On This Day in Wembury — 26 March 1880
Lieut-Colonel Sterling of Wembury Enters the Election
On 26 March 1880, during one of the most hotly contested general elections of the Victorian age, Lieutenant-Colonel John Sterling of Wembury House, South Plymouth, issued an address “To the Electors of East Devon.” His appeal, printed in the Dartmouth & South Hams Chronicle, announced his last-minute decision to stand as a Liberal candidate in opposition to the long-dominant Conservatives.
Sterling’s letter reflected the passionate political atmosphere of the time, as Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli’s Conservative government faced mounting criticism over foreign wars and imperial policy, while William Gladstone’s Liberals called for reform, disarmament, and moral renewal.
“At the last moment I have been called on to give the Electors of East Devon an opportunity of recording their votes for a true Liberal candidate,” he wrote, urging voters to unite under “the leadership of Mr Gladstone.”
He went on to praise the Liberal Government’s record in education and local reform, contrasting it with what he saw as the “wasteful and dangerous policy” of the Conservatives in India and South Africa. Sterling also championed improvements to agricultural law, describing the insecurity of small tenant farmers under existing systems and calling for “a more liberal measure of justice for the agricultural classes.”
Though not a career politician, Colonel Sterling was a respected local landowner, remembered for his involvement in parish and county affairs around Wembury and the Yealm. His candidacy exemplified the Victorian belief that civic duty extended beyond military or estate life into the realm of public service.
The 1880 election would see Gladstone’s Liberals sweep to victory nationwide, ending Disraeli’s administration. For Wembury’s own Lieut-Colonel Sterling, his brief campaign stands as a snapshot of a moment when the voice of rural Devon joined the great national debates shaping modern Britain.
Source: Dartmouth & South Hams Chronicle, Friday 26 March 1880 — “Electors of East Devon: Address by Lieut-Colonel John Sterling, Wembury House, South Plymouth.”