Weymouth and Melcombe Regis — UK General Election Results
Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Henry Edwards (Liberal) and Frederick John William Johnstone (Conservative). This page covers every general election in Weymouth and Melcombe Regis 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
Thomas Fowell Buxton (Whig); Frederick George Johnstone (Conservative)
215
28.2% (top seat)
William Wharton Burdon (Whig)
1 (0.1 pts)
88.7%
1835
Thomas Fowell Buxton (Whig); William Wharton Burdon (Whig)
239
40.8% (top seat)
George Augustus Frederick Child Villiers (Conservative)
89 (13.6 pts)
63.4%
1837
George Augustus Frederick Child Villiers (Conservative); George William Hope (Conservative)
268
31.6% (top seat)
Thomas Fowell Buxton (Whig)
57 (6.2 pts)
78.2%
1841
George Augustus Frederick Child Villiers (Conservative); George William Hope (Conservative)
257
25.4% (top seat)
Ralph Bernal (Whig)
3 (0.3 pts)
85.4%
1847
William Dougal Christie (Whig); William Lockyer Freestun (Whig)
274
25.1% (top seat)
George Medd Butt (Conservative)
2 (0.2 pts)
87.3%
1852
George Medd Butt (Conservative); William Lockyer Freestun (Whig)
336
38.4% (top seat)
Alexander Haldane Oswald (Peelite)
53 (5.3 pts)
74.0%
1857
William Lockyer Freestun (Whig); Robert James Roy Campbell (Whig)
349
41.8% (top seat)
George Medd Butt (Conservative)
77 (7.2 pts)
78.3%
1859
Robert Brooks (Conservative); Arthur Edward Holland Grey Egerton (Conservative)
340
26.5% (top seat)
William Lockyer Freestun (Liberal)
29 (2.2 pts)
86.2%
1865
Robert Brooks (Conservative); Henry Gillett Gridley (Liberal)
378
47.6% (top seat)
Arthur Edward Holland Grey Egerton (Conservative)
350 (43.7 pts)
44.2%
1868
Charles Joseph Theophilus Hambro (Conservative); Henry Edwards (Liberal)
701
39.4% (top seat)
John Joseph Powell (Liberal)
249 (13.1 pts)
70.8%
1874
Henry Edwards (Liberal); Frederick John William Johnstone (Conservative)
504
49.7% (top seat)
Charles Joseph Theophilus Hambro (Conservative)
52 (2.7 pts)
64.8%
1880
Henry Edwards (Liberal); Frederick John William Johnstone (Conservative)
807
44.2% (top seat)
Alexander Coghill Wylie (Liberal)
154 (5.9 pts)
81.1%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Fowell Buxton
Whig
238
28.2%
Yes
Frederick George Johnstone
Conservative
215
25.5%
Yes
William Wharton Burdon
Whig
214
25.4%
No
George Bankes
Conservative
176
20.9%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Fowell Buxton
Whig
268
40.8%
Yes
William Wharton Burdon
Whig
239
36.4%
Yes
George Augustus Frederick Child Villiers
Conservative
150
22.8%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Augustus Frederick Child Villiers
Conservative
291
31.6%
Yes
George William Hope
Conservative
268
29.1%
Yes
Thomas Fowell Buxton
Whig
211
22.9%
No
George Stephen
Whig
151
16.4%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Augustus Frederick Child Villiers
Conservative
259
25.4%
Yes
George William Hope
Conservative
257
25.2%
Yes
Ralph Bernal
Whig
254
24.9%
No
William Dougal Christie
Whig
251
24.6%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Dougal Christie
Whig
274
25.1%
Yes
William Lockyer Freestun
Whig
274
25.1%
Yes
George Medd Butt
Conservative
272
24.9%
No
Frederick William Child-Villiers
Conservative
271
24.8%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Medd Butt
Conservative
386
38.4%
Yes
William Lockyer Freestun
Whig
336
33.4%
Yes
Alexander Haldane Oswald
Peelite
283
28.2%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Lockyer Freestun
Whig
446
41.8%
Yes
Robert James Roy Campbell
Whig
349
32.7%
Yes
George Medd Butt
Conservative
272
25.5%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Brooks
Conservative
341
26.5%
Yes
Arthur Edward Holland Grey Egerton
Conservative
340
26.4%
Yes
William Lockyer Freestun
Liberal
311
24.1%
No
Robert James Roy Campbell
Liberal
297
23.0%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Brooks
Conservative
381
47.6%
Yes
Henry Gillett Gridley
Liberal
378
47.2%
Yes
Arthur Edward Holland Grey Egerton
Conservative
28
3.5%
No
Henry Edwards
Liberal
14
1.7%
No
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Joseph Theophilus Hambro
Conservative
750
39.4%
Yes
Henry Edwards
Liberal
701
36.8%
Yes
John Joseph Powell
Liberal
452
23.8%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Edwards
Liberal
944
49.7%
Yes
Frederick John William Johnstone
Conservative
504
26.5%
Yes
Charles Joseph Theophilus Hambro
Conservative
452
23.8%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Edwards
Liberal
1,156
44.2%
Yes
Frederick John William Johnstone
Conservative
807
30.8%
Yes
Alexander Coghill Wylie
Liberal
653
25.0%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis 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 Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in the 1880 general election?
Henry Edwards (Liberal), Frederick John William Johnstone (Conservative) won Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in 1880.
Which parties have won Weymouth and Melcombe Regis since 1832?
Since 1832, Weymouth and Melcombe Regis has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Whig.
What was the closest result in Weymouth and Melcombe Regis?
The closest result on record for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis was 1832, when Whig beat Whig by just 1 votes (0.1 percentage points).
Did Weymouth and Melcombe Regis ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Weymouth and Melcombe Regis 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.