The History of Parliament facts for kids
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The History of Parliament is a huge project that aims to write a complete story of the United Kingdom Parliament. This includes its earlier forms, like the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The project mainly tells this history by sharing the life stories of the people who were members of Parliament. This way, you learn about the institution through the people who shaped it.
The idea for this project started with some people working on it unofficially. It officially began in 1940. Since 1951, the project has received money from the government's Treasury. By 2019, many books covering the House of Commons for different time periods (like 1386–1421, 1509–1629, and 1660–1832) were finished and published. These books fill 41 separate volumes and contain over 20 million words! Also, the first five books about the House of Lords from 1660 to 1715 were published. More work on both the Commons and the Lords is still happening. In 2011, the parts of the history that were already finished became available to read online.
Contents
How the Parliament History Project Started
The idea for a full history of Parliament began to grow after 1878. That's when an "Official Return of Members of Parliament" was published. It was a list of people elected to Parliament, but it wasn't complete. Historians in the Victorian era used this list to start their own research.
Early Efforts by Josiah Wedgwood
One important person who worked on these histories was Josiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood. He was a Member of Parliament himself. From 1906, he represented Newcastle-under-Lyme. Between 1918 and 1922, Wedgwood published his own book called Staffordshire Parliamentary History.
In 1928, Wedgwood wanted to do even more. He teamed up with other MPs who were interested in Parliament's history. They wrote to the Prime Minister, asking him to create a committee. This committee would prepare a full record of everyone who had served in Parliament since 1264. They pointed out that the existing list was incomplete and only had names. To help with the cost, they mentioned that many people had offered to help for free.
Getting Government Support
Wedgwood quickly got over 200 MPs to sign his request. By July 17, 1928, 414 MPs and several members of the House of Lords had signed. A group met with Prime Minister Baldwin. He was still worried about the cost. But the group insisted that they only needed to check what information was available first, not publish anything right away. Baldwin agreed to think about it.
By December, 512 MPs supported the idea. Because of this pressure, Baldwin announced that the government would appoint a special committee. This committee would report on all the materials available to write such a history.
Challenges and the Trust's Creation
The committee was formed in March 1929. It included both academics and politicians. However, they had big disagreements about how the project should be done. Wedgwood's ideas were seen as too romantic by most historians.
In September 1932, the committee published an early report. It covered the years 1264 to 1832 and showed what information was available. But then, the project faced money problems because of the tough economic times in the 1930s. No more reports came from the committee.
Wedgwood didn't give up. He raised money himself and worked with a small team. In 1936 and 1938, he finished two volumes called The History of Parliament 1439–1509. The government helped publish these books.
In 1940, the History of Parliament Trust was officially created. Its job was to help create and publish future volumes. But then, World War II started, and Wedgwood passed away in 1943. The project stopped for a while.
After the war, a historian named L. B. Namier, who had been on the 1930s committee, worked hard to get the project going again. He succeeded! The Treasury agreed to give money to the History of Parliament Trust. Namier was a history professor at the University of Manchester. The first grant was for up to £17,000 a year for 20 years. They hoped to finish the whole history in that time. Sir Frank Stenton became the first chairman of the project's editorial board.
How the Project Works
Historian David Cannadine explained in 2006 that Josiah Wedgwood and Lewis Namier were key to starting the History of Parliament. But they were very different people. Wedgwood was a friendly, lively English aristocrat with modern liberal ideas. Namier, a Polish Jew, was serious and a strong conservative.
Different Reasons for Studying Parliament
Even though they worked together, they had different reasons for being interested in Parliament's history. Wedgwood saw Parliament's history as a romantic story of how freedom and liberty spread to everyone. Namier thought such views were silly. He was more interested in the personalities of the people in Parliament. He really wanted to know why members decided to join Parliament.
Organizing the Huge Task
Once the History of Parliament Trust began to plan its work, everyone quickly realized how enormous the task was. Namier felt that Wedgwood's earlier work (1439–1509) needed to be rewritten. So, that period was included again from the start.
Dividing the Work and Early Publications
The History was first divided into 15 sections. But by 1956, even that was too much, and they reduced it to six sections. For ten years, Namier himself worked nine hours a day at the Institute of Historical Research. He wrote biographies of Members of Parliament from the 1700s. He had three paid helpers and other volunteers. Namier passed away in 1960. However, the first books of the History, published in April 1964, still carried his name along with his colleague John Brooke. These books covered the years 1754–1790.
