Malmesbury was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1275 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.
The borough was represented in Parliament from 1275.
The constituency originally returned two members, but representation was reduced to one in the Great Reform Act 1832 until the constituency was finally abolished in 1885.
In the 17th century the constituency was dominated by the Earls of Suffolk, based in the family seat at nearby Charlton Park.
From History of Parliament [1] (Source: Bindoff (1982))[2] Source:History of Parliament [3] Powell was declared dead after he disappeared when a hydrogen balloon he was travelling in was blown out into the English Channel and never seen again.