Month: February 2018

17th Century history, Early modern history, England and Scotland, James I to Restoration, LGBTQ+ History, Royal family

James I and his favourites: sex and power at the Jacobean court

As LGBT History Month draws to a close Dr Paul M. Hunneyball of the Lords 1604-1629 Section discusses the nature of relationships between James I and his favourite courtiers, his sexuality and how this affected his ability to maintain unquestionable dominance as the monarch… ‘James I slobbered at the mouth and had favourites; he was thus a Bad King.’ This line from Sellar and Yeatman’s … Continue reading James I and his favourites: sex and power at the Jacobean court

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18th Century history, Events, Georgian Lords

Parliaments, Politics and People Seminar Series – Speaking in the Newspaper: Sheridan in April 1798

Today’s blog is from Prof. Robert W Jones, who is professor of eighteenth-century studies in the School of English at the University of Leeds. He is also the principal investigator for the Leverhulme-funded project, ‘The Political Work of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’, which will produce a four-volume, Political Works of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, for Oxford University Press. Robert gave the below summarized paper about the reporting of … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People Seminar Series – Speaking in the Newspaper: Sheridan in April 1798

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19th Century history, Conferences/seminars, Electoral Reform, Events, Religious history

Bishops and Popular Opinion in the Era of Catholic Emancipation and the Reform Bill

Today’s post is a guest blog from PhD candidate Nicholas Dixon of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. Nicholas shares this blog on the back of his paper from the ‘Parliaments and Popular Sovereignty: Political Representation in the British world, 1640-1886’ conference. The History of Parliament organised this event in partnership with Durham University History Department and the People’s History Museum in Manchester in November 2017. He discusses to what … Continue reading Bishops and Popular Opinion in the Era of Catholic Emancipation and the Reform Bill

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'The Story of Parliament', 17th Century history, Royal family

The importance of royal pardons in Restoration England.

The UK is celebrating the centenary of the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which allowed some women to vote for the first time. This has enlivened a debate relating to the posthumous pardon of Suffragettes convicted of offences during the campaign for ‘Votes for Women’. The History of Parliament’s Director and editor of the Commons 1640-1660 section, Dr Stephen Roberts explains … Continue reading The importance of royal pardons in Restoration England.

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Medieval history, Social history

A medieval MP’s Valentine’s Day Letters

Dr Hannes Kleineke of the 1422-1504 Commons explains how the commercial holiday we now recognise as St Valentine’s Day was observed by a young lover in the fifteenth century… It is a little known fact that the earliest known Valentine’s letter was in fact addressed to an MP, albeit a future one. In February 1477 Margery Brewes, soon to be married to the Norfolk gentleman John … Continue reading A medieval MP’s Valentine’s Day Letters

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'The Story of Parliament', 17th Century history, Reporting Parliament

1624 Proceedings: The House of Commons

Today Philip Baker, former Research Fellow of the History of Parliament and Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, explains the background to and completion of a History of Parliament project for which he was Editor. This new online resource provides access to primary source material relating to the House of Commons during the Parliament of 1624… 394 years ago today, what was to be the final Parliament of … Continue reading 1624 Proceedings: The House of Commons

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17th Century history, 18th Century history, Georgian Lords, House of Lords 1660-1715, Reporting Parliament

Reporting the House of Lords 1660-1832

The latest blog from the Georgian Lords reports back from last month’s conference of the British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies in Oxford, which members of the section attended to speak about the project. A month has now passed since members of the House of Lords 1715-90 project, in company with Dr Paul Seaward, attended the annual conference of the British Society for Eighteenth Century … Continue reading Reporting the House of Lords 1660-1832

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'The Story of Parliament', 20th century history, Elections, Women and Parliament

The Representation of the People Act, 1918: A radical reform measure bill

This is the second in our blog series, women and parliament in this, the centenary year of the Representation of the People Act 1918. Here at the History of Parliament we are closely involved in celebrations, commemorations and projects relating to this anniversary. So today, on the actual anniversary that this Act became law it seemed pertinent to honour its passage. To that end, our … Continue reading The Representation of the People Act, 1918: A radical reform measure bill

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17th Century history, Early modern history, Royal family

Art, power and money: the sale of Charles I’s art collection

On Tuesday of this week – 30th January – we observed the anniversary of the regicide, the execution of Charles I. This is not the only reason Charles I has been in the spotlight recently, Dr Vivienne Larminie, Assistant Editor of the Commons 1640-60 Section, discusses the sale of the King’s art collection in light of the current exhibition Charles I: King and Collector… To … Continue reading Art, power and money: the sale of Charles I’s art collection

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