Wales, Glamorgan, West Glamorgan, Electoral Registers, 1839-1925

What is in This Collection?

This collection contains electoral registers and Burgess Rolls for the Borough of Swansea in West Glamorgan for the years 1839 to 1925. The records contain the names and addresses of those who registered to vote.

This and additional information came from image number 2 in the Register of electors, 1921, folio nos. 001-122, Autumn register .

The meaning of the abbreviations found in the voting registers are as follows:

• B.P. - Business premises qualification
• H.O. - Qualification through husband's occupation
• N.M. - Naval or military voter
• O. - Occupation qualification
• R. - Residence qualification

The entry of the appropriate index letter or letters against a name in the column 2 (a) headed "Parliamentary" indicates that the elector is a parliamentary elector, and the entry of the appropriate letter or letters against a name in the column 2 (b) headed "Local Govt." indicates that the elector is a local government elector. Where no index letter is entered in one or other of those columns against a name, the elector is not entitled to the franchise to which the column relates.

In 1832, the Reform Act created electoral registers. These registers recorded individuals who qualified to vote in the national elections for representation in parliament. The qualifications changed over the years. There were also electoral registers that covered local elections. Boroughs of large cities had their own electoral registers and qualifications for being listed in the registers. In 1878, boroughs combined their registers for the national and local elections. Other places combined their registers by 1885. Registration was suspended and no electoral registers were created during the World Wars from 1916 to 1917 (1915 to 1917 for Scotland) and 1940 to 1944. In the early years, registers only covered about 7 percent of the population. By 1867, they covered about 11 percent. Until 1918, the registers list only men because women were not allowed to vote. Until 1971, the registers listed only those 21 years of age or older.

Before 1884, the registers were arranged by polling district, then alphabetically by surname. After 1884, they were arranged by polling district and then by street. Electoral registers were created to determine who could vote. If an individual’s name did not appear in the register, he or she could not vote. Since the government required the electoral registers, the reliability of the records would be high with respect to the place of residence and the name of the individual.

The following records are included in this collection:

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

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What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

• Given name and surname of each voter
• Place of abode (residence)
• Nature of qualification (what qualified the individual to be included in the register)
• Name of property or street
• Sometimes handwritten notes may have been added, giving such information as who the person voted for, when the voter died, or the removal of the voter