Welsh Journals

RADNORSHIRE ELECTION OF 1835. I am indebted to Mr. T. P. Davies for the material for this article (though I could have wished he had written it himself, instead of put- ting the responsibility on me). The said material takes the form of an exercise book, in which are set out in every detail the charges of Mrs. Harriett Phillips to Mr. Wilkins's Committee for food, lodging and re- freshments provided from 2nd September, 1834, to 20th January, 1835. Apparently, Mrs. Phillips (or Robert Phillips, who receipts the account) was an innkeeper in Presteigne. There are several references which prove that Presteigne was the place of entertainment. Perhaps the inn concerned was the Radnorshire Arms. This was first opened as an inn in 1792 (as I have recently discovered at Hereford Library), and there is ample evidence that by 1834 it was one of the principal inns of the town, where the Aberystwyth coaches stopped. The other principal Presteigne inns at this period were the Duke's Arms, the Castle, and the Crown. Unfortunately, there is no list of the licensees in the county at the Shire Hall nearer to the period than that of 1829, and the name of Phillips does not occur in this list for any Radnorshire inn. The candidates at the election were Walter Wilkins, of Maesllwch Castle, and Sir John Benn Walsh, Bart., of Cefnllys, who later resided at Knill Court. The former changed his name in 1839 to de Winton, and the latter became the first Lord Ormathwaite. The election was very close, Mr. Wilkins polling 483 votes against his opponent's 456. On the former's death in 1840, Sir John became the county's representative, and held this position until 1868, when he was made a peer. The Hereford Times, with strong Whig sympathies, supported Mr. Wilkins, and accused his opponent of being at heart an unflinching Tory." It further alleged that many farmers wished to vote for Mr. Wilkins but dared not do so for fear of their landlords, who claimed to command their votes (referring especially to the many who held their farms as tenants at will instead of under a lease). The ballot, it has to be remembered, did not exist then (the Ballot Act was not passed until 1872), and some point is given to the news-