Tag: House of Commons

19th Century history, LGBTQ+ History

NEW PODCAST for LGBT+ History Month: Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916)

Based on his recent blog series on The Victorian Commons, this LGBT+ History Month Dr Martin Spychal sat down (virtually) with our public engagement team to discuss his research on the queer MP Lord Ronald Gower. We’ve made our 30 minute conversation available for you below. Martin has been researching Lord Ronald Gower as part of the History of Parliament’s Commons 1832-68 project and been … Continue reading NEW PODCAST for LGBT+ History Month: Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916)

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18th Century history, economic history, Georgian Lords, History

Asleep on the job? Prime Minister Lord North 250 years on

Accompanying the publication of a new collection covering 300 years of British Prime Ministers, the book’s editor compiled a list assessing the 55 premiers in order of their significance. Frederick, Lord North, who became Prime Minister in 1770 and is probably best known as the man who lost America, came towards the bottom of the pile at number forty. Dr Robin Eagles reassesses North’s early … Continue reading Asleep on the job? Prime Minister Lord North 250 years on

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20th century history, LGBTQ+ History, Local History, Victorian Commons

A Highland canvass in a ‘pocket county’: Ronald Gower (1845-1916) and the 1867 Sutherland by-election

Continuing our series on Scotland, Dr Martin Spychal, research fellow for the House of Commons 1832-1868 project, uses Ronald Gower’s diaries to provide some rare insights into mid-Victorian electioneering in the ‘pocket county’ of Sutherland. If there was a History of Parliament award for ‘constituency most under the thumb of an aristocratic patron’, the Highland county of Sutherland would be a top contender. Following the … Continue reading A Highland canvass in a ‘pocket county’: Ronald Gower (1845-1916) and the 1867 Sutherland by-election

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19th Century history, Conferences/seminars, Elections

The West India Interest and the Parliamentary Defence of Slavery, 1823-33

Ahead of Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Michael Taylor, the author of The Interest: How the British Establishment Resisted the Abolition of Slavery (2020). He will be responding to your questions about his research on the parliamentary resistance to the abolition of slavery between 5:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on 3 November 2020. Details on how to join the discussion … Continue reading The West India Interest and the Parliamentary Defence of Slavery, 1823-33

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17th Century history, Conferences/seminars, History, James I to Restoration, Politics, religious history

Catholic Forfeitures during the English Revolution: Parliament and the Role of Sequestration Agents

Ahead of Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Eilish Gregory at the University of Reading. She will be responding to your questions about her research on Catholic Forfeitures during the English Revolution on Zoom between 5:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on 20 October 2020. Details on how to join the discussion are available here or by contacting seminar@histparl.ac.uk. This blog is … Continue reading Catholic Forfeitures during the English Revolution: Parliament and the Role of Sequestration Agents

Martin SpychalLeave a comment
19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, Local History

York: exploring the local history of a Victorian constituency

Alongside biographies of 2,591 MPs, our House of Commons 1832-68 project is also researching and writing articles on the 401 English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh constituencies in existence during this period. Following on from this month’s earlier local history post on York, this blog takes this constituency as an example to explain some of the key features of our constituency articles, and how they might … Continue reading York: exploring the local history of a Victorian constituency

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19th Century history, Georgian Lords, Peterloo, Queen Caroline, Victorian Commons, Women and Parliament

The queen and the chemist’s son: Matthew Wood MP and the radical defence of Queen Caroline

A hop merchant and former Lord Mayor, Wood brought Caroline out of exile in June 1820 and housed her at his Mayfair residence at the beginning of the national crisis. As the affair gathered steam Wood became a prime target for loyalist vitriol, a prime example being Theodore Hooke’s malicious pamphlet Solomon Logwood: A Radical Tale. Continue reading The queen and the chemist’s son: Matthew Wood MP and the radical defence of Queen Caroline

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17th Century history, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Early modern history, Georgian Lords, History of Parliament Trust, House of Lords 1660-1715, James I to Restoration, LGBTQ+ History, oral history, Post-1945 history, Women and Parliament

Exploring parliamentary history through art

Today’s blog contains details of the Art UK online exhibitions that our researchers have curated during lockdown… The History of Parliament’s researchers have been trying out the Curations tool recently launched by Art UK, which enables anyone to create a digital exhibition from the artworks on its site. With art galleries and museums currently closed, it is an excellent way to visit their collections online. … Continue reading Exploring parliamentary history through art

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20th century history, oral history, Post-1945 history

A tribute to Joe Ashton, MP for Bassetlaw 1968-2001

This is our third blogpost paying tribute to former MPs and interviewees of our Oral History Project who have sadly passed away during the current crisis. Here project lead Dr Emma Peplow remembers Joe Ashton, MP for Bassetlaw October 1968-2001. Born in Attercliffe, Sheffield in 1933, Joe Ashton told us during his 2012 interview for our oral history project that he came second in a … Continue reading A tribute to Joe Ashton, MP for Bassetlaw 1968-2001

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17th Century history, James I to Restoration

The ‘Convention’ that wasn’t: the Opening of the 1660 Parliament

Today we hear from Dr Andrew Barclay, senior research fellow for our Commons 1640-1660 project. He explores the accuracy of the naming of the so-called Convention of 1660 in the first of a three-part series about the Parliament that would end the English Republic… Prior to dissolving itself on 16 March 1660, the Long Parliament had agreed that a new Parliament should meet on 25 … Continue reading The ‘Convention’ that wasn’t: the Opening of the 1660 Parliament

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