A head and shoulders drawing of a woman. She has dark hair which is tied back. She is wearing a dark coloured garment with a white lace collar.
Charlotte Brontë was born #OnThisDay 210 years ago. In June 1850 she visited the Ladies' Gallery of the House of Commons to listen to MPs debating, as featured in our article:
victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2024/03/08/t...
For #NationalTeaDay ☕️ we are resharing a blog by former #HistParl director Paul Seaward on Bellamy's, a prime tea-drinking spot in Parliament in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Died #OnThisDay 1837 John Blackburne, Liberal MP for Huddersfield, 1834-7. He had played an important role in the reform of municipal government in 1835. There’s more about this new system of local elections in this blog from our editor Philip Salmon: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/1...
Although now able to affirm, before the late 19th century members of the House of Commons and Lords were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Crown.
As Dr Kathryn Rix explores, this posed a problem for Joseph Pease, whose religion precluded him from being able to take oaths.
Brilliant talk this morning by @chloechallender.bsky.social on her excellent research on divorce by Act of Parliament, its voyeurism and theatricality, and experience of women inc as petitioners, respondents, witnesses.
A painting of the old House of Commons chamber. It is filled with hundreds of men. There are three large arched windows at the end of the room, in front of which is the Speaker's chair.
Born #OnThisDay 1797 Cuthbert Rippon, Radical MP for Gateshead, 1832-41. A keen advocate of the removal of bishops from the House of Lords, but his motions on this subject in 1834 and 1836 were defeated. He is among the MPs depicted in Hayter’s painting of the Commons.
Benjamin Disraeli, twice Conservative prime minister, died #OnThisDay 1881. He has featured in several of our blogs. This post looked at his relationship with his fellow Maidstone MP Wyndham Lewis, whose widow became Disraeli’s wife: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/m...
Died #OnThisDay 1857 Joseph Holdsworth, a prosperous dyer who was elected as Liberal MP for his native Wakefield in 1841. In an unusual case, he was unseated because he was technically the returning officer, as our blog explains: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/m...
Robert Spankie, born #OnThisDay 1774, followed an unusual career path, from reporting on parliamentary debates in the 1790s to speaking in them as an MP in the 1830s. Find out more in our blog: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/01/27/f...
Black and white photograph of a man. He has grey-white hair and a grey-white beard. He is wearing a dark jacket and necktie.
Henry Austin Bruce, Liberal MP for Merthyr Tydfil, 1852-68, & Renfrewshire, 1869-73, was born #OnThisDay 1815. His many official roles included serving as Home Secretary, 1868-73, & President of @royalhistsoc.org 1878-91. He was created Baron Aberdare in 1873.
Later this month we will have a new article from @martinspychal.bsky.social as part of his series on Peter McLagan, Scotland's first Black MP. Here's a reminder of Martin's first article on McLagan and the process of researching his background: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2025/06/12/p...
A woman wearing a pink jumper is holding a copy of a book in front of her to display the cover. She looks happy.
Great excitement in the #HistParl office as our research fellow Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones gets her hands on a print copy of her special issue of Parliamentary History. It's currently free to access online here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17500206...
The former MP for Dorset, Henry Sturt, who died #OnThisDay 1866, was faced with a difficult choice over how to vote on the repeal of the corn laws in 1846. Find out more about his dilemma in our short article: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2019/03/29/c...
In case you missed it, in the latest entry for 'Scribble Book', @jhdavey.bsky.social has explored some of the notable individuals who have served as Clerk of the Parliaments in the role's 700 year history.
Click the link below to read and subscribe!
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Some interesting 19thC names. We do feel slightly sorry for Palmerston Pratt!
Our #1832AtoZ is at an end, with Z for Zoo. Nicholas Vigors, an Irish MP, played a leading role in the early development of London Zoo and was the first secretary of the Zoological Society of London. For more on his scientific and political careers, see victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/07/10/m...
The second Chartist convention met #OnThisDay 12 April 1842 to organise the presentation to Parliament of a petition signed by 3,315,712 people in support of the People’s Charter.
www.chartistancestors.co.uk/second-conve...
On 12 April 1866 Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, MP for Preston 1832-47, died.
He is most well-known today for founding and giving his name to the seaside town of Fleetwood in Lancashire. Find out more about his career and legacy via this article by Dr Kathryn Rix for @victoriancommons.bsky.social.
Our book Writing Politics in Modern Britain has now been made Open Access: www.cambridge.org/core/books/w...
This is a very interesting read, and the story of horses and politics continues with our own 19th century take: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2023/02/10/t...
We ruled out names, otherwise we could have gone with the 2nd earl of Zetland, who was MP for Richmond, 1818-30, York, 1830-2, and Richmond again, 1835-9, before succeeding to the Lords.
Glad you found it of interest!
Any guesses as to what might feature in our final entry for Z?
Our penultimate entry for our #1832AtoZ is Y for York. This post uses York to explore the structure of our constituency articles and discusses the city’s 19th century elections. victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/07/30/y...
Our colleague @martinspychal.bsky.social will be speaking about Harriet & George Grote. Some of his work on Harriet can be found on the #HistParl website: historyofparliament.com?s=Harriet+Gr...
A map of London showing its parliamentary constituencies after 1832.
The Victorian Commons team are back at their desks after the Easter break. Our most recent batch of work included two Speakers of the House of Commons (Manners Sutton & Shaw Lefevre), the rather corrupt constituency of Canterbury & the UK's largest parliamentary borough in our period, Tower Hamlets.
Cobden was MP for three different constituencies: Stockport, the West Riding and Rochdale. Find out more about his relationship with his constituents in this guest article from Prof. Simon Morgan: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2024/01/24/c...
As always, a fascinating article from our colleague @georgianlords.bsky.social. Those interested in parliamentary fashion may also enjoy this guest blog on a Victorian MP's court dress: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2024/05/14/f...
Great to see our assistant editor @kathrynrix.bsky.social's article in this special issue edited by our research fellow Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones.
Charlotte Brontë died #OnThisDay 1855. She took a keen interest in parliamentary proceedings when she visited the ladies’ gallery of the temporary House of Commons in 1850, as our post explains: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2024/03/08/t... #WomensHistoryMonth