1885–1918 The
Mid or Medway Division of Kent was created by the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. It comprised a rural area consisting of the
petty sessional divisions of Bearstead, Rochester and part of
Malling PSD, but did not include the
Medway Towns which were comprised in the
parliamentary boroughs of
Chatham and
Rochester. It also surrounded, but did not include the town of
Maidstone. It comprised these parishes: •
Addington • Allhallows •
Allington •
Aylesford •
Bearsted •
Bicknor •
Birling •
Boughton Malherbe •
Boughton Monchelsea •
Boxley •
Bredhurst •
Broomfield •
Burham •
Chalk • Chatham (rural) •
Chart Sutton •
Cliffe •
Cobham •
Cooling •
Cuxton •
Denton •
Ditton •
East Barming •
East Farleigh •
East Malling •
East Sutton •
Frindsbury (rural) •
Frinsted • Gillingham (rural) •
Grange •
Halling •
Harrietsham •
Headcorn •
High Halstow •
Higham •
Hollingbourne •
Hoo Peninsula •
Hucking •
Ifield •
Ightham •
Isle of Grain •
Langley •
Leeds •
Lenham •
Leybourne •
Lidsing •
Linton •
Loose •
Luddesdown •
Meopham •
Mereworth •
Northfleet (rural) •
Nursted •
Offham •
Otterden •
Ryarsh •
St Mary Hoo •
Shorne •
Snodland •
Stansted •
Stockbury •
Stoke •
Strood (rural) •
Sutton Valence •
Teston •
Thurnham •
Trottiscliffe •
Ulcombe •
Wateringbury •
West Barming •
West Farleigh •
West Malling •
West Peckham •
Wichling •
Wormshill •
Wouldham •
Wrotham The
Rochester seat is an old one, going back to the 16th century, but it saw many changes in the 20th century. In 1918 it was split between
Chatham and
Gillingham. The Chatham seat became
Rochester and Chatham in 1950, and then Medway in 1983.
1983–2010 The constituency was revived in 1983 by Parliament's acceptance of a
Boundary Commission national review, and was defined as comprising thirteen
wards of the then
City of Rochester upon Medway: All Saints, Cuxton and Halling, Earl, Frindsbury, Frindsbury Extra, Hoo St. Werburgh, Rede Court, St. Margarets and Borstal, Temple Farm, Thames Side, Town, Troy Town and Warren Wood. In 1998, Rochester-upon-Medway was merged with the neighbouring
Gillingham Borough Council to form the larger unitary Borough of
Medway. The Medway constituency covered only part of the new unitary authority, which also encompassed the entirety of the (
Gillingham constituency and the majority of the
Chatham and Aylesford constituency. Because of this, the seat was renamed
Rochester and Strood in 2010 to avoid confusion.
Boundary review Following the
boundary review of parliamentary representation in
Kent between 2000 and 2008, the
Boundary Commission for England renamed the Medway seat to
Rochester and Strood, in order to avoid confusion with the larger unitary authority of
Medway. Upon its creation, the new Rochester and Strood constituency consisted of ten wards of the Borough of Medway: Cuxton and Halling, Peninsula, River, Rochester East, Rochester South and Horsted, Rochester West, Strood North, Strood Rural and Strood South. ==Members of Parliament==