Dr Kathryn Rix

Congratulations!

From Rochdale to Westminster: Emily Kelsall and the new Houses of Parliament This post from our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix was first published on the Parliamentary Archives: Inside the Act Room blog, which has many more articles to read on parliamentary history, from t…

Our #1832AtoZ continues with T for Trowel and Tower. This trowel was used to lay the first stone of the Clock Tower for the new Houses of Parliament. Find out more about who performed this task in September 1843 in our article: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/06/11/f...

Congratulations!

Great to see this excellent article and well-deserved proxime accessit for the Parliamentary History prize 2024 in print! Especially brilliant is the new source describing women's experiences of the 'ventilator' in the Commons.

As Nick says here, this really is a 'gem of a story' and told expertly and brilliantly by @victoriancommons.bsky.social

BBC Radio 4 - Pick of the Week, Nick Ahad Nick Ahad presents a selection of the best bits of audio across the BBC.

Our colleague @kathrynrix.bsky.social was featured in yesterday's 'Pick of the Week' on BBC Radio 4!

You can check out her featured interview with Susan Hulme, on how women watched Commons debates from 'the ventilator' after they were barred from the chamber in 1778, below (starting at 7:22):

Thanks - glad you found it interesting!

I can't DM you but would love to come along to this on Zoom.

I'm really thrilled that my interview was included as part of Radio 4's 'Pick of the Week' yesterday evening. It starts at 07:22 here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... or for the fuller version see the post quoted below.

Death by turnip was one of the first MPs I researched for the History of Parliament and I'm not sure I have bettered this as a research finding!

A seminar room with audience members seated with their backs to the camera and the speaker standing at the front.

Great to hear Dr Helen Wilson talking about her recent PhD thesis on Black participation in British politics, 1750-1850 @ihr.bsky.social this evening. This was jointly supervised by Amanda Goodrich (Open University) and my colleague Robin Eagles @georgianlords.bsky.social @histparl.bsky.social.

Last week our colleague Dr Kathryn Rix appeared on Today in Parliament to discuss how women were able to watch debates in the House of Commons after they were officially barred from the chamber in 1778.

You can check out her interview here (starting at 22:55):
buff.ly/yrr6CQo

A minor insight into the importance of 18th-century women lacking a formal vote, but commanding influence over their menfolk:
"Mr. Winford, notwithstanding his behaviour in St. Stephens, has not the hearts of the citizens, or what is worse, the citizens' wives."
www.histparl.ac.uk/volume/1715-...

Great to have the opportunity to appear on Radio 4 talking about women's experiences of 19thC Westminster in the ventilator and the ladies' gallery.

Black and Political: Reconstructing Black Participation in British Politics, 1750-1850 - The History of Parliament Dr Helen Wilson will be discussing Black participation in British Politics between 1750 and 1850.

On 3 December, Helen Wilson will be speaking at a special joint session of the IHR’s Parliaments, Politics and People and British History in the Long 18th Century seminars.

Find out more about her paper on 'Reconstructing Black Participation in British Politics, 1750-1850' below:

Really great paper from @nemgarrett.bsky.social, and for anyone who missed it, the good news is that an extended version is being published next year in a collection edited by my @histparl.bsky.social colleague Naomi Lloyd-Jones.

‘The Tartan Rage’: Fashion, High Society, and Scottish Identity in Eighteenth-Century London - The History of Parliament The Tartan rage has at length reached Paris,’ declared the World in June 1787. Demand for tartan fabric and accessories had swept British high society earlier that year, with the Gazetteer and New Dai...

Looking forward to hearing about the duchess of Gordon and the late 18C ‘tartan rage’ at tonight’s IHR Parliaments, Politics and People ONLINE seminar. Sign up FREE at the link below! historyofparliament.com/2025/11/18/t... @nemgarrett.bsky.social

I was a @chuarchives.bsky.social By-Fellow last year and would recommend to anyone! Deadline for applications approaching

The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act: the York by-election - The History of Parliament series on the 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practice Act, Dr Kathryn Rix looks at its impact on electioneering, focusing on the November 1883 York by-election

#OTD 1883, the first by-election in England held under the rules of the 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act took place.

Dr Kathryn Rix explores the impact that the Act had on electioneering during the York by-election:

A large round fruit cake standing on a wire cooling rack.

Doing the traditional thing for Stir Up Sunday!

‘She is an Outsider in Public Life’: women parliamentary candidates, 1918-1923 - The History of Parliament Ahead of tonight’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, we hear from Lisa Berry-Waite, a Leverhulme-funded PhD

#OTD 1918 the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act, giving women the right to stand for parliament, gained royal assent.

To find out more about early women parliamentary candidates, and the campaigns they ran, read @lisaberrywaite.bsky.social article. historyofparliament.com/2019/06/11/s...

A ginger cat sitting on someone's lap. The edge of a desk and computer keyboard are just seen.

Having completed display screen equipment training this week, should I tell the cat he is infringing the rules on workstation setup?

If you're interested in Scottish national identity, eighteenth-century fashion, and/or women in politics, you may be interested in the paper I'm presenting at the IHR Parliaments, Politics & People seminar next Tuesday. Best of all, it's online!

#eighteenthcentury #womenshistory #Scottishhistory

MPs and the Second World War - The History of Parliament Ahead of Remembrance Day, and with 2025 marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War, Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons,

In our latest article, Dr Kathryn Rix has looked at the 23 MPs commemorated in the Commons chamber who died during the Second World War.

Their biographies written by #HistParl are now accessible on Parliament's website, links to which you can find in Dr Rix's article below:

Chloe Mawson, appointed 66th Clerk of the Parliaments

Chloe Mawson has been appointed the 66th Clerk of the Parliaments and is the first woman to take up the post.

The Clerk of the Parliaments is head of the House of Lords Administration and Chief Procedural Adviser to the House.

‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867 - The History of Parliament More than half a century before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, cast a parliamentary vote. Dr Kathryn Rix

In November 1867, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, voted in a parliamentary by-election.

But how was she able to vote in an election more than fifty years before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918? Dr Kathryn Rix explains:

MPs and the Second World War - The History of Parliament Ahead of Remembrance Day, and with 2025 marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War, Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons,

Ahead of Remembrance Day this Sunday, and with 2025 marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War, Dr Kathryn Rix has looked at the 23 MPs commemorated in the Commons chamber who died during the Second World War: historyofparliament.com/2025/11/07/m...

Resources In researching the careers of MPs who sat in the Commons between 1832 and 1868, and the electoral histories of the constituencies they represented, we make extensive use of online resources. On thi…

In our #1832AtoZ R is also for our Resources page. This has links to many free to access resources for 19th century British history, from Hansard debates to maps. We’ve checked all the links today, but if anything is missing or broken, let us know! victoriancommons.wordpress.com/resources

'School Girls at the House of Commons' (including Michael Joseph Flavin) - National Portrait Gallery by Benjamin Stone platinum print 22 July 1909 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Can anyone help me identify these schoolgirls who visited Parliament in July 1909? I'm writing about them in my book and would LOVE to be able to say who they are! www.npg.org.uk/collections/... #histed #histchild

What a great project!