Appendix XXVI: Contemporary lists of Members
Available from Boydell and Brewer
Lists of Members of the House of Commons
What follows is an inventory of the ‘parliamentary lists’ to which reference is made in the biographies and constituency articles, that is to say lists of Members of the House of Commons containing information about political behaviour or affiliation,1 together with a note of the location(s) of each list, and of the way in which its meaning has been construed. Division lists, and forecasts of divisions, constitute only a minority, albeit a significant minority, of all the lists used. The remainder comprises canvassing lists and other kinds of aide-mémoire used by parliamentary managers, public and private analyses of the membership of the House, and ‘white’ and ‘black lists’ published in order to influence elections, including lists of placemen. It should be noted that lists of Members of the Scottish Parliament have not been included.
For additional bibliographical information the reader is referred to British Parliamentary Lists, 1660-1800: A Register ed. Ditchfield, Hayton, and Jones (1995).2
c. March 1690: list of Court supporters, compiled by the Marquess of Carmarthen (Sir Thomas Osborne†) (Add. 28091, f. 149, printed in Browning, Danby, iii. 176-8).
20 Mar. 1690: printed list of Parliament marked by Lord Carmarthen. Presumed to indicate Whigs, Tories, those whose party affiliation was doubtful, and probably also Court supporters (Egerton 3359, ff. 27-28).
[c. October 1690]: marked copy of printed list of Parliament, from the papers of Lord Carmarthen. Presumed to indicate Court supporters (Egerton 3359, ff. 25-26).
Before 25 Nov. 1690: list of Court supporters, compiled by Lord Carmarthen, and divided into ‘managers of the King’s directions’, and ‘Privy Councillors that ought to assist’ (SP 8/8/26, printed in Browning, Danby, iii. 178-9).
16 - 22 Dec. 1690: printed list of Parliament, marked by Lord Carmarthen. Presumed to indicate Court supporters, and possibly compiled in connexion with the projected attack on Carmarthen in the Commons (Egerton 3359, ff. 31-32).
After 23 Dec. 1690: printed list of Parliament, marked by Lord Carmarthen. Presumed to indicate Court supporters (Egerton 3359, ff. 29-30).
7 Apr. 1691: manuscript list of the House of Commons, marked by [?Robert Harley*], with subsequent additions and corrections. Presumed to indicate supporters of the Court and Country parties (Nottingham Univ. Lib., Portland (Harley) mss Pw2Hy 403).
1692: list of placemen (Nottingham Univ. Lib., Portland [Bentinck] mss PwA 2392).
March-December 1692: working list, compiled by Lord Carmarthen, of supporters of administration (both commoners and lords) and of those Members whom they might influence (SP 8/8/25, printed in Browning, Danby, iii. 182-3).
May-November 1692: list of placemen, compiled by Lord Carmarthen (SP 8/14, printed in Browning, Danby, iii. 184-7).
1693: list of placemen (Add. 70035, ff. 170-1).
Spring 1693: analysis of the House of Commons, compiled by Samuel Grascome, and indicating Court supporters and placemen (Bodl. Rawl. D. 846, f. 5).
Spring 1693: list of placemen, compiled by Samuel Grascome, with some placemen sitting in 1695 Parliament added (Bodl. Rawl. D. 846, ff. 1-2).
After November 1693: list of placemen (Harl. 6846, ff. 268-71).
c. Apr. 1695: list of ‘friends’’, compiled by Henry Guy*, possibly in connexion with the attempt to expel Guy from the Commons on 17 Apr. (BL, Trumbull Add. mss 13, f. 68, printed in Rubini, Court and Country, 262-7).
31 Jan. 1696: list, probably a forecast, for a division on the proposed council of trade, indicating supporters and opponents of the Court, and those doubtful (Add. 70305, printed in Bull. IHR, Sp. Supp. 7, pp. 41-52).
February-March 1696: list of those who signed, or refused to sign, the Association at first (A Summary Account of the Proceedings upon the Happy Discovery of the Jacobite Conspiracy ... (1696), reprinted in Browning, Danby, iii. 194-213; and various other copies).
?26 Mar. 1696: division list on fixing the price of guineas, giving both sides of the vote (An Account of the Proceedings in the House of Commons in Relation to the Recoining ... and Falling the Price of Guineas ... (1696), reprinted in Bull. IHR, Sp. Supp. 7, pp. 41-52).
25 Nov. 1696: division list on the attainder of Sir John Fenwick†, giving both sides of the vote (Add. 47608, printed in Bull. IHR, Sp. Supp. 7, pp. 41-52; and various other copies).
July 1698: list of placemen (Harl. Misc. x. 367-71).
c. August 1698: list of the House of Commons, indicating placemen (BL, Dept. of Printed Bks., 1850, c.6 (16); Add. 40772, f. 8).
c. August 1698: forecast of the balance of the parties in the new House of Commons, probably on the issue of the standing army, and indicating supporters of the Court and Country parties, and those doubtful; together with further observations and calculations, on those marked as Court or doubtful in the original list, including a note of absentees (Add. 70306; main list printed in Jnl. Brit. Stud. vi (1), pp. 62-69).
