This meant that once any interested party had secured control of the corporation it was generally easy to maintain, and the owner or "patron" of the borough usually had total power to nominate both the MPs.
Calne manor was bought in 1572 by Lionel Duckett,[1] a London mercer, and his family were influential over elections in the borough for almost 200 years.
By the mid 18th century, the patronage was shared between Thomas Duckett and William Northey, who generally used it to return themselves as MPs, although it could also be a source of revenue: in 1757 Duckett was paid a government pension of £500 a year to vacate his seat[2] when Pitt the Elder wanted it for George Hay.
Between 1763 and 1765, the Earl of Shelburne (who later became Marquess of Lansdowne) bought out Duckett and Northey,[3] and his family controlled the borough in the Whig interest for about the next 75 years.
Calne became one of the causes celebres round which debate on the Bill revolved, but the government eventually transferred it to Schedule B, the list of boroughs that were to lose a seat.
Calne was eventually abolished as a constituency with effect from the general election of 1885, the area being included from that point in the Chippenham (or Wiltshire North West) county division.