17th Century history
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New Project: The House of Lords 1640-1660
In exciting news for the History of Parliament, 2022 sees the winding down of our long-running House of Commons 1640-1660…
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Before Big Ben there was Old Tom
As the restoration of the Palace of Westminster’s Elizabeth Tower reaches its final stages this summer, Dr Robin Eagles, editor…
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Parliamentary Culture and Library History in Britain
Since autumn 2021, we have been working with the University of Oxford and the Centre for Intellectual History at the University of Oxford to…
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One of our seals is missing! How a summer vacation brought Charles I’s government to a grinding halt
During the coronavirus pandemic we have grown used to government interventions disrupting our travel plans. However, in 1625 the government…
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‘Queen Mary’, Queen Elizabeth and Parliament in the 1640s: suspicion, solidarity and nostalgia
As Queen Elizabeth II celebrates a milestone 70 years on the throne this month, we have been thinking about the…
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Parliamentary Culture, 1500-1700: The State of Research
In our latest blog we’re returning to the ‘Recovering Europe’s Parliamentary Culture, 1500-1700’ project. Since autumn 2021, we have been working with the University…
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Episcopalians, puritans, presbyterians and sectaries: contesting the Church of England in the mid seventeenth century
If you visualize religious history in the 1640s and 1650s as a blanket triumph of puritanism, think again. As Dr…
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Legislature meets library: Parliament at Oxford in 1625
As part of our Parliament away from Westminster series, Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 section explores the factors…
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Sitting at Oxford: the convening of Charles I’s ‘Mongrel Parliament’, January 1644
Throughout its history, Parliament has been no stranger to meeting in Oxford. Dr Vivienne Larminie, editor of our Commons 1640-1660,…
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After the Levellers: On the Non-Mysterious Disappearance of Parliamentary Reform in England
In our latest blog we’re returning to the ‘Recovering Europe’s Parliamentary Culture, 1500-1700’ project. Since late September, we’ve been working with the University of…
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Lies, stories, misinformation and collective memory: extracting vipers and unmasking cavaliers in the 1659 Parliament
‘Fake news’ might seem like a modern concept, but there’s nothing new about attempts to disguise, misrepresent or reinvent the…
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March 1672: The Declaration of Indulgence
In March 1672 Charles II issued a document to remove harsh sanctions against religious non-conformity. But what brought about this…