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  1. How Bedfordshire voted, 1735-1784 : the evidence of local documents and poll books

    Woodbridge : Boydell Press, 2012.

    The third in Bedfordshire Historical Record Society's series of poll books covers the years from the fall of Walpole to the rise of William Pitt the younger. It was a period when Britain was constantly at war, when it suffered a dangerous Jacobite rebellion and when the American colonies were lost. Yet this constant warfare did not produce the revolutionary changes to the national and local economy that the Napoleonic wars subsequently created. There is only one complete poll book for the county (1774) but surviving lists from Bedford borough, including a partial poll book of 1747, enable political allegiance to be gauged. Lack of contested elections does not mean an absence of political activity. Detectable trends are illustrated from the Duke of Bedford's archives and the Hardwicke manuscripts in the British Library. They include the attempts of the Duke to increase his power, which was successfully challenged in Bedford Borough by the creation in 1769 of many new out-of-town freemen to detach it from his influence; the decline of formerly prominent political families; and, from the 1760s, the rise of the Whitbreads. The volume also details the political dimension of the legal cases about the appointment of the rector of St John's, Bedford; the administration of the Harpur Trust; and turnpike and enclosure acts. JAMES COLLETT-WHITE is an archivist at Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service, and to Sir Samuel Whitbread.

  2. How Bedfordshire voted, 1685-1735 : the evidence of local poll books

    Collett-White, James
    Woodbridge, UK ; Rochester, NY : Boydell Press, 2006-

    Poll books tell the story of local people and their link with national history. This book contains transcripts of the poll books for the County and Borough seats of Bedford and some election accounts showing candidates' expenditure. The introductory commentary gives an insight to political influences in Bedfordshire during the seminal period of English history from the Glorious Revolution to the accession of George I. It enables comparisons and political trends to be detected, including allegiances of regions of the county and parishes, the survival of the Tory party, the political allegiance of Anglican clergy and the role of Protestant Nonconformists. Major landowners were important in Bedfordshire politics but not dominant and local gentry played a crucial role. The transcriptions list all those who voted in four county and one borough election. County voters were 40 shilling freeholders; Borough voters were freemen, burgesses and those qualified by 'scot and lot'; and for both seats numerous voters came from London and surrounding counties. The 8,500 names (fully indexed) will help family historians find ancestors between the 1671 Hearth Tax and the 1841 Census and will give unparalleled information on local landholding. A further volume, 1716-1734, will be published in 2008. James Collett-White is Archivist at Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service, and Archivist to S. C. Whitbread, Southill Park.Poll books tell the story of local people and their link with national history, and can provide a treasure trove of information. This volume, following on from the first which covered the years from 1685-1716, continues the story of how Bedfordshire voted in the context of local and national politics to the election in 1734. It contains transcriptions of the poll books for four Bedford borough elections and three county elections held between 1722 and 1734, which apart from the 1722 county election have never been previously published.The introduction to each chapter draws upon letters, giving insights into the political alliances and manoeuvres which occurred in selecting candidates, including the part played by the Duchess of Marlborough. And the 10,000 names (fully indexed), added to the 8,500 names in the first volume, provide evidence for an in-depth study of the people, places and landholding in Bedfordshire, and will offer a crucial resource for local historians. James Collett-White is an archivist at Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service, and Archivist to S. C. Whitbread, Southill Park.

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