Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
South Lincolnshire elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: John Compton Lawrance (Conservative) and William Earle Welby-Gregory (Conservative). This page covers every general election in South Lincolnshire 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 Handley (Whig); Gilbert John Heathcote (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1835
Henry Handley (Whig); Gilbert John Heathcote (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1837
Henry Handley (Whig); Gilbert John Heathcote (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1841
Christopher Turnor (Conservative); John Trollope (Conservative)
4,562
37.9% (top seat)
Henry Handley (Whig)
1,614 (13.4 pts)
67.8%
1847
William Alleyne Cecil (Conservative); John Trollope (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
William Alleyne Cecil (Conservative); John Trollope (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1857
John Trollope (Conservative); Anthony Wilson (Conservative)
3,636
37.1% (top seat)
George Hussey Packe (Whig)
448 (4.1 pts)
65.4%
1859
George Hussey Packe (Liberal); John Trollope (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
George Hussey Packe (Liberal); John Trollope (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
William Early Welby (Conservative); Edmund Turnor (Conservative)
4,078
39.9% (top seat)
George Hussey Packe (Liberal)
1,364 (12.1 pts)
54.0%
1874
Edmund Turnor (Conservative); William Earle Welby (Conservative)
0
0.0% (top seat)
None (None)
None (None pts)
90.0%
1880
John Compton Lawrance (Conservative); William Earle Welby-Gregory (Conservative)
4,290
36.5% (top seat)
Charles Sharpe (Liberal)
707 (5.7 pts)
57.8%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Handley
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
Gilbert John Heathcote
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Handley
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
Gilbert John Heathcote
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Handley
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
Gilbert John Heathcote
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Christopher Turnor
Conservative
4,581
37.9%
Yes
John Trollope
Conservative
4,562
37.7%
Yes
Henry Handley
Whig
2,948
24.4%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Alleyne Cecil
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Trollope
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Alleyne Cecil
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Trollope
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Trollope
Conservative
4,020
37.1%
Yes
Anthony Wilson
Conservative
3,636
33.5%
Yes
George Hussey Packe
Whig
3,188
29.4%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Hussey Packe
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
John Trollope
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Hussey Packe
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
John Trollope
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Early Welby
Conservative
4,514
39.9%
Yes
Edmund Turnor
Conservative
4,078
36.1%
Yes
George Hussey Packe
Liberal
2,714
24.0%
No
John Taylor
Liberal
3
0.0%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edmund Turnor
Conservative
0
0.0%
Yes
William Earle Welby
Conservative
0
0.0%
Yes
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Compton Lawrance
Conservative
4,518
36.5%
Yes
William Earle Welby-Gregory
Conservative
4,290
34.6%
Yes
Charles Sharpe
Liberal
3,583
28.9%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
South Lincolnshire has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won South Lincolnshire in the 1880 general election?
John Compton Lawrance (Conservative), William Earle Welby-Gregory (Conservative) won South Lincolnshire in 1880.
Which parties have won South Lincolnshire since 1832?
Since 1832, South Lincolnshire has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Whig.
What was the closest result in South Lincolnshire?
The closest result on record for South Lincolnshire was 1857, when Conservative beat Whig by just 448 votes (4.1 percentage points).
Did South Lincolnshire ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, South Lincolnshire 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.