Victorian Commons
The History of Parliament's House of Commons 1832-1945 project, currently researching MPs, elections and parliamentary history between 1832 and 1868. Find more details on our website: victoriancommons.wordpress.com
- Born #OnThisDay 1804 John Peel, 1st cousin of Conservative prime minister Sir Robert Peel. Elected MP for Tamworth in 1863 as a Liberal Conservative or ‘moderate Liberal’. An early supporter of women’s suffrage, he (& 74 other MPs) voted for it in 1867: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2017/05/19/t...
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- Great to see the latest from our colleague who is currently on research leave for a project on women and electoral corruption, 1832-68.
- An appropriate lunchtime read for our @GeorgianLords colleagues! We would love to see something similar for 19th century political dinners and the like.
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- Born #OnThisday 1830 Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. Three times Conservative Prime Minister 1885-6, 1886-92, 1895-1902. Sat in the Commons (as Lord Robert Cecil and then Viscount Cranborne) for Stamford, 1863-8. Image shows him c. 1862.
- Reposted by Victorian CommonsGreat job opportunity, 18 month research fellowship in British Studies, linked to @thenacbs.bsky.social 2027 www.jobs.london.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
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- Of course we found some 19th century MP content on board the Railway 200 exhibition train yesterday! For another MP with railway connections, see our short article on Joseph Locke: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2018/04/24/m...
- Reposted by Victorian Commons‘“Democracy Has Come!” The Third Reform Act & the Making of British Democracy’. I'll be speaking at the IHR Modern British Seminar on Thursday 29 Jan, on why the 1884 Reform Act is more exciting than you think... 17:30 in London or online. Read on for a taster...🧵 www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
- 193 years ago today was the opening day of the first Parliament elected under the terms of the 1832 Reform Act. William IV did not open Parliament in person, delegating this task to the Lords Commissioners. api.parliament.uk/historic-han...
- Research from our assistant editor, who is looking at women and electoral corruption between 1832 and 1868.
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- #OnThisDay 1840 the Commons debated whether to grant an annual allowance of £50,000 to Prince Albert following his forthcoming marriage to Queen Victoria, but after opposition, agreed on the lesser sum of £30,000: api.parliament.uk/historic-han...
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- V in our #1832AtoZ is also for Victoria. As queen she attended state openings and prorogations of Parliament, although the death of Prince Albert prompted a shift in her relationship with Parliament. Find out more here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2022/06/02/q...
- A by-election took place at Beverley #OnThisDay 1840, when Sackville Lane Fox replaced his brother George as Conservative MP. An eccentric figure, his fondness for gambling and lavish spending meant that he later spent 14 months in prison for debt.
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- Some very useful items here for parliamentary historians. Many thanks to @anterotesis.bsky.social!
- William Ewart, who died #OnThisDay 1869, was an MP for 40 years. Alongside campaigning for the abolition of the death penalty, he took a leading role in the establishment of free public libraries and came up with the idea for what are now known as ‘blue plaques’. (He has one of his own in Hampton.)
- We have also written about Queen Victoria's relationship with Parliament in this article on the @histparl.bsky.social site: historyofparliament.com/2022/05/26/q...
- Queen Victoria died #OnThisDay 1901. Her coronation in 1838 was attended by hundreds of MPs, among them Disraeli and Gladstone. There’s more on that event here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/m...
- Queen Victoria died #OnThisDay 1901. Her coronation in 1838 was attended by hundreds of MPs, among them Disraeli and Gladstone. There’s more on that event here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/m...
- Born #OnThisDay 1805 Edward King Tenison, who as well as being MP for County Leitrim, 1847-52, was a pioneering photographer. Find out more about him here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/m...
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- Reposted by Victorian CommonsDrawing of a (Georgian) King Penguin, possibly by Capt Charles Clarke, made during an expedition commanded by Capts Clarke and Cook in the mid-1770s... #penguinawarenessday
- For #PenguinAwarenessDay we are sharing the fact that Cape Adare, home to the world's largest Adélie penguin colony, was named after a 19th century MP! victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/w...
- #OnThisDay 1836 Charles Pepys (a relative of the noted diarist), MP for Malton, was appointed as Lord Chancellor and elevated to the peerage as Earl of Cottenham. Once described as ‘a rugged mass of law and Whiggism, and nothing else’. historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-...
- An outspoken reformer, who died #OnThisDay 1873, Stephen Lushington first entered Parliament in 1806 and left it in 1841, having sat for 5 different constituencies. Find out more about his political career here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/09/17/a...
- The youngest MP of our period, Hon. William Charles Wentworth Fitzwilliam, was born #OnThisDay 1812. He was elected for Malton in 1832, despite having not yet turned 21. Find out more about the Baby of the House here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/t...
