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Category Archives: Biographies
Whipping in the reformed Commons: Henry Whitmore (1813-76)
In this week’s blog our senior research fellow, Dr Martin Spychal, discusses the ‘whipping’ activities of the Conservative MP for Bridgnorth, Henry Whitmore (1813-76). Despite the disdain for his competence among the party leadership, he acted as Conservative deputy whip … Continue reading
Cobden and his constituencies
Following on from Dr Helen Dampier’s blog on the human side of Richard Cobden, we are delighted to host another guest blog from the Letters of Richard Cobden Online resource. Professor Simon Morgan of Leeds Beckett University, the principal investigator … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Guest blog
Tagged Constituencies, letters, Richard Cobden, Rochdale, Stockport, West Riding
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Happy New Year from the Victorian Commons!
Here’s wishing all our readers a very happy 2024. In case you missed any of our blogs in what was a busy year, here’s a quick look back at our 2023 posts. These included many guest contributions alongside blogs drawing … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Conferences and seminars, Elections, women
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Quakers in the Commons: Joseph Pease and the right to affirm
Taking their seat in the Commons can be a nervous moment for new MPs, but for the Quaker Joseph Pease in 1833, tensions were heightened because he feared that his refusal to take oaths would prevent him from sitting at … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Parliamentary life, religion
Tagged affirmations, John Archdale, Joseph Pease, oaths, Quaker MPs, Quakers
3 Comments
The most violent MP ever elected to the House of Commons? John Patrick Somers (1800-1862)
John Patrick Somers (1800-1862), or ‘Pat Somers’ as he was generally known, is a strong contender for the most violent MP to have ever sat in the House of Commons. In this week’s blog our senior research fellow, Dr Martin … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Corruption, Elections, Ireland
Tagged duels, election corruption, Ireland, Parliamentary life, violence
5 Comments
The remarkable life of William Schaw Lindsay MP (1815-77)
One of the most dramatic ‘rags to riches’ stories in our research on Victorian MPs is William Schaw Lindsay, who rose from being a destitute orphan to owner of one of the world’s largest shipping companies. He then represented Tynemouth … Continue reading
Mary Martha Pearson (1798-1871), political portraitist
Recovering the role of women in Victorian politics has become a significant topic in our recent posts. Guest blogs by Sarah Richardson and Jennifer Davey and Martin Spychal’s series exploring the work of Harriet Grote, the wife of the Radical MP … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, women
Tagged Artists, Charles Pearson, City of London, Mary Pearson, Political Art, portraits, women
1 Comment
The ‘March of Reform’ and the changing backgrounds of 19th century MPs
Continuing our series reflecting on the recent ‘Politics before Democracy’ conference, our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix looks at the impact of the 1832 Reform Act on the personnel of the House of Commons. In March 1833, two months after Parliament assembled following … Continue reading
Mental illness on trial: Henry Meux’s commission of lunacy and the 1857 general election
This month our research fellow, Dr Martin Spychal, discusses the 1858 ‘commission of lunacy’ on the Hertfordshire MP, Henry Meux (pronounced “Mews”). Much of the trial centred around events in Hertfordshire during the 1857 general election, where Meux was elected … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies
Tagged 1857 election, commission of lunacy, Henry Meux, Hertfordshire, mental health
1 Comment
“An upholder of the old liberal opinions”: the political career of Charles Owen O’Conor, the O’Conor Don (1838-1906)
This guest blog comes from Dr. Aidan Enright, of Leeds Beckett University, who has recently published a book on the O’Conor Don’s political career, and who has also written the biographical article on the O’Conor Don for our 1832-68 House … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Guest blog, Ireland
Tagged Charles Owen O'Conor, Ireland, Irish MPs, The O'Conor Don
1 Comment
‘Standing between two extremes’: James Wentworth Buller MP and the politics of moderation
The development of a more rigid party system has been a recurrent theme in many of our blogs about Victorian politics, including this one about ‘Defying the Whip‘. Few MPs, however, had their political careers destroyed and then resurrected quite … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, party labels
Tagged Exeter elections, James Wentworth Buller, North Devon, party affiliation, party labels
1 Comment
From colonial council to Parliament: the career of John Dunn MP
How Victorian Britain exported a Westminster system of politics to its colonies, both in terms of parliamentary structures and personnel, has been a recurrent theme of much recent historical work. Our own project has also helped shed new light on … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Constituencies, Elections
