Tag: Legal history

18th Century history, Elections, Georgian Lords, Health and Medicine, History of Parliament Trust, Legal history, Speakers of the House

How to expel an MP from Parliament: The ejection of John Wilkes in 1764

John Wilkes was well known for treading a fine line in his outspoken comments against the government, but in 1763 Parliament decided he had gone too far. Here Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 project, reflects on the case Parliament built against him and how they finally expelled Wilkes from the Chamber… On 19 November 1763 Colonel Bate, reporting affairs in … Continue reading How to expel an MP from Parliament: The ejection of John Wilkes in 1764

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17th Century history, History of Parliament Trust, James I to Restoration, Migration

Parliament and the Mayflower: the case of Samuel More’s children

This month marks the 400 year anniversary of the voyage of Mayflower, the ship that transported 102 passengers to begin their lives in ‘New England’. Last month the History of Parliament’s Director, Dr Stephen Roberts, explored the men who during the 1640s and 50s made the return journey from America to take up seats in Westminster. Today Stephen casts his attention to the MP Samuel … Continue reading Parliament and the Mayflower: the case of Samuel More’s children

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Medieval history, Royal family, Schools, Social history, The Commons in the Wars of the Roses

Children and Parliament in Medieval England

Continuing the theme of children and Parliament following Helen Sunderland’s blog about schoolgirls’ visits to the House of Parliament, 1880-1918 from earlier this week, senior research fellow for our Commons 1461-1504 project, Dr Simon Payling, explores the relationship between children and Parliament in the later middle ages… It is not surprising that children, whether as individuals or a group, appear very rarely in the records … Continue reading Children and Parliament in Medieval England

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Medieval history, Medieval MP of the Month

Medieval MP of the Month: Sir Christopher Talbot

Here’s the next installment in our series ‘Medieval MP of the Month’. Today we here from Senior Research Fellow, Dr Simon Payling about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Sir Christopher Talbot… 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. Sir Christopher Talbot (1415-43) … Continue reading Medieval MP of the Month: Sir Christopher Talbot

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Conferences/seminars, Early modern history, Social history

Parliament, Politics and People Seminar: Coleman Dennehy, Dublin, Westminster, and appellate jurisdiction in early modern Ireland

At our latest ‘Parliaments, Politics and People’ Seminar of 2016, Dr Coleman Dennehy (University College, Dublin) spoke on ‘Dublin, Westminster, and appellate jurisdiction in early modern Ireland’. Here he discusses his paper… The history of appellate jurisdiction in Ireland, although it was a process that generally affected few lives at the time or since, was marked by a considerable break-down in relations between parliament in … Continue reading Parliament, Politics and People Seminar: Coleman Dennehy, Dublin, Westminster, and appellate jurisdiction in early modern Ireland

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Early modern history

Lord Chancellors – learned in the law?

Our Director, Dr Paul Seaward, reflects on the Lord Chancellor’s legal experience… Michael Gove was sworn in as Lord Chancellor on Tuesday, resplendent in the gold-trimmed gown of the office, but without the full-bottomed legal wig, apparently to mark the fact that he is not a qualified lawyer. It has been said that Gove is the second person to hold the office who is not … Continue reading Lord Chancellors – learned in the law?

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18th Century history, Early modern history

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Philip Loft, ‘Litigation, agency and oligarchy: the transformation and role of the Lords as High Court, 1689-1720’

Dr Paul Hunneyball, Senior Research Fellow on the Lords 1603-1660 section, reports back on our last ‘Parliaments, Politics and People’ seminar. Philip Loft of UCL spoke on ‘Litigation, agency and oligarchy: the transformation and role of the Lords as High Court, 1689-1720’… Philip’s doctoral research has involved a detailed study of the huge body of legal papers preserved from this period at the Parliamentary Archives, … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Philip Loft, ‘Litigation, agency and oligarchy: the transformation and role of the Lords as High Court, 1689-1720’

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