1910 Barnstaple by-election 1910 Barnstaple by-election The Barnstaple by-election, 1910 was a parliamentary by-election held for the House of Commons constituency of Barnstaple in North Devon on 2 March 1910. The by-election was caused by the appointment of the sitting Liberal MP, Ernest Soares as Junior Lord of the Treasury, i.e. one of the government whips. Under the Parliamentary rules of the day applicable to the appointment of ministers, Soares had to resign and fight a by-election. Despite having cut the Liberal majority in Barnstaple from 2,045 in the 1906 general election to just 882 in January 1910, the Unionists decided not to
Barnstaple tanneries, sawmills and foundries, and shipbuilding was also carried on. The Bear Street drill hall was completed in the early 19th century. Barnstaple was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Reform Act 1835. Between the 1930s and the 1950s the town swallowed the villages of Pilton, Newport, and Roundswell through ribbon development. The historic Borough of Barnstaple was long governed by the Mayor of Barnstaple and the Corporation. The seat of government was the Barnstaple Guildhall. The mayor served a term of one year and was elected annually on the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin (15