Tag: Women’s history

16th Century history, House of Lords 1558-1603, The First Elizabethan Age, Women and Parliament

Elizabeth I’s Swedish lady of the privy chamber: Helena Ulfsdotter née Snakenborg, marchioness of Northampton

As we mark Women’s History Month throughout March, here Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 project, looks into the life of Helena Snakenborg. How did this Swedish native become key figure in the court of Elizabeth I? One of the most striking features of Queen Elizabeth I’s funeral, held on 28 April 1603, is that the place of Chief Mourner in the procession … Continue reading Elizabeth I’s Swedish lady of the privy chamber: Helena Ulfsdotter née Snakenborg, marchioness of Northampton

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16th Century history, Early modern history, History of Parliament Trust, Religious history, The First Elizabethan Age, Women and Parliament

A Forgotten Elizabethan Noblewoman: Katherine Bertie, Dowager Duchess of Suffolk and Baroness Willoughby de Eresby

With the notable exception of ‘Bess of Hardwick’ (Elizabeth Talbot (née Cavendish), countess of Shrewsbury), most Elizabethan noblewomen are barely remembered today. Among those who deserve to be better known is Katherine Bertie (née Willoughby), dowager duchess of Suffolk, as Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Elizabethan House of Lords section, explains… Katherine Willoughby was the only child of Lincolnshire’s leading magnate, William, eleventh Baron … Continue reading A Forgotten Elizabethan Noblewoman: Katherine Bertie, Dowager Duchess of Suffolk and Baroness Willoughby de Eresby

Kirsty O'Rourke3 Comments
19th Century history, Conferences/seminars, Women and Parliament

‘Too many restrictions could not be thrown in the way of divorce’: Attitudes to Women’s Petitions for Divorce by Act of Parliament 1801-1831

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Alison Daniell of the University of Southampton. On 21 June 2022, between 5.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Alison will be responding to your questions about her pre-circulated paper on divorce by Act of Parliament in the early nineteenth century. Alison’s full-length paper is available here. Details of how to join the discussion are available here. Before the 1857 … Continue reading ‘Too many restrictions could not be thrown in the way of divorce’: Attitudes to Women’s Petitions for Divorce by Act of Parliament 1801-1831

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19th Century history, 20th century history, Conferences/seminars, Women and Parliament

Lady Frances Balfour:  A Woman in Parliament before Enfranchisement

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Professor Susan Pedersen of Columbia University. On 24 May 2022, between 5.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Susan will be presenting a paper on Lady Frances Balfour and responding to questions. Details of how to sign up for the Zoom seminar are available here. When we tell the dramatic story of women’s long campaign … Continue reading Lady Frances Balfour:  A Woman in Parliament before Enfranchisement

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20th century history, History of Parliament Trust, Oral history, Post-1945 history, Speakers of the House, Women and Parliament

Women Speakers and Deputy Speakers

As we have seen in some of our previous blogs, the role of Speaker of the House has a long history, but it wasn’t until the late 20th century that women took to the Speaker’s Chair. Through the History of Parliament Oral History Project we have been able to interview some of the female former MPs who occupied the roles of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, … Continue reading Women Speakers and Deputy Speakers

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20th century history, Conferences/seminars, Post-1945 history, Women and Parliament

‘Housewives in the House’: Labour Women MPs in Parliament, 1945-1951

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Lyndsey Jenkins of Queen Mary, University of London. On 23 November 2021, between 5.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., she will be responding to your questions about her pre-circulated paper on ‘Housewives and the House: Women Labour MPs and ‘the housewife’ in Parliament in the 1940s and 1950s’. Details of how to join the discussion are available here, … Continue reading ‘Housewives in the House’: Labour Women MPs in Parliament, 1945-1951

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20th century history, Women and Parliament

Early women MPs: Margaret Wintringham and Parliament

In September 1921, Margaret Wintringham (1879-1955) was elected to the House of Commons as the first ever Liberal woman MP.  Dr Mari Takayanagi, Senior Archivist at the Parliamentary Archives, discusses Wintringham, her election, and the issues she supported in Parliament. Margaret Wintringham was born in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1879. She was a teacher by background, and headmistress at a school in Grimsby before marrying Tom Wintringham, a timber merchant, in 1903.   Wintringham was a suffragist, a non-militant supporter … Continue reading Early women MPs: Margaret Wintringham and Parliament

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20th century history, Conferences/seminars, History of Parliament Trust, Oral history, Post-1945 history, Women and Parliament

‘Decided on by men’: International Women’s Day lecture

On 17 March Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Priscila Pivatto gave the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art’s 8th annual International Woman’s Day lecture. Created by the committee to help address the need for more artwork of female MPs in Parliament’s collection, Emma and Priscila discussed women’s experiences in Parliament based on interviews in our Oral History Project. Here Dr Peplow reflects on the … Continue reading ‘Decided on by men’: International Women’s Day lecture

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16th Century history, Early modern history, History of Parliament Trust, Royal family, Women and Parliament

Elizabeth I, the ‘estate of marriage’, and the 1559 Parliament

To mark Women’s History Month, Dr Paul Hunneyball, assistant editor of our Lords 1558-1603 section, recalls the first public statement by the ‘Virgin Queen’ that she had no plans to marry, and the incomprehension with which her (male) subjects reacted… The first Parliament summoned by Elizabeth I opened on 25 January 1559 with a packed agenda. Urgent business in the opening days included a new … Continue reading Elizabeth I, the ‘estate of marriage’, and the 1559 Parliament

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20th century history, Oral history, Post-1945 history, Women and Parliament

Collaborative Doctoral Award with Keele University and the University of Manchester: ‘A manly place? The experiences of female MPs at Westminster, 1970-2010’

We’re delighted to announce that the History of Parliament Trust will be collaborating with Keele University and the University of Manchester in a doctoral studentship based in part on our Oral History project. Applications are now invited for a collaborative doctoral award, funded by the AHRC North West Consortium, titled ‘A manly place? The experiences of female MPs at Westminster, 1970-2010’. The studentship will be … Continue reading Collaborative Doctoral Award with Keele University and the University of Manchester: ‘A manly place? The experiences of female MPs at Westminster, 1970-2010’

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