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The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
of the
United Kingdom Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
and its predecessors, the
Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...
and the
Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...
. The history will principally consist of a
prosopography Prosopography is an investigation of the common characteristics of a group of people, whose individual biographies may be largely untraceable. Research subjects are analysed by means of a collective study of their lives, in multiple career-line an ...
, in which the history of an institution is told through the individual biographies of its members. After various amateur efforts the project was formally launched in 1940 and since 1951 has been funded by the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...
. As of 2019, the volumes covering the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
for the periods 1386–1421, 1509–1629, and 1660–1832 have been completed and published (in 41 separate volumes containing over 20 million words); and the first five volumes covering the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
from 1660-1715 have been published, with further work on the Commons and the Lords ongoing. In 2011 the completed sections were republished on the internet.


History

The publication in 1878–79 of the ''Official Return of Members of Parliament'', an incomplete list of the name of every Member elected to serve in lower Houses of Parliaments in the United Kingdom and predecessor states,"Members of Parliament. Return to two orders of the Honourable The House of Commons dated 4 May 1876 and 9 March 1877." Two parts, each plus associated index. gave a useful source on which Victorian historians could build, and there were several publications which identified and gave some biographical and genealogical details of the Members of Parliament for certain constituencies. Among those writing histories was
Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indust ...
, who was himself
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...
from 1906. In 1918–1922 Wedgwood published the ''Staffordshire Parliamentary History''. In 1928, Wedgwood decided to take the subject further. Together with other MPs who were interested in the subject, he wrote a memorial to the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
urging him to appoint a Committee to prepare a complete record of the personnel of every Parliament since 1264. The memorial noted that the Official Return was incomplete and inaccurate, and contained no information beyond a list of names; it attempted to head off Treasury objections to the cost, by pointing to the fact that pledges of voluntary assistance had been obtained. Wedgwood quickly obtained the signatures of more than 200 MPs."Political Notes", ''The Times'', 19 May 1928, p. 14. On 17 July 414 had signed, together with a number of members of the House of Lords, and a delegation saw Prime Minister Baldwin who was again wary of the cost; the delegation insisted that the question of publication need not be considered until the availability of material was assessed. Baldwin agreed to take the matter under consideration."A Record Of Parliament", ''The Times'', 18 July 1928, p. 8. The result of the pressure was that Baldwin announced in December (by which time 512 MPs were on board) that the Government agreed to appoint a Select Committee to report on materials available to write such a history."Parliament", ''The Times'', 19 December 1928, p. 6. The committee so formed in March 1929 included academics as well as politicians, and it soon became riven by ferocious differences about the nature of the project with Wedgwood's romanticism alienating most of the historians. The interim report of the Committee, covering 1264 to 1832, was published in September 1932 in the run-up to the centenary of the
Reform Act In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
and gave a guide to the information available."Interim Report of the Committee on House of Commons Personnel and Politics, 1264–1832", Cmd. 4130. The project then ran into funding difficulties given the economic situation in the 1930s, and no future reports were issued by the Committee. Wedgwood then undertook fundraising and worked with a small group of assistants, completing in 1936 and 1938 two volumes entitled ''The History of Parliament 1439–1509''. He took advantage of the one remaining offer of Government help and the books were published by
His Majesty's Stationery Office The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the Un ...
. In 1940, the History of Parliament Trust was established to foster future volumes and arrange for their publication. However, the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and Wedgwood's death in 1943 meant that the project went into abeyance. At the end of the war, strenuous lobbying by L. B. Namier who had been a member of the 1930s committee succeeded in getting agreement by the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...
to provide funding for the History of Parliament Trust. Namier was Professor of History at the
University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
. The initial grant was for not more than £17,000 a year, and for 20 years, during which it was hoped that the whole period could be completed. Sir
Frank Stenton Sir Frank Merry Stenton, FBA (17 May 1880 – 15 September 1967) was an English historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society (1937–1945). The son of Henry Stenton of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, he was edu ...
became the first chairman of the editorial board."History Of Parliament Editorial Board", ''The Times'', 14 July 1951, p. 4.


