James I to Restoration, 17th Century history, Health and Medicine, Interregnum, Social history

Isolation, Containment and Financial Assistance: Parliament’s response to epidemics in the 1640s

In today’s blog Dr Vivienne Larminie, Assistant Editor of our Commons 1640-1660 project, considers self-isolation, social distancing and containing disease in 1640s London. Some of the below may sound quite familiar… As revealed in our recent blog, when MP and diarist Sir Simonds D’Ewes was faced with the plague in mid-1640s London, he and his wife agreed that she would retreat to the safer countryside … Continue reading Isolation, Containment and Financial Assistance: Parliament’s response to epidemics in the 1640s

larminievApril 7, 2020October 3, 20243 Comments

James I to Restoration, 17th Century history, Health and Medicine, Interregnum, Social history

An MP and an Epidemic in Civil War London

As we face challenges unfamiliar in modern times, our director, Dr Stephen Roberts, looks back at one parliamentary diarist’s response to disease in the community around him. Sir Simonds D’Ewes (1602-50) is now best known for his parliamentary journal. MP for the Suffolk borough of Sudbury, he entered the House of Commons in November 1640 and kept up a diary in English from day one. … Continue reading An MP and an Epidemic in Civil War London

Stephen RobertsMarch 19, 2020November 26, 20245 Comments

James I to Restoration, 16th Century history, 17th Century history, Buildings and Architecture, Health and Medicine, Religious history, Stuart

The ‘Other’ House of Windsor

As our House of Lords 1604-1629 project nears completion, Dr Paul Hunneyball takes a look at one of the lesser-known peers who feature in the forthcoming volumes… When we use the term ‘House of Windsor’ nowadays, we’re referring to the royal family, who adopted this name in 1917, thereby celebrating their long-standing association with Windsor Castle. However, back in the early 17th century, the ruling … Continue reading The ‘Other’ House of Windsor

Paul HunneyballNovember 21, 2019October 22, 2024Leave a comment

James I to Restoration, 17th Century history, Health and Medicine, LGBTQ+ History, Parliamentary Life, Social history, Stuart

Sex in the Long Parliament

In our latest blog, Dr David Scott of the House of Commons 1640-1660 section looks at the extra-curricular activities of some Members of a supposedly puritan Parliament – at least according to newspaper reports… Sexual licence and parliamentary politics have always enjoyed an intimate relationship, and not even the great puritan preachers of the seventeenth century ( who regularly addressed assembled MPs in the adjacent … Continue reading Sex in the Long Parliament

David ScottAugust 22, 2019October 17, 2024Leave a comment

James I to Restoration, 17th Century history, Health and Medicine, Interregnum, Richard Cromwell

‘A gentleman but stumbling in here!’: an impostor in Richard Cromwell’s Parliament

In our latest post, Dr Patrick Little of the House of Commons 1640-1660 section revisits the Parliament of 1659, which opened in such confusion that its membership was unclear and a stranger could sit undetected – with disquieting implications… On 8 February 1659 the journalist Gilbert Mabbott reported the latest developments in Parliament to Henry Cromwell, the lord deputy of Ireland based in Dublin. Among … Continue reading ‘A gentleman but stumbling in here!’: an impostor in Richard Cromwell’s Parliament

Patrick LittleApril 18, 2019October 16, 2024Leave a comment

James I to Restoration, 17th Century history, Health and Medicine, Interregnum, Parliamentary Life, Religious history, Stuart

Fasting and political crises in the 1640s: no beer ‘till the publike exercises and religious duties … be past and over’

As Parliament engages in momentous decision-making about the future of the country, Dr Vivienne Larminie of the House of Commons 1640-1660 section marks the season of Lent with consideration of the solemn and austere approach of early modern Parliaments to periods of political and social crisis… After the feasting of ‘Pancake Day’ (Shrove Tuesday, this year on 5 March), the six weeks of Lent – … Continue reading Fasting and political crises in the 1640s: no beer ‘till the publike exercises and religious duties … be past and over’

larminievMarch 26, 2019October 16, 20248 Comments

Interregnum, 17th Century history, Health and Medicine, James I to Restoration, Parliamentary Life, Stuart

The Kidney Stone of Alderman Adams

Continuing the theme of health, medicine and Parliament, Dr Patrick Little of the House of Commons 1640-1660 section looks at how a notable and multifaceted London MP of the mid-17th century provides a vivid illustration of a danger highlighted in very recent clinical trials… The link between the Ig Nobel Prize for improbable research and the 1640-1660 Section of the History of Parliament Trust is … Continue reading The Kidney Stone of Alderman Adams

Patrick LittleOctober 16, 2018November 18, 20241 Comment

Stuart, 17th Century history, Health and Medicine, James I to Restoration

Parliament and medicine in the early 17th century

Continuing the theme of health, medicine and Parliament, Dr Paul Hunneyball of the Lords 1604-29 Section considers how medical practices and language impacted on parliamentary proceedings under the early Stuarts… History of Parliament biographies contain many incidental details about medicine in the early 17th century, though the picture that emerges is very different from the modern clinical experience. Although anatomical knowledge was improving, the human … Continue reading Parliament and medicine in the early 17th century

Paul HunneyballAugust 23, 2018November 15, 2024Leave a comment

17th Century history, Health and Medicine, Interregnum, James I to Restoration, Stuart

Gout and the political career of Lord Broghill

Today’s blog from Dr Patrick Little of the Commons 1640-1660 Section sees the return of our focus on health, medicine and Parliament. Patrick discusses the detrimental effect of gout on the career of Lord Broghill in the mid-seventeenth century… Roger Boyle, Lord Broghill, is perhaps best known as the leading supporter of the scheme to make Oliver Cromwell king under the revised constitution, the Humble … Continue reading Gout and the political career of Lord Broghill

Patrick LittleJune 14, 2018November 15, 20243 Comments

The History of Parliament

Articles and research from the History of Parliament Trust

Category: Health and Medicine