Showing the eclectic and wide-ranging nature of @histparl.bsky.social's work, a search on the website for 'herrings' brings up 7 hits: historyofparliament.com?s=herrings+ Top marks to @georgianlords.bsky.social for finding ‘Herring’s Norfolk antidote for the bite of a mad dog and other mad animals’.

Finally, here’s one of our series on Harriet Grote, a prominent figure among London’s intellectual radicals, who ‘had she been a man, she would have been the leader of a party’: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2021/01/04/h... #IWD #WHM

Our assistant editor @kathrynrix.bsky.social has explored the facilities provided for women to view debates in the temporary House of Commons chamber used after the 1834 fire, where visitors included Charlotte Brontë: historyofparliament.com/2025/10/30/t... #IWD #WHM

Our most recent post from our research fellow Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones looks at the behind-the-scenes roles which aristocratic women could play in 19th century elections. historyofparliament.com/2026/02/26/t...

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

#britishmuseum #archive holds very many references to women: the earliest recorded female visitors in 1762, Angelica Kaufmann paid to paint on Derby china in the 1790s, an 1857 photo, Beatrix Potter & women employed after the law for Civil Servants changed in 1921. #internationalwomensday #women

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.

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:

Took advantage of some free time in London to make a long overdue visit to the refurbished National Portrait Gallery. Hayter's painting of the 1833 House of Commons was a must-see: www.npg.org.uk/collections/...

New blog from me today for @histparl.bsky.social, with a #SixNations theme. It looks at the career of Pat Munro, a former Scotland rugby international who was MP for Llandaff and Barry from 1931. He was the oldest MP to die on war service during WW2. historyofparliament.com/2026/03/02/p...

For #WomensHistoryMonth I'll be sharing some snippets on women & elections. Here's a very human moment from the Commons committee rooms in 1842, when a pair of spectacles was found for Sarah Davis (one of a dozen female witnesses to the Great Marlow election committee) to help her see a document.

New blog from me today for @histparl.bsky.social, with a #SixNations theme. It looks at the career of Pat Munro, a former Scotland rugby international who was MP for Llandaff and Barry from 1931. He was the oldest MP to die on war service during WW2. historyofparliament.com/2026/03/02/p...

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

Join us this #WomensHistoryMonth in amplifying women’s voices past and present. Our website is a wonderful place to start learning more. Spread the word! womenshistorynetwork.org #WHM2026 #WomensHistory #GenderHist Image: Pit girl brow workers, Wigan, 1900. COPY 1/445, The National Archives.

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

I love the cover image for this special issue (which I may have had a hand in choosing). It shows 11 survivors of Peterloo assembled at Failsworth near Oldham in 1884 in support of parliamentary reform, and speaks to many of the themes contained in the special issue.

Very pleased to have an article out today - looking at the professional constituency agents, 1880-1914 - and many congratulations to my colleague Naomi who has done a brilliant job in pulling this special issue together.

Great piece from my colleague, and very pertinent to my current project on women and electoral corruption in the 19thC.

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...

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...

Interesting (if sad) deposition from 1747 of Margaret Ley, a gingerbread maker from Lichfield, who reported being assaulted at her stall in Birmingham by 4 men, because her husband and son had voted Whig at the recent general election. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1... #HistParl

In this week's Scribble Book, #HistParl director @jhdavey.bsky.social takes a literary trip to Iceland, and discusses the importance of Parliament in one of the country's most famous novels. Read and subscribe via the link below!

The photo doesn't do justice to the amazing beauty of the frost patterns on the window this morning.

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:

Worth sharing for the photo alone!

Valentines’ Day in that most romantic of places, the House of Commons…

18TH CENTURY BRITISH HISTORY PHD LIGHTNING TALKS CFP Are you at the start of your PhD? Want to tell an eager and engaged audience about it in 5 mins? We want to hear the best PGR research about 18th Britain at our #LightningTalks event 29 April 2026. Please see the poster for further information!

