Old Sarum

E85295

Old Sarum was a notorious English "rotten borough" parliamentary constituency with virtually no residents, long used to control seats in the House of Commons before electoral reform.

All labels observed (12)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf UK Parliament constituency
rotten borough
abolishedBy Reform Act 1832
abolitionDate 1832
alsoKnownAs Old Sarum borough
linked to: Old Sarum
associatedWithReformMovement campaign for parliamentary reform in early 19th century
characterizedAs pocket borough
controlType patronage
country Kingdom of Great Britain
United Kingdom
county Wiltshire
electoralCorruptionPerception notoriously corrupt
electoralSystem first‑past‑the‑post
electorateSizeDescription extremely small
electorateType burgage tenure
governedBy English electoral law (pre‑1832)
Reform Act 1832 (for abolition)
linked to: Reform Act 1832
hadNoSignificantUrbanSettlementBy 18th century
hadNoSubstantialResidentPopulationBy 19th century
hadRepresentationDisproportionateToPopulation true
historicalEra pre‑Reform British parliamentary system
jurisdiction Parliament of England
Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of the United Kingdom
linked to: British Parliament
languageOfName English
legalStatusBefore1832 parliamentary borough
locatedIn England
Old Sarum, Wiltshire
linked to: Old Sarum
near Salisbury
notableFor patron-controlled elections
very small electorate
virtually no resident voters
parliamentaryRepresentationBeganIn medieval period
parliamentarySeats 2
partOf unreformed House of Commons constituency system
predecessor Old Sarum (parliamentary borough in the Parliament of England)
linked to: Old Sarum
representedIn House of Commons of England
House of Commons of Great Britain
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
statusAfter1832 disfranchised
successor Schedule A disfranchised boroughs under Reform Act 1832
symbolOf need for electoral reform in Britain
topicOf historical studies of rotten boroughs
usedAsExampleOf malapportionment in pre‑reform Parliament
parliamentary corruption before reform
votingRestrictedTo burgage holders
votingRightsBasedOn ownership of burgage plots

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (24)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

William Pitt the Elder parliamentaryConstituency Old Sarum
subject linked to: Earl of Chatham
Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency) locatedIn Old Sarum, Wiltshire
subject linked to: Old Sarum
linked to: Old Sarum
Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency) predecessor Old Sarum (parliamentary borough in the Parliament of England)
subject linked to: Old Sarum
linked to: Old Sarum
Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency) alsoKnownAs Old Sarum borough
subject linked to: Old Sarum
linked to: Old Sarum
Salisbury hasLandmark Old Sarum
Salisbury hasLandmark Old Sarum Castle
linked to: Old Sarum
Salisbury hasLandmark Old Sarum Cathedral ruins
linked to: Old Sarum
Salisbury hasLandmark Old Sarum Scheduled Monument
linked to: Old Sarum
Wiltshire contains Old Sarum
Salisbury Museum near Old Sarum
Old Sarum Airfield nearbySite Old Sarum (Iron Age hillfort and Norman castle)
linked to: Old Sarum
Stratford-sub-Castle near Old Sarum
Stratford-sub-Castle adjacentTo Old Sarum hillfort
linked to: Old Sarum
Stratford-sub-Castle hasNearbyArchaeologicalSite remains of Old Sarum cathedral
linked to: Old Sarum
Stratford-sub-Castle hasNearbySettlement Old Sarum (modern housing area)
linked to: Old Sarum
Stratford-sub-Castle Conservation Area adjacentTo Old Sarum scheduled monument
linked to: Old Sarum
Stratford-sub-Castle Conservation Area hasView Old Sarum hillfort
linked to: Old Sarum