The Georgian Lords
@georgianlords.bsky.social
The History of Parliament's House of Lords 1660-1832 section, researching the history of the Lords, Parliament and society across the 'long 18th century'. https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/ https://historyofparliament.com/the-georgian-lords/
Starting work on the 2nd duke of Montagu, and the striking thing is how unlucky his staff were: one is run through after joshing with some gentlemen; another shoots himself through the head after working for the family for 40 years and now a watermen has just been overturned in his boat and drowned.
#ICYMI yesterday the Georgian Lords posted for @histparl.bsky.social on references to the #Odyssey and Iliad in Parliament and more general political commentary from the 19th century and onwards... #skystorians
The Georgian Lords@georgianlords.bsky.social · yesterdayNew post from Robin Eagles of the Georgian Lords looking into political references to the Iliad and Odyssey from Wellington to the present... historyofparliament.com/2026/08/04/t...
Look out for a new online article from the Georgian Lords tomorrow, when we will be welcoming the first post by @brogers1721.bsky.social, who joined the team last month. We are delighted to have him on board. #HistParl
The 18th century seems to have had a mixed relationship with Homer. In 1733 Lady Irvine reported on John Gay's posthumous 'opera' Achilles, which she described as being "in the manner of the Beggar’s Opera" She judged "The design is to ridicule Homer[‘s] Odysses [sic]; ‘tis much commended…" #odyssey
The Georgian Lords@georgianlords.bsky.social · yesterdayNew post from Robin Eagles of the Georgian Lords looking into political references to the Iliad and Odyssey from Wellington to the present... historyofparliament.com/2026/08/04/t...
Two such different politicians, both hugely influential at Court (and in government) sharing a death day: John Hervey, Lord Hervey (d. 1743) and Frederick North, Lord North, by then 2nd earl of Guilford (d. 1792). Hervey didn't live to inherit the earldom of Bristol; North got his for just 2 years.
Come and see us at the York Georgian Festival next week! My @yorkstjohn.bsky.social students & I will be presenting: SANCHO & STERNE: A MEETING OF MINDS IN GEORGIAN BRITAIN 10th August, 3.30pm York Mansion House Tickets: www.mansionhouseyork.com/york-georgia... #18thC #18C @bsecs.bsky.social
🚨New Article🚨 Inspired by the recent release of Christopher Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey, Dr Robin Eagles has looked back at how Homer's epic poem has featured in British political discourse.
Politics, popular celebration and the Trojan War - The History of Parliament
The recent release of Christopher Nolan’s latest epic, The Odyssey, has sparked debate in many quarters for its depiction of Odysseus’ efforts to get back
historyofparliament.com
You can find out more about ballot boxes by listening to this episode of 'Materials of State' on Radio 4, featuring research from #HistParl staff. 👇
BBC Radio 4 - Materials of State, The Ballot Box
David Cannadine examines the history of the ballot box.
bbc.co.uk
Passing reference in the press in 1735 to the death of Robert Hind of Purple Lane, brother of an eminent brewer. Strangely difficult to read it, without immediately thinking of the song by Prince...
New post from Robin Eagles of the Georgian Lords looking into political references to the Iliad and Odyssey from Wellington to the present... historyofparliament.com/2026/08/04/t...
Politics, popular celebration and the Trojan War - The History of Parliament
The recent release of Christopher Nolan’s latest epic, The Odyssey, has sparked debate in many quarters for its depiction of Odysseus’ efforts to get back
historyofparliament.com
It's always enjoyable to read the Liverpool Papers at the BL. They provide a great window into eighteenth-century politics @georgianlords.bsky.social @histparl.bsky.social
Sir Joshua Reynolds spotted lurking behind an abundant fuchsia...
Continuing with this musical theme, we have just discovered that 'an excellent brass band from Watford' formed part of the procession accompanying one of the candidates to the hustings at the 1837 St Albans election.
The Georgian Lords@georgianlords.bsky.social · 5d agoWith the BBC proms now in full swing at @royalalberthall.bsky.social, a depiction of the Fox-North coalition administration (1783) as an impromptu orchestra: Charles Fox as leader of the orchestra on violin, Lord North on bassoon and Edmund Burke doing his best with a trumpet... #HistParl
What a great image! We shall throw a band of music including eight trombones (the noise of which upset Charles Dickens at the 1835 Northants North by-election) into this musical mix: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/f...
‘Fighting, swearing, drinking, and squabbling’: Charles Dickens, Eatanswill and the 1835 Northamptonshire North by-election
Today’s blog marks the anniversary of Charles Dickens’s birth by exploring the inspiration behind one of the most notable political events in his first novel. Dickens’s riotous descript…
victoriancommons.wordpress.com
The Georgian Lords@georgianlords.bsky.social · 5d agoWith the BBC proms now in full swing at @royalalberthall.bsky.social, a depiction of the Fox-North coalition administration (1783) as an impromptu orchestra: Charles Fox as leader of the orchestra on violin, Lord North on bassoon and Edmund Burke doing his best with a trumpet... #HistParl
With the BBC proms now in full swing at @royalalberthall.bsky.social, a depiction of the Fox-North coalition administration (1783) as an impromptu orchestra: Charles Fox as leader of the orchestra on violin, Lord North on bassoon and Edmund Burke doing his best with a trumpet... #HistParl
"A Mimorandum of things that have hapend"... Such a beautifully simple title...
