NORTHUMBERLAND/ALNWICK ELECTIONS. An important private colle...

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NORTHUMBERLAND/ALNWICK ELECTIONS. An important private collection of electoral ephemera. In 1826 Northumberland experienced its first contested election since 1774, with four candidates vying for the county's two seats. The contestants for the county being Matthew Bell & the Hon. H. T. Liddell for the Tories and T. W. Beaumont & Lord Howick for the Whigs. For the previous fifty years, electors had not had the opportunity to cast their votes as the representation had been decided by negotiations between the major local landowners, who included the Percy family & the Greys, of Howick. The breakdown of this arrangement resulted in an expensive contest, said to have cost the candidates an astonishing £250,000 between them. This fiercely fought election, with fifteen days of polling in Alnwick, saw an argument on the hustings between Beaumont (one of the candidates) & John Lambton which ended up in a, fortunately bloodless, duel on Bamburgh Sands.