Month: April 2018

16th Century history, 17th Century history, Early modern history, James I to Restoration, Patron Saints

Parliament and St George’s Day in the early seventeenth century

Following previous blogs to mark St David’s Day and St Patrick’s Day, Dr Paul Hunneyball of the Lords 1604-1629 Section discusses the near-disappearance of the celebration of St George’s Day in the aftermath of Reformation legislation.  For peers who belonged to the Order of the Garter, however, it was still the occasion for feasting, and as such it impacted on the timetable of parliamentary business… … Continue reading Parliament and St George’s Day in the early seventeenth century

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20th century history, Post-1945 history

The Conservative Party and British Indians, 1975-1990

Today’s blog is from our 2017 undergraduate dissertation competition winner, Jilna Shah of Cambridge University for her thesis on the Conservative Party and British Indians in the long 1980s. Jilna was presented her prize by Chair of Trustees Gordon Marsden and Director of the History of Parliament, Dr Stephen Roberts during our annual lecture in January, ‘The Second Reform Act of 1867: Party interest or … Continue reading The Conservative Party and British Indians, 1975-1990

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17th Century history, James I to Restoration, Women and Parliament

Women Petitioners and The Parlament of Women

As part of our Women and Parliament blog series to mark the centenary of the first women gaining the vote in 1918, this week we hear from Assistant Editor of the Commons 1640-1660 project, Dr Vivienne Larminie. She describes a seventeenth century satirical pamphlet about a fictitious women’s parliamentary meeting and explains how women interacted with Parliament in the seventeenth century… In 1640, a year … Continue reading Women Petitioners and The Parlament of Women

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19th Century history, Events, Social history

Event review: Parliament and Popular Sovereignty in the nineteenth century, 22 March 2018.

Today’s blog is a summary of our afternoon event about Parliament and Popular Sovereignty in the nineteenth century, which was held before Easter at the Palace of Westminster … On  22 March 2018 the History of Parliament hosted an event in the Jubilee Room at the Palace of Westminster entitled, ‘Parliament and Popular Sovereignty in the nineteenth century’. The event was another chance to hear … Continue reading Event review: Parliament and Popular Sovereignty in the nineteenth century, 22 March 2018.

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17th Century history, Early modern history, James I to Restoration, Royal family

MPs as art collectors in the 1650s

As the Royal Academy’s Charles I: King and Collector exhibition comes to a close, Andrew Barclay, Senior Research Fellow with the Commons 1640-1660 Section, considers how a number of the king’s paintings passed into the collections formed by MPs of the period… The Royal Academy’s Charles I exhibition deliberately ignores the fate of the king’s art collection after his execution in 1649. Yet the story … Continue reading MPs as art collectors in the 1650s

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20th century history, Military history, World War I MPs

‘A gallant death in the cause of freedom’: Percy Archer Clive (1873-1918)

Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of the Commons 1832-1868 Section continues with our blog series to commemorate those MPs who died during the First World War. Today we remember Percy Archer Clive of the Grenadier Guards and MP for South Herefordshire…  On 5 April 1918 Percy Archer Clive became the twentieth MP or former MP to die while serving with the forces during the First World … Continue reading ‘A gallant death in the cause of freedom’: Percy Archer Clive (1873-1918)

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18th Century history, Elections, Georgian Lords, Women and Parliament

‘A little door to get in, and a great crowd without’: how to get elected to Parliament in early Georgian Britain

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, is still renowned as a poet, commentator on Ottoman society, from when she accompanied her husband on an embassy to Istanbul, and an early proponent in England of inoculation against small pox. Lady Mary’s letters can also offer us a view of how members of the Georgian House of Lords and their families were involved in elections to the ‘unreformed’ House of Commons. Continue reading ‘A little door to get in, and a great crowd without’: how to get elected to Parliament in early Georgian Britain

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History of Parliament Trust

Life before the RAF: the young air services and Parliament

The 1 April 2018 marks 100 years since the formation of the Royal Air Force, a particularly poignant anniversary for our Public Engagement Officer, Sammy Sturgess who is a former member of the Service herself and she graduated from basic training on the 90th anniversary of the RAF. Today she explains the prelude to the formation of the world’s first independent Air Force through debates … Continue reading Life before the RAF: the young air services and Parliament

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