Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Dorchester was won by Conservative at the 1880 general election, with a majority of 42 votes over Liberal. This page covers every general election in Dorchester 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 Williams (Conservative); Anthony Henry Ashley-Cooper (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1835
Robert Williams (Conservative); Anthony Henry Ashley-Cooper (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1837
Robert Williams (Conservative); Anthony Henry Ashley-Cooper (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1841
Anthony Henry Ashley-Cooper (Conservative); James Robert George Graham (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1847
George Lionel Dawson-Damer (Conservative); Henry Gerard Sturt (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Whig); Henry Gerard Sturt (Conservative)
215
36.9% (top seat)
George Lionel Dawson-Damer (Conservative)
29 (4.6 pts)
73.6%
1857
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Whig); Charles Napier Sturt (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1859
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Liberal); Charles Napier Sturt (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
Charles Napier Sturt (Conservative); Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Liberal)
255
42.8% (top seat)
Henry Drummond Charles Wolff (Conservative)
152 (24.3 pts)
72.5%
1868
Charles Napier Sturt (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1874
William Ernest Brymer (Conservative)
353
60.2%
Francis Somerville Head (Liberal)
120 (20.5 pts)
85.2%
1880
William Ernest Brymer (Conservative)
374
53.0%
Algernon William Fulke Greville (Liberal)
42 (5.9 pts)
86.4%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Williams
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Anthony Henry Ashley-Cooper
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Williams
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Anthony Henry Ashley-Cooper
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Williams
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Anthony Henry Ashley-Cooper
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Anthony Henry Ashley-Cooper
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
James Robert George Graham
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Lionel Dawson-Damer
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Henry Gerard Sturt
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Whig
235
36.9%
Yes
Henry Gerard Sturt
Conservative
215
33.8%
Yes
George Lionel Dawson-Damer
Conservative
186
29.2%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
Charles Napier Sturt
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Charles Napier Sturt
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Napier Sturt
Conservative
268
42.8%
Yes
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Liberal
255
40.7%
Yes
Henry Drummond Charles Wolff
Conservative
103
16.5%
No
1868
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Napier Sturt
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1874
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Ernest Brymer
Conservative
353
60.2%
Yes
Francis Somerville Head
Liberal
233
39.8%
No
1880
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Ernest Brymer
Conservative
374
53.0%
Yes
Algernon William Fulke Greville
Liberal
332
47.0%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Dorchester 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 Dorchester in the 1880 general election?
Conservative won Dorchester in 1880 with 374 votes (53.0%), a majority of 42 votes over Liberal in second place.
Which parties have won Dorchester since 1832?
Since 1832, Dorchester has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Whig.
What was the closest result in Dorchester?
The closest result on record for Dorchester was 1852, when Whig beat Conservative by just 29 votes (4.6 percentage points).
Did Dorchester ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Dorchester 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.