Rotten and pocket boroughs
Borough County Houses Voters
Old Sarum Wiltshire 00 3 0 7
Gatton Surrey 0 23 0 7
Newtown Isle of Wight 0 14 23
East Looe Cornwall 167 38
Dunwich Suffolk 0 44 32
Plympton Erle Devon 182 40
Bramber West Sussex 0 35 20
Callington Cornwall 225 42
Trim County Meath
Rotten boroughs
The term rotten borough came into use in the 18th century ; it meant a parliamentary borough with a tiny electorate , so small that voters were susceptible to control in a variety of ways , as it had declined in population and importance since its early days . The word `` rotten '' had the connotation of corruption as well as long-term decline . In such boroughs most or all of the few electors could not vote as they pleased , due to the lack of a secret ballot and their dependency on the `` owner '' of the borough . Only rarely were the views or personal character of a candidate taken into consideration , except by the minority of voters who were not beholden to a particular interest . Typically , rotten boroughs had gained their representation in Parliament when they were more flourishing centres , but the borough 's boundaries had never been updated , or else they had become depopulated or even deserted over the centuries . Some had once been important places or had played a major role in England 's history , but had fallen into insignificance as for example when industry moved away . For example , in the 12th century Old Sarum had been a busy cathedral city , reliant on the wealth expended by its own Sarum Cathedral within its city precincts , but it was abandoned when the present Salisbury Cathedral was built on a new site nearby ( `` New Sarum '' ) , which immediately attracted merchants and workers who built up a new town around it . Despite this dramatic loss of population , the constituency of Old Sarum retained its right to elect two MPs . Many such rotten boroughs were controlled by landowners and peers who might give the seats in Parliament to their like-minded friends or relations , or who went to Parliament themselves , if they were not already members of the House of Lords . They also commonly sold them for money or other favours ; the peers who controlled such boroughs had a double influence in Parliament as they themselves held seats in the House of Lords . This patronage was based on property rights which could be inherited and passed on to heirs , or else sold , like any other form of property .
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain unrepresentative influence within the unreformed House of Commons. The same terms were used for similar boroughs represented in the 18th-century Parliament of Ireland.