Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
North Lancashire elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Frederick Arthur Stanley (Conservative) and Randle Joseph Feilden (Conservative). This page covers every general election in North Lancashire 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 Wilson-Patten (Conservative); Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1835
John Wilson-Patten (Conservative); Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1837
John Wilson-Patten (Conservative); Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1841
John Wilson-Patten (Conservative); Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1847
John Wilson-Patten (Peelite); James Heywood (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
John Wilson-Patten (Conservative); James Heywood (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1857
John Wilson-Patten (Conservative); Spencer Compton Cavendish (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1859
John Wilson-Patten (Conservative); Spencer Compton Cavendish (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
John Wilson-Patten (Conservative); Spencer Compton Cavendish (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
Frederick Arthur Stanley (Conservative); John Wilson-Patten (Conservative)
6,681
36.3% (top seat)
Spencer Compton Cavendish (Liberal)
1,385 (7.4 pts)
65.3%
1874
John Wilson-Patten (Conservative); Frederick Arthur Stanley (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1880
Frederick Arthur Stanley (Conservative); Randle Joseph Feilden (Conservative)
7,505
36.8% (top seat)
Thomas Storey (Liberal)
1,005 (4.5 pts)
65.0%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Peelite
Unopposed
Yes
James Heywood
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
James Heywood
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Spencer Compton Cavendish
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Spencer Compton Cavendish
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Spencer Compton Cavendish
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Frederick Arthur Stanley
Conservative
6,832
36.3%
Yes
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
6,681
35.5%
Yes
Spencer Compton Cavendish
Liberal
5,296
28.2%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Wilson-Patten
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Frederick Arthur Stanley
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Frederick Arthur Stanley
Conservative
8,172
36.8%
Yes
Randle Joseph Feilden
Conservative
7,505
33.8%
Yes
Thomas Storey
Liberal
6,500
29.3%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
North Lancashire has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Whig, Peelite, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won North Lancashire in the 1880 general election?
Frederick Arthur Stanley (Conservative), Randle Joseph Feilden (Conservative) won North Lancashire in 1880.
Which parties have won North Lancashire since 1832?
Since 1832, North Lancashire has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Peelite, Whig.
What was the closest result in North Lancashire?
The closest result on record for North Lancashire was 1880, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 1,005 votes (4.5 percentage points).
Did North Lancashire ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, North Lancashire 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.