Approach

The historian David Cannadine, in the History of Parliament Trust's 2006 annual lecture on 21 November 2006, noted that while Wedgwood and Namier are predominantly responsible for the foundation of the History, they were quite contrasting characters (Wedgwood a gregarious and high-spirited English aristocrat of advanced Liberal views, Namier a
Polish Jew The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...
who was joyless and a strong Tory). Despite working together on the Committee on House of Commons Personnel and Politics, they had quite different inspirations to take up the subject of Parliamentary history. Wedgwood looked on the history of Parliament as a member of the classic
Whig school of history Whig history (or Whig historiography) is an approach to historiography that presents history as a journey from an oppressive and benighted past to a "glorious present". The present described is generally one with modern forms of liberal democracy ...
: as a romantic story of the spread of freedom and liberty to people of all backgrounds. Namier regarded such views as fashionable nonsense and was especially interested in the personalities of Parliament; he obsessed over the single question of why its Members had decided to go into Parliament.David Cannadine, "The History of Parliament: Past, Present – and Future?", ''Parliamentary History'', Vol 26, 2007, pp. 366–386.


Organisation

Once the History of Parliament Trust started looking into the scope of its work, it quite rapidly realised the enormity of the task before it. Namier was critical of the quality of Wedgwood's work and so his period of 1439–1509 was included to be rewritten from the start. The History was initially divided into 15 sections, but by 1956 even this was impossible and they were reduced to six. For a decade, Namier himself worked nine hours a day at the
Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hous ...
to write biographies of eighteenth century Members of Parliament, with three paid assistants and other volunteers. Although Namier died in 1960, the first volumes of the History to be published in April 1964 carried his name along with that of his colleague John Brooke and covered the years 1754–1790. The format of the first three volume set established the standard for all others. It began with an introductory survey (written by Brooke) which explained the period and provided some statistical analysis of the Members as a whole. There followed articles about each constituency which gave the results of elections and explained the influences at work. Volumes two and three gave biographies of each of the 1,964 men who sat in Parliament at any point in the period; where the Members concerned had served before the period or continued serving after, the biographies covered solely their activities within the period; they also concentrated entirely on Parliamentary activity and mentioned the other lives of Members only briefly.Sir Lewis Namier, John Brooke, "The History of Parliament 1754–1790", 3 vols, Secker & Warburg, .


Volumes published

The next volume to appear after 1754–1790 was the preceding period, 1715–1754, published in two volumes in 1970 and edited by
Romney Sedgwick Richard Romney Sedgwick (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1972) was a British historian, civil servant and diplomat. He was the elder son of Professor Adam Sedgwick, 1854–1913, and Laura Helen Elizabeth Robinson. He married Mana St David Hodson, daugh ...
. Although the twenty-year agreement with the Treasury expired in 1971, funding was continued, and work continued through the 1970s. The early 1980s saw three sections completed. Peter Hasler had taken over the section dealing with 1559–1603 after the death of Professor J. E. Neale, and it was published in 1981. Professor S. T. Bindoff's section for 1509–1558 was published in 1982 shortly after his death in December 1980; Bindoff's death meant he was unable to write the usual introductory survey volume and the section appeared without it. In 1983, Basil Duke Henning's section on the History of Parliament in 1660–1690 was published. The next section to appear was that for 1790–1820, which had originally been the work of Professor Arthur Aspinall before his death in 1972, and had been taken over by R. G. Thorne afterwards up to publication in 1986. Six years passed before the next section appeared, being the first volumes covering Parliament in the Middle Ages. Professor J. S. Roskell, Linda Clark and Carole Rawcliffe were jointly responsible for the section covering 1386–1421. By the mid-1990s many libraries and users of the History were struggling to cope with the 23 large volumes, and there had been new historical discoveries leading to revisions in the biographies of some Members included in previous volumes. In 1998 the History arranged for the republication, with corrections and revisions and some additional images, of all previous sections on a single
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
. In the 21st century there were three sections published: David Hayton,
Eveline Cruickshanks Eveline Cruickshanks (1 December 1926 – 14 November 2021) was an historian of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century British political history, specialising in Jacobitism and Tory (British political party), Toryism. She was of English, Scottish ...
and Stuart Handley completed their work on the period 1690–1715 in 2002, the seven-volume History of Parliament 1820–1832 was published in December 2009, and a seven volume set covering the period 1422–1461 was published in 2020.


Volumes in preparation

The History of Parliament Trust previously estimated that the 1640–1660 edition edited by Dr Stephen Roberts would be published in 2016. This has since been revised to 2020. The period 1422–1504, under the direction of Dr Linda Clark, will be published in two sections split in 1461, the first of these sections was published in 2020. Work on the period since 1832 began only in 2009, under the direction of Dr Philip Salmon.


