The constituency encompassed the urban part of the town and parish (now city) of Sheffield, England, but not the western, rural, parts of Upper Hallam and Ecclesall Bierlow, which were incorporated into Sheffield Town Borough in 1843.
Before 1832 Sheffield had been represented by the Yorkshire constituency. The Sheffield Borough constituency was created by the Reform Act of 1832, and was given two MPs, the first time that the town had been represented in the House of Commons. Four candidates stood at the first election contesting these two seats. Voting took place on 13 and 14 December 1832, with the results declared on 15 December (see below). The election sparked a riot on 14 December, which resulted in the military being called out. The soldiers fired on the crowd, killing six people and injuring several others.[1] Following the Redistribution of Seats Act in 1885, which sought to eliminate constituencies with more than one MP and give greater representation to urban areas, the Borough of Sheffield was sub-divided. The five new divisions—Attercliffe, Brightside, Ecclesall, Hallam, and Sheffield Central—each returned a single MP.
The constituency was sub-divided in 1885. The sitting MPs, A. J. Mundella and Charles Stuart-Wortley subsequently stood for and won seats in one of the new constituencies (Sheffield Brightside and Sheffield Hallam respectively).
^ abcThe Poll Book; containing a correct list of the electors who polled; distinguishing the candidates for whom they voted; also the names of the registered voters who did not poll in the first election of members for the Borough of Sheffield, December 13 and 14, 1832. Sheffield: Whitaker & Co. 1833. pp. 36–37.