Tag: featured

Conferences/seminars, England and Scotland, History of Parliament Trust

Histories of Scottish Politics in the Age of Union, c.1700-1945: Registration Open

Registration is now open for the conference Histories of Scottish Politics in the Age of Union, c.1700-1945, taking place at Durham University, Tuesday-Wednesday 23-24 July 2024. It is organised by Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones and is supported by the History of Parliament, together with the British Agricultural History Society, the Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies, the Leverhulme Trust, the Past & Present Society and the Scottish Historical … Continue reading Histories of Scottish Politics in the Age of Union, c.1700-1945: Registration Open

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19th Century history, History of Parliament Trust, Victorian Commons

From Parliament to Fancy Dress: the life story of an MP’s court dress

In this guest blog, originally posted on the Victorian Commons blog page, Henrietta Lockhart, Curator of Museum Collections at Winterbourne House and Garden, at the University of Birmingham, tells the story of a unique piece of costume once owned and worn by the 19th century MP, Edward Strutt (1801-80). At Winterbourne House and Garden in Edgbaston, Birmingham, visitors can now enjoy a striking exhibit: the court dress … Continue reading From Parliament to Fancy Dress: the life story of an MP’s court dress

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17th Century history, 18th Century history, Elections, Factions, Georgian Lords, History of Parliament Trust, House of Lords 1660-1715, Party splits, Queen Anne

Tory to Whig – or helping out the Family?

Historians J.B. Owen, J.H. Plumb, and Linda Colley have all alluded to the post-1714 drift of the Tories into the Whig party. One of the families particularly referenced was the Legges. In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Dr Stuart Handley demonstrates the family advantages of conforming to the prevailing political climate. In August 1714, the head of the Legge family was William, earl … Continue reading Tory to Whig – or helping out the Family?

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19th Century history, Conferences/seminars, Elections, Electoral Reform, History of Parliament Trust, Victorian Commons

‘The corruption of the best things becomes the worst.’ The Politics of Electoral Registration in Several Midland Boroughs in the Age of Reform, 1832-41

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Sarah Boote Powell, of the University of Warwick. On 14 May she will discuss the politics of electoral registration in the Midlands in the aftermath of the 1832 Reform Act. The seminar takes place on 14 April 2024, between 5:30 and 6.30 p.m. It is taking place online, via Zoom. Details of how to … Continue reading ‘The corruption of the best things becomes the worst.’ The Politics of Electoral Registration in Several Midland Boroughs in the Age of Reform, 1832-41

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19th Century history, 20th century history, History of Parliament Trust

Two Gardening Giants- Joseph Chamberlain and Michael Heseltine

In the second of two blogs for National Gardening Week, here guest blogger Dr Jonathan Denby takes a closer look at two MPs with a passion for gardening, who served in the Cabinet one hundred years apart… When Joseph Chamberlain sat down with his cabinet colleagues in 1880 every one of them had a country estate with a large ornamental garden and they all, not … Continue reading Two Gardening Giants- Joseph Chamberlain and Michael Heseltine

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18th Century history, 19th Century history

Great Parliamentary Gardeners- The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Compared

The beginning of May marks the Royal Horticultural Society’s National Gardening Week, but many of the Parliamentarians in our volumes didn’t need extra encouragement to tend to their gardens. In this, the first of two blogs, guest blogger Dr Jonathan Denby looks at differing level of importance that was placed on gardening for MPs across the 19th and 20th centuries… Sir Roderick Floud’s magisterial ‘An … Continue reading Great Parliamentary Gardeners- The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Compared

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16th Century history, Early modern history, House of Lords 1558-1603, The First Elizabethan Age

A prisoner in the Lords: the curious case of William Grey, 13th Lord Grey of Wilton

The first Elizabethan Parliament (1559) famously witnessed the restoration of the royal supremacy and paved the way for the reintroduction of Protestantism. It also saw the House of Lords briefly become the main focus of parliamentary opposition to royal policy, a radical departure. However, this Parliament boasts another unusual feature, as Dr Andrew Thrush, the editor of our Elizabethan House of Lords section, explains… It … Continue reading A prisoner in the Lords: the curious case of William Grey, 13th Lord Grey of Wilton

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20th century history, Conferences/seminars, Elections, History of Parliament Trust, Local History

Mass-Observation and popular politics at the 1945 General Election

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Rebecca Goldsmith, of Jesus College, Cambridge. On 30 April she will discuss Mass-Observation and popular politics at the 1945 general election. The seminar takes place on 30 April 2024, between 5:30 and 6.30 p.m. It is fully ‘hybrid’, which means you can attend either in-person in London at the IHR, or online via … Continue reading Mass-Observation and popular politics at the 1945 General Election

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18th Century history, Elections, Georgian Lords, History of Parliament Trust

Benjamin Franklin and the state of Britain in the time of Wilkes

A new series exploring Benjamin Franklin’s time in Europe launches on streaming services this month, but how did the American ‘Founding Father’ respond to the politics in Britain during the 1760s? In this blog Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 project, looks at Franklin’s opinion of the British political agitator John Wilkes- a man who divided not just his own nation… … Continue reading Benjamin Franklin and the state of Britain in the time of Wilkes

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17th Century history, Commons in the Civil Wars, History of Parliament Trust, Reporting Parliament, Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments

New Evidence for Old Stories: The Scribbled Books of the House of Lords

In this blog, Dr Alex Beeton from our House of Lords 1640-1660 project explores a little-used parliamentary source – the ‘Scribbled Books’ – and reveals some of the important information that can be found within them… John Browne, the Clerk of the Parliaments (i.e. the House of Lords) in the Long Parliament, did not have an easy job. His primary purpose was, with the help … Continue reading New Evidence for Old Stories: The Scribbled Books of the House of Lords

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