House of Lords

The History had not originally looked at the House of Lords, but in April 1999 launched a project under Dr
Ruth Paley Ruth Paley is an English historian and author. She has worked at The National Archives in Kew, London, where she has written several books. She is currently working for the History of Parliament Trust on the House of Lords from 1660 to 1832. Si ...
to produce a comprehensive account of its history. The first five-volume set (an introductory volume and four volumes of biographies), covering the period 1660–1832, was published in 2016.


History of Parliament Online

The History of Parliament Online website is a project of the
Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hous ...
at the
School of Advanced Study The School of Advanced Study (SAS), a postgraduate institution of the University of London, is the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in 1994 and is ba ...
,
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
.


Reception

The first appearance of the History in 1964 occasioned many reviews. The ''
Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'' review (anonymous but by J. P. Carswell) described the books as "magnificent", but some reviewers were animated by their own feuds with Namier and felt that the books had been limited by their determination to profile MPs individually rather than collectively.
A. J. P. Taylor Alan John Percivale Taylor (25 March 1906 – 7 September 1990) was a British historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his televis ...
was the most quoted critic, writing in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' that the books were not a history but undigested raw material for one, and that many of the MPs profiled were of no importance in their own day. The 1715–1754 section was praised by
J. C. D. Clark Jonathan Charles Douglas Clark (born 28 February 1951) is a British historian of both History of the British Isles, British and History of the United States, American history. He received his undergraduate degree at Downing College, Cambridge. ...
, who wrote of "Cruickshanks' pioneering work on the Tories" that demonstrated that the Tory party survived well into the eighteenth century and was heavily involved in Jacobitism. The introductory surveys to the 1558–1603 and 1660–1690 sections were criticised for being too brief. However, the more recent publications of 1790–1820, 1386–1421 and 1690–1715 (which have been longer) have been widely praised.


Other work associated with the history

The primary source material for Parliament's activities were needed for the History and in the 21st century the History has been keen to digitise them for its own use and for access by others. The History of Parliament has a joint project with the
Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hous ...
(IHR), funded by the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...
, to digitise the early Journals of the House of Commons and House of Lords, together with other material relating to British history. An 'electronic history of the House of Lords' is an integral part of the research into its history. The History of Parliament also sponsors an annual lecture given on a topic relating to its work by an academic historian. In 1934, a committee of Irish historians was formed to plan a history of the pre-1801 Irish Parliament ancillary to the British project. This was abandoned in 1936 due to lack of funds, though some work was later done at the IHR. In 2002 ''The History of the Irish Parliament 1692–1800'' was published in six volumes by the Ulster Historical Foundation, after several decades of intermittent work with occasional public funding. Focused on the
Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...
rather than the
Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...
, it was published online in 2006.


List of publications


Short histories of Parliament


1265-2015
ed. Paul Seaward, ''The Story of Parliament: Celebrating 750 Years of Parliament in Britain'' (History of Parliament Trust, London, 2015).


