292 Great Bedwyn. 



I., to the Parliaments of the 1st and 8th of Edward II. to those of 

 the 36th and 37th of Edward III., and to the early Parliaments 

 of Richard II. 



Except in the 1st of Henry IV. it sent no members after the 

 10th of Richard II. until the 9th of Henry V., after which year 

 it almost constantly returned representatives. 



The names of the members, previously to the reign of the first 

 Mary, have not, however, been regularly handed down, but from 

 that period, the list appears to be correct. 



The right of election was in the freeholders and inhabitants of 

 ancient burgages, and the returning officer was the Portreeve of the 

 borough. 



In the year 1762 the number of burgage houses had dwindled 

 to 100 ; of these, 46 belonged to the Earl Verney, 42 to the Lord 

 Bruce, 9 to the Church of Bedwyn, 1 to Benjamin Bond Hopkins, 

 Esq., 1 to Mr. Thomas Potter, and 1 to Mr. Thomas Batten. 



In 1766, Lord Yerney sold to Lord Bruce his estate at Great 

 Bedwyn, including the manor of Stokke, the ancient property of 

 the Stokkes, and afterwards of the Hungerfords. In 1787, Mr. 

 Hopkins sold his burgage and other property to Lord Bruce, then 

 Earl of Ailesbury, who soon afterwards purchased Mr. Potter's 

 burgage. In 1792, the Church burgages were made Lord Ailes- 

 bury's freehold by an exchange under the Bedwyn Inclosure Act : 

 Batten's burgage still remains in the representatives of that gen- 

 tleman. 



By the Act of Parliament passed on the 7th June, 1832, 2 Gul . 

 IV., for amending the Representation of the people of England and 

 Wales, the borough of Great Bedwyn, with many others, was dis- 

 franchised. 



In the following list, the names of the members down to the 

 reign of Queen Mary, are taken from a manuscript, compiled, 

 apparently about two centuries ago, from the Tower Records, and 

 brought down to the third Parliament of Car. I. To this MS. are 

 now added the dates of the Christian epoch. From Mary's reign, 

 Willis's Notitia, Beatson's Register, and other publications, have 

 also been used. 



