A few months into its life it was purchased by George Glenny: a keen gardener, a serial publisher of periodicals and someone who loved a good falling out. Dr David Marsh has written a great blog about him: thegardenhistory.blog/2018/07/21/g... I’ll continue The Court Gazette saga next week.

Today's #MastheadMonday is the Court Gazette (1838-40; 1841): a society newspaper that became embroiled in the disputed world of C19th horticulture. Plagued by injunctions & bankruptcy, it eventually had its title stolen by a rival. It’s free-to-view www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/titles/court...

A week left to reply for this fantastic role. Closes 15 March

Delighted to contribute to this special issue and hats off to Naomi Lloyd-Jones for organising such a great conference and being a fab editor!

Another figure we want to shed light on this #WomensHistoryMonth is Harriet Grote. In a series of articles, Dr Martin Spychal explores how she was able to establish herself as one of Westminster’s leading radical politicians. @martinspychal.bsky.social @victoriancommons.bsky.social

For #InternationalWomensDay and #WomensHistoryMonth we are sharing some of our favourite research on women’s participation in 19th century politics.

Did you know that a former Scottish Rugby captain sat in the House of Commons? With Scotland taking the field against France later today in the #SixNations, @kathrynrix.bsky.social explores the sporting and political career of Pat Munro MP.

#OnThisDay 1866 the Commons passed the second reading of a bill for the abolition of church rates. Percy Wyndham, who had accidentally been locked out of the division lobby, was allowed by the Speaker to have his vote counted with the Noes: hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1866...

For #WomensHistoryMonth we are looking back at this guest article from Prof Sarah Richardson on women’s right to vote at local elections during the 19th century. victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/t...

For #CornwallDay we are sharing one of our earlier articles from @martinspychal.bsky.social, which looks at politics in Cornwall (and Devon) between 1832 and 1868: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2019/05/17/t...

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...

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:

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.

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:

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.

#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...

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

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...

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!)

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...

#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 👇👇

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 [email protected].

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...

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

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...

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.

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.

For #ShropshireDay we are sharing some of research on MPs connected with Shropshire constituencies in the 19th century. First, we have the Wenlock MP Cecil Weld Forester, who became involved in the murky world of electoral corruption: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2025/04/30/t...

In 1820, a small group of radicals met in a hayloft on Cato Street, with a plan to assassinate the Prime Minister and his cabinet. However, as @alfiesteer.bsky.social explores, the Cato Street Conspiracy was doomed to fail from the start.

Some interesting facts here about medieval marmalade trading!

#OnThisDay in the House of Commons in 1852, Lord John Russell announced the resignation of his ministry. He was replaced as PM by the Conservative Lord Derby, in the first of Derby’s three terms as prime minister. For more on Derby’s governments, see victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2018/12/07/l...

Register to join us next week, either in person or online on 25 February to hear Warwick final year PhD @brendantam.bsky.social present his paper titled: ‘A Christ Church Set’: Exploring the Discourse of Political Friendship in Late Hanoverian Britain, 1780s-1830s www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

The next @ihr.bsky.social 'Parliaments, Politics & People' seminar looks like a corker. Sarah Wride (@york.ac.uk & IHR) 'Re-Membering the Medieval Parliament, 1769-1886' 📆 17 March ⏰ 17:30-19:00 @ IHR, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU & online www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

Died #OnThisDay 1902 William Spencer Thomas Wentworth Fitzwilliam. First entered Parliament as MP for Malton, in the reign of William IV. Survived to see the first Parliament of Edward VII’s reign, by which time he was sitting in the Lords as Earl Fitzwilliam.

I wrote the history of the Parliamentary Archives! Newly published in Archives, Journal of @britrecs.bsky.social along with articles by @dlprior.bsky.social @adrianbrown.bsky.social - check your library for access! liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/toc/archives...

Nevertheless, the Manners-Suttons refused to move out of the #SpeakersHouse for several months afterwards! Charles was the last Speaker to reside in the old Speaker's House before it was pulled down to make way for the construction of Sir Charles Barry's new House of Commons.

#OnThisDay in 1835 the House of Commons elected a new Speaker. In a critical defeat for Peel’s ministry, James Abercromby, the Whig MP for Edinburgh, was chosen in place of the Tory, Charles Manners Sutton: api.parliament.uk/historic-han...

This special issue is edited by our Research Fellow Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones and also includes an article by our Assistant Editor @kathrynrix.bsky.social

This was an excellent paper and we're looking forward to reading Cara's article on early female contributions to parliamentary art which will be published later this year.

The Whig ministry narrowly avoided a defeat in the Commons (by just 8 votes) #OnThisDay 1834 after the Radical MP Daniel Whittle Harvey (pictured) called for an inquiry into the numerous pensions on the civil list: api.parliament.uk/historic-han...

As we enter Lent, a rather marvellous calendar medal from 1827 (from the @britishmuseum.bsky.social), with a profile of George IV in the centre, marking the key days across the year. #AshWednesday

This evening, Dr Cara Gathern will be speaking at the next IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar on Representations of Women and Sovereign Power at the New Palace of Westminster. 📍 Senate House, London / Online ⏱️5:30-6:30pm Find out more about the paper and how to attend below:

William Bankes was celebrated for his archaeological discoveries and elegant remodelling of Kingston Lacy House. However, as Dr Philip Salmon explores, he was put on trial for homosexuality whilst serving as MP for Dorset in 1833, and later fled the country to avoid prosecution. #lgbthm26 #LGBTQIA