About

Welcome to the blog of the History of Parliament’s House of Commons, 1832-68 project, which will provide news of our ongoing research.

This is the latest research project in the History of Parliament’s series of widely acclaimed scholarly reference works charting the development, personnel and activities of the Westminster Parliament over the last 700 years.

The 1832-68 project is producing biographical profiles of all the 2,591 MPs who sat between the first and second Reform Acts and accounts of all the 401 constituencies in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It will provide a key resource for political and local historians and all those interested in the United Kingdom’s early democratic development. A survey volume, interpreting the discoveries of the research and examining the institutional operation of the Commons, is also being prepared.

Taking advantage of the many digital resources now on offer, the 1832-68 volumes are being produced far more rapidly than previous publications and made available in a new web layout, in which the text is supported by links to original sources. Parliament dealt with an unprecedented range of social, economic and local issues in this period and it is hoped that this format will offer gateways into the most relevant digital collections and provide a hub for researchers working within a variety of different fields.

Draft versions of our completed biography and constituency articles are currently available through a password-protected website. For further details about this or about how to become a contributor please contact psalmon@histparl.ac.uk

Information on how to cite material from our draft articles can be found here.