| Honiton | |
|---|---|
| Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Honiton1983Constituency.svg) Honiton in Devon, showing boundaries used from 1983 to 1997. | |
| County | Devon |
| 1885–1997 | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | East Devon |
| Replaced by | East Devon, Tiverton and Honiton |
| 1640–1868 | |
| Seats | Two |
| Replaced by | East Devon |
Honiton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Honiton in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sent members intermittently from 1300, consistently from 1640. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) until it was abolished in 1868. It was recreated in 1885 as a single-member constituency.
For the 1997 general election, the town of Honiton was added to the neighbouring constituency of Tiverton to form the Tiverton & Honiton constituency. The remainder continued as the East Devon constituency.
Honiton was regarded as a potwalloper borough by the time of Thomas Cochrane. It was notorious for the bribes demanded by its electors, and was therefore a very expensive seat for a candidate to seek election in. The Yonge family of Colyton, patrons of the borough, were almost ruined by representing Honiton on several occasions.[1][2] Sir William Pole, 4th Baronet (1678–1741) who had twice represented Honiton at great personal financial expense, made an "earnest request and recommendation" in his will that his son would "never stand as a candidate or if chosen will never be prevailed upon to represent or serve in Parliament for the borough of Honiton".[3]