Health and Medicine
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‘I shall persist’: Joseph Brotherton (1783-1857) and late hours in the Commons
Among the new constituencies created by the 1832 Reform Act was Salford, whose first MP, Joseph Brotherton, proved to be a notably hard-working member of the Commons. Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project, examines…
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A Meddlesome Mother? Queen Charlotte and the Regency Crisis
In October 1788, George III fell ill with an unknown ‘malady’ which rendered him unable to fulfil his duties as sovereign: the beginning of the king’s famous ‘madness’. In the latest post for the Georgian Lords, we welcome Dr Natalee…
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HIV and Parliament: memories from our Oral History Project
For LGBT+ History Month, Dr Emma Peplow, Head of Contemporary History, uses the History of Parliament’s Oral History archive to reflect on the debates and experiences of HIV in Parliament during the 1980s. When the HIV/AIDs epidemic arrived in the UK…
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75 Years of the National Health Service: A Political History of Health and Healthcare in Britain
In September, the History of Parliament celebrated our latest publication with St James’s House to commemorate 75 years of the NHS at Westminster Abbey. Paul Seaward, Director of the History of Parliament, discusses the contents of the book and how to…
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What if Elizabeth I had Died in 1562?
It is easy to take the long reign of Elizabeth I for granted. But less than four years after Elizabeth ascended the throne, her life was nearly cut short, threatening to bring down the curtain on the Tudor dynasty. What…
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75 Years of the NHS – reform, reorganisation and restructure
Fittingly, the NHS celebrated its 75th anniversary in the wake of a major reform. Such ‘once in a lifetime’ reorganisations have been a feature since its creation. In this guest blog, Dr Michael Lambert, an NHS historian and Research Fellow…
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The National Health Service’s Anniversaries as a Political Tradition
To mark the National Health Service’s (NHS) seventy-fifth anniversary, guest blogger Dr Andrew Seaton discusses his new book, Our NHS: A History of Britain’s Best-Loved Institution (Yale University Press, 2023) and its links to parliamentary history through the lens of…
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75 Years of the NHS – on the campaign trail
Last month, the NHS celebrated its 75th anniversary. Since its formation, the NHS has played a key role in politics. Here, Dr Emma Peplow, Head of Oral History, explores how important the NHS was to voters and politicians on the campaign…
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‘Always look a gift horse in the mouth’: the abbey of Louth Park and the deathbed of Sir Henry Vavasour (d. 1342) of Cockerington, Lincolnshire
On his deathbed, Sir Henry Vavasour reflected on life after death and made some changes in his will to ensure the health of his soul. However, in doing so he compromised his family’s future. Simon Payling from our Commons 1461-1504…
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Reflection on Parliament, Politics and Pandemics in Later Medieval England
In October the History of Parliament were delighted to welcome a sell-out audience to Westminster for our 2022 Annual Lecture- our first in-person lecture after a hiatus of two years. Here our Public Engagement Assistant, and new addition to the…
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‘Helping the Disabled to Live to Capacity’: rediscovering Dr Margaret Agerholm through parliamentary history
Over the past few weeks UK Heritage institutions have been marking Disability History Month, and in today’s blog we hear from Dr Emmeline Ledgerwood, the History of Parliament’s Oral History Project Manager. Listening to the project’s interview with former MP…
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“contagion lies in a wainscot”: the tragic history of the dukes of Bolton & 37, Grosvenor Square
In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Dr Robin Eagles considers the tragic history of the family of the dukes of Bolton and the strange coincidence that brought about the deaths of two peers in the same house in…