A statue of a queen on a throne with two women to either side

19th Century history, Art, Fashion and Material Culture, Buildings and Architecture, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Queen Victoria, Victorian, Women and Parliament

‘Unobtrusive But Not Unimportant’: Representations of Women and Sovereign Power at the New Palace of Westminster, 1841-1870

At the IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar on Tuesday 17 February, Dr Cara Gathern of UK Parliament Heritage Collections, will be discussing representations of women and sovereign power at the New Palace of Westminster, 1841-1870. The seminar takes place on 17 February 2026, between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. It is fully ‘hybrid’, which means you can attend either in-person in London at the IHR, or online … Continue reading ‘Unobtrusive But Not Unimportant’: Representations of Women and Sovereign Power at the New Palace of Westminster, 1841-1870

History of ParliamentFebruary 10, 2026February 9, 2026Leave a comment

19th Century history, Constituencies, Elections, Electoral Reform, Legislative History, Victorian, Victorian Commons

How many people could vote in the UK after the 1832 Reform Act?

As part of our series of ‘explainer’ articles, aimed at clarifying the workings of the United Kingdom’s historic political system, Dr Martin Spychal examines how many people could vote in the UK after the 1832 Reform Act. This article draws from a new dataset of voting information for each constituency between 1832 and 1867, which Martin has been developing for the History of Parliament’s Commons … Continue reading How many people could vote in the UK after the 1832 Reform Act?

Martin SpychalJanuary 23, 2026January 19, 2026Leave a comment

Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Parliamentary Life, Victorian

Reporting debates in the Victorian Commons

Today we take it for granted that parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. During the Victorian era, however, there was no ‘official’ record. Dr Philip Salmon shows how, before the advent of modern democracy, public interest in Parliament was sufficient for reports of debates to be produced and sold commercially. As democracy advanced, however, the public’s appetite began to change … During the early 19th … Continue reading Reporting debates in the Victorian Commons

Philip SalmonJanuary 13, 2026January 8, 2026Leave a comment

19th Century history, Constituencies, Corruption, Elections, Speakers of the House, Victorian, Victorian Commons

Happy New Year from the Victorian Commons for 2026!

Here’s wishing all our readers a very enjoyable New Year! 2025 was a particularly memorable year for our 1832-68 House of Commons project and the History of Parliament. After 20 years based at Bloomsbury Square in the so-called ‘knowledge quarter’ around the British Museum, we sorted and packed decades of research materials and relocated to a new open-plan office at 14-18 Old Street in Islington. The volume … Continue reading Happy New Year from the Victorian Commons for 2026!

Philip SalmonJanuary 1, 2026December 17, 2025Leave a comment

Victorian Commons, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Georgian, History of Parliament Trust, Scottish History, Slavery, Victorian

Peter McLagan senior (1774-1860): enslaver, plantation owner and landed proprietor

Dr Martin Spychal explores the life of Peter McLagan senior (1774-1860). A farmer’s son from Perthshire, McLagan senior acquired considerable wealth as an enslaver and plantation owner in Demerara (modern-day Guyana) during the early nineteenth century. He received extensive ‘compensation’ under the terms of the 1833 Abolition of Slavery Act. Continue reading Peter McLagan senior (1774-1860): enslaver, plantation owner and landed proprietor

Martin SpychalDecember 11, 2025December 9, 2025Leave a comment

19th Century history, 18th Century history, Georgian, Minority Ethnic History, Victorian

Black and Political: Reconstructing Black Participation in British Politics, 1750-1850

At a special joint session of the IHR’s Parliaments, Politics and People and British History in the Long 18th Century seminars on Wednesday 3 December, Dr Helen Wilson will be discussing Black participation in British Politics between 1750 and 1850. The free seminar takes place on 3 December 2025, between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. It is fully ‘hybrid’, which means you can attend either in-person … Continue reading Black and Political: Reconstructing Black Participation in British Politics, 1750-1850

History of ParliamentNovember 26, 2025November 25, 2025Leave a comment

Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Parliamentary Life, Victorian

Cricket in the Commons: a Victorian First Eleven

With the 2025 Ashes between England and Australia getting underway this week, we have a cricketing themed post from our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project. Historically, cricketing terminology, with its allusions to ‘fair play’ and playing with a ‘straight bat’, has been a mainstay of British political discourse. This was certainly the case in the Victorian era. For example, in 1864, when the Conservative opposition … Continue reading Cricket in the Commons: a Victorian First Eleven

History of ParliamentNovember 20, 2025November 24, 20251 Comment

Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Buildings and Architecture, Victorian, Women and Parliament

The ladies’ gallery in the temporary House of Commons

This article from Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 section, looks at the provision made for women to witness debates in the temporary chamber used by the Commons between 1835 and 1852. In the chamber used by the House of Commons before the catastrophic fire of October 1834, women – officially barred from the chamber itself since February 1778 – had … Continue reading The ladies’ gallery in the temporary House of Commons

Kathryn RixOctober 30, 2025October 27, 2025Leave a comment

Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Buildings and Architecture, Victorian

The Westminster Fire of 1834

In this guest article, Dr Caroline Shenton, author of ‘The Day Parliament Burned Down‘ and ‘Mr Barry’s War: Rebuilding the Houses of Parliament after the Great Fire of 1834‘, describes the dramatic events that took place at the Palace of Westminster on 16 October 1834. By the late Georgian period, the buildings of the Palace of Westminster had become an accident waiting to happen. The rambling … Continue reading The Westminster Fire of 1834

History of ParliamentOctober 16, 2025October 2, 2025Leave a comment

The History of Parliament

Articles and research from the History of Parliament Trust

Category: Victorian