He first stood for
Parliament at the
1874 general election in
Newcastle-under-Lyme, and was unsuccessful again at a by-election in
Stoke-upon-Trent in February 1875. At the
1880 general election Davenport was elected as one of the two
Members of Parliament (MPs) for the
Northern division of Staffordshire. He held that seat for 5 years, until the division was abolished under the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when the two-member county divisions and many
parliamentary boroughs were replaced with new single-member county divisions. Davenport stood in the new
Leek division at the
1885 general election, where he was narrowly beaten by the
Liberal Party candidate
Charles Crompton. However, he did not defend his seat in
1892, when he retired from Parliament. == Personal life ==