Tagged Biographies, colonies, Dartmouth, Electioneering, legislative council, Tasmania, Van Diemen's land
1 Comment
The queen and the chemist’s son: Matthew Wood MP and the radical defence of Queen Caroline
Matthew Wood (1768-1843) represented London as a radical reformer between 1817 and 1843. From 1832 he was a committed advocate of metropolitan legislation and an active figure in the committee corridors. As a founding member, and landlord, of the short-lived … Continue reading
From typhus to trains: the tragic deaths of 19th century MPs
The biographical format we follow when writing about the 2,591 MPs covered by our 1832-68 project means that we usually have one obvious finishing point: the MP’s death. As we have noted before in our blog on political longevity, many … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies
Tagged Abergele rail disaster, accidents, death, illness, railways, tragedies, typhus
1 Comment
‘Had she been a man, she would have been the leader of a party’: Harriet Grote (1792-1878), radicalism and Parliament, 1820-41
In the first of his blogs on Harriet Grote (1792-1878), our research fellow Dr Martin Spychal, explores Harriet’s early life, her emergence as a central figure among London’s intellectual radicals during the 1820s and her arrival on the Westminster political … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Harriet Grote, women
Tagged City of London, Female participation, George Grote, Harriet Grote, radicalism, utilitarianism, women
5 Comments
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 with bribery, treating and other forms of electoral corruption … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Constituencies, Corruption, Elections, Images of MPs, MP of the Month
Tagged bribery, corruption, election corruption
1 Comment
MP of the Month: Alfred Rhodes Bristow (1818-1875)
By the 1850s a seat in Parliament was proving a useful career path for men of relatively humble means to achieve substantial professional advancement. A prime example was our MP of Month, Alfred Rhodes Bristow. The son of a Greenwich … Continue reading
‘Highly respected in Parliamentary circles’: Thomas Greene (1794-1872)
Our MP of the Month Thomas Greene (1794-1872) represented his Lancaster constituency for more than three decades. As a well-respected back bench MP, he made an important contribution to parliamentary business behind the scenes, and served as chairman of ways … Continue reading
Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916): the social life of a queer MP at the time of the Second Reform Act
In the second of his blog series on Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916), Dr Martin Spychal explores Gower’s London social life during his first year in Parliament, including a brief summer romance with the son of the commissioner of the Metropolitan … Continue reading
Representing Glamorgan, 1832-85: Mr. Talbot and his colleagues
This post originally appeared on the History of Parliament’s blog as part of a Local History series on Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. The earlier posts in the series looked at elections in the 1640s and the 18th century. In the 19th … Continue reading
‘A strenuous and able Reformer’: Dr Stephen Lushington (1782-1873)
This month we take a look at Dr Stephen Lushington (1782-1873). One of six anti-slavery campaigners whose names are inscribed on the Buxton Memorial Fountain in London, Lushington famously served as Queen Caroline’s legal counsel in 1820. As MP for … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month
Tagged Abolition of slavery, capital punishment, MP of the Month, Queen Caroline, reform, slavery, Tower Hamlets
3 Comments
MP of the Month: Thomas Barrett Lennard (1788-1856)
Thomas Barrett Lennard‘s career neatly captures some of the oddities and contradictions of early Victorian politics, especially the survival of older attitudes and beliefs alongside the emergence of more ‘modern’ progressive ideas. Lennard’s campaign to abolish the death penalty for … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month
Tagged capital punishment, freemen, Maldon, MP of the Month, municipal franchise, slavery, women
3 Comments
MP of the Month: Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785-1840), soldier, scientist and politician
Like many of our MPs, Nicholas Vigors had a varied career, as a soldier, landowner, politician and eminent zoologist. Although best known as a founder and secretary of the Zoological Society of London, Vigors also enjoyed a lively career as … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Ireland, MP of the Month
Tagged Carlow, Ireland, MP of the Month, ornithology, science, zoology
2 Comments
The MP who founded a town: Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood (1801-66)
Over the past few years, we have highlighted several MPs who, quite apart from their involvement in parliamentary debates and legislation, had a significant personal role in the development of the infrastructure of Victorian Britain. Previous MPs of the Month … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month, party labels
Tagged Fleetwood, MP of the Month, party labels, railways
1 Comment
