What did a meeting of the English Parliament look like 500 years ago? The earliest-known image of a state opening offers important clues, but also requires careful interpretation, as Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 section explains… The picture shown below is the oldest near-contemporary image of an English Parliament that we know of. As such it has almost iconic status, and has been … Continue reading Picturing the Parliament of 1523
With the notable exception of ‘Bess of Hardwick’ (Elizabeth Talbot (née Cavendish), countess of Shrewsbury), most Elizabethan noblewomen are barely remembered today. Among those who deserve to be better known is Katherine Bertie (née Willoughby), dowager duchess of Suffolk, as Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Elizabethan House of Lords section, explains… Katherine Willoughby was the only child of Lincolnshire’s leading magnate, William, eleventh Baron … Continue reading A Forgotten Elizabethan Noblewoman: Katherine Bertie, Dowager Duchess of Suffolk and Baroness Willoughby de Eresby
The long-running problem of who would inherit the English throne was not the only succession crisis of Elizabeth I’s reign. In the first of our series of blogs on faction in English politics, Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of the House of Lords 1558-1603 project, explores the bitter rivalry between the Cecils and Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex over the succession to Lord Burghley as … Continue reading The other Elizabethan succession crisis: the fight to succeed the 1st Lord Burghley, 1592-1598
Steep increases in fuel bills are not just a modern problem, as Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 section explains… The picture sounds all too familiar: rapidly rising fuel prices; people on low incomes struggling to heat their homes; concerns about long-term supplies; and suspicions of profiteering by those in a position to manipulate the market. But these aren’t the woes of 2023. We’re … Continue reading Parliament and the Elizabethan energy crisis
In the latest blog from our First Elizabethan Age series Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 section, discusses the words- or lack of- given by Elizabeth I on this day 1586, and some of the more unusual features of the monarch’s sixth Parliament… At Richmond Palace on 24 November 1586, four hundred and twenty-six years ago to the day, Elizabeth I delivered a … Continue reading The ‘Answer Answerless’ and Elizabeth I’s attitude towards the Parliament of 1586-7
Ahead of next Tuesday’s hybrid Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Duncan Sutherland. On 15 November, between 5.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Duncan will discuss the longstanding connection between Parliament and heraldry from the 16th century to the modern day. Continue reading Heraldry, Pomp and Power: The Use of Parliamentary Symbols on Coats of Arms, c.1527-2006
Climate change is making gardening more of a challenge in this country, but at least we have plenty of information on the best plants to use. Five hundred years ago the picture was a lot more confusing. Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 section investigates a major botanical turning point… William Turner’s New Herbal, published in instalments between 1551 and 1568, is one of … Continue reading William Turner and the reformation of gardening
Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 section, discusses the thorny issue that faced Elizabeth I in the wake of the discovery of Mary Queen of Scots’ role in the Babington Plot of 1586… On 1 February 1587 Sir Francis Walsingham and his fellow Secretary of State, William Davison, wrote on behalf of Elizabeth I to the privy councillor Sir Amias Paulet, one of … Continue reading Execution or murder? Elizabeth I and the problem of how to kill Mary Queen of Scots
Ahead of next Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Andrew Thrush of the History of Parliament. On 7 June 2022, between 5.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Andrew will be responding to your questions about his pre-circulated paper on Elizabeth I, Parliament and the creation of new peers. Andrew’s full-length paper is available by signing up to his seminar and contacting seminar@histparl.ac.uk. Details of how to join the discussion are … Continue reading Elizabeth I, Parliament and the creation of new peers, 1558-1603
In our latest blog we’re returning to the ‘Recovering Europe’s Parliamentary Culture, 1500-1700’ project. Since autumn 2021, we have been working with the University of Oxford and the Centre for Intellectual History at the University of Oxford to put together series of blogs that explore European Parliamentary Culture. The series is focused on the Early Modern period – roughly 1500-1700 – but they have ranged more widely, seeking to bring in some scholars of … Continue reading Parliamentary Culture, 1500-1700: The State of Research
The History of Parliament 