Clapham (UK Parliament constituency)

Clapham
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1885 (1885)–February 1974 (February 1974)
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Streatham and Vauxhall
Created from	Clapham

Clapham was a borough constituency in South London which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 1885 general election and abolished for the February 1974 general election.

Clapham constituency in the Metropolitan Board of Works area, showing boundaries used from 1885 to 1918.

Clapham constituency in the Parliamentary County of London from 1918 to 1949.

Clapham in the Parliamentary County of London from 1950 to 1974.

Boundaries

1885-1918: In 1885 the constituency was established as a division of the parliamentary borough of Battersea and Clapham, in the northern part of the historic county of Surrey. It was based on the Clapham area of South London.

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 provided that the constituency was to consist of-

• "The Parish of Clapham,
• No. 1 Ward of Battersea Parish, and
• No. 4 Ward of Battersea Parish, except so much as is comprised in Division No. 1 as herein described".^[1]

In 1889 the area was severed from Surrey and became part of the new County of London. In 1900 local government in London was reorganised. The constituency became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth.

1918-1974: In the redistribution of 1918, the constituency became a division of Wandsworth. It consisted of the local government wards of Clapham North and Clapham South, with a part of Balham.

In 1965 the area became part of the London Borough of Lambeth and Greater London.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	John Fletcher Moulton, later Baron Moulton	Liberal
	1886	John Saunders Gilliat	Conservative
	1892	Percy Melville Thornton	Conservative
	1910	George Denison Faber, later the 1st Baron Wittenham	Conservative
	1918 by-election	Harry Greer	Conservative
	1918	Sir Arthur du Cros, Bt	Coalition Conservative
	1922 by-election	Sir John Leigh, Bt	Conservative
	1945	John Battley	Labour
	1950	Charles Gibson	Labour
	1959	Alan Glyn	Conservative
	1964	Margaret McKay	Labour
	1970	William Shelton	Conservative
1974		constituency abolished

Election results

References

1. ^ Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Sixth Schedule

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 4)