Today, on 30 May 2024, Parliament will be formally dissolved following a ‘Dissolution proclamation’ from the King. This is the first time that this proclamation has been required since 201o, following the repeal of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act in 2011. But how was Parliament formally dissolved in the 18th century? In this blog, the first in our Georgian Elections series, Dr Robin Eagles from … Continue reading Dissolving Parliament
Historians J.B. Owen, J.H. Plumb, and Linda Colley have all alluded to the post-1714 drift of the Tories into the Whig party. One of the families particularly referenced was the Legges. In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Dr Stuart Handley demonstrates the family advantages of conforming to the prevailing political climate. In August 1714, the head of the Legge family was William, earl … Continue reading Tory to Whig – or helping out the Family?
A new series exploring Benjamin Franklin’s time in Europe launches on streaming services this month, but how did the American ‘Founding Father’ respond to the politics in Britain during the 1760s? In this blog Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 project, looks at Franklin’s opinion of the British political agitator John Wilkes- a man who divided not just his own nation… … Continue reading Benjamin Franklin and the state of Britain in the time of Wilkes
Robert Harley (1661-1724) was in his late 20s when he was first elected to Parliament as MP for Tregony in April 1689. He would remain a member of Parliament, first of the Commons and then of the Lords, for the rest of his life. Both his power and personal style was reflected in a number of nicknames: ‘Robin the Trickster’, ‘Harlequin’ and ‘the Dragon’ being … Continue reading Enter the Dragon: the education of Robert Harley
2024 represents the 250th anniversary of John Wilkes’s re-election for Middlesex and election as Lord Mayor of London. It was by any measure a remarkable achievement for a man who had been expelled from Parliament and imprisoned; but what of those who were so determined to cast their votes for someone Parliament deemed incapable of being elected? Dr Robin Eagles looks again at the Wilkes … Continue reading ‘Not voting at all’: the election of an imprisoned MP in 1769
Much attention has concentrated recently on the scandal surrounding the Post Office’s prosecutions of numerous sub-postmasters and -mistresses. The 18th-century Post Office was established and run on very different lines than that of today, but as Dr Charles Littleton shows, it too was not immune from scandal, parliamentary scrutiny, or partisan politics. The Post Office Act of 1711 had established a single Post Office for … Continue reading ‘A very good bed for old courtiers to rest in’: The 18th-century Post Office and its Postmasters-General
In the latest post for the Georgian Lords, Dr Robin Eagles highlights the career of one of the House’s more eccentric orators: Willoughby Bertie, 4th earl of Abingdon: musician, breeder of champion race-horses and radical politician concerned about corruption at the top and the treatment of prisoners. The 4th earl of Abingdon, is probably best known as one of the 18th century’s more talented amateur … Continue reading The earl of Abingdon and the treatment of American prisoners of war
In British politics, we are now used to the idea of certain parties (or causes) being associated with particular colours. The Conservative party is blue; Labour red; the Greens are green. In the 18th century such notions were by no means fixed and on occasion groups made a point of appropriating their opponents’ colours as Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our Lords 1715-1790 project, explains. There are … Continue reading ‘True Blue’: the choice of political colours in the 18th century
Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Mari Takayanagi, senior archivist in the UK Parliamentary Archives, and Elizabeth Hallam Smith, historical research consultant at the Houses of Parliament. On 28 November they will discuss the women who once operated behind the scenes at the House of Lords… The seminar takes place on 28 November 2023, between 5:30 and 6.30 p.m. … Continue reading Women in charge? Parliament’s female Housekeepers and Necessary Women, c. 1690-1877
With Guy Fawkes night almost upon us, we can expect to see and hear fireworks going off all across the country. A previous blog showed how throughout the late 17th century, fireworks and bonfires were used to mark the momentous events of the Glorious Revolution and William III’s wars with France. [Making ‘night like day’] As Dr Charles Littleton shows, that tradition continued into the … Continue reading Loud enough to wake the dead? Fireworks and celebration in the mid-18th century
