Tag: Health

17th Century history, Early modern history, Health and Medicine, James I to Restoration

Red Streak: cider-making and drinking in Cromwellian Herefordshire

As we contemplate the further lifting of Covid restrictions on hospitality venues, Dr Patrick Little of our Commons 1640-1660 project looks at the pleasures and pitfalls of drinking a native beverage in the seventeenth century, and the science behind its production… Cider has been produced in England since Norman times, if not before, with different traditions emerging in the east (notably East Anglia and Kent) … Continue reading Red Streak: cider-making and drinking in Cromwellian Herefordshire

larminievLeave a comment
18th Century history, Georgian Lords, Health and Medicine, History of Parliament Trust

‘The dearest friend I ever had’: Richard Lumley, 2nd earl of Scarbrough

This week (10-16 May 2021) marks Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. Mental illness is often hidden or misidentified in the historical record, and at the History of Parliament we’re trying to do our bit to correct this. Our research staff often identify cases of parliamentarians who suffered with their mental health, and today, Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our Lords 1715-1790 project, considers … Continue reading ‘The dearest friend I ever had’: Richard Lumley, 2nd earl of Scarbrough

conniejefferyLeave a comment
Health and Medicine, History of Parliament Trust, Medieval history, Prorogation, The Commons in the Wars of the Roses

Plague, prorogation and the suspension of the courts in fifteenth-century England

In another timely blog from our History of Parliament researchers, today Dr Simon Payling, senior research fellow for the Commons 1461-1504 project, discusses Parliament’s response to another plague outbreak as the courts of justice were suspended in June 1464. On Wednesday 6 June 1464, at the beginning of Trinity term, a small piece of theatre was played out in Westminster Hall. Three justices of the … Continue reading Plague, prorogation and the suspension of the courts in fifteenth-century England

conniejefferyLeave a comment
Health and Medicine, Medieval history

Social Distancing – Medieval Style: a Petition of the Commons in the Parliament of 1439

As discussions turn to how Parliament should operate during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Hannes Kleineke, editor of our 1461-1504 section, looks at the parliament of 1439. When Henry VI reluctantly called Parliament back to Westminster during the ‘Black Death’, MPs had just one request… If the efforts to control the epidemic currently sweeping the world seem unprecedented to those living through them, to medieval Englishmen … Continue reading Social Distancing – Medieval Style: a Petition of the Commons in the Parliament of 1439

conniejeffery3 Comments
17th Century history, 18th Century history, Georgian Lords, Health and Medicine, Party splits

‘Where the disease is desperate, the remedy must be so too’: debating the 1721 Quarantine Act

The latest blog for the Georgian Lords considers the topical issue of quarantine. In the 1720s the government was forced to update its quarantine legislation, but as Dr Charles Littleton of our Lords 1715-1790 project shows, it received spirited opposition from members of the House of Lords… In the face of pressure from opposition parties and its own back-benchers, the Johnson government substantially amended the … Continue reading ‘Where the disease is desperate, the remedy must be so too’: debating the 1721 Quarantine Act

reagles5 Comments
18th Century history, Georgian Lords, Legal history, Social history

Stand and deliver: sex, scandal and the Beaufort divorce case

In the middle of the 18th century polite society was both shocked and entertained by the lurid details following on from the breakdown of the marriage of the 3rd duke and duchess of Beaufort. Dr Robin Eagles considers how the case first came to light and the effects it had on those caught up in it. In 1746 the artist Thomas Gainsborough married Margaret Burr, … Continue reading Stand and deliver: sex, scandal and the Beaufort divorce case

reagles1 Comment
17th Century history, Early modern history, Health and Medicine, James I to Restoration

The Kidney Stone of Alderman Adams

Continuing the theme of health, medicine and Parliament, Dr Patrick Little of the House of Commons 1640-1660 section looks at how a notable and multifaceted London MP of the mid-17th century provides a vivid illustration of a danger highlighted in very recent clinical trials… The link between the Ig Nobel Prize for improbable research and the 1640-1660 Section of the History of Parliament Trust is … Continue reading The Kidney Stone of Alderman Adams

pmhunneyball1 Comment
17th Century history, Early modern history, Health and Medicine, James I to Restoration

Parliament and medicine in the early 17th century

Continuing the theme of health, medicine and Parliament, Dr Paul Hunneyball of the Lords 1604-29 Section considers how medical practices and language impacted on parliamentary proceedings under the early Stuarts… History of Parliament biographies contain many incidental details about medicine in the early 17th century, though the picture that emerges is very different from the modern clinical experience. Although anatomical knowledge was improving, the human … Continue reading Parliament and medicine in the early 17th century

larminievLeave a comment
18th Century history, Early modern history, Health and Medicine, Social history

‘The last remedy God has left him’: medicine in the 18th century

Today’s blog from Dr Robin Eagles, Editor of the Lords 1715-1790 Section is in keeping with our theme, health, medicine and Parliament. This theme is particularly significant this month as last week in the UK we celebrated 70 years of the National Health Service. Robin considers medication and wellness practices in the eighteenth century… In the summer of 1726, the Princess of Wales wrote to … Continue reading ‘The last remedy God has left him’: medicine in the 18th century

sammysturgess1 Comment
17th Century history, Health and Medicine, James I to Restoration

Gout and the political career of Lord Broghill

Today’s blog from Dr Patrick Little of the Commons 1640-1660 Section sees the return of our focus on health, medicine and Parliament. Patrick discusses the detrimental effect of gout on the career of Lord Broghill in the mid-seventeenth century… Roger Boyle, Lord Broghill, is perhaps best known as the leading supporter of the scheme to make Oliver Cromwell king under the revised constitution, the Humble … Continue reading Gout and the political career of Lord Broghill

sammysturgess2 Comments