Parliamentary Life
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Of Puritans and Pilchards
In recent years, following the impact of Brexit, fishing regulation has become a recurring topic in the UK’s political discussions. Similarly, in the 17th century control over piscatorial exports was controversial. In our latest blog Dr Patrick Little, from our…
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The Political Lives of Postwar British MPs: Selection Troubles
Out this month, The Political Lives of Postwar British MPs explores the fascinating interviews with former MPs hidden in our oral history project archive. In this post the book’s authors, Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Priscila Pivatto, explore one of…
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Those pesky deliveries: delivering the King’s writs across 15th century England
In recent months, easily talking to friends and colleagues on the other side of the country, or even world, has become essential. But we shouldn’t take our Zoom, Teams, Hangout, Skype (etc.) calls for granted . In the 15th c.…
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The perils of foreign travel in the early modern era
With holidays abroad still a major challenge due to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, Dr Paul Hunneyball, assistant editor of our Lords 1558-1603 project, considers the risks associated with travel overseas four hundred years ago… One of the standard clichés of…
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Out this month: ‘The Political Lives of Postwar British MPs: An Oral History of Parliament’
Later this month the very first book based on our Oral History Project Archive is published by Bloomsbury Academic. Today, the book’s authors, Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Priscila Pivatto, give a preview of what you can expect in the…
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Real or imagined? Fifteenth-century MPs as perpetrators of violence
In our latest blog we’re exploring some of the dangerous reputations held by Medieval MPs with Dr Simon Payling, senior research fellow for our Commons 1461-1504 project. It seems that in the 15th century accusations of violence (even murder!) weren’t…
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York: exploring the local history of a Victorian constituency
Alongside biographies of 2,591 MPs, our House of Commons 1832-68 project is also researching and writing articles on the 401 English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh constituencies in existence during this period. Following on from this month’s earlier local history post…
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York 1660-1760
For this month’s local history focus we are looking at the borough constituency of York. A city not unfamiliar with hosting parliaments, it was even suggested by the Prime Minister last week as a possible location for a temporary chamber…
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‘Going into the country’: leave, holidays and political intrigue in the 1640s
As the easing of lockdown encourages many of us to seize opportunities to go on holiday, and especially take ‘staycations’, Dr Vivienne Larminie, assistant editor of the Commons 1640-1660 section, looks at the positive and (arguably) negative uses to which…
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Ball Lightning in Early Modern England: The Curious Case of Nicholas Walsh, MP
In their work our researchers have discovered many strange and unusual causes of the death that have befallen parliamentarians over the centuries; one such case is the subject of Dr Andrew Thrush‘s new blog. Here, the editor of our Lords…
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Pubs, Publicans and Parliament in the later Middle Ages
Dr Hannes Kleineke, editor of our Commons 1461-1504 project, is one of many people celebrating parliament’s decision to allow the re-opening of pubs, bars and watering holes in England from today. But in our latest blog he looks back to…
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The ‘troubled nature’ of Francis Norris, earl of Berkshire: a Jacobean peer’s battle with depression
As public debate intensifies about the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on mental health, Dr Paul Hunneyball, assistant editor of the Lords 1558-1603 section, considers a poorly documented aspect of early modern medicine… If ever there was an era when…