BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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acres.
The national average, by contrast, was 38.5 percent.46
The Western Division of Dorset in which Melbury Habitation was
situated, was the most politically Conservative of the four county
Divisions.
Because of the overwhelmingly rural character of the
constituency, farmers and laborers could determine the political
outcome of an election.
Nevertheless, many unmarried laborers were
ineligible to vote because they resided within owner-occupied
farmhouses.
Nonconformists did not obtain much of a foothold in this
section of the country. 47
Out of the 970 individuals listed on the register, 164 were
identified by occupation, 48 16.9 percent of the total. Of these, 4.2
percent came under the heading nobility/landowner.
The most
illustrious members of this category were the Earl and Countess of
Ilchester, the latter serving as Ruling Councillor.
She also held the
position of Dame President for the Abbotsbury Habitation, located
nearby.
Other prominent landowners featured on the Habitation roll
included Arthur Martin, Thomas Ffooks, and H.J.J. Cockeram.
46
47
Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections, pp. 126-27.
Ibid., pp. 129, 135-38.
48
The Melbury Habitation records are from the archives of the
late Earl of Ilchester. They are contained in the Dorset County Record
Office, D124/Box343. Two volumes of registers are available covering
the years 1886-1893 and 1894-1901. My analysis is based on volume one.
Information regarding the occupations of Melbury Habitation members is
derived from Kelly's Directory of Hampshire with the Isle of Wight,
Wiltshire, and Dorsetshire, 1889. B.L. P.P.2505.ybt. Xeroxed copies
of the registers and directory were obtained courtesy of Michael Wills.