Victorian Commons

We can definitely see you ensconced in this in the new office!

Annual Lecture: Clement Attlee’s Labour Governments of 1945-51 Join us for the History of Parliament Annual Lecture for 2025, given by Rt Hon. Nick Thomas-Symonds.

The History of Parliament is excited to announce this year's Annual Lecture!

On 16 December in Portcullis House, Rt Hon. Nick Thomas-Symonds will be speaking on 'Clement Attlee’s Labour Governments of 1945-51: A Reappraisal'.

Tickets are FREE and can be found in the link below:

I have studied much about Edward Lucas for my PhD research, particularly his role as MP for County Monaghan from 1834 to 1841. For anyone in Dublin today and free, I'll be mentioning him in my talk at @historytcd.bsky.social seminar in @tlrhub.bsky.social at 2.30pm

MP of the Month: Edward Lucas and the administration of Ireland, 1841-5 Edward Lucas was already an experienced parliamentarian when in September 1841 he was appointed under-secretary for Ireland, a post which for at least three-quarters of the year made the holder ‘th…

Edward Lucas, who died #OnThisDay 1871, was a talented Irish MP. In September 1841 Sir Robert Peel appointed him as under-secretary for Ireland. He served until 1845, during a turbulent time in Irish politics. Find out more about him here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/m...

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.

Elected without his consent: William Wilshere (1804-67) and the venal electors of Great Yarmouth The huge financial cost of Victorian elections, especially in venal constituencies, has been a recurrent theme in some of our more recent blogs. It’s tempting to think of the MPs associated w…

William Wilshere, who died #OnThisDay 1867, found himself facing a possible challenge to a duel after being elected for Great Yarmouth without his consent in 1838. Find out more about events in this corrupt borough: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/12/16/e...

#OTD 1831: Birth of Henry Labouchere, writer, publisher, theatre owner and radical Liberal MP for Windsor 1865-66, Middlesex 1867-68 and Northampton 1880-1906. Born into a Hugenot family and nephew of the prominent Whig politician, Labouchere often cut a controversial figure.🧵

‘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:

Following up on our post on resources, this is great news!

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

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...

Curriers' Essay Prize | The London Journal The author of the winning submission will receive £1,000, and publication, subject to peer review, in The London Journal. Other promising entries may also be considered for publication.

The Worshipful Company of Curriers essay prize on London for early career scholars, in association with The London Journal Trust and the Institute of Historical Research.

The author of the winning submission will receive £1,000, and publication, subject to peer review, in The London Journal.

The funeral of Prof Henry Fawcett at Trumpington, Cambridge, 1884. Summary: One of the most influential men to live and work in Cambridge was the husband of Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Prof Henry Fawcett. Despite being blinded in a shooting accident, he rose to ach…

Transcript of the newspaper report of his funeral including the huge list of mourners lostcambridge.wordpress.com/2018/08/06/t... #LostCambridge 1884

MP of the Month: Henry Fawcett (1833-84) Continuing our recent focus on the personalities and campaigns associated with ‘votes for women’, our MP of the Month highlights the remarkable career of Henry Fawcett, husband of the leading suffr…

Died #OnThisDay 1884 Henry Fawcett, the first completely blind MP. He sat as a Liberal for Brighton 1865-74, & Hackney 1874-84. For more on him & the wife, the leading suffragist, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, see our earlier post: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2018/07/19/m...

Very interesting article from our colleague @georgianlords.bsky.social thinking about commemorations.

'Abominable, unutterable, and worse than fables': the campaign to pass the Criminal Law Amendment Bill - The History of Parliament Steven Spencer of Birkbeck, University of London, will be discussing the campaign to pass the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act.

On 11 November, Steven Spencer of Birkbeck, University of London, will be speaking at the next IHR Parliaments, Politics & People Seminar, where he will be presenting on 'The campaign to pass the Criminal Law Amendment Bill'

Find out more about his paper and how to attend below:
buff.ly/OTB2wDo

We need to sound a note of appreciation for the name Hercules Pakenham!

Pakenham was one of two of the sons of Hon. Hercules Pakenham, a former MP for Westmeath, to be killed in action. His brother, Robert, died at Lucknow in 1857.

Having had a narrow escape at the Battle of the Alma, Edward Pakenham, Conservative MP for Co Antrim, died #OnThisDay 1854 after sustaining a fatal injury at the Battle of Inkerman. He was one of several Irish MPs to serve in the Crimean War: thehistoryofparliament.wordpress.com/2018/06/26/i...

In Archives Week in 2021, the Peoples Collection of Wales placed on-line a very large number of documents relating to what happened on the day and subsequent trials... now been transcribed and versions can be read more easily

www.peoplescollection.wales/users/10004

A remarkable resource. #Chartism

It was great to meet you!

Ready and waiting to meet people at #HistDay25.

Members of the Victorian Commons team will be on the #HistParl stand from 11-11:45 and 2-2:45 for all your 19th century history needs, and other brilliant colleagues will also be on hand throughout the day!

Parliament versus the People: the Newport rising of 1839 - The History of Parliament Today marks the 180th anniversary of the Newport rising when government forces and Welsh Chartists clashed in the town of Newport. Here's Dr Philip Salmon,

#OTD 1839, government forces and Welsh Chartists clashed during the Newport Rising, now remembered as an iconic moment in the struggle for democratic rights in Britain. Find out more via Dr Philip Salmon's #HistParl article from 2019.

We very much agree! The overlaps between MPs and journalism are definitely worthy of a lot more research.

Politicians and the press: the case of John Walter, Member of Parliament and owner of The Times This is the first in our series of ‘MP of the Month’ blog posts, where we look in more detail at backbench politicians whose careers shed light on the history of the Commons between 1832 and 1868. …

John Walter (b. 1818) followed in his father’s footsteps as proprietor of The Times and as an MP. He represented Nottingham, 1847-59, and Berkshire, 1859-65 & 1868-85. He died #OnThisDay 1894. Read more on his dual role here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/p...

MP of the Month: From pot boy to parliamentarian – John Lloyd Davies (1801-60) Of all the ‘self-made’ men who made the mid-nineteenth century House of Commons distinct from earlier periods, few can have begun life in such humble circumstances as John Lloyd Davies,…

Born #OnThisDay 1801, John Lloyd Davies rose from humble origins, aided by his wife, to become MP for Cardigan Boroughs in 1855. Find out more about his life and parliamentary career in our blog: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/m...

From patent laws and prison reform to a threatened duel: the intriguing life of Benjamin Rotch MP - The History of Parliament Untangling the eclectic career of Benjamin Rotch (1793-1854), Whig MP for Knaresborough, 1832-5, proved to be an extremely interesting piece of research for

Died #OnThisDay 1854 Benjamin Rotch, MP for Knaresborough 1832-5. He was also a lawyer, inventor, teetotaller & cab proprietor, & challenged the lord major of London to a duel. More on this eclectic career here: historyofparliament.com/2025/08/31/l...

Come and say hello to the #HistParl team at History Day next week! We're excited to talk about our research and catch up with new and old friends working in the sector.

Find out more via @ihr.bsky.social #HistDay25