Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Wolverhampton elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Charles Pelham Villiers (Liberal) and Henry Hartley Fowler (Liberal). This page covers every general election in Wolverhampton 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
William Wolryche-Whitmore (Whig); Richard Fryer (Whig)
810
32.3% (top seat)
Francis Lyttelton Holyoake (Conservative)
195 (7.4 pts)
77.4%
1835
Charles Pelham Villiers (Radical); Thomas Thornely (Radical)
776
30.0% (top seat)
Dudley Fereday (Conservative)
118 (4.6 pts)
70.3%
1837
Charles Pelham Villiers (Radical); Thomas Thornely (Radical)
1,024
32.1% (top seat)
James Ryder Burton (Conservative)
401 (12.0 pts)
76.7%
1841
Charles Pelham Villiers (Radical); Thomas Thornely (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1847
Charles Pelham Villiers (Radical); Thomas Thornely (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
Charles Pelham Villiers (Radical); Thomas Thornley (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1857
Charles Pelham Villiers (Radical); Thomas Thornley (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1859
Charles Pelham Villiers (Liberal); Richard Bethell (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
Charles Pelham Villiers (Liberal); Thomas Matthias Weguelin (Liberal)
1,519
50.9% (top seat)
Thomas Thornycroft (Conservative)
1,472 (46.2 pts)
33.0%
1868
Charles Pelham Villiers (Liberal); Thomas Matthias Weguelin (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1874
Charles Pelham Villiers (Liberal); Thomas Matthias Weguelin (Liberal)
10,036
43.1% (top seat)
Walter Williams (Conservative)
6,408 (26.7 pts)
51.6%
1880
Charles Pelham Villiers (Liberal); Henry Hartley Fowler (Liberal)
11,606
41.1% (top seat)
Alfred Hickman (Conservative)
5,732 (19.3 pts)
65.0%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Wolryche-Whitmore
Whig
850
32.3%
Yes
Richard Fryer
Whig
810
30.8%
Yes
Francis Lyttelton Holyoake
Conservative
615
23.4%
No
John Nicholson
Radical
358
13.6%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Radical
776
30.0%
Yes
Thomas Thornely
Radical
776
30.0%
Yes
Dudley Fereday
Conservative
658
25.5%
No
John Nicholson
Radical
374
14.5%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Radical
1,068
32.1%
Yes
Thomas Thornely
Radical
1,024
30.8%
Yes
James Ryder Burton
Conservative
623
18.7%
No
John Benbow
Conservative
613
18.4%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
Thomas Thornely
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
Thomas Thornely
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
Thomas Thornley
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
Thomas Thornley
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Richard Bethell
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Liberal
1,623
50.9%
Yes
Thomas Matthias Weguelin
Liberal
1,519
47.6%
Yes
Thomas Thornycroft
Conservative
47
1.5%
No
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Thomas Matthias Weguelin
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Liberal
10,358
43.1%
Yes
Thomas Matthias Weguelin
Liberal
10,036
41.8%
Yes
Walter Williams
Conservative
3,628
15.1%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Pelham Villiers
Liberal
12,197
41.1%
Yes
Henry Hartley Fowler
Liberal
11,606
39.1%
Yes
Alfred Hickman
Conservative
5,874
19.8%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Wolverhampton has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Radical, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Wolverhampton in the 1880 general election?
Charles Pelham Villiers (Liberal), Henry Hartley Fowler (Liberal) won Wolverhampton in 1880.
Which parties have won Wolverhampton since 1832?
Since 1832, Wolverhampton has been won by: Liberal, Radical, Whig.
What was the closest result in Wolverhampton?
The closest result on record for Wolverhampton was 1835, when Radical beat Conservative by just 118 votes (4.6 percentage points).
Did Wolverhampton ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Wolverhampton 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.