We look after 500 years of historic records, preserved in a Victorian skyscraper
We look after the historic records of the UK House of Commons and House of Lords, dating back more than 500 years, preserved in the Victoria Tower.
Operating as usual
Happy St Patricks Day! If Ireland ever decided to call a national poll to choose the emerald isle’s eight wonders its nailed on that Di**le in County Kerry would make the cut. Centred on its beautiful bay & harbour area that is showcased in this evocative 1914 plan.
Any programme with ‘Archive’ in the title is always going to prick up our ears. Sky Arts brilliant documentary ‘Spike Milligan: The Unseen Archive’ didn’t disappoint showcasing the amazing range of material he archived. Here’s the man himself visiting Parliament in 1956. SkyArts
Budget Day is upon us & to mark one of the biggest days in the Parliamentary calendar we’re going back to 1990. When those of a certain age will recall ‘Children’s ITV’ being unceremoniously removed from the teatime schedule to accommodate. That meant no ‘Art Attack’!
What is it about Bonnybridge in Scotland & UFO sightings? Back in March 1992 there was a furore about a meeting in the town to discuss this phenomenon. It would seem it created a ripple effect across the UK & Parliament was later petitioned to investigate further.
Sylvia Pankhurst, the famous Suffragette, inspired the musical ‘Sylvia’ at The Old Vic Theatre. This police report from 1919 describes three women, inc. Sylvia Pankhurst causing a disturbance in the Member’s Gallery and were subsequently blacklisted.
Soon we’ll be seeing graceful dogs on our screens for Crufts 2023. However, in April 1606, Members of Parliament were puzzled when a ‘strange spaniel’ sashayed into the Commons chamber. This surprise dog show was later recorded in the House of Commons Journal.
The eighties were a boom time for homegrown British cinema, including ‘Dance with a Stranger’ in March 1985, starring Miranda Richardson as Ruth Ellis. From our collections a Home Office Certificate listing her ex*****on date.
Happy International Women's Day! As our ‘Inside a Collection’ comes to an end, we wanted to feature a 1875 women’s suffrage petition by the people of Dunfermline, Scotland. The petition calls for the removal of Electoral Disabilities of Women.
Labour MP Muriel Nichol was one of Yorkshire’s first female MPs and the only female MP to participate in the Parliamentary Delegation to India in 1946. Here is an extract from her diary during the delegation, speaking about her visit to a Women's College in India.
This week's ‘Inside a Collection’ highlights inspiring women in our collection. Starting with Norah Runge, one of the 15 women MPS elected in 1931. From our archives, newspaper cuttings detailing her vigorous campaign for re-election in a Rotherhithe pub in 1935.
This month’s random Friday focuses on these little autographed prayer cards from the 19th century for the House of Commons Chamber. Many MPs had their own particular seats and would place the prayer card down to reserve their seat in the Commons Chamber.
It’s World Book Day, so get reading books with or without pictures! The work from Peter Marlow’s book ‘The English Cathedral’ on his photographic project is exhibited in cathedrals throughout the year. We may not be a cathedral, but here are our stained-glass window drawings.
Happy St David’s Day! Owain Glyndwr was a 14th century Welsh figure. He led a rebellion against the English and was the last Welshmen to hold the title of Prince of Wales. This Act from 1430 was passed against Glyndwr for his ‘horrible treasons’ after he had died.
Fifty years ago, this month Welsh music legend John Cale of Velvet Underground fame released his cult solo album ‘Paris 1919’. A varied creative concept partially based around the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. From our collections this decorative Versailles agenda note.
We are saddened by the news that Betty Boothroyd has passed away at the age of 93. First elected as an MP in 1973, she was Deputy Speaker for five years under Speaker Weatherill (1987-1992) and served as the first female House of Commons Speaker from 1992-2000.
February 1983 saw the controversial Bermondsey by-election take place. The build-up was marred by the negative attention that both the press & opposing parties imposed on the homosexuality of Labour candidate Peter Tatchell. Liberal Simon Hughes won the seat. Le***an, Gay, Bisexual, Trans History Month UK
It’s Friday! You know what that means, time for another Random Friday. This time a 19th century footstool from the House of Lords Library. But it hides a secret inside. The footstool is hinged and opens up to reveal a spittoon hidden inside.
A recent conservation project by our fantastic collection care team working on repairing and preserving tracing paper documents. This 1884 plan has brittle paper, especially on fold lines. They used water vapour to relax the paper. Here is the before and after.
Famous Victorian architect Charles Barry won a competition to rebuild the Palace of Westminster after the Great Fire of 1834. From our archives, here is an intricate sketch drawn in 1844 by Barry. The drawing shows the front and side elevations of the exterior. -Z
Over the next eight months we’re devoting our themed weeks to provide a comprehensive A-Z of the Parliamentary Archives. This alphabetical takeover begins with the ‘humble’ Attainder. From 1715, here's one enacted for the ex*****on of notorious Jacobite the Earl of Mar.
