Buildings and Architecture
-
The smallest room in the House
Women have been accessing the Palace of Westminster for centuries, yet sanitary facilities have not always been provided. Chloe Challender,…
-
Bishop Jewel and the lost archdeaconry
Many Elizabethan bills which failed to become Acts of Parliament don’t now survive, and little is known about them except…
-
“Take care, or you will break my shins with this damned axe”: The trials of Lords Balmerino, Cromartie and Kilmarnock (Summer 1746)
The summer is normally a period for Parliament to go into recess, and for MPs and members of the Lords…
-
The tomb of William Rudhale (d.1530), Queen Katherine’s attorney-general, in the church of Ross-on-Wye
William Rudhale had a successful career in the medieval legal profession culminating in his promotion to serjeants-at-law. Simon Payling from our Commons…
-
Contested Space: Politics and the Commons Chamber
The Palace of Westminster was the location of some of the most dramatic events in the English Civil Wars. Dr…
-
The 1626 coronation: Charles I’s botched political relaunch
After a shaky start to his reign, the king intended his coronation to bolster his personal image and agenda ahead…
-
‘The buzz, the prattle, the crowds, the noise, the hurry’: the Coronation of George III and Queen Charlotte
Royal celebrations in the Georgian period were renowned for their mixture of stately formality and farcical mix-ups. In the third…
-
MPs and the coronation of Edward VII
The members of the House of Lords have traditionally been far more involved with coronations than their Commons counterparts, and…
-
‘The most solemn, magnificent, and sumptuous ceremony’: The coronation of George II and Queen Caroline, 11 October 1727
Contemporaries were agreed that the coronation of George II and Queen Caroline on 11 October 1727 was spectacular. In our…
-
The Peerage and the Coronation of George I
The death of Queen Anne on 1 August 1714 heralded the arrival of a new dynasty in Britain – literally…
-
‘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…
-
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…