Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Knaresborough was won by Liberal at the 1880 general election, with a majority of 16 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Knaresborough 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
John Richards (Whig); Benjamin Rotch (Whig)
116
39.4% (top seat)
Henry Rich (Whig)
20 (4.2 pts)
85.4%
1835
Andrew Lawson (Conservative); John Richards (Whig)
134
40.3% (top seat)
Henry Rich (Whig)
23 (5.2 pts)
84.1%
1837
Henry Rich (Whig); Charles Langdale (Whig)
124
41.5% (top seat)
Andrew Lawson (Conservative)
6 (1.5 pts)
76.4%
1841
Andrew Lawson (Conservative); William Ferrand (Conservative)
122
42.0% (top seat)
Charles Sturgeon (Whig)
37 (10.4 pts)
74.1%
1847
William Saunders Sebright Lascelles (Peelite); Joshua Proctor Brown Westhead (Whig)
128
39.5% (top seat)
Andrew Lawson (Conservative)
14 (3.5 pts)
82.6%
1852
Basil Thomas Woodd (Conservative); John Dent Dent (Whig)
113
25.3% (top seat)
Joshua Proctor Brown Westhead (Whig)
0 (0.0 pts)
61.4%
1857
Basil Thomas Woodd (Conservative); Thomas Collins (Conservative)
138
42.2% (top seat)
Robert Campbell (Whig)
138 (33.5 pts)
76.3%
1859
Basil Thomas Woodd (Conservative); Thomas Collins (Conservative)
140
39.3% (top seat)
Harry Stephen Thompson (Liberal)
13 (2.9 pts)
76.9%
1865
Basil Thomas Woodd (Conservative); Isaac Holden (Liberal)
127
38.4% (top seat)
Thomas Collins (Conservative)
4 (1.0 pts)
74.6%
1868
Alfred Illingworth (Liberal)
362
51.1%
Andrew Sherlock Lawson (Conservative)
15 (2.1 pts)
92.2%
1874
Bastil Thomas Woodd (Conservative)
397
56.2%
Andrew Fairbairn (Liberal)
88 (12.5 pts)
91.7%
1880
Henry Meysey Meysey-Thompson (Liberal)
357
51.1%
Basil Thomas Woodd (Conservative)
16 (2.3 pts)
91.6%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Richards
Whig
187
39.4%
Yes
Benjamin Rotch
Whig
116
24.4%
Yes
Henry Rich
Whig
96
20.2%
No
Andrew Lawson
Conservative
76
16.0%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Andrew Lawson
Conservative
179
40.3%
Yes
John Richards
Whig
134
30.2%
Yes
Henry Rich
Whig
111
25.0%
No
Gregory Allnutt Lewin
Conservative
20
4.5%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Rich
Whig
172
41.5%
Yes
Charles Langdale
Whig
124
30.0%
Yes
Andrew Lawson
Conservative
118
28.5%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Andrew Lawson
Conservative
150
42.0%
Yes
William Ferrand
Conservative
122
34.2%
Yes
Charles Sturgeon
Whig
85
23.8%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Saunders Sebright Lascelles
Peelite
158
39.5%
Yes
Joshua Proctor Brown Westhead
Whig
128
32.0%
Yes
Andrew Lawson
Conservative
114
28.5%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Basil Thomas Woodd
Conservative
113
25.3%
Yes
John Dent Dent
Whig
113
25.3%
Yes
Joshua Proctor Brown Westhead
Whig
113
25.3%
No
Thomas Collins
Conservative
107
24.0%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Basil Thomas Woodd
Conservative
174
42.2%
Yes
Thomas Collins
Conservative
138
33.5%
Yes
Robert Campbell
Whig
0
0.0%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Basil Thomas Woodd
Conservative
173
39.3%
Yes
Thomas Collins
Conservative
140
31.8%
Yes
Harry Stephen Thompson
Liberal
127
28.9%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Basil Thomas Woodd
Conservative
156
38.4%
Yes
Isaac Holden
Liberal
127
31.3%
Yes
Thomas Collins
Conservative
123
30.3%
No
1868
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Alfred Illingworth
Liberal
362
51.1%
Yes
Andrew Sherlock Lawson
Conservative
347
48.9%
No
1874
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Bastil Thomas Woodd
Conservative
397
56.2%
Yes
Andrew Fairbairn
Liberal
309
43.8%
No
1880
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Meysey Meysey-Thompson
Liberal
357
51.1%
Yes
Basil Thomas Woodd
Conservative
341
48.9%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Knaresborough has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Peelite, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Knaresborough in the 1880 general election?
Liberal won Knaresborough in 1880 with 357 votes (51.1%), a majority of 16 votes over Conservative in second place.
Which parties have won Knaresborough since 1832?
Since 1832, Knaresborough has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Peelite, Whig.
What was the closest result in Knaresborough?
The closest result on record for Knaresborough was 1852, when Conservative beat Whig by just 0 votes (0.0 percentage points).
Did Knaresborough ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Knaresborough 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.