Victorian Commons

For others also wishing to delve into digital Hansard in search of white rabbits or anything else, our research guide to the available online versions may be of interest: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2022/02/09/a...

World Book Day Down the rabbit hole in Parliament...

In honour of #WorldBookDay today, @jhdavey.bsky.social searched through the (digital) pages of Hansard to see which fictional characters have made an appearance in the House of Commons chamber...

Read all about it via our substack:

A golden retriever dog. It is standing on all four paws and has its tongue sticking out.

Died #OnThisDay 1894 Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks (Lord Tweedmouth). He was Liberal MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed 1853-9, Aug 1859-68, 1874-81. His main claim to fame was creating the golden retriever breed, after he bred a golden-coated retriever with one of his Tweed water spaniels.

Salford's Buile Hill Mansion reopens after decades of disrepair The home of the first Mayor of Manchester will host weddings, a cafe and community room.

This was the home of Thomas Potter, mayor of Manchester and a prominent figure in local Liberal politics. His brother Richard was the Radical MP for Wigan, 1832-9.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New post on the #HistParl website from @kathrynrix.bsky.social!

Read it here:

Chronological This page lists volumes of statutes in chronological order, from the Act of Union between England and Scotland, up to fifty years ago when government publications come into the public domain. The v…

Should be able to find them in the relevant volumes of the statutes, collected on this very helpful site: statutes.org.uk/site/collect...

Before the vote was won: women and politics, 1868-1918 - The History of Parliament Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of the House of Commons 1832-1868 Section explains the relationship between women, Parliament and politics in the late

This Women's History Month we are highlighting the long history of female involvement in Parliament and politics.

Below, Dr Kathryn Rix overviews the political involvement of women in the years leading up to some women gaining the right to vote in 1918.

#WomensHistoryMonth #WHM

It is great to see that this special issue of @parlhistjournal.bsky.social, edited by #HistParl's Naomi Lloyd-Jones, is now available to read!

Click below to access this special collection of articles, discussing the politics of organisation in the long 19th century.

Sharing this exciting news again, in case anyone missed it on Friday.

Parliament destroyed by fire On 16 October 1834 an immense fire started by the over-zealous burning of waste took hold in the old Palace of Westminster, completely destroying the medieval Commons and Lords chambers as well as …

#OnThisDay 1835 the Commons appointed a committee to consider the provision of a new building for Parliament in the wake of the October 1834 fire. Find out more about that event in our article: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/p...

Representing Glamorgan, 1832-85: Mr. Talbot and his colleagues This post originally appeared on the History of Parliament’s blog as part of a Local History series on Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. The earlier posts in the series looked at elections in the …

For #StDavidsDay we are sharing our post on elections in 19thC Glamorgan, where one of the MPs was Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, who spent 60 years in the Commons: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/09/28/r...

I'm now recruiting for a crucial post in my team - Curator: Parliamentary Art Collection. A rare chance to work with a wonderful collection in a unique setting.

Please do share, and feel free to get in touch with any questions

The Walking Beer Barrel: John Hodson Kearsley and parliamentary debates in the 1830s Our latest blog from our Assistant Editor Dr Kathryn Rix uses our biography of the Wigan MP John Hodson Kearsley – a forgotten figure today but a well-known Commons character in his time – to explo…

Born #OnThisDay 1785 John Hodson Kearsley. Conservative MP for Wigan in the 1830s, he was nicknamed ‘the Walking Beer Barrel’. Find out why in our article: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2024/09/18/t...

Thank you!

Congratulations to our research fellow Naomi Lloyd-Jones on this excellent publication! As well as Naomi's introduction, it also features articles from our assistant editor @kathrynrix.bsky.social and our former colleague @henryjmiller.bsky.social (and of course other brilliant contributors too!)