Floods, Plagues and the Second Coming: Charles Augustus Tulk MP
Apocalyptic end days, doomsday scenarios and final judgements were prominent features of many people’s religious beliefs in the 19th century, but a few went further, maintaining that the Second Coming had already taken place. Among them was our MP of … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month, religion
2 Comments
MP of the Month: William Nugent Macnamara (1776-1856)
By the time he retired from the House of Commons in 1852 William Nugent Macnamara, the long-serving MP for County Clare, was in his late seventies and had taken no practical part in parliamentary business for the previous three years. … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Ireland, MP of the Month
Tagged Daniel O'Connell, duels, Ireland, MP of the Month, Sir Robert Peel
1 Comment
From celebrity to outcast: William Bankes MP (1786-1855)
Originally posted on The History of Parliament:
Today’s blog is the second of three posts to celebrate LGBT+ History Month. In this blog we hear from Dr Philip Salmon, Editor of the House of Commons 1832-1868 project, about William Bankes…
Posted in Biographies, LGBT+ History Month
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Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916): the life of a queer MP at the time of the Second Reform Act
Dr Martin Spychal introduces his new series of blogs for the Victorian Commons on Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916), who was elected as MP for Sutherland in 1867. Born into ‘the inner circle of English aristocratic life’, Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916) … Continue reading
Sir Robert Peel and the modern Conservative party
Today (5 Feb) marks the birthday of Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850), the 19th century prime minister traditionally credited with founding the modern Conservative party. Peel is also subject of a new BBC ‘Prime Properties’ episode – click here to view … Continue reading
From parliamentary reporter to Member of Parliament: Robert Spankie (1774-1842)
January’s MP of the Month takes a look at the unusual pre-parliamentary career of Robert Spankie, who was returned for Finsbury in 1832. A ground-breaking parliamentary reporter during the 1790s, Spankie ascended to the editorship of the Morning Chronicle before re-training as a barrister and serving as a controversial advocate-general of Bengal. Continue reading
MP of the Month: Thomas Neville Abdy (1810-1877) and electoral misconduct
Thomas Abdy’s political career provides a useful reminder of the chicanery, lies and corruption sometimes associated with 19th century English electioneering – venal traditions that became increasingly unacceptable during the Victorian era. Born into a naval family – his father … Continue reading
MP of the Month: Charles Stanley Monck (1819-94) and Canadian Confederation
Today we mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Stanley Monck (1819-94), MP for Portsmouth, 1852-7, who in 1861 found himself at the head of Britain’s North American colonies at a turbulent time in their history. With a … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Empire, Ireland, MP of the Month
Tagged Born1819, Canada, colonies, County Wicklow, governor-general, Ireland, Irish famine, Portsmouth
1 Comment
MP of the Month: Sidney Herbert – still dancing to Nightingale’s tune
September’s MP of the Month is Sidney Herbert, who was born on this day (16 September) in 1810 and widely expected to become a Victorian prime minister. Fate, however, cruelly intervened, as Dr Ruscombe Foster, the author of an important … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Guest blog, MP of the Month
Tagged army reform, Crimean War, Florence Nightingale, Liberal party, Sidney Herbert
2 Comments
MP of the Month: William Tooke and the royal charters of the University of London
Following our blogs on the creation of the University of London constituency in 1868 and its first MP, Robert Lowe, August’s MP of the Month is William Tooke. As MP for Truro from 1832, Tooke worked tirelessly to secure a royal charter for the London University (later University College London) in order that it could grant degrees to its students. Continue reading
MP of the Month: Edward Wyndham Harrington Schenley (1799-1878), Waterloo veteran and millionaire
Today we mark the anniversary of the Duke of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon at Waterloo by recalling the eventful life of the Dartmouth MP, Edward Schenley (1799-1878), who as a boy was severely wounded in that campaign, yet through his … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month
Tagged Dartmouth, election corruption, elopement, Waterloo
1 Comment
MP of the Month: John Fenton (1791-1863)
In 1832 John Fenton, a Nonconformist Whig from a local banking and textile manufacturing family, was elected as the first MP for his native Rochdale, which had been given a parliamentary seat by the 1832 Reform Act. He lost to … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month
Tagged photography, Rochdale, Roger Fenton, treating
1 Comment
The representation of Devon and Cornwall after reform, 1832-68
