Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Bridport was won by Conservative at the 1880 general election, with a majority of 9 votes over Liberal. This page covers every general election in Bridport 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
Henry Warburton (Radical); John Romilly (Whig)
219
40.3% (top seat)
Richard William Astell (Conservative)
37 (5.5 pts)
79.1%
1835
Henry Warburton (Radical); Horace Twiss (Conservative)
207
37.5% (top seat)
John Romilly (Whig)
8 (1.2 pts)
77.4%
1837
Henry Warburton (Radical); Swynfen Jervis (Radical)
232
38.9% (top seat)
Henry James Baillie (Conservative)
20 (2.8 pts)
72.0%
1841
Henry Warburton (Radical); Thomas Alexander Mitchell (Radical)
282
36.6% (top seat)
Alexander Dundas Ross Cochrane-Wishart-Baillie (Conservative)
38 (4.6 pts)
74.5%
1847
Alexander Dundas Ross Cochrane-Wishart-Baillie (Conservative); Thomas Alexander Mitchell (Radical)
267
35.6% (top seat)
Edward Richard Petre (Whig)
45 (5.8 pts)
58.5%
1852
Thomas Alexander Mitchell (Radical); John Patrick Murrough (Radical)
249
45.4% (top seat)
John Rolt (Conservative)
58 (7.2 pts)
76.9%
1857
Thomas Alexander Mitchell (Radical); Kirkman Daniel Hodgson (Whig)
290
45.3% (top seat)
William Unwin Heygate (Conservative)
181 (24.8 pts)
76.3%
1859
Thomas Alexander Mitchell (Liberal); Kirkman Daniel Hodgson (Liberal)
290
42.1% (top seat)
Henry Hyde Nugent Bankes (Conservative)
120 (15.1 pts)
79.2%
1865
Thomas Alexander Mitchell (Liberal); Kirkman Daniel Hodgson (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
Thomas Alexander Mitchell (Liberal)
0
0.0%
None (None)
None (None pts)
9.7%
1874
Thomas Alexander Mitchell (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1880
Charles Nicholas Warton (Conservative)
468
50.5%
Pandeli Ralli (Liberal)
9 (1.0 pts)
85.4%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Warburton
Radical
271
40.3%
Yes
John Romilly
Whig
219
32.6%
Yes
Richard William Astell
Conservative
182
27.1%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Warburton
Radical
244
37.5%
Yes
Horace Twiss
Conservative
207
31.8%
Yes
John Romilly
Whig
199
30.6%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Warburton
Radical
283
38.9%
Yes
Swynfen Jervis
Radical
232
31.9%
Yes
Henry James Baillie
Conservative
212
29.2%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Warburton
Radical
304
36.6%
Yes
Thomas Alexander Mitchell
Radical
282
34.0%
Yes
Alexander Dundas Ross Cochrane-Wishart-Baillie
Conservative
244
29.4%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Alexander Dundas Ross Cochrane-Wishart-Baillie
Conservative
276
35.6%
Yes
Thomas Alexander Mitchell
Radical
267
34.4%
Yes
Edward Richard Petre
Whig
222
28.6%
No
Robert Montgomery Martin
Conservative
11
1.4%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Alexander Mitchell
Radical
366
45.4%
Yes
John Patrick Murrough
Radical
249
30.9%
Yes
John Rolt
Conservative
191
23.7%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Alexander Mitchell
Radical
330
45.3%
Yes
Kirkman Daniel Hodgson
Whig
290
39.8%
Yes
William Unwin Heygate
Conservative
109
15.0%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Alexander Mitchell
Liberal
334
42.1%
Yes
Kirkman Daniel Hodgson
Liberal
290
36.5%
Yes
Henry Hyde Nugent Bankes
Conservative
170
21.4%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Alexander Mitchell
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Kirkman Daniel Hodgson
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1868
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Alexander Mitchell
Liberal
0
0.0%
Yes
1874
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Alexander Mitchell
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1880
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Nicholas Warton
Conservative
468
50.5%
Yes
Pandeli Ralli
Liberal
459
49.5%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Bridport has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Radical, Whig, Conservative, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Bridport in the 1880 general election?
Conservative won Bridport in 1880 with 468 votes (50.5%), a majority of 9 votes over Liberal in second place.
Which parties have won Bridport since 1832?
Since 1832, Bridport has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Radical, Whig.
What was the closest result in Bridport?
The closest result on record for Bridport was 1880, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 9 votes (1.0 percentage points).
Did Bridport ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Bridport 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.