Forty-shilling freeholders Facts for Kids

Forty-shilling freeholders were people who could vote in elections because they owned land or property. This property had to bring in at least 40 shillings (which was £2) each year, after all costs were paid.

This way of voting, based on owning property and its value, was used in many places. These included England, Scotland, Ireland, the United States of America, Australia, and Canada.

History of Voting Rights
- New Rules for Voting
Voting in England and Wales
Voting in Ireland
See also

History of Voting Rights

In 1265, during a time of war, a powerful leader named Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester created a special meeting in England. This meeting, called a parliament, was set up without the king's permission. Montfort had defeated the king's army in a battle.

He asked each county and some towns to send two representatives. He insisted these representatives be chosen by voting. Even though King Henry III didn't like this new parliament, the idea of electing people to represent counties and towns became a lasting part of how England was governed.

New Rules for Voting

In 1430, a new law was made. It said that only people who owned land that brought in at least 40 shillings a year could vote. These people became known as "forty-shilling freeholders."

To give you an idea of what 40 shillings meant back then:

In the 1340s, a knight earned two shillings a day during a war.
A regular soldier earned half a shilling a day.
An archer earned two or three pence (there were 12 pennies in a shilling).
A war-horse could cost anywhere from five to 100 pounds!

The law didn't specifically say that only men could vote. However, over time, it became a custom that only men voted. For many centuries, until a big change in 1832, a few women who owned property were able to vote, but this was very rare.

Voting in England and Wales

Before the 1400s, many people could vote for their county representatives in the Parliament of England. It wasn't just limited to those with 40-shilling freeholds.

A historian named Charles Seymour said that it's likely all free householders who lived in an area could vote. But Parliament decided to limit who could vote. They said that elections were becoming too crowded with "many persons of low estate," which caused confusion. So, the 1430 law limited voting to those with a 40-shilling freehold.

Quick facts for kids Electors of Knights of the Shires Act 1429
Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	What Sort of Men shall be Choosers, and who shall be chosen Knights of the Parliament.
Citation	8 Hen. 6. c. 7
Other legislation
Repealed by	Representation of the People Act 1918
Status: Repealed

Electors of Knights of the Shire Act 1432
Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Citation	10 Hen. 6. c. 2

The Parliament of England made the new voting rules for counties official with the Electors of Knights of the Shires Act 1429. Another law, the Electors of Knights of the Shire Act 1432, made it even clearer. It said that to vote in a county, your 40-shilling freehold property had to be in that specific county.

Over time, many different kinds of property were accepted as "forty-shilling freeholds." Also, the rule that you had to live in the county to vote there slowly disappeared.

What Counted as Property?

The idea of "freehold" became very broad. It wasn't just about owning land. For example, people could vote if they had:

Payments received regularly from land (called annuities).
Rights to use a church pew.
Even certain church jobs, like a chorister, bell-ringer, or organ-blower, could allow someone to vote!

Because of these broad interpretations, and because the 40-shilling value wasn't updated for inflation, more and more people slowly became eligible to vote. However, some people, like King William IV, thought this was too many voters. They wanted to make the voting rules stricter.

In 1712, a new rule was added: to vote, you also had to pay taxes on your land. This meant your land had to be officially assessed for tax purposes.

Changes in 1832

When voting rights were discussed again in 1832, many in Parliament wanted to keep the 40-shilling freehold vote. Even though the King wanted to raise the value to £10, neither of the main political parties (the Whigs or the Tories) wanted to get rid of the 40-shilling rule. It helped them win votes in different areas.

So, the 40-shilling franchise continued, but with some new limits. For example, if you only owned property for a certain period (like for life), you had to actually live on it to vote. The broad interpretation of what counted as a freehold (like pew rights or church jobs) was not stopped by the 1832 law.

One big debate was about people who owned property in towns but didn't live there. The Whigs wanted these people to vote in the counties where the towns were. The Tories worried this would give too much power to town interests in farming areas.

After the Reform Act 1832 passed, about 70% of the county voters still qualified because of their 40-shilling freehold.

The End of the Forty-Shilling Vote

After 1885, owning property became less important for voting. By 1902, only about 16% of county voters were freeholders.

In 1918, most adult men gained the right to vote. Property qualifications then only affected some women voters and business owners who could vote more than once. The 40-shilling qualification officially ended.

Finally, in 1928, all adults could vote. By 1950, no one voted just because they owned land.

Voting in Ireland

In Ireland, before 1829, the right to vote in county elections was also limited to forty-shilling freeholders. This meant anyone who owned or rented land worth 40 shillings or more could vote.

Many Catholics gained this right to vote after the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1793. They could vote for the Irish House of Commons and later for the United Kingdom House of Commons after 1801.

However, in 1829, a new law called the Parliamentary Elections (Ireland) Act 1829 changed things. It raised the voting qualification to ten pounds. This meant many people, both Protestant and Catholic, who used to vote, lost their right to vote. This £10 rule stayed in place for county voting in Ireland until 1884.

The 40-shilling qualification did continue in some Irish towns that were also considered counties, like Cork City.

For example, in Cork City, the right to vote was given to "freemen" of the city and to 40-shilling freeholders. In 1831, there were 2331 freemen and 1545 freeholders. Even after new laws in the 1830s, Cork City kept its right to send two representatives to Parliament. In 1836, there were still 608 forty-shilling freeholders voting in Cork City.

Forty-shilling freeholders facts for kids

Contents