Author: Martin Spychal

Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, History of Parliament Trust, Local History, Victorian

Mapping the State: English Boundaries and the 1832 Reform Act

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

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20th century history, Clement Attlee, Contemporary History, Elections, Modern, Oral history, Scottish History, Women and Parliament

Identifying the Attlee Family Cars: Prime Ministers’ Props

To coincide with the third BBC Radio 4 series of Prime Ministers’ Props, our senior research fellow, Dr Martin Spychal, discusses the intriguing (and still partially inconclusive) research journey behind identifying the cars used on the campaign trail by Clement and Violet Attlee… Over the past few years I’ve worked as a researcher on the BBC Radio 4 series Prime Ministers’ Props, presented by Sir … Continue reading Identifying the Attlee Family Cars: Prime Ministers’ Props

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Factions, Women and Parliament

‘Another of my female politicians’ epistles’: Harriet Grote (1792-1878), the 1835 Parliament and the failed attempt to establish a radical party

In the fourth of his articles on Harriet Grote (1792-1878), our research fellow Dr Martin Spychal looks at Harriet’s involvement in the abortive attempt to establish a radical party at Westminster in the wake of the 1835 election. In November 1834 four years of Whig government came to an end with the appointment of a Conservative ministry. The change in government led to a general … Continue reading ‘Another of my female politicians’ epistles’: Harriet Grote (1792-1878), the 1835 Parliament and the failed attempt to establish a radical party

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, Social history, Victorian, Women and Parliament

Ballot boxes, bills and unions: Harriet Grote (1792-1878) and the public campaign for the ballot, 1832-9

In part six of his article series on Harriet Grote, Dr Martin Spychal, research fellow in our House of Commons 1832-68 project, explores the role of Harriet Grote (1792-1878) in the popular and parliamentary campaign for the ballot during the 1830s. On 18 July 2022 we marked the anniversary of the Ballot Act with an online event, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Archives. This event was recorded … Continue reading Ballot boxes, bills and unions: Harriet Grote (1792-1878) and the public campaign for the ballot, 1832-9

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

‘Covent Garden was lit up by a lucid light’: an MP’s account of the fire at Her Majesty’s Theatre, 6 December 1867

In the fifth of his article series on Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916), Dr Martin Spychal, research fellow for our Commons 1832-1868 project, looks at an Gower’s first-hand account of the fire that burnt down Her Majesty’s Theatre in December 1867… On Friday 6 December 1867, the Commons adjourned at 7 p.m. The Whig MP for Sutherlandshire, Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916), took the opportunity to see … Continue reading ‘Covent Garden was lit up by a lucid light’: an MP’s account of the fire at Her Majesty’s Theatre, 6 December 1867

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Conferences, Seminars and Events, 19th Century history, Constituencies, Elections, Electoral Reform, Scottish History, Victorian, Victorian Commons

The geography of voting behaviour: towards a roll-call analysis of England’s reformed electoral map, 1832-68

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Martin Spychal, of the History of Parliament. On 16 March 2021, between 5.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Martin will be responding to your questions about his pre-circulated paper on the geography of voting behaviour in Parliament between 1832 and 1868. Details of how to join the discussion are available here, or by contacting  seminar@histparl.ac.uk. … Continue reading The geography of voting behaviour: towards a roll-call analysis of England’s reformed electoral map, 1832-68

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Constituencies, Elections, LGBTQ+ History, Local History, Scottish History, Victorian

A Highland canvass in a ‘pocket county’: Ronald Gower (1845-1916) and the 1867 Sutherland by-election

Continuing our series on Scotland and his series on Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916), Dr Martin Spychal, research fellow for the House of Commons 1832-1868 project, uses Gower’s diaries to provide some rare insights into mid-Victorian electioneering in the ‘pocket county’ of Sutherland. If there was a History of Parliament award for ‘constituency most under the thumb of an aristocratic patron’, the Highland county of Sutherland … Continue reading A Highland canvass in a ‘pocket county’: Ronald Gower (1845-1916) and the 1867 Sutherland by-election

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Social history, Victorian

Book Review: Peterloo: The English Uprising by Robert Poole

Dr Martin Spychal, research fellow on the Commons 1832-1868, reviews Robert Poole’s Peterloo: The English Uprising (Oxford, 2019) What drove 400 volunteer soldiers and special constables to murder 18 and maim nearly 700 of their fellow Lancastrians? This is the key question that Robert Poole’s definitive and illuminating Peterloo sets out to answer. As Poole states in his prologue, ‘two hundred years on, it is … Continue reading Book Review: Peterloo: The English Uprising by Robert Poole

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Georgian Lords, 19th Century history, Factions, Georgian, Women and Parliament

The queen and the chemist’s son: Matthew Wood MP and the radical defence of Queen Caroline

A hop merchant and former Lord Mayor, Wood brought Caroline out of exile in June 1820 and housed her at his Mayfair residence at the beginning of the national crisis. As the affair gathered steam Wood became a prime target for loyalist vitriol, a prime example being Theodore Hooke’s malicious pamphlet Solomon Logwood: A Radical Tale. Continue reading The queen and the chemist’s son: Matthew Wood MP and the radical defence of Queen Caroline

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

‘The power of returning our members will henceforth be in our own hands’: parliamentary reform and its impact on Exeter, 1820-1868

Dr Martin Spychal, research fellow for the Commons 1832-68, uses polling and voter registration data to explore the 1832 Reform Act’s impact on elections in Exeter. Continue reading ‘The power of returning our members will henceforth be in our own hands’: parliamentary reform and its impact on Exeter, 1820-1868

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