The History of Parliament Trust’s Review of the Year 2021-22 is now available here. The review summarises the activities of the Trust over the year from April 2021 to March 2022, including brief sketches of some of the biographies and constituency articles completed during that time and a description of our engagement activities. It also includes for the first time a summary of the academic … Continue reading History of Parliament Annual Reports
Last year Dr Simon Payling from our Commons 1461-1504 project explored the case of the first peer to be executed of a crime short of treason. In today’s blog Dr Payling turns his attention to the second peer to face this punishment. But, this time, was the sentence deserved? The fate of Thomas Fiennes, Lord Dacre, in 1541, the first peer to be executed for … Continue reading ‘There is no more accoumpt to bee made of them than the kylling of ij sheep’: Charles, Lord Stourton (d.1557), and the murder of the Hartgills
Despite everything that was thrown at us this year, 2021 was as busy as ever for the History of Parliament! With online outreach, multiple events, and even an in-person celebration or two, here’s Connie Jeffery with a round-up of 2021 at the HPT… 2021 began with the long-anticipated publication of our House of Lords 1604-29 volumes, edited by Dr Andrew Thrush. Based on detailed manuscript … Continue reading Review of the Year 2021
On 22nd September we, the History of Parliament Trust, came together with St James’s House to celebrate the publication of our latest collaboration: 300 Years of Leadership and Innovation. The publication, released to mark the 300th anniversary of Sir Robert Walpole becoming the first so-called Prime Minister, celebrates leadership across the full spectrum of British society: from Parliament and Crown to captains of industry and innovation. Volume … Continue reading The History of Parliament Trust and St James’s House: Publication Collaborations
Last week (10-16 May 2021) marked Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. Today Dr Stephen Ball from our Commons 1832-1868 project looks into the career and legacy of Joseph Ablett (1773-1848), a wealthy cotton manufacturer and country squire. Although never technically an MP, Ablett was returned at a parliamentary election in 1826, and later made a significant contribution to the treatment of mental illness … Continue reading Joseph Ablett and the treatment of mental illness in early Victorian Wales
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
Ahead of next Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Sonny Angus, of the University of Edinburgh. On 18 May 2021, between 5.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Sonny will be responding to your questions about his pre-circulated paper on the material culture of Scottish radical politics, 1832-1884. Details of how to join the discussion are available here, or by contacting seminar@histparl.ac.uk. … Continue reading Portraits, Plates and Pigs: Representations of National Leaders within the Material Culture of Scottish Radical Procession 1832-1884
On the evening of the 10/11 May 1941 the House of Commons Chamber was destroyed during the Blitz. In today’s blog, 80 years on, our Public Engagement Assistant Connie Jeffery explores the event and how Parliament rebuilt and recovered from the destruction… Like much of the United Kingdom’s home front, Westminster was no stranger to the effects of the Second World War. Parliament’s recognisable home … Continue reading ‘London’s Latest Ordeal’: the Blitz and rebuilding of the House of Commons Chamber
Today we mark the anniversary of another key battle within the Wars of the Roses: the battle of Tewkesbury. As Edward IV’s forces sought to build on their earlier victory at the battle of Barnet, attention turned to Margaret of Anjou, as Dr Simon Payling from our Commons 1461-1504 project explains… The most striking facet of the campaign that saw Edward IV win victories at … Continue reading The hunting down of Queen Margaret: the battle of Tewkesbury 4 May 1471
As we gear up for May’s Local and Community History Month, today Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our Lords 1715-1790 project, begins our look at port constituencies. Hubs of trade and industry, historically ports have been central to both national economy and military defence, making their representation in Parliament very important. Here Dr Eagles casts an eye on the town of Lymington on the south … Continue reading ‘Seldom… disturbed by the bustle of trade or the affairs of Government’: Lymington from Restoration to Reform
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