House of Commons


1386–1421
ed. J.S. Roskell, Linda Clark, Carole Rawcliffe, ''The House of Commons, 1386–1421'', 4 vols (Alan Sutton, Stroud, 1992)As printed on title page **Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices, constituencies **Vol.2: Members A–D **Vol.3: Members E–O **Vol.4: Members P–Z
1422–1461
ed. Dr Linda Clark ''The House of Commons, 1422–1461'', 7 vols (Cambridge University Press, 2020) **Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices **Vol.2: Constituencies **Vol.3: Members A–C **Vol.4: Members D–H **Vol.5: Members I–O **Vol.6: Members P–S **Vol.7: Members T–Z
1461–1504
In preparation, under the direction of Dr Hannes Kleineke
1509–1558
ed. S. T. Bindoff, ''The House of Commons, 1509–1558'', 3 vols (Secker & Warburg, London, 1982) **Vol.1: Constituencies, members A–C **Vol.2: Members D–M **Vol.3: Members N–Z
1558–1603
ed. P. W. Hasler, ''The House of Commons, 1558–1603'', 3 vols (Secker & Warburg, London, 1981) **Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices, constituencies, Members A–C **Vol.2: Members D–L **Vol.3: Members L–Z
1604–1629
eds. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, ''The House of Commons, 1604–1629'', 6 vols (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2010) **Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices **Vol.2: Constituencies **Vol.3: Members A–C **Vol.4: Members D–J **Vol.5: Members K–Q **Vol.6: Members R–Y, appendix
1640–1660
In preparation, under the direction of Dr Stephen Roberts, due for publication in 2020
1660–1690
ed. B. D. Henning, ''The House of Commons, 1660–1690'', 3 vols (Secker and Warburg, London, 1983) **Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices, constituencies, members A–B **Vol.2: Members C–L **Vol.3: Members M–Y
1690–1715
eds. Eveline Cruickshanks, Stuart Handley and David Hayton, ''The House of Commons, 1690–1715'', 5 vols (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002). See also biography of
Eveline Cruickshanks Eveline Cruickshanks (1 December 1926 – 14 November 2021) was an historian of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century British political history, specialising in Jacobitism and Tory (British political party), Toryism. She was of English, Scottish ...
. **Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices **Vol.2: Constituencies **Vol.3: Members A–F **Vol.4: Members G–N **Vol.5: Members O–Y
1715–1754
ed. Romney Sedgwick, ''The House of Commons, 1715–1754'', 2 vols (His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1970) **Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices, constituencies, members A–D **Vol.2: Members E–Y
1754–1790
eds. Lewis Namier and John Brooke, ''The House of Commons, 1754–1790'', 3 vols (Secker & Warburg, London, 1964). See also biography of
Lewis Namier Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier (; 27 June 1888 – 19 August 1960) was a British historian of Polish-Jewish background. His best-known works were ''The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' (1929), ''England in the Age of the Ameri ...
. **Vol.1: Introductory survey, constituencies, appendices **Vol.2: Members A–J **Vol.3: Members K–Y
1790–1820
ed. R. G. Thorne, ''The House of Commons, 1790–1820'', 5 vols (Secker & Warburg, London, 1986) **Vol.1: Introductory survey **Vol.2: Constituencies **Vol.3: Members A–F **Vol.4: Members G–P **Vol.5: Members Q–Y
1820–1832
ed. D. R. Fisher, ''The House of Commons, 1820–1832'', 7 vols (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009) **Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices **Vol.2: Constituencies, part I: England, Bedfordshire–Somerset **Vol.3: Constituencies, part II: England, Staffordshire–Yorkshire and Cinque Ports, Wales, Scotland, Ireland **Vol.4: Members A–D **Vol.5: Members E–K **Vol.6: Members L–R **Vol.7: Members S–Y *1832–1868 In preparation, under the direction of Dr Philip Salmon, due for publication in 2022.


House of Lords

*1558–1603 In preparation, with an Editor to be appointed, due for publication in 2025.
1660–1715
ed.
Ruth Paley Ruth Paley is an English historian and author. She has worked at The National Archives in Kew, London, where she has written several books. She is currently working for the History of Parliament Trust on the House of Lords from 1660 to 1832. Si ...
, ''The House of Lords, 1660–1715'', 5 vols (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2016) **Vol.1: Introductory survey **Vol.2: Peers A-F **Vol.3: Peers G-N **Vol.4: Peers O-Y **Vol.5: Bishops and Scottish Representative Peers *1715–1832 In preparation, under the direction of Dr Robin Eagles, will be published in two sections, split in 1790. Additionally, the Trust has produced the following book, taking a different format to the above volumes: *
Ruth Paley Ruth Paley is an English historian and author. She has worked at The National Archives in Kew, London, where she has written several books. She is currently working for the History of Parliament Trust on the House of Lords from 1660 to 1832. Si ...
and
Paul Seaward Paul Seaward is a British historian specialising in seventeenth-century English history. He is a Director of The History of Parliament Trust. With Martin Dzelzainis, he is General Editor of the Oxford edition of the works of Lord Clarendon ...
, eds., ''Honour, Interest & Power: An Illustrated History of the House of Lords, 1660–1715'' (Boydell & Brewer, London, 2010)


Earlier (pre-Trust) versions of the History of Parliament


1439–1509
ed.
Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indust ...
, ''The History of Parliament, 1439–1509'', 2 vols (His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1936-8) **Vol.1: Biographies of the Members of the Commons House **Vol.2: Register of the Ministers and of the Members of both Houses.


See also

*
Parliament in the Making Parliament in the Making was a programme of events organised by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to commemorate a series of anniversaries in 2015 including: * the sealing of ''Magna Carta'', on 15 June 1215, 800 years earlier * the first repr ...


References


External links


History of Parliament Trust

History of Parliament online
(the full text of the published History)
Parliamentary Archives, Records of the History of Parliament Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:History of Parliament, The Parliament of England Parliament of Great Britain Parliament of the United Kingdom