This week the History of Parliament celebrates the 70th anniversary of one of many important dates in its history. To mark the occasion our director Dr Paul Seaward looks back to the beginnings of our project as we know it today. The History of Parliament has lots of birthdays, for its genesis as a project was a complicated and long-drawn out process. But one of … Continue reading 1951 and the Birth of the History of Parliament
The final year of the decade has been a busy one for the History of Parliament Trust. We’ve sent volumes to the publishers, been involved in regional and national engagement projects, started a YouTube channel and undergone many internal changes – here’s Sammy Sturgess with the highlights of 2019… During the final quarter of 2019 we’ve seen some significant changes to staffing at the History … Continue reading Review of the year 2019
What a year it’s been! After all of the staff changes at the end of 2017 we started the new year with a new Director, Stephen Roberts, Assistant Director, Emma Peplow, and Public Engagement Officer, Sammy Sturgess, who, in addition to our continued research, were ready to forge ahead with a bumper public engagement programme involving our academic projects and beyond. 2019 will see the … Continue reading Review of the Year 2018
Here’s a seasonal offering from Hannes Kleineke of the House of Commons 1422-1504 Section for our Medieval MP of Month… THE HISTORY OF PARLIAMENT: THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 1422-1461, edited by Linda Clark, is out now. For further details about the volumes, including purchasing information, visit the Cambridge University Press website, here. While much has rightly been made this year of the career and legacy of Col. … Continue reading Medieval MP of the Month: Santa Claus in Parliament
Today is the 80th anniversary of what is now known as the Kindertransport debate in the House of Commons. Ahead of our conference to commemorate the life of the History of Parliament Trust’s founder, and determined campaigner in support of the Jews of Nazi-occupied Europe, Josiah C. Wedgwood, Dr Jennifer Craig-Norton (Honorary Fellow of the Parkes Institute at the University of Southampton) discusses the debate and … Continue reading Revisiting the origins of the Kindertransport on its 80th anniversary
Ahead of our conference and public lecture at Keele University on 22 November to mark the 75th anniversary of the death of History of Parliament founder, Josiah C. Wedgwood, and the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport debate, we hear from Lesley Urbach of the Remembering Eleanor Rathbone Group about Wedgwood’s role in assisting Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe… Twenty-two days after Hitler became Chancellor of … Continue reading ‘For our honour’s sake we dare not keep them out’: Josiah Wedgwood and the Jews in Nazi Europe
Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the Munich Agreement, the now infamous meeting where Britain and France agreed to hand over part of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany in order to avoid war. Yet despite the cheering crowds greeting Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his ‘piece of paper’ that guaranteed ‘peace for our time’, the deal was not without opposition, as described by our Assistant Director, … Continue reading ‘Peace for our time’: opposing the Munich Agreement
Last night at the new Newcastle-under-Lyme Library the History of Parliament’s Sammy Sturgess and Emma Peplow, along with British Academy / Wolfson Foundation Research Professor Paul Seaward, gave a talk about the life of Josiah C. Wedgwood to local history enthusiasts. They were graciously introduced by Zagham Farhan, the Member of Youth Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme and Moorlands. This event launched our exhibition tour in North Staffordshire as part … Continue reading Life before Parliament: the formative years of Josiah C. Wedgwood, 1872-1904
Today’s blog is the first in the series about our activities in Staffordshire as part of our HLF funded project, Commemorating Josiah C. Wedgwood. We’d also like to to give special thanks to the Remembering Eleanor Rathbone Group for their time, support and enthusiasm for the project. We are delighted to have been awarded funding to tour an exhibition in and around Wedgwood’s former constituency, Newcastle-under-Lyme, … Continue reading Commemorating Josiah C. Wedgwood: new HLF funded project
Today we hear from our Public Engagement Officer, Sammy Sturgess about our recent event in Westminster to launch our activities to commemorate the life of the founder of the History of Parliament project and lifelong crusader for democracy, Col. Josiah C. Wedgwood MP… On 12 June in Parliament, amid the Commons voting on the Lords’ amendments to the Brexit bill, the History of Parliament Trust … Continue reading A Fighting Life: Commemorating Josiah C. Wedgwood, founder of the History of Parliament project
The History of Parliament 