The first three-volume set created the standard for all future books. It started with an introduction that explained the time period and gave some facts about the Members as a whole. Then, there were articles about each voting area (constituency), showing election results and what influenced them. The second and third volumes contained biographies of all 1,964 men who served in Parliament during that time. These biographies focused mainly on their activities in Parliament.
Published Volumes of Parliament's History
After the 1754–1790 volumes, the next set to appear covered the period just before it, 1715–1754. These two volumes were published in 1970. Even though the 20-year funding agreement with the Treasury ended in 1971, the money continued, and work carried on through the 1970s.
More Sections Completed
The early 1980s saw three more sections finished:
- The 1558–1603 section was published in 1981.
- The 1509–1558 section was published in 1982.
- The 1660–1690 section was published in 1983.
The next section to appear was for 1790–1820, published in 1986. Six years later, the first volumes covering Parliament in the Middle Ages were released. This section, covering 1386–1421, was published in 1992.
By the mid-1990s, many libraries and readers found it hard to manage the 23 large books. Also, new historical discoveries meant some biographies needed updates. In 1998, the History project arranged to republish all previous sections on a single CD-ROM. This version included corrections, revisions, and some extra images.
Recent Publications
In the 21st century, three more sections were published:
- The 1690–1715 period was completed in 2002.
- The seven-volume History of Parliament 1820–1832 was published in December 2009.
- A seven-volume set covering 1422–1461 was published in 2020.
Future Volumes in Progress
The History of Parliament Trust is always working on new sections. The 1640–1660 edition is expected to be published in 2020. The period 1422–1504 is being published in two parts, with the first part (1422–1461) already out in 2020. Work on the period after 1832 only began in 2009.
History of the House of Lords
The History project originally focused only on the House of Commons. But in April 1999, a new project started to create a full history of the House of Lords. The first five-volume set, covering 1660–1832, was published in 2016. This set includes an introduction and four volumes of biographies of the peers.
History of Parliament Online
The History of Parliament Online website is a special project of the Institute of Historical Research at the School of Advanced Study, which is part of the University of London. This website makes the completed sections available to a wider audience.
Other Related Work
To write the History of Parliament, researchers needed access to many original documents about Parliament's activities. In the 21st century, the project has been working to make these documents digital. This helps both their own research and allows others to access them.
Digitizing Historical Records
The History of Parliament has a joint project with the Institute of Historical Research (IHR). This project is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Their goal is to digitize the early official records (Journals) of the House of Commons and House of Lords. They are also digitizing other important materials related to British history. Creating an "electronic history of the House of Lords" is a key part of their research into its past.
Annual Lectures and Irish Parliament History
The History of Parliament also supports an annual lecture. A historian gives a talk on a topic related to the project's work.
In 1934, Irish historians formed a committee to plan a history of the Irish Parliament (before 1801). This was meant to go along with the British project. However, it was stopped in 1936 due to lack of money. Some work was done later. In 2002, The History of the Irish Parliament 1692–1800 was published in six volumes. This happened after many years of on-and-off work. It focused more on the Irish House of Commons than the Irish House of Lords. This Irish history was also 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 Volumes
- 1386–1421 ed. J.S. Roskell, Linda Clark, Carole Rawcliffe, The House of Commons, 1386–1421, 4 vols (Alan Sutton, Stroud, 1992)
- Vol.1: Introduction, appendices, constituencies
- Vol.2: Members A–D
- Vol.3: Members E–O
- Vol.4: Members P–Z
- 1422–1461 ed. Linda Clark The House of Commons, 1422–1461, 7 vols (Cambridge University Press, 2020)
- Vol.1: Introduction, 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 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: Introduction, 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: Introduction, 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 David Scott, Vivienne Larmine and Stephen Roberts.
- 1660–1690 ed. B. D. Henning, The House of Commons, 1660–1690, 3 vols (Secker and Warburg, London, 1983)
- Vol.1: Introduction, 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.
- Vol.1: Introduction, 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: Introduction, 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.
- Vol.1: Introduction, 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: Introduction
- 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: Introduction, 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 Philip Salmon and Kathryn Rix.
House of Lords Volumes
- 1604-1629 under the direction of Andrew Thrush
- 1660–1715 ed. Ruth Paley, The House of Lords, 1660–1715, 5 vols (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2016)
- Vol.1: Introduction
- 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 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 and Paul Seaward, 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, 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
