Fermanagh — UK General Election Results
Fermanagh elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: William Humphrys Archdale (Conservative) and John Henry Crichton (Conservative). This page covers every general election in Fermanagh 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 | Mervyn Archdall (Conservative); William Willoughby Cole (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1835 | Mervyn Edward Archdale (Conservative); William Willoughby Cole (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1837 | Mervyn Edward Archdale (Conservative); William Willoughby Cole (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1841 | Arthur Brinsley Brooke (Conservative); Mervyn Edward Archdall (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1847 | Arthur Brinsley Brooke (Conservative); Mervyn Edward Archdale (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1852 | Arthur Brinsley Brooke (Conservative); Mervyn Edward Archdall (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1857 | Henry Arthur Cole (Conservative); Mervyn Edward Archdall (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1859 | Henry Arthur Cole (Conservative); Mervyn Edward Archdall (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1865 | Henry Arthur Cole (Conservative); Mervyn Edward Archdall (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1868 | Henry Arthur Cole (Conservative); Mervyn Edward Archdall (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1874 | Henry Arthur Cole (Conservative); William Humphrys Archdall (Conservative) | 2,205 | 32.0% (top seat) | John Grey Vesey Porter (Liberal) | 659 (9.2 pts) | 75.2% |
| 1880 | William Humphrys Archdale (Conservative); John Henry Crichton (Conservative) | 2,443 | 36.7% (top seat) | John Grey Vesey Porter (Liberal) | 608 (9.0 pts) | 70.7% |
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mervyn Archdall | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| William Willoughby Cole | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1835 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mervyn Edward Archdale | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| William Willoughby Cole | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1837 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mervyn Edward Archdale | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| William Willoughby Cole | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1841 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Brinsley Brooke | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Mervyn Edward Archdall | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1847 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Brinsley Brooke | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Mervyn Edward Archdale | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1852 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Brinsley Brooke | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Mervyn Edward Archdall | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1857 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Arthur Cole | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Mervyn Edward Archdall | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1859 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Arthur Cole | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Mervyn Edward Archdall | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1865 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Arthur Cole | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Mervyn Edward Archdall | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1868 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Arthur Cole | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Mervyn Edward Archdall | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1874 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Arthur Cole | Conservative | 2,285 | 32.0% | Yes |
| William Humphrys Archdall | Conservative | 2,205 | 30.9% | Yes |
| John Grey Vesey Porter | Liberal | 1,546 | 21.6% | No |
| Charles Robert Barton | Liberal | 1,111 | 15.5% | No |
1880 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Humphrys Archdale | Conservative | 2,479 | 36.7% | Yes |
| John Henry Crichton | Conservative | 2,443 | 36.2% | Yes |
| John Grey Vesey Porter | Liberal | 1,835 | 27.2% | No |
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Fermanagh has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Fermanagh in the 1880 general election?
William Humphrys Archdale (Conservative), John Henry Crichton (Conservative) won Fermanagh in 1880.
Which parties have won Fermanagh since 1832?
Since 1832, Fermanagh has been won by: Conservative.
What was the closest result in Fermanagh?
The closest result on record for Fermanagh was 1880, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 608 votes (9.0 percentage points).
Did Fermanagh ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Fermanagh 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.