South Durham, formally the Southern Division of Durham and often referred to as Durham Southern, was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It elected two Members of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MPs) by the bloc vote

Plurality-at-large voting

Plurality-at-large voting is a non-proportional voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...

 system of election.

Boundaries

In 1832 the historic county of Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

, in north east England, was split for parliamentary purposes into two county divisions. These were the South division (with a place of election at Darlington

Darlington

Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...

) and North Durham

North Durham (UK Parliament constituency)

North Durham is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 (where voting took place at the city of Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

). Each division returned two members to Parliament.

There were no parliamentary boroughs enclaved in the area of the South division, between 1832 and 1885, so no non-resident 40 shilling freeholders voted in the county constituency. (Source: Stooks Smith).

History

In 1885 this division was abolished, when the North and South Durham county divisions were replaced by eight new single-member county constituencies. These were Barnard Castle

Barnard Castle (UK Parliament constituency)

Barnard Castle was a county constituency centred on the town of Barnard Castle in County Durham, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

, Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland (UK Parliament constituency)

Bishop Auckland is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. Since 1935 it has elected Labour MPs.-Boundaries:...

, Chester-le-Street

Chester-le-Street (UK Parliament constituency)

Chester-le-Street was a county constituency centred on the town of Chester-le-Street in County Durham. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

, Houghton-le-Spring

Houghton-le-Spring (UK Parliament constituency)

Houghton-le-Spring was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983.Centred on the town of Houghton-le-Spring in the City of Sunderland, it elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election...

, Jarrow

Jarrow (UK Parliament constituency)

Jarrow is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...

, Mid Durham

Mid Durham (UK Parliament constituency)

Mid Durham was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

, North West Durham and South East Durham

South East Durham (UK Parliament constituency)

South East Durham was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

. In addition there were seven County Durham borough constituencies.

Members of Parliament

Election			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		1832 United Kingdom general election, 1832 -Seats summary:-Parties and leaders at the general election:The Earl Grey had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806-1807....	Joseph Pease	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...	John Bowes	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
		1841 United Kingdom general election, 1841 -Seats summary:-Whig MPs who lost their seats:*Viscount Morpeth - Chief Secretary for Ireland*Sir George Strickland, Bt*Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987...	Lord Harry Vane Harry Powlett, 4th Duke of Cleveland Harry George Powlett, 4th Duke of Cleveland KG , born Harry George Vane and known as Lord Harry George Vane from 1827 to 1864, was an English Whig statesman. He was the third son of William Vane, 3rd Earl of Darlington, who would later be created Duke of Cleveland...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
		1847 United Kingdom general election, 1847 -Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...			James Farrer James Farrer James Farrer was a Conservative Party politician in England who was elected three times as Member of Parliament for South Durham....	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
		1857 United Kingdom general election, 1857 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...			Henry Pease Henry Pease (MP) Henry Pease was a railway owner, peace campaigner and a Liberal politician who represented Durham South.Pease, a member of the Quaker Pease family of Darlington, was the fifth son of Edward Pease. He was a director of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and was responsible for the foundation of...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
		1859 United Kingdom general election, 1859 In the 1859 United Kingdom general election, the Whigs, led by Lord Palmerston, held their majority in the House of Commons over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives...	James Farrer James Farrer James Farrer was a Conservative Party politician in England who was elected three times as Member of Parliament for South Durham....	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
		1865 United Kingdom general election, 1865 The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to more than 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.Palmerston died later in the same...	Joseph Pease	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...	Charles Surtees Charles Surtees Charles Freville Surtees was a Conservative Party politician in England.He was elected as Member of Parliament for South Durham at the 1865 general election, but was defeated at the 1868 general election. He did not stand in the 1874 general election, but failed to win a seat when he stood again...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
		1868 United Kingdom general election, 1868 The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...			Frederick Beaumont	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
		1880 United Kingdom general election, 1880 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...			Hon. Frederick Lambton Frederick Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham Frederick William Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham was a British peer, a Liberal politician, and the son of George Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham. He inherited the Earldom from his twin brother, John Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham, when the latter died with no legitimate children.He married Beatrix Bulteel...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
		1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...	Redistribution of Seats Act Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across... : constituency abolished