Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Hertfordshire
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyHertfordshire
1290–1885
Seats1290–1832: Two
1832–1885: Three
Replaced byHertford
St Albans
Hitchin
Watford

Hertfordshire was a county constituency covering the county of Hertfordshire in England. It returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1832. The Reform Act 1832 gave the county a third seat with effect from the 1832 general election.

Elections were held using the bloc vote system, when contested. However, even after the 1832 reforms, contested elections were the exception: of the 17 elections from 1832 to 1880, 9 were uncontested, including the 1880 general election. In such cases all the nominated candidates were returned without a vote.[1]

  1. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 398–399. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.