Speakers of the House
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The Speakers and the Suffragettes
At the IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar on Tuesday 28 October, Dr Mari Takayanagi will be discussing ‘The Speakers…
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The Speaker’s House and the Evolution of the Speakership, 1794–1834
At the IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar on 6 May 2025, Dr Murray Tremellen of York Museums Trust will…
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The Commons at work: the Chairman of Ways and Means
The Speaker of the House of Commons is a remarkably familiar figure to television audiences around the world. Anyone viewing…
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Two anniversaries, two impeachments and an election
In 2024 the tercentenaries of the deaths of two important 18th-century figures the fell within weeks of each other. Dr…
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Enter the Dragon: the education of Robert Harley
Robert Harley (1661-1724) was in his late 20s when he was first elected to Parliament as MP for Tregony in…
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A tribute to Betty Boothroyd
In today’s blog, we pay tribute to Betty Boothroyd, the first female Speaker of the Commons, who sadly died yesterday.…
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Of Pretenders and Prime Ministers: Robert Walpole and the Atterbury Plot 300 years on
As 2022 draws to an end Dr Charles Littleton considers the tercentenary of the Atterbury Plot, the failed plan for…
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Heraldry, Pomp and Power: The Use of Parliamentary Symbols on Coats of Arms, c.1527-2006
Ahead of next Tuesday’s hybrid Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Duncan Sutherland. On 15 November, between 5.30…
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Sir Job Charlton and the Declaration of Indulgence 1672-3
As we continue our recent blog series exploring the careers of notable people to occupy the role of Speaker, here…
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‘Robin the trickster’ versus ‘Stiff Dick’: the election of Robert Harley as Speaker of the Commons in 1701
In the latest in our series discussing some of the notable figures to occupy the role of Speaker of the…
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A Speakership that never was: Sir Thomas Hungerford and the Parliament of 1378
Throughout 2022 we have been looking into the careers of some of the people to occupy the role of Speaker-…
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‘Why not you?’ Sir John Cust, reluctant Speaker of the House of Commons
It is one of Westminster’s many traditions that, when an MP is elected to the role of Speaker of the…