Western Division of Suffolk

The Western Division of Suffolk was a county constituency in Suffolk, England. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the bloc vote system of election.

History
The seat was created under the Reform Act 1832 as one of two divisions, together with the Eastern Division, of the Parliamentary County of Suffolk. This resulted in a more representative allocation, with a total of four MPs instead of two for the former entire county at large, which still allowed for double voting (or more) of those Forty Shilling Freeholders who also were householders or landlords of any particular boroughs within the county. This Act retained the four largest boroughs of the seven before 1832.

With two heirs to their title serving the seat, the Marquesses of Bristol, the Hervey family, were major landowners in the county. The modern seat is at Ickworth, with part of its grand house now being a luxury hotel.

Further sweeping changes took place as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 which saw the 2 two-member Suffolk divisions being replaced by five single-member constituencies. The Western Division was largely replaced by the North-Western or Stowmarket Division and the Southern or Sudbury Division. A small area in the east was included in the North-Eastern or Eye Division.

Boundaries
1832–1885: The Liberty of Bury St. Edmund's, and the Hundreds of Hartesmere, and Stow.

Elections in the 1830s
Logan's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s
Rushbrooke's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s
Hervey succeeded to the peerage, becoming 3rd Marquess of Bristol and causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s
Hervey's death caused a by-election.

Wilson's death caused a by-election.