal)
320 (33.3 pts)
78.6%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Pigot
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Thomas Charlton Whitmore
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Charlton Whitmore
Conservative
490
38.7%
Yes
Robert Pigot
Conservative
423
33.4%
Yes
Henry Hanbury-Tracy
Whig
353
27.9%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Charlton Whitmore
Conservative
429
36.8%
Yes
Henry Hanbury-Tracy
Whig
371
31.8%
Yes
Robert Pigot
Conservative
367
31.4%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Charlton Whitmore
Conservative
496
39.3%
Yes
Robert Pigot
Conservative
475
37.6%
Yes
Frederick John Howard
Whig
225
17.8%
No
Nicholas Throckmorton
Whig
66
5.2%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Charlton Whitmore
Conservative
611
44.7%
Yes
Robert Pigot
Conservative
388
28.4%
Yes
John Easthope
Radical
368
26.9%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Whitmore
Conservative
443
40.8%
Yes
Robert Pigot
Conservative
360
33.1%
Yes
Frederick William Cadogan
Whig
283
26.1%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Whitmore
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Pritchard
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Whitmore
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Pritchard
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Pritchard
Conservative
299
34.1%
Yes
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
Liberal
289
33.0%
Yes
Henry Whitmore
Conservative
288
32.9%
No
1868
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Whitmore
Conservative
548
52.4%
Yes
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
Liberal
497
47.6%
No
1874
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Henry Foster
Liberal
701
71.8%
Yes
George Barbour
Conservative
275
28.2%
No
1880
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Henry Foster
Conservative
641
66.6%
Yes
Edward Reid Vyvyan
Liberal
321
33.4%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Bridgnorth has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Whig, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Bridgnorth in the 1880 general election?
Conservative won Bridgnorth in 1880 with 641 votes (66.6%), a majority of 320 votes over Liberal in second place.
Which parties have won Bridgnorth since 1832?
Since 1832, Bridgnorth has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Whig.
What was the closest result in Bridgnorth?
The closest result on record for Bridgnorth was 1865, when Conservative beat Conservative by just 1 votes (0.1 percentage points).
Did Bridgnorth ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Bridgnorth elected multiple MPs at once in some elections on this page (a system called multi-member plurality, or 'block vote'), each voter casting one vote per available seat.