2024 has been another busy year at the History of Parliament. With a new Director at the helm, we formed new partnerships, launched online projects, and continued to produce original research- all while navigating a General Election! Here is our Public Engagement Manager, Connie Jeffery, with a review of what we got up to over the past twelve months… At the end of 2023 the … Continue reading Review of the Year 2024
In October 1788, George III fell ill with an unknown ‘malady’ which rendered him unable to fulfil his duties as sovereign: the beginning of the king’s famous ‘madness’. In the latest post for the Georgian Lords, we welcome Dr Natalee Garrett, who considers the role of Queen Charlotte during the period of the king’s illness, and more broadly. As the Prince of Wales was 26 … Continue reading A Meddlesome Mother? Queen Charlotte and the Regency Crisis
It is with great sadness that the History announces the death of Dr Simon Healy. One of its longest serving members of staff, Simon joined the History in 1990, where, for the next thirty years, he worked on both the early Stuart House of Commons and House of Lords volumes, published in 2010 and 2021 respectively. During that time, Simon wrote no fewer than 334 … Continue reading Remembering Simon Healy
This week, The History of Parliament Trust is excited to announce a new podcast series, ‘Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament’. Since 2012, the History of Parliament has been interviewing former members of the House of Commons in order to capture personal reflections of lives lived in parliament. Including participants from across the three major parties, and ranging in both period … Continue reading Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament
In this week’s blog, Dr Martin Spychal, Senior Research Fellow on the Commons 1832-1868 project, discusses his new book Mapping the State: English Boundaries and the 1832 Reform Act. The book is part of the Royal Historical Society’s New Historical Perspectives series and has been published by the University of London press. It is available now to download free in open access, or to purchase … Continue reading Mapping the State: English Boundaries and the 1832 Reform Act
The History of Parliament were deeply saddened to hear of the recent passing of Clyve Jones, a champion of 17th and 18th century political history and a long friend of the History of Parliament Trust. Here Dr Stuart Handley looks back on Clyve’s impact both on the field and those working within it. A commemoration of Clyve’s work is taking place on 20 September, 2-5pm … Continue reading Clyve Jones – agent for the promotion of parliamentary history
Marking the anniversary of the passage of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act, Dr Kathryn Rix, assistant editor of the House of Commons, 1832-1945, begins a series of blog posts on this landmark reform by looking at the key changes made by the act and the motivations behind it. On 25 August 1883, the final day of the parliamentary session, the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention … Continue reading Tackling the problem of electoral corruption: the 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act
In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Dr Stuart Handley charts the history of the Southwell family, from their origins in Gloucestershire and as administrators in Ireland to their ultimate inheritance of one of the senior peerages in the House of Lords. It is particularly satisfying when the various sections of the History of Parliament allow the fortunes of one family to be traced … Continue reading The Southwells – from administrators to an ancient peerage
With a multiple of parties vying for your vote in the 2024 General Election, the Whig and Tory monopoly of the 18th Century would have presented a much more limited choice for Georgian voters. However, in today’s blog for the Georgian elections project Dr Robin Eagles explores how one new party in particular threatened to upset the apple cart… Direct comparisons with today’s political parties … Continue reading Breaking the Political Mould: a new 18th-century political party
Leadership debates, as experienced in modern elections, were not a feature of 18th-century contests. However, as Dr Robin Eagles shows in the latest post for the Georgian Elections Project, that does not mean that there was not plenty of opportunity for candidates to address their prospective constituents and be quizzed on their record. As Frank O’Gorman has shown, the qualities looked for in 18th-century MPs, … Continue reading Hustings and leadership debates 18th-century style
