17th Century history
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For St Valentine’s Day, a sad story about marital devotion from Civil War and Restoration Suffolk – or is it?
This Valentine’s Day, Paul Seaward, Director of the History of Parliament, reflects on the marital devotion of Sir Henry North,…
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1642 – The earl of Leicester’s ‘Annus Horribilis’
In the first Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments blog of 2023, guest blogger Dr Fraser Dickinson explores the torn allegiances of the…
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Spending a penny in the old palace of Westminster
The human side of working in Parliament can often be forgotten, but in today’s blog Dr Robin Eagles, editor of…
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The Madness of the Mohuns
Violence was not uncommon among the early modern aristocracy, but the behaviour of the Mohun (pronounced ‘Moon’) family – Barons…
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Heraldry, Pomp and Power: The Use of Parliamentary Symbols on Coats of Arms, c.1527-2006
Ahead of next Tuesday’s hybrid Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Duncan Sutherland. On 15 November, between 5.30…
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“he, who surpass’d all the Heroes of Antiquity”: John Churchill, 1st duke of Marlborough
2022 marks the 300th anniversary of the death of John Churchill, 1st duke of Marlborough. Dr Robin Eagles reconsiders the…
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Levelling the Lords
In the inaugural blog of our Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments series, the editor of our new House of Lords 1640-60 section…
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Sir Job Charlton and the Declaration of Indulgence 1672-3
As we continue our recent blog series exploring the careers of notable people to occupy the role of Speaker, here…
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‘Never ending war’ and ‘the enriching of Parliament-men’: MPs and corruption in the 1640s
In the second of two blogs from Dr Vivienne Larminie, editor of our Commons 1640-1660 project, here attention is turned…
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Charles I in search of friends: government in crisis and the rewards of loyalty, 1640-1644
Today we hear from Dr Vivienne Larminie, editor of our Commons 1640-1660 project, who discusses Charles I’s attempts to secure…
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William Herbert, 3rd earl of Pembroke: the ‘nearly man’ of early Stuart politics
As we wait to hear who has triumphed in the latest contest to become prime minister, Dr Paul Hunneyball of…
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A month in politics: the fall of Protector Richard Cromwell, 1659
As we ponder the abrupt end to Boris Johnson’s premiership, Dr Vivienne Larminie of our Commons 1640-60 section offers a…