- The ‘Father of the House’, Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, died #OnThisDay 1890. During 60 years as MP for Glamorgan, he was said to have spoken only once in the Commons, to ask someone to close a window! But was this true? Find out here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/c...
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- The longest-serving MP ever, Villiers featured in our post on MPs and longevity: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/l...
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- Over a month after the first result of the 1832 general election was declared, the last MP elected was George Traill, for Orkney and Shetland, #OnThisDay 1833. Rough seas had caused several days’ delay in delivering the Shetland poll books to Kirkwall to be counted.
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- Born #OnThisDay 1782 Stephen Lushington was a noted anti-slavery campaigner and outspoken advocate of many other reforms. He ended his Commons career as MP for Tower Hamlets, 1832-41. Find out more about him here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/09/17/a...
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- Reposted by Victorian Commons✨ Call for Papers ✨ Are you a postgrad, ECR, independent scholar, or heritage professional researching any aspect of Midlands history? We'd love to hear about your work at our New Voices in Midland History Conference on Saturday 6 June at Newark Museum. CfP details below 👇 deadline 31 March.
- New followers might also be interested in our excellent colleagues @georgianlords.bsky.social (for all things 18thC) and @histparl.bsky.social (for all things parliamentary history).
- Welcome to all our recent new followers! You join us almost at the end of our A to Z trawl through some of our many website articles about 19th century elections, MPs and parliamentary history. For more, take a look at #1832AtoZ.
- V in our #1832AtoZ starts with Voting. In this post, our editor Dr Philip Salmon explains how voting operated at elections before the introduction of the secret ballot: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2022/07/14/d...
- V in our #1832AtoZ starts with Voting. In this post, our editor Dr Philip Salmon explains how voting operated at elections before the introduction of the secret ballot: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2022/07/14/d...
- While we are on the theme of Chartism...
- Reposted by Victorian Commons#ICYMI earlier this week, Robin Eagles of the Georgian Lords posted on uncovering the lives of Black Londoners, among them one who almost certainly joined John London in voting in the 1749 Westminster by-election: historyofparliament.com/2026/01/05/s... #HistParl #BSECS2026
- Polling in the 1835 general election took place in January and February. Among the election results declared #OnThisDay 1835 was the borough of Bristol, for which the poll book survives: books.google.co.uk/books?id=jN-...
- Born #OnThisDay 1776 Thomas Lefroy, MP for Dublin University, 1830-41. In his youth he had a fleeting romance with Jane Austen. Find out more about him in our earlier post: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/a...
- Joseph Brotherton was Salford’s first MP, from 1832 until his death #OnThisDay 1857. An ‘ultra Liberal’, he opposed slavery, child labour & the death penalty, & was one of the founders of @vegsoc.bsky.social. On his Commons career, see victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2021/10/27/i...
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- We are all back at our desks for 2026 and we start with a reminder of some of our research from 2025. We look forward to sharing more highlights over the coming months. historyofparliament.com/2026/01/01/h...
- We are starting back at our desks for 2026 by recommending this excellent post from our @georgianlords.bsky.social colleague Robin Eagles.
- Wishing everyone a Happy New Year for 2026! Here's our editor Philip Salmon's review of some of our project highlights of 2025. We look forward to sharing more of our research on 19th century politics and parliamentary history over the coming year...
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- The Victorian Commons team are now signing off until the New Year. We would like to wish all our followers a very Merry Christmas!
- It seems appropriate as we start to wind down for the festive season to come across a Mr Sleigh! William Campbell Sleigh was an unsuccessful candidate for the UK Parliament four times in four different constituencies between 1862 and 1870, but was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1880.
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- #OnThisDay 1881 the former Conservative MP for Thirsk, Sir William Payne Gallwey, died from injuries sustained when he fell on to a turnip. Find out more about this and other unusual causes of death among Victorian MPs in our perennially popular post: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2019/12/19/b...
- Next in our #1832AtoZ is U, which is for University seats. Find out more about University constituencies in @martinspychal.bsky.social's article on the University of London seat: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2018/11/22/t...
- An interesting list, which led us to this fascinating discussion of William Frith's 19th century crowd scenes: artuk.org/discover/sto...
- #OnThisDay 1847 the Commons resolved that ‘it is expedient to remove all civil disabilities … affecting Her Majesty's subjects of the Jewish religion’. Lionel de Rothschild had been elected for the City of London earlier that year, but was not able to take his seat until 1858.
- The Victorian Commons team enjoyed catching up with Lisa and other friends and colleagues at this event, and it was great to hear our director @jhdavey.bsky.social introduce proceedings with an overview of @histparl.bsky.social's activities in 2025. It has been a busy year!
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- It's the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, which is a good excuse to share our post on her connection with a 19th century MP: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/a...