‘Watched with considerable curiosity’: The first secret ballot in Britain, 15 August 1872 - The History of Parliament Dr Kathryn Rix, of the Victorian Commons, tells us about the very first election by secret ballot in Britain…Today marks the anniversary of the first occasion

Our #1832AtoZ has reached X. We don’t have any x-ray or xylophone-related posts to draw on, so X is for the mark on a ballot paper. Here’s our post on the first use of the secret ballot at a parliamentary election: historyofparliament.com/2013/08/15/f...

In this video, co-produced with the History Hub channel at Royal Holloway for the 'Peterloo to the Pankhursts' free online course, we explore Benjamin Disraeli's career in relation to parliamentary… Benjamin Disraeli and Parliamentary Reform

#OTD 1868 Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister after the earl of Derby resigned due to poor health. He said that ‘I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole’!

Find out more about Disraeli's premiership & approach to parliamentary reform in this video 👇👇

The 'Bifrons Purse': Elizabeth, Marchioness Conyngham and aristocratic women's participation in nineteenth-century elections - The History of Parliament our research fellow Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones explores the political life of Elizabeth, Marchioness Conyngham (1769-1861). Best known as George IV’s final mistress...

Elizabeth, Marchioness Conyngham, is best known as the final mistress of George IV.

However, as Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones explores below, her electioneering activity offers an important example of the behind-the-scenes roles wealthy women could play in politics during the 19th century.

Sharman Crawford is one of our 1832-68 cohort of MPs (sitting for Dundalk, 1835-7, and Rochdale, 1841-52). The idea for commemorative plaques came from another 19thC MP, William Ewart.

We're aware that some users on our research website may currently be experiencing difficulty accessing the site. This is owing to work on the server and affects some browser types.

Things should be back to normal tomorrow, but please send any further enquiries to contactus@histparl.ac.uk.

‘Not voting at all’: the election of an imprisoned MP in 1769 - The History of Parliament 2024 represents the 250th anniversary of John Wilkes’s re-election for Middlesex and election as Lord Mayor of London. It was by any measure a remarkable

With by-elections and the state of the current electoral system in the news, another chance to consider one of the most famous sets of by-elections in the 18th century, when John Wilkes was re-elected multiple times for Middlesex, even though he was in gaol:
historyofparliament.com/2024/03/07/e...

And ours! And indeed some double-member seats, e.g. Oldham, Preston, survived until 1950.

Here's some of the latest research from our team, looking at Lady Conyngham's involvement in elections in Canterbury.

Lily is an excellent cat name and that is a very sweet cat!

We are advertising a two-year lectureship in Modern British History at University of Cambridge, please spread the word!
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/assista...

‘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

With the Gorton and Denton by-election taking place tomorrow, we're sharing our article on an earlier Manchester by-election. How was a woman able to vote there in 1867, decades before women received the parliamentary franchise? Find out more here: historyofparliament.com/2025/03/14/l...

This is very interesting. We often wonder about journey times for MPs between their constituencies or homes and Westminster, particularly before the railways.

A black and white illustration in a black frame hanging on a white background. It shows a large hall with a stage, galleries and a packed audience.

In a change from our usual office, the History of Parliament team met today at the Foundling Museum. We of course spotted a 19thC item. Here is the 1857 Handel Festival at the Crystal Palace. The Hallelujah chorus could apparently be heard half a mile away.

Whipping in the reformed Commons: Henry Whitmore (1813-76) In this week’s blog our senior research fellow, Dr Martin Spychal, discusses the ‘whipping’ activities of the Conservative MP for Bridgnorth, Henry Whitmore (1813-76). Despite the disdain for his c…

Our final #ShropshireDay MP is Henry Whitmore, one of several family members to represent the borough of Bridgnorth. He served as a Conservative party whip in the 1850s and 1860s: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2024/02/26/w...

Continuing with the theme of corruption, we have the Shrewsbury election agent John Frail, whose election bill for the 1841 contest shocked the newly elected MP for the constituency, Benjamin Disraeli: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2023/08/30/a... #ShropshireDay