Brackley was a parliamentary borough in Northamptonshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1547 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act.
While this by no means put it among the smallest of the rotten boroughs, it was barely the half the size which was eventually required to retain representation after 1832.
Brackley was a corporation borough, the right to vote having been restricted to the Mayor, 6 aldermen and 26 "burgesses" (the remaining members of the corporation), a total electorate of 33, in the reign of James II.
The Mayor was appointed by the Lord of the Manor, and the major local landowners or "patrons" had total control over the election of MPs.
In the mid 18th century the Duke of Bridgewater was able to nominate both MPs;[1] by the time of the Reform Act, the Earl of Bridgewater nominated to one seat and the Marquess of Stafford to the other.