Category Archives: Parliamentary buildings

‘A place of business’: the temporary chamber of the House of Commons, 1835-1851

Posted on October 28, 2022 by Kathryn Rix

In the next of our series on parliamentary buildings, this blog looks at the temporary accommodation used by the House of Commons from 1835 until 1851, after its previous chamber was destroyed by fire in October 1834. The devastating fire … Continue reading →

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Queen Victoria and parliamentary ceremony

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Kathryn Rix

As Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee is celebrated this weekend, we look at the relationship which another long-serving queen, Victoria, had with Parliament, sharing a post which first appeared on the History of Parliament’s blog. On 17 July 1837, less … Continue reading →

Posted in Monarchs, Parliamentary buildings, Parliamentary life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Rotatory Parliaments’: The 1848 campaign for parliamentary sessions in Ireland

Posted on April 27, 2022 by sball1832

This post from our research fellow Dr. Stephen Ball looks at a proposal in 1848 to hold sittings of Parliament away from Westminster. The year 1848 witnessed revolutions in Europe and the climax of the Chartist agitation in England. Ireland … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year from the Victorian Commons!

Posted on January 1, 2022 by salmonphilip

This new year (2022) marks our tenth anniversary of blogging about Victorian politics and society. Almost 300 blogs have now appeared on these pages, mainly written by researchers (past and present) working on the 1832-68 House of Commons project at … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Harriet Grote, Ireland, Monarchs, Parliamentary buildings, Parliamentary life, religion, Resources, Uncategorized, women | 1 Comment

Four prorogations and a conflagration: Parliament and its buildings in 1834

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Kathryn Rix

Continuing our series on the different buildings occupied by the House of Commons between 1832 and 1868, this blog looks at the makeshift arrangements made for the prorogation in the aftermath of the devastating Westminster fire of October 1834. The … Continue reading →

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‘Like herrings in a barrel’: the chamber of the House of Commons prior to 1834

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Kathryn Rix

In this new series of blogs on the Palace of Westminster, we look at the three different debating chambers occupied by the MPs who sat in Parliament between 1832 and 1868, beginning with the Commons chamber in use until the … Continue reading →

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‘Highly respected in Parliamentary circles’: Thomas Greene (1794-1872)

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Kathryn Rix

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 →

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‘The House divided’: the creation of a second division lobby for the Commons in 1836

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Kathryn Rix

With the creation of a second division lobby in 1836 having been mentioned during yesterday’s Commons debate on Restoration and Renewal, it seemed a good opportunity to share this post from our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix which originally appeared … Continue reading →

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From Rochdale to Westminster: Emily Kelsall and the new Houses of Parliament

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Kathryn Rix

This post from our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix was first published on the Parliamentary Archives: Inside the Act Room blog, which has many more articles to read on parliamentary history, from the medieval to the modern. One of the … Continue reading →

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An Artist in the Attic: Women and the House of Commons in the Early-Nineteenth Century

Posted on September 13, 2018 by Kathryn Rix

In this guest post, Amy Galvin-Elliott from the University of Warwick looks at how women were able to witness debates in the House of Commons from the ‘ventilator’, a space used until the fire of October 1834 destroyed the old … Continue reading →

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Voice and Vote: behind the scenes

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Kathryn Rix

Originally posted on The History of Parliament:
This blog looks at how the History of Parliament has been involved behind the scenes with the Voice and Vote exhibition which opened in Westminster Hall last week. Dr. Philip Salmon and Dr.…

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A Westminster Boy Made Good: Charles Barry (1795-1860)

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Kathryn Rix

Caroline Shenton won the Political Book of the Year Award in 2013 with The Day Parliament Burned Down and its sequel Mr Barry’s War is published this month.  In this guest post she reflects on an often-forgotten aspect of the … Continue reading →

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Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Rebekah Moore, ‘Contested spaces: temporary houses of Parliament and government, 1834-52’

Posted on March 24, 2015 by jowen1832

Originally posted on The History of Parliament:
At our last ‘Parliaments, Politics and People’ seminar, Rebekah Moore, holder of an AHRC collaborative doctoral award with the History of Parliament and Institute of Historical Research, gave a paper on the temporary…

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