Author Archives: Martin Spychal

Innovation, corruption and bankruptcy: Charles John Mare (1814-1898)

Posted on December 13, 2018

Charles John Mare (1814-1898) was an innovative East End shipbuilder. Thought to be a millionaire when he was returned for Plymouth in 1852, his election proved the apex of his career. He was unseated for bribery in 1853, and declared bankrupt, for the first of four times, in 1855. Continue reading →

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The University of London, representation and the 1867 Reform Act

Posted on November 22, 2018

Last week, as part of UK Parliament Week, we held a special event with the University of London to mark the 150th anniversary of the university returning its first MP to parliament. At the 1868 general election all University of … Continue reading →

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‘So much for the behaviour of the first assemblage of gentlemen’: views from parliament by a Devonshire Tory

Posted on August 16, 2018

Our Victorian MP of the Month is the Conservative MP for Devonshire South, Montagu Parker. His correspondence with his mother between 1835 and 1841 provides a fascinating perspective on life at Westminster. Montagu Edmund Newcombe Parker (1807-1858) is best known … Continue reading →

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Imagery and props: Wellington, Disraeli and Gladstone

Posted on August 8, 2018

Our research fellow Dr. Martin Spychal shares some insights from his work on the BBC Radio 4 series, Prime Ministers’ Props… I’ve recently been working with our former editorial board member, Professor Sir David Cannadine on the second series of … Continue reading →

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MP of the Month: Joseph Locke (1805-1860)

Posted on April 24, 2018

Our Victorian MP of the Month is Joseph Locke (1805-1860), who represented Honiton from 1847 until his death. With Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) and Robert Stephenson (1803-1859), Locke formed the ‘triumvirate of the engineering world’, who laid the architecture of … Continue reading →

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MP of the Month: George Donisthorpe Thompson (1804-1878)

Posted on December 12, 2017

December’s MP of the Month blog charts the path into Parliament of George Thompson, a self-educated book-seller’s son. As one of Britain’s foremost platform orators he was a major figure in the abolition of slavery in the West Indies and … Continue reading →

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MP of the Month: Charles Gilpin (1815-1874)

Posted on September 27, 2017

One of the most illuminating aspects of our work for the Victorian Commons is the discovery of significant, but long-forgotten, parliamentarians. September’s MP of the Month, Charles Gilpin (1815-1874), certainly falls under this description. As the first and only Quaker … Continue reading →

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