Category: 17th Century history

17th Century history, Early modern history, History of Parliament Trust

For St Valentine’s Day, a sad story about marital devotion from Civil War and Restoration Suffolk – or is it?

This Valentine’s Day, Paul Seaward, Director of the History of Parliament, reflects on the marital devotion of Sir Henry North, and questions how devoted North truly was… In the parish church at Mildenhall, Suffolk, close by the chancel, there is a pair of modest, but distinctly odd monuments, placed side by side. One bears a plain inscription noting the death in 1671 of Sir Henry … Continue reading For St Valentine’s Day, a sad story about marital devotion from Civil War and Restoration Suffolk – or is it?

Kirsty O'RourkeLeave a comment
17th Century history, History of Parliament Trust, Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments

1642 – The earl of Leicester’s ‘Annus Horribilis’

In the first Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments blog of 2023, guest blogger Dr Fraser Dickinson explores the torn allegiances of the earl of Leicester in 1642… … I am environed by such contradictions, as I can neither get from them [Parliament and Charles I], nor reconcyle them. The Parliament bids me go presently [to Ireland]; the King commands me to stay till he dispatch me. The … Continue reading 1642 – The earl of Leicester’s ‘Annus Horribilis’

conniejefferyLeave a comment
17th Century history, 18th Century history, Georgian Lords, History of Parliament Trust, House of Lords 1660-1715, Parliamentary buildings

Spending a penny in the old palace of Westminster

The human side of working in Parliament can often be forgotten, but in today’s blog Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 project, explores where parliamentarians went when in need of ‘relief’ in the old palace of Westminster… It is easy to forget when studying Parliament, but members of both Houses and other visitors to the old palace of Westminster spent long … Continue reading Spending a penny in the old palace of Westminster

Kirsty O'RourkeLeave a comment
17th Century history, 18th Century history, History of Parliament Trust, House of Lords 1660-1715, Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments

The Madness of the Mohuns

Violence was not uncommon among the early modern aristocracy, but the behaviour of the Mohun (pronounced ‘Moon’) family – Barons Mohun of Okehampton – was shocking even to contemporaries. In the next blog for our Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments series, Dr Patrick Little from our Lords 1640-1660 project explores the family weakness for mindless violence… John Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun, was proud of his ancestry, boasting … Continue reading The Madness of the Mohuns

Kirsty O'RourkeLeave a comment
'The Story of Parliament', 16th Century history, 17th Century history, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Conferences/seminars, Events, History of Parliament Trust, Speakers of the House

Heraldry, Pomp and Power: The Use of Parliamentary Symbols on Coats of Arms, c.1527-2006

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

Martin SpychalLeave a comment
17th Century history, Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments

Levelling the Lords

In the inaugural blog of our Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments series, the editor of our new House of Lords 1640-60 section Dr David Scott, and Dr Sarah Mortimer of Christ Church, Oxford, consider the politics behind the abolition of the House of Lords in 1649… In November 1648, after a summer and autumn of hard-fought victories against royalist insurgents and Scottish invaders, the New Model Army … Continue reading Levelling the Lords

conniejefferyLeave a comment
17th Century history, History of Parliament Trust, Speakers of the House

Sir Job Charlton and the Declaration of Indulgence 1672-3

As we continue our recent blog series exploring the careers of notable people to occupy the role of Speaker, here History of Parliament director Dr Paul Seaward examines the debates behind appointing this influential job in the 17th century and a Speaker often forgotten about… Speakers of the Commons in the seventeenth century were, though notionally elected by the House, effectively government appointees. At the … Continue reading Sir Job Charlton and the Declaration of Indulgence 1672-3

conniejefferyLeave a comment
17th Century history, James I to Restoration

‘Never ending war’ and ‘the enriching of Parliament-men’: MPs and corruption in the 1640s

In the second of two blogs from Dr Vivienne Larminie, editor of our Commons 1640-1660 project, here attention is turned to accusations of corruption and financial incentives in the Parliaments of the 1640s… In the 1630s the venom-filled pen of pamphleteer William Prynne had excoriated the court of Charles I for what he regarded as immorality and corruption. But by the later 1640s, a seemingly … Continue reading ‘Never ending war’ and ‘the enriching of Parliament-men’: MPs and corruption in the 1640s

conniejefferyLeave a comment
17th Century history, James I to Restoration

Charles I in search of friends: government in crisis and the rewards of loyalty, 1640-1644

Today we hear from Dr Vivienne Larminie, editor of our Commons 1640-1660 project, who discusses Charles I’s attempts to secure loyalty by giving out peerages and other honours in the early 1640s… By late 1640 the government of Charles I was in deep trouble. A treaty signed at Ripon on 26 October signalled the end of three years of war against his Scottish subjects – the … Continue reading Charles I in search of friends: government in crisis and the rewards of loyalty, 1640-1644

conniejefferyLeave a comment
17th Century history, Early modern history, History of Parliament Trust, James I to Restoration

William Herbert, 3rd earl of Pembroke: the ‘nearly man’ of early Stuart politics

As we wait to hear who has triumphed in the latest contest to become prime minister, Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 section considers a leading 17th-century courtier who seemed destined for the top, but never quite made it… It’s tempting to assume that present-day politics has little in common with government 400 years ago, but in fact there are quite strong parallels.  Then … Continue reading William Herbert, 3rd earl of Pembroke: the ‘nearly man’ of early Stuart politics

larminievLeave a comment