The Reform Act extended the boundaries of the constituency, bringing in the neighbouring townships of Tanshelf, Monkhill, Knottingley, Ferrybridge and Carleton, as well as Pontefract Castle and Pontefract Park which had previously been excluded. This doubled the population to just over 10,000, in 4,832 houses.
In 1872, Pontefract was the first British constituency to hold a parliamentary election by secret ballot, at a by-election held shortly after the Act ending the old practice of open voting had come into effect. There was considerable interest in the outcome, many observers believing that support for the parties might be drastically different once voters were able to make their choice in secret; but in the event the shares of the vote were much as they had been at the previous general election. Hugh Childers was re-elected on 15 August 1872 following his appointment as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The original ballot box, sealed in wax with a liquorice stamp, is held at Pontefract museum.[1]
In the third Reform Act, which came into effect at the general election of 1885, Pontefract's representation was reduced from two members to one, though the boundaries remained essentially unchanged. In 1918, Pontefract became a county constituency, and its boundaries were extended to cover a much wider area - Pontefract itself, the towns of Knottingley and Goole, and the Pontefract and Goole rural districts.
At the 1950 general election, Pontefract regained its borough status, being redrawn as a wholly urban constituency, consisting of Pontefract, Castleford and Featherstone. From February 1974, the constituency was renamed Pontefract and Castleford, although its composition remained unchanged.
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