Horace Walpole was perceived as a gay icon. He defined the gothic revival style and aesthetic with the novel The Castle of Otranto and his home Strawberry Hill. Here is the deed of Lord Horace Walpole, signed and sealed, dated 1801.
After a varied Commons career Herbert Samuel accepted a peerage & was introduced to the Lords in June 1937. Also taking an Upper Chamber bow that day was former PM & old friend Stanley Baldwin. They had bonded many years before on their liking for all things Italian!
Continuing our ‘Inside a Collection’ retrospective on Herbert Samuel with this handmade election poster. It was sent to him for his re-election in the constituency of Darwen in the 1929 general election, returning to the House of Commons as an MP after 11 years.
60 years ago, this month one of the great Parliamentarians, Herbert Samuel died aged 92. To mark this, we’re having an ‘Inside a Collection’ retrospective. Starting with a Cecil Beaton-esque portrait of the politician as a young man in magnificent fancy-dress attire.
Apps have certainly changed the way we date. Still in its development stage ‘Klerb’ is designed with booklovers in mind. This could mean your literary ‘one’ maybe an algorithm away holding Maurice Bond’s fabled ‘Guide to the Records of Parliament’ close to their heart!
On October 8th, 1921, a Criminal Law Amendment Bill was introduced to impose “gross indecency between females” as an offence. This is the first time lesbianism was officially debated, although not named in Parliament.
The National Gallery’s exhibition Turner on Tour reunites a pair of Turner paintings. One of Turner's most famous paintings is ‘Rain, Steam and Speed–The Great Western Railway’, so from our collection, this GWR plan of the original route in the painting through the parish of Taplow.
With London Fashion Week just around the corner it’s come to our attention how popular ‘Rose Apothecary’ sweaters have become (see MIC’s Ollie Locke). But did the origin of the label’s name come from this landmark 1704 health case? (via ‘Schitt’s Creek’ of course)
Irene Ward has already been inducted into the ‘Parliamentary Archives Hall of Fame’ (August 2022 entry), so it’s only right that we’ve now published a blog about her amazing Parliamentary career affectionately titled ‘There is Nothing Like a Dame’ – Enjoy! http://ow.ly/jmFi50MP03Z
In February 1965, the seminal white paper Policy for the Arts: The First Steps was published by Arts Minister Jennie Lee under the Harold Wilson Labour government. It was the first government art policy, proposing funding for British art, from theatre to museums.
Last November saw the passing of journalist David Butler at the age of 98. For decades he burnt the midnight oil as part of the BBC’s Election Night coverage. Heralded for inventing the ‘swingometer’ I’m sure he’d have enjoyed this early 20thC polling station pastiche. BBC
Off with her head, they cried! in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was found guilty and executed for plotting to kill her cousin Elizabeth I. From our archives, here is the trial transcript.
King George III’s Royal proclamation echoed throughout London in February 1796, offering a £1000 reward to anyone who provided information about the attack on the Royal consort as it went through Covent Garden. To tattle or not to tattle, that is the question!
Over the course of February, we’ll be marking LGBT+ History Month with a quartet of collection-based entries. To begin here’s a note tabled by the Upper House in March 1954 noting the arrest of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. An episode that led to the Wolfenden Committee being formed.
On this day in 1918, The representation of the People Act reformed the electoral system and gave women over 30 who met a property qualification the right to vote! It was a positive step forward in the fight for equality within the women’s movement.
Queen Elizabeth I’s reign has been documented throughout history, appearing in plays such as the adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando at the Garrick Theatre! Here is the Royal Commission for the prorogation of Parliament, showing Elizabeth’s Royal Prorogation Seal.
The Levellers were a political movement during the English Civil War that focused on ideas of equality, suffrage, and religious tolerance, amongst other things. On This Day in 1646, Leveller Lieutenant-Colonel John Lilburne submitted this petition appeal to parliament.
This month’s Hall of Fame entry is Elizabeth Poyser, the first female employee of the archive, in 1950, as an Assistant to the Clerk. We were still known as the House of Lords Record Office back then. The news even made a small article in The Evening Standard.
Satirical cartoons & comment were all the rage in the late Victorian age. In January 1893 the first edition of the ‘Westminster Gazette’ hit the newsstands to challenge Punch Magazine’s mass popularity. Here the Gazette compares politics to the ‘noble art’ of boxing!
Off with their heads! In January 1541, Catherine Howard, Henry VIII‘s 5th wife and Jane Boleyn, the Queen’s Lady of the bedchamber were condemned to death without trial for high treason by an Act of Attainder. From our collection, here is the Act with the Royal Seal.
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Thank you Kaelyn Apple for this TikTok guide to her day at the Parliamentary Archives Search Room. The Search Room is open on weekdays, and visits are free to book. You can find out more here: http://ow.ly/kg4Y50JWLAs
The Household Cavalry Museum and Shop
WhitehallThe GE Living Painting at the National Galler
The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
London Museum of Water & Steam
Green Dragon Lane
The Royal Air Force Museum London
Grahame Park Way
The London Bridge Experience & London Tombs
Tooley Street