Ahead of #ValentinesDay, a tale of failed romance from the perhaps unlikely source of reports on a select committee looking at bribery at the 1859 Bury election. Walter Wardle and Margaret Foley were both witnesses to this committee, which met in a House of Commons committee-room. (1/3)

Fascinating talk earlier this evening from my colleague Robin Eagles @georgianlords.bsky.social, stretching from the late 18th to the early 20th century. I will be much better informed when I next see the Warren Hastings plaque in Westminster Hall.

Mary Wilkes was an absolutely extraordinary person. Every bit as talented as her brother, John, whom she resembled in many ways. Fantastic portrait of her, which really captures her grit and determination.

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 🗓️Tuesday 17 February 2026 ⏱️5:30-6:30pm Find out more about the paper and how to attend below:

I'll be adding to our project's work on women and electoral politics with my current research on 19th century women and corruption. From a veiled lady wandering the streets of Cambridge to dispense bribes to the women of Totnes collecting sovereigns in baskets for their husbands' votes...

This week in Scribble Book, #HistParl Director @jhdavey.bsky.social explores the history of the History of Parliament, beginning in the 1930s with Josiah Wedgwood's questionnaire of former MPs who sat between 1885 and 1918. Read and subscribe via the link below!

The next @ihr.bsky.social Parliaments, Politics & People hybrid seminar (17 Feb) will be of interest to our members & followers: Cara Gathern, ''Unobtrusive But Not Unimportant': Representations of Women & Sovereign Power at the New Palace of Westminster, 1841-70' www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

V excited that we are launching Scribble Book - a free weekly newsletter ft. notes and jottings from me on all things parliamentary history (and possibly a few other things). You can subscribe below!

We definitely recommend subscribing for this new free newsletter from our Director @jhdavey.bsky.social.

My camera roll is reminding me that 8 years ago today I was in Westminster Hall, marking the centenary of women's suffrage. This photo from that day shows a section of the 'grille' from the ladies' gallery, which was in place until 1917! www.parliament.uk/about/living...

Countering the many examples I have found of wives taking money for their husband's vote, here's a case of women advocating electoral purity (from Berwick-on-Tweed in 1859): 'I said I would not take no money'; 'my daughter said, "Honour before money, father."'

In February 1778, women were barred from the House of Commons chamber. But this did not stop them from listening in on debates, as women began to occupy the 'ventilator' in the attic of the chamber. @victoriancommons.bsky.social

Hunting through a history of East Grinstead and came across the amazing Mary Neighbour: b. 5 December 1796 (at five to two a.m.), d. 5 September 1897, aged 101. From her 2 marriages descended: 11 children, 86 grandchildren, 172 great-grandchildren and 34 great-great-grandchildren... #skystorians

A snippet from my research on women and electoral corruption. The attendance of female witnesses to give evidence in Parliament about corrupt elections apparently also meant that babies were brought into the corridors of Westminster: 'hence the wail of an infant which now and then reaches the ear'

Great piece from my colleagues!

As people move away from the other place, here’s a starter pack of historians from @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social, who is also worth a follow. go.bsky.app/Fpw6Tvr

Autocorrect fail of the day - Augustus Plugin.

We are hiring! @histparl.bsky.social's House of Lords (1660-1832) section - aka The Georgian Lords - is looking for a new research fellow. Details of the post and how to apply are below. Please spread widely. #skystorians historyofparliament.com/2026/01/12/v...

I love the social history contained in memorials etc. in churches. This is a great example.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year for 2026! Here's our editor Philip Salmon's review of some of our project highlights of 2025. We look forward to sharing more of our research on 19th century politics and parliamentary history over the coming year...

It's been a busy year for the Georgian Lords: we have been involved with events in #Parliament, a 2-day conference at the University of Worcester, and seen new publications out. All of this alongside continuing to draft entries on the 927 Lords in the current set. We wish you all a Merry Christmas!

I love this! Photo of an elderly Frances Wyatt, an important Chartist in her earlier years, as unearthed by @markcrail.bsky.social in his new book, Chartist Lives. It’s brilliant that detailed research like this is still ongoing into this remarkable movement.