For much of its existence, the constituency was dominated by a relatively small number of landed families. During the eighteenth century, representation was keenly contested between the county families.[1]
At the turn of the nineteenth century, the county town of Cardigan remained the largest of the boroughs with a population of 1,911 in 1801, and was controlled by the Earl of Lisburne.[1] Lisburne's heir, John Vaughan, held the seat unopposed from 1796. However, Aberystwyth experienced rapid population growth in this period and its population reached 1,758 by 1801. Aberystwyth was under the influence of Edward Loveden Loveden, of Gogerddan.[1] Loveden had obtained the estate through his marriage to Margaret Pryse, and coveted a parliamentary seat for his son, Pryse Loveden, who had adopted the name Pryse Pryse upon inheriting the estate upon his mother's death in 1796.
However, the Lisburne interest remained predominant until after the closely contested election of 1812, when Vaughan defeated Herbert Evans of Highmead by eighty votes.[2]
After this contest, Vaughan's position became untenable, and it was assumed that he would not to contest the next election. In 1816, following the death of Thomas Johnes, the member for the county, Pryse Pryse of Gogerddan withdrew in favour of William Edward Powell of Nanteos, in order to avoid a contest. This was a political as well as a personal compromise, since Powell was a Tory and Pryse a Whig.[1] In 1818, Pryse was elected unopposed for the boroughs, and held the seat for over thirty years. In 1832 the Reform Act resulted in a larger electorate as householders of homes worth over £10 were enfranchised in the boroughs. The constituency was still dominated by the Loveden-Pryse family of Gogerddan. Pryse Pryse held the seat from 1818 until his death in 1849, except for the 1841 election (see below). By agreement between Pryse and William Edward Powell, who continued as member for the county until his resignation in 1854, neither challenged the other's domination and so elections were almost always unopposed.
The one exception was the 1841 election when there was a close contest with John Harford, which was characterized by allegations of coercion. The contest was attended by a great deal of confusion. The poll books for Aberystwyth were either lost or stolen and never reached the returning officer, who came to the view that he should declare both candidates elected due to the uncertainty (the Conservative was slightly ahead in the polls from the other three parts). Neither of the two candidates could actually speak in the House of Commons until a committee determined the election, and it accepted the evidence that the Liberal candidate (Pryse) had outpolled the Conservative (Harford) by 305 to 285, enough to make his election secure, so he was given the seat.
In 1842, largely as a result of this episode, Pryse declared his support for the secret ballot.[3]
Apart from 1855, when John Lloyd Davies won a byelection by 12 votes, the Conservatives never won the borough.
The last member to represent the constituency was David Davies from 1874 until 1885. When the county and borough constituencies were merged to form the Cardiganshire seat in 1885, David Davies comfortably won the election. In 1886, however, Davies joined the Liberal Unionists and was narrowly defeated at the General Election that year by the Liberal Party candidate.
As there were sometimes significant gaps between Parliaments held in this period, the dates of first assembly and dissolution are given. Where the name of the member has not yet been ascertained or (before 1558) is not recorded in a surviving document, the entry unknown is entered in the table.
Originally, both Pryse and Harford were returned after the poll books for two polling stations at Aberystwyth were lost, with 226 votes recorded for Harford and 163 for Pryse. After extensive evidence, however, a committee determined the above results and Harford was declared unelected.
^ abcdThorne, R.G. "Cardigan Boroughs". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
^"Cardigan". Carmarthen Journal. 31 October 1812. p. 3. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