Last week the History of Parliament and the Devon and Cornwall Record Society hosted a conference at Exeter on ‘The South West and Parliament’. Dr Martin Spychal of the Victorian Commons spoke at the event, and today provides an overview of … Continue reading
The Disruption, Parliament and Conservative division: Alexander Campbell (1811-1869)
In May 1843 a schism in the Church of Scotland, better known as the Disruption, led to the creation of the evangelical Free Church of Scotland. It was the culmination of a decade-long conflict over the ability of parishioners to appoint their minister, and wider concerns over state interference with the Scottish Church. April’s MP of the Month is the Conservative MP for Argyllshire, Alexander Campbell, who was one of the founding elders of the Free Church. His ruthless electioneering in Argyllshire from 1836, eventual election in 1841, and failed legislative attempts to prevent the breakup of the Church placed the looming controversy at the centre of parliamentary politics. It also revealed irreconcilable differences between the Conservative Prime Minister Robert Peel and one of his few Scottish backbenchers. Continue reading
Ethnic minorities in Parliament: a new addition to the Victorian Commons
In our research on the membership of the House of Commons between 1832 and 1868, we previously identified two non-white MPs: John Stewart, MP for Lymington, 1832-47, the illegitimate son of a West Indian plantation owner, who was probably of … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, Guest blog
Tagged BME MPs, ethnic minorities, Henry Galgacus Redhead Yorke, Henry Redhead Yorke
13 Comments
MP of the Month: Sir Charles Tilston Bright (1832-1888), pioneering telegraph engineer
An important aspect of our study of the reformed Commons is the degree to which representatives of science and industry were incorporated into the legislature during a period of great economic expansion. Our MP of the Month was among those … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month
Tagged Greenwich, Liberal party, MP of the Month, science, telegraphy
2 Comments
Electoral malpractice and uncivil political speech: the case of Alfred Seymour MP
Our ‘MP of the Month’ blog highlights some themes still fresh in our minds after attending a conference on corruption at Oxford Brookes University. Alfred Seymour (1824-1888) was the younger brother of the better known archaeologist and explorer Henry Danby … Continue reading
Innovation, corruption and bankruptcy: Charles John Mare (1814-1898)
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
Posted in Biographies, Corruption, Elections, Images of MPs, Uncategorized
Tagged bankruptcy, East End, London, Plymouth, shipbuilding, West Ham
4 Comments
Lord Derby, ‘centre’ parties and minority government
150 years ago the Conservative prime minister Lord Derby retired from office, having managed to pass one of the most significant constitutional reform packages of the 19th century – despite leading a minority government. This post examines the career of … Continue reading
MP of the Month: George Williams (1765-1850) and Ashton-under-Lyne
In December 1832 the voters of Ashton-under-Lyne elected George Williams, ‘a Radical Reformer’, as the first MP for their newly enfranchised constituency. Born in Newfoundland, Williams had joined the British army in North America in 1777, aged just 12. After … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month
Tagged Ashton-under-Lyne, Charles Hindley, George Williams, military MPs, MP of the Month, radicalism
1 Comment
MP of the Month: Peter Rolt (1798-1882), the man who built HMS Warrior
A successful Deptford timber merchant, Peter Rolt rose to eminence as a dockyard contractor and became one of the greatest of London’s shipbuilders. He was elected as Conservative MP for Greenwich in 1852. An ebullient character who was known for … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month
Tagged Deptford, Greenwich, HMS Warrior, Navy, Peter Rolt, shipbuilding
3 Comments
MP of the Month: Josiah Wedgwood (1769-1843)
Our MP of the Month has a special significance for the History of Parliament Trust, being the great-grandfather (and namesake) of our founder, Josiah Wedgwood MP. This year the History of Parliament is marking the 75th anniversary of the death … Continue reading
‘So much for the behaviour of the first assemblage of gentlemen’: views from parliament by a Devonshire Tory
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
Imagery and props: the Wellington boot, Disraeli’s novels and Gladstone’s axe
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
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 suffragist Millicent Fawcett (1847-1929), whose statue was unveiled in Parliament … Continue reading
Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month, women
Tagged blind, Henry Fawcett, suffragist, Vote 100, votes for women
6 Comments
MP of the Month: The ‘strange career’ of John Townsend (1819-1892)
Once a successful auctioneer and undertaker, Townsend’s short and controversial parliamentary career as MP for Greenwich ended in 1859 after a protracted struggle to escape bankruptcy. His ‘strange career’ was, however, far from over and he subsequently found fame in … Continue reading
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