Schoolgirls’ visits to the Houses of Parliament, 1880-1918

Ahead of Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Helen Sunderland, a PhD candidate at Corpus Christi, Cambridge. She will be responding to your questions about her research on Twitter between 2pm and 3pm on 28 April 2020. The virtual seminar will be hosted by the History of Parliament Twitter account @histparl. To submit questions for Helen please contact @histparl on Twitter … Continue reading Schoolgirls’ visits to the Houses of Parliament, 1880-1918

William Wilberforce, a Lettre and An Appeal: abolitionism between campaigns, 1807-1823

Ahead of tonight’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, we hear from Anna Harrington, a PhD candidate at the University of Leicester. She spoke at our previous session on 25 February about her research into the campaigning of William Wilberforce following the abolition of the slave trade in 1807… William Wilberforce (1759-1833) is remembered as the MP who championed the abolition of … Continue reading William Wilberforce, a Lettre and An Appeal: abolitionism between campaigns, 1807-1823

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Jamaican legislature in the British Atlantic world, 1660 to 1840

Ahead of tonight’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, we hear from Dr Aaron Graham, a Research Associate on the ERC Horizon Project ‘The European Fiscal-Military System, 1530-1870’ at the University of Oxford. He spoke at our previous session on 11 February about his study of the Jamaican legislature between 1660 to 1840… ‘Any person that shall inspect the minutes … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Jamaican legislature in the British Atlantic world, 1660 to 1840

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Edmund Burke and the Rockingham Whigs

Ahead of this evening’s IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, Dr Max Skjönsberg from the University of Liverpool revisits his paper from the previous session, discussing political philosopher and MP Edmund Burke’s alignment with the Whig party… Edmund Burke (1729/30-97) is the best-known proponent of party in parliamentary history and the history of political thought. In his Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Edmund Burke and the Rockingham Whigs

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Petitioning, Parliament and Representation, 1780-1918

This evening the IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar series returns with a paper about Edmund Burke, Whiggism and party, given by Dr Max Skjönsberg. Ahead of the event, we look back to our final seminar of 2019 with a blog from Dr Henry Miller, reviewing his paper on the importance of petitions within nineteenth century political representation… The House of Commons received over 1 … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Petitioning, Parliament and Representation, 1780-1918

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: On Writing the History of Parliament

This evening Dr Henry Miller of Durham University will give this term’s final paper to the IHR seminar Parliaments, Politics and People. Ahead of the session Paul Seaward, British Academy/Wolfson Foundation Research Professor at the History of Parliament Trust, revisits his paper on writing the history of parliament… Parliament has been in the middle of narratives of the institutional development of the British state since … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: On Writing the History of Parliament

Disregarding the Past: The Problems of Pardoning Homosexual Offences

Ahead of this evening’s IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, the speaker from the previous session in collaboration with the History of Sexuality seminar, Dr Justin Bengry, Director of the Centre for Queer History at Goldsmiths, University of London, summarises the issues raised in his paper about the pardoning of historical homosexual offences. In June 2015 I was approached by filmmaker Rosemarie Reed who was … Continue reading Disregarding the Past: The Problems of Pardoning Homosexual Offences

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar – The ‘Gothic slum’: MPs and St Stephen’s Cloisters, 1852-2017

In May 2018, Dr Elizabeth Biggs and Dr Elizabeth Hallam Smith introduced the IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar to the early history of St Stephen’s cloister, Westminster, presenting recent findings from their research project (funded by the Leverhulme Trust, and conducted in association with the Houses of Parliament and the University of York). In June this year, we welcomed Elizabeth Hallam Smith back to … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar – The ‘Gothic slum’: MPs and St Stephen’s Cloisters, 1852-2017

‘She is an Outsider in Public Life’: women parliamentary candidates, 1918-1923

Ahead of tonight’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, we hear from Lisa Berry-Waite, a Leverhulme-funded PhD candidate at the University of Exeter.  She spoke at our previous session on 28 May about her research into the parliamentary election campaigns of women candidates in Britain between 1918 and 1931. Her paper focused on the under-explored source of women’s parliamentary election … Continue reading ‘She is an Outsider in Public Life’: women parliamentary candidates, 1918-1923

Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington: a Restoration Politician

Our last Parliaments, Politics and People seminar at the IHR was given by Alan Marshall from Bath Spa University, and considered the political role of the important Restoration politician and key member of the CABAL ministry, Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington This paper dealt with aspects of the political life of Sir Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington, who has been frequently criticized as a statesman. … Continue reading Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington: a Restoration Politician