Holderness was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Holderness area of the East Riding of Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries

1885–1918:

1918–1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Beverley and Hedon, the Urban Districts of Cottingham, Hornsea, and Withernsea, the Rural Districts of Patrington and Skirlaugh, part of the Rural District of Beverley, and in the Rural District of Sculcoates the civil parishes of Preston and Sutton.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Bethell

General election 1885: Holderness ^[1][2][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bethell	4,166	54.1
	Liberal	Gerard Smith	3,537	45.9
Majority			629	8.2
Turnout			7,703	84.3
Registered electors			9,143
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: Holderness ^[1][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bethell	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Holderness ^[5][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Stanley Wilson	5,046	52.0	+1.8
	Free Trader	George Bethell	4,661	48.0	New
Majority			385	4.0	+3.6
Turnout			9,707	89.5	+2.0
Registered electors			10,850
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Arnold

General election December 1910: Holderness ^[5][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Stanley Wilson	4,861	52.0	0.0
	Liberal	Sydney Arnold	4,480	48.0	New
Majority			381	4.0	0.0
Turnout			9,341	86.1	−3.4
Registered electors			10,850
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Arthur Stanley Wilson
• Liberal: Fred Maddison

Maddison

1918 general election: Holderness

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Arthur Stanley Wilson	9,387	63.0	+11.0
	Liberal	Fred Maddison	5,521	37.0	−11.0
Majority			3,866	26.0	+22.0
Turnout			14,908	57.9	−28.2
Registered electors			25,741
	Unionist hold		Swing	+11.0
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.