Died #OnThisDay 1700 William, duke of Gloucester, son of Princess (Queen) Anne and Prince George of Denmark, aged just 11. Gloucester's death ended the hopes of a continuation of the Protestant Stuart line, leading to the Hanoverian succession. #skystorians
A bit early, but this must have made for a very reasonable Christmas feast: "Xmas day - three Geese eat for Dinner..."
One of Buckinghamshire's most famous sons was the radical MP John Wilkes, who represented Aylesbury, where he was lord of the manor, from 1757 to 1764, when he was ejected from his seat. He thereafter reinvented himself as a London politician, becoming lord mayor and MP for Middlesex. #HistParl
House of Commons Speaker@commonsspeaker.parliament.uk · last wk.Happy Buckinghamshire Day. Today, we celebrate this historic county and commemorate the first Paralympics, which were held in Buckinghamshire in 1948. Buckinghamshire has been referenced in the chamber on 5,228 occasions.
Our latest blog, looking at the Speakership election of 1835 - a pivotal vote for the development of the Liberal party - is now available on our Victorian Commons site: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2026/07/29/s...
The Speakership election of 1835
In this article Dr Kathryn Rix and Dr Martin Spychal discuss a pivotal vote in the early nineteenth-century Commons – the selection of the Speaker in February 1835. They explore popular reaction to…
victoriancommons.wordpress.com
#ICYMI we are going to be holding a workshop in the Jubilee Rooms at Westminster on 17 September 're-thinking Westminster Hall' from around the 17th to the 19th centuries. Do get in touch if you would be interested in attending. #HistParl #skystorians historyofparliament.com/2026/07/13/w...
'Re-Thinking Westminster Hall': Workshop September 2026 - The History of Parliament
The History of Parliament Trust is pleased to be a partner in an upcoming workshop, Re-Thinking Westminster Hall: A Place of Meeting and Contest, c.1650-1800.
historyofparliament.com
I'm giving a talk about shoes at the York Georgian Festival on 10 August. Tickets in the link! mansionhouse.tygit.com/shop/dates/p...
A helpful reminder of the ongoing conversation about what Lords reform might look like. It was something that was tried (unsuccessfully) in 1719 and revisited on occasion through the 19th and 20 centuries... historyofparliament.com/2019/12/05/w...
“Windy music & heat in the House” The failure to reform the House of Lords in 1719 - The History of Parliament
In the winter of 1719 the duke of Buckingham presented the House of Lords with a bill for reforming the state of the peerage. This was substantially the same
historyofparliament.com
History of Parliament@histparl.bsky.social · last wk.🚨New Substack🚨 Last week our director @jhdavey.bsky.social attended Lord Forsyth's first major speech as Lord Speaker. In the latest post for 'Scribble Book', she explores both the role and its place in the long history of House of Lords reform.
A slightly different take on the sword in the stone (or Odysseus being the only one able to string his bow). Lord Dudley and Ward was said to have possessed a fire shovel of such prodigious size that he alone of all the family could wield it... #skystorians
A reminder of the new post for July from our Victorian Commons team. Why was the choice of Speaker in 1835 so significant? And why it is so difficult to know how every MP voted in this key division?
History of Parliament@histparl.bsky.social · 3w agoWhy was the Speakership election of 1835 such a pivotal vote in the 19th century House of Commons? @martinspychal.bsky.social and @kathrynrix.bsky.social explore the significance of the division.
Charles Talbot, later duke of Shrewsbury, was born on this day in 1660. As one of the 'Immortal Seven', he signed a letter of invitation to William of Orange helping to trigger the 'Glorious Revolution'. To find out more about the revolution below. @georgianlords.bsky.social
A 'Glorious' Revolution?
This week the BBC’s new series ‘British History’s Biggest fibs’ tackles some of the myths surrounding the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688-1689. Dr Robin Eagles
thehistoryofparliament.wordpress.com
We are hiring a new Editorial Fellow who specialises in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe 🌍 👉 this 2-year fellowship runs from October 2026 - September 2028 👉 this role is paid and part-time (3 hours per week) 👉 the application deadline is Friday 7 August Please share widely!
Call for Applications: Editorial Fellowship at History Workshop, 2026
History Workshop is seeking to appoint one Editorial Fellow in 2026, with specialism in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe.
historyworkshop.org.uk
Sometimes, it is the quiet Members of Parliament who intrigue... Savile Finch, MP for Maidstone and Malton: "a small man, a client of aristocratic patrons, who made no mark in Parliament" but who ultimately stepped aside in 1780 to release his seat for Edmund Burke, who needed it more... #HistParl
We are excited to announce that our annual conference will take place at the University of Manchester on Monday 2nd of November 2027! 🎉🐝 There will also be an Early Career Research Workshop on Sunday 1st of November aimed at giving feedback on draft papers for a small number of our ECR members. 📝