Although it was only a small village, from 1588 Aldborough returned two members of Parliament, and the manageable number of electors meant that it became a valued possession of the Dukes of Newcastle. It remained a ‘pocket borough’ until the Great Reform Act of 1832.
After this it was of no further value to the fourth duke, who sold the manor in 1834. This historical circumstance was probably important for the survival of the Roman town, as the duke’s interest in restricting its size meant that it escaped large-scale development.
Andrew Lawson – Tancred’s talk will tell the fascinating story of elections prior to 1832, Rotten Boroughs, Pocket Boroughs, who had the vote and how it worked in practice.
We will learn more about the people involved, particularly the Duke of Newcastle’s family and the Wilkinson and Lawson families and their connections with Aldborough and Boroughbridge. We will also discover more from Andrew about his ancestors’ interest in Roman archaeology from 1832 to the present day.
