‘Confirmation of the People’s Rights’: commemorating the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688

For many, the beginning of November means the advent of longer nights as the year winds down to Christmas. Some may still enjoy attending firework displays marking the failure of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot. In November 1788, though, serious efforts were made to establish a lasting memorial to the Revolution of 1688, whose centenary was celebrated nationwide. However, as Dr Robin Eagles shows, no one … Continue reading ‘Confirmation of the People’s Rights’: commemorating the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688

John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes of Truro (later earl of Radnor): reading in the revolution

In this guest article, Dr Sophie Aldred, lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Oxford, explores the library of Lord Robartes and what it tells us of his political position during the revolutionary years of the 1640s. Variously described as of an ‘unsociable nature and impetuous disposition’, ‘sour’, ‘surly’, and a ‘destroyer of every body’s business’, John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes of Truro … Continue reading John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes of Truro (later earl of Radnor): reading in the revolution

Descended from a giant: the Worsleys of Hovingham

The recent death of HRH the Duchess of Kent, who was married to the late queen’s cousin at York Minister in 1961, reminds us of her family’s long association with Yorkshire. This has included two brothers who served as archbishop of York and several members of her family who were elected to Parliament. Dr Robin Eagles considers the Worsley family’s connection with the north of … Continue reading Descended from a giant: the Worsleys of Hovingham

John Potter, an unusual Archbishop of Canterbury

In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Dr Robin Eagles examines the career of one of the lesser known Archbishops of Canterbury, who was able to make use of his August 1715 sermon celebrating the accession of George I to press forward his career in the Church. Every 30 January, the rhythm of the parliamentary session in the 17th and 18th centuries was adjusted … Continue reading John Potter, an unusual Archbishop of Canterbury

‘Good for nothing and lived like a hog’: the destructive obsession of Francis, Lord Deincourt

Dr Patrick Little of the 1640-60 Lords section, explores the strange life of a peer who valued money above everything. It had started so well. Francis Leak, the son of Sir Francis Leak, a prosperous landowner in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, was the first of his family to try to establish himself on the national stage. He had already taken the important first step of marrying … Continue reading ‘Good for nothing and lived like a hog’: the destructive obsession of Francis, Lord Deincourt

Parliament and the Church, c.1530-c.1630

In this blog, Dr Alex Beeton reviews a fascinating colloquium, held recently at the History of Parliament’s office in Bloomsbury Square. In the early modern period, both England’s Church and its Parliament changed. A Catholic country split from Rome and the importance and prominence of the two Houses of Parliament dramatically increased. These two seismic shifts were not isolated from one another. Parliament’s role in … Continue reading Parliament and the Church, c.1530-c.1630

Approaching the ‘great Court of Justice now sitting’: petitioning and parliamentary memory in the Long Parliament (1640-1642)

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Ellen Paterson, Keble College, University of Oxford. On 11 March Ellen will discuss petitioning and parliamentary memory in the Long Parliament (1640-1642). The seminar takes place on 11 March 2025, 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 Approaching the ‘great Court of Justice now sitting’: petitioning and parliamentary memory in the Long Parliament (1640-1642)

Lord Saye and Sele and the Battle for Oxford

In our first ‘Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments‘ article of 2025, Editor of the 1640-60 House of Lords section, Dr David Scott, considers the leading parliamentarian peer, Viscount Saye and Sele, and his relationship with the archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. ‘The Warre was begun in our streets before the King or Parliament had any Armies’ concluded the renowned church leader Richard Baxter about the outbreak of … Continue reading Lord Saye and Sele and the Battle for Oxford

Marginalizing the Lords Journals, 1640-9

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Alex Beeton. On 10 December he will discuss the creation and use of the Lords Journals during the 1640s. The seminar takes place on 10 December 2024, between 5:30 and 6.30 p.m. It is will be hosted online via Zoom. Details of how to join the discussion are available here. Should the … Continue reading Marginalizing the Lords Journals, 1640-9

The Last of the Cromwells

The current BBC production of Wolf Hall: the Mirror and the Light, the last of Hilary Mantel’s novels charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, is a reminder that Cromwell’s dynasty did not end with him on the block. In this post, Dr Robin Eagles considers the careers of some of the direct heirs and how Cromwell’s descendant, Elizabeth, attended the coronation of Queen … Continue reading The Last of the Cromwells