27 Oct. 1698: marked copy of a printed list of Parliament, probably a forecast of those who were likely to oppose a standing army (BL, Egerton 3359, ff, 35-36, printed in Parlty. Hist., vi. 145-60).
18 Jan. 1699: division list on the 3rd reading of the disbanding bill, indicating those who voted against disbandment (Add. 28091, f. 167, printed in Browning, Danby, iii. 213-17; and various other copies).
January -May 1700: analysis of the House into ‘interests’, indicating those influenced by individual peers or MPs, by the Junto, and by the Old and New East India Companies; also placemen and those doubtful (Add. 70306).
?22 Feb. 1701: partial division list, probably on the vote of 22 Feb., on the motion to agree with the committee of supply in the resolution to continue the Great Mortgage, and indicating those voting for the motion (Add. 28091, ff. 179-80, printed in Rubini, Court and Country, 269-78).
After 24 June 1701: ‘black list’ of those opposed to preparations for war with France in 1701, possibly based on the division of 14 Feb. 1701 on an address to enter into alliances necessary for preserving `the peace of Europe’ (J. Drake, Some Necessary Considerations ... (1702); and various other copies).
c. December 1701: analysis by Charles, Lord Spencer*, of election returns, as compared with the preceding Parliament, indicating ‘gains’ and ‘losses’ for the Whigs (Marlborough mss at Blenheim, B.1.1, printed in Bull. IHR, xlv. 54-58).
c. December 1701: list of the new House of Commons, marked by Robert Harley, indicating Tories, Whigs, and those doubtful (Harl. 7556, ff. 96-100).
26 Feb. 1702: division list, subsequently published as a ‘white list’, on the motion vindicating the Commons’ proceedings in the previous Parliament in the impeachments of William III’s ministers, indicating those who voted for the motion and those who would have supported it had they not been ‘detained’ by ‘necessary affairs’ (J. Drake, Some Necessary Considerations ... [1702]; reprinted in Somers’ Tracts, xii. 215-18; and various other copies).
c. August 1702: analysis by Charles, Lord Spencer, of election returns, as compared with the preceding Parliament, indicating `gains’ and `losses’ for the Whigs (Marlborough mss at Blenheim, B.1.1, printed in Bull. IHR, xlv. 58).
13 Feb. 1703: division list on the Lords’ amendments to the bill for enlarging the time for taking the oath of abjuration, giving both sides of the vote (A Test Offered to the Consideration of the Electors of Great Britain [1710]; and various other copies).
March 1704: list in the hand of Lord Nottingham (Daniel Finch†), possibly a forecast of those who would support his vindication over the ‘Scotch Plot’ (Leics. RO, Finch mss, box 4960, PP161).
30 Oct.-24 Nov. 1704: forecast for the division on the Tack (originally drawn up 30 Oct., and amended c. 3-24 Nov.), giving probable supporters, probable opponents, and those doubtful (Add. 70306).
c. 28 Nov. 1704: Robert Harley’s lobbying list for the division on the Tack (Add. 70230, printed in Bull. IHR, xxxiv. 92-97).
28 Nov. 1704: division list on the Tack, giving both sides of the vote, and those absent from the House (J.Oldmixon, Hist. Eng. 346-7; Somers’ Tracts, xii. 474-6; and various other lists).
1705: list of placemen, (A List of Gentlemen that Are in Offices ... [1705]).
c. June 1705: analysis by Lord Sunderland (Charles, Lord Spencer), of election returns, as compared with the preceding Parliament, indicating ‘gains’ and ‘losses’ for the Whigs, those ‘d[?oubtful]’ and those ‘h[?onest]’ (Marlborough mss at Blenheim, B.1.1, printed in Bull. IHR, xlv. 59-63).
c. June 1705: analysis of election returns (Staffs. RO, Dartmouth mss, D539/P/16/2/4/19).
c. June 1705: analysis of the 1705 Parliament into various categories, probably on the basis of the Tack, and indicating ‘Church men’, ‘True Church’ (Tackers), ‘High Church’, ‘High Church Couirtiers’, ‘Low Church’, ‘Low Church Courtiers’, ‘No Church’, and ‘Sneakers’ (over the Tack) (A Numerical Calculation... [1705]).
25 Oct. 1705: division list on the election of the Speaker, giving both sides of the vote, and those absent (Durham Univ. Lib. Baker Baker mss, 8/17, printed in Bull. IHR, xxxvii. 36-46).
February 1706: division list on the ‘place clause’ of the regency bill, indicating those who supported the Court (A List of Moderate Patriots .... (1708), printed in Bull. IHR, xiv. 30-33).
16 Feb. 1706: partial division list on motion in committee to set a date for the hearing of the Bewdley election petition, indicating those placemen who voted against the motion (Add. 61495, f. 22, printed in Bull IHR, xlv. 48).
c. 19 Feb. 1706, division list on a vote in committee on the Bewdley election, indicating those who voted on the Tory side (Marlborough mss at Blenheim, VIII, 23, printed in Bull IHR, xlv. 48-49).
