Tag: featured

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

The representation of Devon and Cornwall after reform, 1832-68

Dr Martin Spychal, Senior Research Fellow on our House of Commons 1832-1868 project, provides an overview of the electoral system and political affiliation in Devon and Cornwall between 1832 and 1868. This is a revised version of an article posted on the Victorian Commons following the 2019 ‘The South West and Parliament’ conference, which was co-hosted by the History of Parliament and Devon and Cornwall Record Society … Continue reading The representation of Devon and Cornwall after reform, 1832-68

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Parliamentary Life, Parties, Robert Peel, Speakers of the House, Victorian, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne

The politics of electing the Speaker: The case of Shaw Lefevre (1794-1888)

Following on from our post about James Abercromby‘s highly-charged partisan election as Speaker in 1835, Philip Salmon explores the 1839 and 1841 elections of his successor Charles Shaw Lefevre. These shed new light on the so-called ‘Bedchamber crisis’ involving Queen Victoria, and hint at tell-tale splits within the Conservative party long before the famous repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. Considered by the Liberal … Continue reading The politics of electing the Speaker: The case of Shaw Lefevre (1794-1888)

Philip SalmonLeave a comment
Modern, 20th century history, Art, Fashion and Material Culture, Social history

Clangers in Parliament: The Politics of Postgate and Bagpuss

2026 sees the 50th anniversary of the reissuing (in colour) of the children’s classic, Ivor the Engine, created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. What is perhaps less well known is the longer political context of the Postgate family and how that influence may, in a small way, have made its way into the otherwise comforting world of Bagpuss and the Clangers. On 23 February … Continue reading Clangers in Parliament: The Politics of Postgate and Bagpuss

Robin EaglesLeave a comment
Georgian, 18th Century history, Buildings and Architecture, Elections, Factions, Frederick North, 2nd earl of Guilford, George III, Georgian Lords, Parties, William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd duke of Portland, William Petty, 2nd earl of Shelburne, William Pitt the Younger, Women and Parliament

Public breakfasts at Chiswick House: the duke and duchess of Devonshire’s suburban villa

For the latest post for the Georgian Lords, Alyssa Myers, a final year PhD student at the University of Manchester Metropolitan, examining the role of elite suburban villas as centres of politics in the later part of the eighteenth century. The long eighteenth century saw a surge of villas cropping up around the outskirts of London in areas primarily along the Thames, such as Richmond-upon-Thames … Continue reading Public breakfasts at Chiswick House: the duke and duchess of Devonshire’s suburban villa

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Buildings and Architecture, Parliamentary Life, Victorian

‘Like herrings in a barrel’: the House of Commons chamber prior to 1834

When picturing the 19th-century Houses of Parliament, many people might think of the grand buildings designed by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin which are still in use today. However, the Commons chamber they created was the third different debating chamber to be occupied by 19th-century MPs. Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons 1832-1945 section, looks at the House of Commons chamber … Continue reading ‘Like herrings in a barrel’: the House of Commons chamber prior to 1834

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

Marrying for the vote: the freedom-by-marriage franchise before 1832

Of all the bizarre voting qualifications in operation before 1832 – from potwallopers to burgage holders – one of the most striking was the freedom-by-marriage franchise. Philip Salmon explains how this system worked and even survived briefly after 1832, contrary to what has been widely assumed. The freeman-by-marriage franchise remains one of the most paradoxical elements of the UK’s pre-democratic voting system. Women may not … Continue reading Marrying for the vote: the freedom-by-marriage franchise before 1832

Philip SalmonLeave a comment
20th century history, Constituencies, Contemporary History, Corruption, Elections, John Major, Modern, Oral history, Parties

‘We approached each other slowly like medieval knights with lances’: Hamilton versus Bell, Tatton, 1997

One of the highlights of the 1997 general election was the contest in Tatton. The Conservative Neil Hamilton, then under a cloud of corruption allegations, was challenged by the independent former war correspondent Martin Bell, in his famous white suit. Our oral history project now includes interviews with both candidates, allowing Dr Emma Peplow to tell the story of this election in their own words… … Continue reading ‘We approached each other slowly like medieval knights with lances’: Hamilton versus Bell, Tatton, 1997

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Victorian, 19th Century history, Benjamin Disraeli, Social history

Sir William Hart Dyke: Conservative MP, Disraeli’s chief whip – and the ‘inventor of lawn tennis’?

Who created the modern game of lawn tennis? As Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones discusses, one possibly surprising 19th-century pioneer could have been Sir William Hart Dyke, a champion sportsman best known as Disraeli’s chief whip, who claimed to have played the first game and drawn up the rules. Sir William Hart Dyke (1837-1931), a Conservative MP in Kent for four decades, is perhaps best known for … Continue reading Sir William Hart Dyke: Conservative MP, Disraeli’s chief whip – and the ‘inventor of lawn tennis’?

Naomi Lloyd-JonesLeave a comment
The Commons in the Wars of the Roses, 14th Century history, 15th Century History, Art, Fashion and Material Culture, Medieval, Parliamentary Life

The poetic memorialization of late-medieval MPs

Producing biographies on late-medieval MPs comes with its unique set of challenges, notably the lack surviving records indicative of their character. Dr Simon Payling of our House of Commons 1461-1504 section explores how poetic memorializations help paint a more rounded, if overly positive, picture of two MPs: Sir John Berkeley (Leicestershire, 1372) and Sir John Burgh (Shropshire, 1445, 1453). The limitations of the sources mean that … Continue reading The poetic memorialization of late-medieval MPs

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Georgian Lords, 18th Century history, George I, Georgian, Parties, Religious history, Robert Walpole, Social history

‘A very unequal and a forced maintenance’: The failure of the Quakers Tithe Bill in 1736

In 1736 an almost united bench of bishops in the House of Lords scuppered legislation to relieve Quakers from prosecution for their refusal to pay tithes. In his first post for the Georgian Lords, Dr Ben Rogers considers how this controversy reignited disputes between the government, the Church of England, and religious dissenters, and led to an irretrievable breach between Robert Walpole and his former … Continue reading ‘A very unequal and a forced maintenance’: The failure of the Quakers Tithe Bill in 1736

Ben RogersLeave a comment