Category: Victorian Commons

Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Victorian

From Greenwich to the green benches: Alfred Rhodes Bristow (1818-1875)

The ongoing research of our House of Commons, 1832-1868 project has found a surprising number of MPs who came from relatively humble backgrounds, using politics as a means of personal advancement. In this post our former colleague Dr Stephen Ball explores the career of Alfred Rhodes Bristow, a Greenwich draper’s son who became Liberal MP for Kidderminster. By the 1850s a seat in Parliament was … Continue reading From Greenwich to the green benches: Alfred Rhodes Bristow (1818-1875)

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19th Century history, Constituencies, Victorian, Victorian Commons

Richard Cobden and his constituencies

In this guest post, originally published on the Victorian Commons website, Professor Simon Morgan of Leeds Beckett University, the principal investigator on the Letters of Richard Cobden Online resource, shows how Cobden’s letters can shed light on his role as a constituency MP. The publication in 2023 of the Letters of Richard Cobden Online, an open access database funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and containing … Continue reading Richard Cobden and his constituencies

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Legislative History, Victorian, Women and Parliament

‘The only really important public service I performed’: John Stuart Mill’s women’s suffrage amendment, 20 May 1867

Having looked at John Stuart Mill’s role in presenting the first mass petition for women’s suffrage, our colleague Dr Kathryn Rix explores his continued efforts for the cause of ‘votes for women’, bringing forward an amendment on women’s suffrage as part of the debates on the 1867 Reform Act. John Stuart Mill (1806-73) is best known as a philosopher and influential political thinker, but he … Continue reading ‘The only really important public service I performed’: John Stuart Mill’s women’s suffrage amendment, 20 May 1867

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Benjamin Disraeli, Electoral Reform, Victorian, Women and Parliament

‘The first humble beginnings of an agitation’: the women’s suffrage petition of 7 June 1866

The campaign to secure the parliamentary vote for women was a long-running one. Dr Kathryn Rix, assistant editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1868 project, looks at the first mass petition on this issue. On 7 June 1866 the first mass petition for women’s suffrage was presented to Parliament. Signed by around 1,500 women, it was presented to the Commons by John Stuart Mill, who … Continue reading ‘The first humble beginnings of an agitation’: the women’s suffrage petition of 7 June 1866

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19th Century history, Parliamentary Life, Speakers of the House, Victorian, Victorian Commons

The Commons at work: the Chairman of Ways and Means

The Speaker of the House of Commons is a remarkably familiar figure to television audiences around the world. Anyone viewing budget debates, though, will notice a different person occupying the Speaker’s chair: the ‘chairman of ways and means’. In this new ‘explainer’ article, Dr Philip Salmon examines the history of this post, currently held by Nus Ghani MP. During the 19th century, as he explains, … Continue reading The Commons at work: the Chairman of Ways and Means

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

‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867

More than half a century before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, cast a parliamentary vote. Dr Kathryn Rix explores her story. After decades of campaigning for ‘Votes for Women’, the 1918 Representation of the People Act gave the parliamentary vote to some (but not all) women. Yet more than fifty years earlier, on 26 November 1867, Lily Maxwell … Continue reading ‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867

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

The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act: the York by-election

Continuing her series on the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act, Dr Kathryn Rix looks at its impact on electioneering, focusing on the November 1883 York by-election, which was the first parliamentary election held in England under the Act’s terms. The 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, a landmark reform aimed at tackling the corruption and expense of elections, received royal assent on 25 August 1883, … Continue reading The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act: the York by-election

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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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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, History of Parliament Trust, William Ewart Gladstone

Tackling the problem of electoral corruption: the 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act

Marking the anniversary of the passage of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act, Dr Kathryn Rix, assistant editor of the House of Commons, 1832-1945, begins a series of blog posts on this landmark reform by looking at the key changes made by the act and the motivations behind it. On 25 August 1883, the final day of the parliamentary session, the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention … Continue reading Tackling the problem of electoral corruption: the 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Art, Fashion and Material Culture, Victorian

From Parliament to Fancy Dress: the life story of an MP’s court dress

In this guest blog, originally posted on the Victorian Commons blog page, Henrietta Lockhart, Curator of Museum Collections at Winterbourne House and Garden, at the University of Birmingham, tells the story of a unique piece of costume once owned and worn by the 19th century MP, Edward Strutt (1801-80). At Winterbourne House and Garden in Edgbaston, Birmingham, visitors can now enjoy a striking exhibit: the court dress … Continue reading From Parliament to Fancy Dress: the life story of an MP’s court dress

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