1707, analysis, by the Earl of Marchmont, of Members for Scottish constituencies in the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, indicating supporters of the Court and Country parties, and those influenced by individual representative peers (SRO, Hume of Marchmont mss, GD158/943).
1707/8: analysis of the House of Commons, indicating Whigs and Tories (Camb. Univ. Lib. mss Mm. VI. 42, ff. 14-20).
1708: marked copy of printed list of the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, with returns from the general election of 1708 added in ink, and indicating Whigs, Court Whigs, Tories, Court Tories, ‘Reclaimed Tories’, Court supporters, Presbyterians, Tackers, those who lost their election in 1708, and those who ‘desisted’ (A True List ... [1708], in private possession).
c. May 1708: analysis by Lord Sunderland of election returns, as compared with the preceding Parliament, indicating ‘gains’ and ‘losses’ for the Whigs (Add. 61497A, printed in Bull IHR, xlv. 63-66).
February-March 1709: division list on a motion relating to the general naturalization bill, indicating those supported the bill (A List of those Members of the Late Parliament ... (1710), repr. in A Collection of White and Black Lists ... (1715), 12-15).
February-March 1710: composite division list on the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell, giving both sides (J. Oldmixon, Hist. Eng. 439-42; and various other lists).
c. November 1710: the ‘Hanover list’, an analysis of the new House of Commons in the Hanover papers, indicating Tories, Whigs, and those doubtful (Stowe 223, ff. 453-4).
11 Nov. 1710: analysis, by Richard Dongworth, of the newly elected Members for Scottish constituencies, indicating Court Tories, Episcopal Tories, and Whigs (Christ Church, Oxf. Wake mss, 17, f. 269, printed in SHR, lx. 63-66).
1710-11: a published ‘white list’ of ‘English’ or ‘Tory patriots’ who in the first session of the 1710 Parliament opposed the continuance of the war (An Exact List ... (1711)).
1711: a published ‘white list’ of ‘worthy patriots’ who in the first session of the 1710 Parliament exposed the mismanagements of the previous administration, and also indicating members of the October Club (A True and Exact List ... [1711]. This list presumably formed the basis of the list of the October Club printed in Boyer, Pol. State, iii. 117-22, and reprinted in Huntington Lib. Q. xxxiii. 170-2).
25 May 1711: division list on a Tory amendment to the South Sea bill, to vest in the Crown the nomination of the founding directors, indicating those who voted against the amendment (Add. 70163, printed in Hist. Jnl., iv. 193).
7 Dec. 1711: division list on the motion of ‘No Peace without Spain’, indicating those who voted for the motion ( Add. 70319, printed in Bull. IHR, xxxiii. 233-4).
7 Feb. 1712: partial division list on the Scottish toleration bill, indicating only those Members for Scottish constituencies who voted, went out or were absent (NLS, Wodrow letters Quarto 6, no. 65; NLS, mss 1392, f. 80).
?6 May 1713: partial division list on the French wines duty bill, indicating those who voted against the bill (Harl. 7190, f. 316).
18 June 1713: division list on the bill to confirm the 8th and 9th articles of the French commercial treaty, giving both sides of the vote, and indicating Whigs, ‘Whimsicals’, and those concerned in trade (A Collection of White and Black Lists ..., 23-30; a partial division list, giving votes of Members for Scottish constituencies, and indicating those who were absent, in Haddington mss at Mellerstain, ser. 1, bdle 343, printed in Parlty. Hist., i. 68-70).
1713-14: list of the Commons, giving placemen (Chandler, viii, app.).
Feb. 1714,: analysis of the 1713 election returns for Scotland. indicating ‘Jacobites’ and ‘Hanoverians’ (Stowe 226, ff. 121-2, printed in Orig. Pprs. ed. Macpherson, ii. 559-61).
18 Mar. 1714: division list on the motion to condemn Richard Steele*’s The Crisis and The Englishman (Cobbett, Parl. Hist. vi. 1282-3).
12 May 1714: partial division list on motion to extend the scope of the schism bill to include ‘popery’, giving only the votes of Members for Scottish constituencies (NLS, Advocates’ mss, Wodrow pprs. Letters Quarto 8, no. 82).
1714-15: the ‘Worsley list’, a comparative analysis of the Commons in the 1713 and 1715 Parliaments, indicating Tories, Whigs, Tories who had sometimes voted or would sometimes vote with the Whigs, and Whigs who had sometimes voted or would sometimes vote with the Tories (Lincs. AO, Worsley mss, I, printed in The Commons 1715-54, i. 165-81).
1715: marked copy of a printed list of the Parliament of 1713, classifying Members re-elected in 1715, as Whigs, Tories, ‘whimsical Whigs’ and ‘whimsical Tories’ (Univ. California, Berkeley, Rare Bks. Dept. CS/420/p3, printed in Bull. IHR, xlv. 67-72).
1715: comparative analysis of the Parliaments of 1713 and 1715, indicating Whigs and Tories (A Correct List ..., bound up in Bodl. and IHR copies of Boyer, Pol. State, ix. 170-1).
