Interregnum
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Oliver Cromwell’s ‘Other House’ and the perils of Lords ‘reform’
In this guest post, Dr Jonathan Fitzgibbons of Lincoln University, looks at a constitutional issue from the 1650s with obvious contemporary relevance: the place of the House of Lords. As politicians continue to debate the House of Lords’ future, including…
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The Sport of Kings – and Protectors!
In this blog, Dr Patrick Little, of the 1640-60 Lords section, explores the enduring popularity of horse-racing, even during the rule of that archetypal puritan, Oliver Cromwell… Oliver Cromwell is blamed for many things without any basis. There are ruined…
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Crisis? What Crisis? Parliament and Revolutionary Britain
At the end of April, the History of Parliament hosted a colloquium to celebrate the publication of the House of Commons 1640-60 volumes and the beginning of a new section on the Lords in the same period. In this blog,…
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New Evidence for Old Stories: The Scribbled Books of the House of Lords
In this blog, Dr Alex Beeton from our House of Lords 1640-1660 project explores a little-used parliamentary source – the ‘Scribbled Books’ – and reveals some of the important information that can be found within them… John Browne, the Clerk…
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The History of Parliament, House of Commons, 1640-60: a roundtable discussion
Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People roundtable seminar, we hear from Alex Beeton and Patrick Little of the History of Parliament. On 13 February Alex and Patrick will join Andrew Barclay, Vivienne Larminie and David Scott to discuss the recently…
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The Stuart Brothers in the English Civil War: the Road to Royalist Martyrdom
UNIQ+ Intern, Thomas Fallais, and David Scott, editor of the House of Lords 1640-1660 section, consider the deaths of three prominent royalist brothers, and how they were remembered. The Stuart brothers George Lord d’Aubigny, Lord John Stuart and Lord Bernard Stuart came…
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Richard Ingoldsby – Reluctant Regicide?
On 29 January 1649, Charles I’s death warrant was signed by 59 men. One of these men, Richard Ingoldsby, later claimed during the restoration of the monarchy that Oliver Cromwell had forced him to sign it. Dr Andrew Barclay, senior…
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Post-Mortem by Print: Reflections on the Death of Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland
In the latest Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments blog, guest blogger William Poulter, a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leeds, discusses how the death of Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland in 1643 was memorialised decades later during the Restoration of the monarchy.…
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The Civil War and the First Age of Party
May 2023 saw the publication of the History of Parliament House of Commons 1640-1660 volumes. This research has uncovered that many of the political identities, behaviours and structures that constitute a recognisable party-political system first came together during this time.…
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Time and the Hard Night’s Day in the Long Parliament
During the 1640s the parliamentary day grew longer and longer until all-night sittings became a regular feature in the House of Commons. Dr Stephen Roberts, editor of the House of Commons 1640-1660, explains the debates that kept the Commons sitting late…
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The Voice of the Parliamentary Diarists, 1640-60
May 2023 saw the publication of the History of Parliament’s The House of Commons 1640-1660 volumes. One of the main sources for our researchers was parliamentary diaries. Dr Stephen Roberts, editor for the House of Commons 1640-1660, looks at some of the…
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The Lords and the Putney Debates
Following the victory of Parliament over King Charles I in the first English Civil War, the New Model Army, Charles, and radical groups convened at Putney to discuss the political settlement. Sarah Mortimer, Associate Professor at Christ Church, Oxford, and…