NORTHUMBERLAND ELECTION BROADSIDE – HOWICK (Henry George Grey, later 3rd Earl Grey) – To the Gentlemen, Clergy, and Freeholders of the County of Northumberland – Newcastle, 11 February 1826

Newcastle: E. Walker, Printer, 1826.

Single-sheet letterpress political broadside.

27.7 x 22.5 cm.

Description

A scarce and historically significant Northumberland election broadside issued by Viscount Howick, later Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey (1802–1894), during the celebrated Northumberland parliamentary contest of 1826.

Dated Newcastle, 11 February 1826, the broadside is addressed “To the Gentlemen, Clergy, & Freeholders of the County of Northumberland” and announces Howick’s decision to withdraw from the forthcoming electoral contest.

The text is notable for its candid explanation of withdrawal. Howick states that, although he had recently come forward as a candidate for parliamentary representation, circumstances arising after the death of the county’s former representative had materially reduced his prospects of success. Rather than proceed to an expensive and uncertain poll, he elected to retire from the contest while leaving open the possibility of seeking election at a future opportunity.

The document was issued during one of the most remarkable county elections of the late Georgian period. Following the death of Charles John Brandling in early 1826, Northumberland became the scene of intense political competition involving Matthew Bell, Henry Thomas Liddell, Thomas Wentworth Beaumont and Viscount Howick. The campaign generated an enormous quantity of election literature and incurred expenditure on a scale that became famous in contemporary political circles. Howick eventually withdrew before the election reached its conclusion, leaving Bell and Liddell to secure election.

The signer would later enjoy a distinguished political career. As Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey, he served in several important ministerial offices and became one of the leading Whig statesmen of the nineteenth century. He was the son of the 2nd Earl Grey, architect of the Reform Act of 1832 and one of Britain’s most consequential Prime Ministers.

Of particular interest are the contemporary manuscript annotations on the reverse, including the succinct note:

“Lord Howick declines the contest”

These annotations strongly suggest practical use during the election itself and provide valuable evidence of the document’s contemporary political function.

Election broadsides of this nature were intended for immediate circulation among voters and freeholders and generally enjoyed only a brief useful life. Their survival is therefore considerably less common than formal parliamentary publications or poll books.

A highly desirable piece of Georgian political ephemera linking the Grey family, Northumberland politics, and one of the most notable county election contests of the early nineteenth century.

Condition

Good condition. Folds. Some age-toning, scattered foxing and staining, principally near the margins. Minor edge wear and small areas of loss without affecting the printed text. Contemporary manuscript annotations to the reverse. A sound and attractive survival.

No institutional holding of this specific 11 February 1826 withdrawal broadside has been traced during research. The 1826 Northumberland election is, however, well documented in archival collections owing to the exceptional quantity of printed election literature generated during the contest.

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