Virtual St Stephens

Research projects on St Stephen's, Westminster: Royal chapel, House of Commons, home of the Auditor of Receipt and the Speaker.

[Virtual St Stephens @VSS_Project]

How do we know so much about St Stephen's?

Find out in our latest post from Simon Neal, former St Stephen's project assistant, which discusses the wealth of manuscript evidence that has enabled our research on the Chapel and pre-1834 Commons chamber.

https://t.co/ux9NaMG2l5

[Dr Elizabeth Biggs @ElizabethCBiggs]

Seven years of my publishing on St Stephen’s Westminster with the biggest of thanks to @CanaryCaroline and the @boydellbrewer team! All of them are very much a memorial for the best of supervisors, Mark Ormrod.

[Virtual St Stephens @VSS_Project]

A terrific open access article exploring shifting powers at Westminster in the early modern period! Congratulations to @ElizabethCBiggs 🥳

[Dr Elizabeth Biggs @ElizabethCBiggs]

Super pleased to get a notification for this article being available open-access this morning. It's one of the things I'm most proud of writing, and it makes some pretty big claims about Tudor politics at Westminster.

https://t.co/8vPx8me8oB

[History Of Parliament @HistParl]

#OTD 1834, a fire destroyed much of the original Palace of Westminster.

In this blog @TheVictCommons discusses the makeshift provisions made for parliament to meet in the aftermath of this disaster 👇https://t.co/k2u0jMgjA1

[Murray Tremellen #IStandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 @MTremellen]

George IV stayed in the #SpeakersHouse the night before the ceremony, hosted by Speaker Manners-Sutton. The house was right next door to Westminster Hall and just a short walk from the Abbey: a great advantage, in light of both security concerns and the King's precarious health.

[Murray Tremellen #IStandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 @MTremellen]

I think I've kept you all in suspense long enough😉Delighted to announce that I passed my viva (with minor corrections) last week. Thanks to my examiners, @Tudorgentleman and @PeterNLindfield, for a really thought-provoking discussion. A fitting end to a remarkable PhD journey!

[Murray Tremellen #IStandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 @MTremellen]

(THREAD) As the final preparations are made for the coronation tomorrow, I thought it would be appropriate to look back at King George IV's coronation in July 1821. The #SpeakersHouse - the subject of my PhD research - played an important, albeit low-profile, role in the event.

[History Of Parliament @HistParl]

We at the History of Parliament are sad to hear of the passing of Betty Boothroyd, the first female Speaker of the House of Commons. In 2013, we interviewed Baroness Boothroyd for the #HistParl #OralHistory project, which will soon be available via
@BL_OralHistory

[Murray Tremellen #IStandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 @MTremellen]

Great to see the State Bed from the #SpeakersHouse in the news! The present bed was made in 1859 as part of Barry's rebuild of the Palace; it wasn't part of the furniture during the period of my PhD. Nevertheless, a wonderful piece of #Victorian #Gothic!😄https://t.co/WBE8b1JMcd

[Dr Stacey Clapperton @s_clapperton]

Today’s ridiculously impressive light show at work today, sponsored by the winter sun.

St Stephen’s Porch and Mary Branson, ‘New Dawn’, 2016 in Westminster Hall.

[Euan Roger @euanroger]

How medieval Exchequer rolls used to be consulted in the early days of the PRO... @UkNatArchives #ChaucerLifeRecords

[Dr Elizabeth Biggs @ElizabethCBiggs]

Happy St Stephen's Day! For an early saint, he is certainly shrouded in mysteries, not least why he was the patron saint of the palace chapel in medieval Westminster. Stow thinks it was thanks to King Stephen, but there was an earlier St Stephen's chapel in the reign of John...

[The Georgian Lords @GeorgianLords]

#OnThisDay 1783 William Pitt the Younger became #PrimeMinister at the age of 24.
They said his #government wouldn't last the #Christmas season...
#HistParl #twitterstorians

[TheVictorianCommons @TheVictCommons]

We're marking the 190th anniversary of the first general election held under the terms of the 1832 Reform Act, but not all the polls took place on the same day. Arundel returned its MP on 8 Dec. 1832, but the result from Orkney and Shetland was not declared until 14 Jan. 1833.

[Virtual St Stephens @VSS_Project]

Speaker Henry Addington attended Hastings' trial in 1794. He watched the proceedings from a temporary gallery in Westminster Hall, which he was able to access directly from the #SpeakersHouse - how convenient!

[The Georgian Lords @GeorgianLords]

Warren Hastings, governor-general of Bengal and the penultimate man to be impeached by #Parliament was born #OnThisDay 1732.
Edmund Burke dubbed him 'the captain-general of iniquity'
#HistParl #twitterstorians

[Parliamentary History @Parlhistjournal]

The first article in our most recent issue is @KathrinStrauss's (prize winning🥳) study of how the House of Commons' mace became a ceremonial item in the 16th and 17th century, one that enhanced the political role of the Speaker.
#Parliament

https://t.co/pPWn1hqfg9

[Murray Tremellen #IStandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 @MTremellen]

Whatever one might think of the political circumstances, I must say it's rather satisfying to see a key figure from my PhD trending on Twitter this morning...😁

#PittTheYounger

[Paul Seaward @pseaward1]

We're trying to complete an authoritative list of all English/British/UK Parliaments ever, including dates for the issuing of writs of summons. Easy up to the mid-1870s as they're in C218 at @UkNatArchives But after that they're not. Any thoughts on where they are now?

[Parliamentary History @Parlhistjournal]

#DidYouKnow if Boris becomes PM again, both he and Truss will have served under the same two monarchs. The last time something similar happened was with Peel and Melbourne who both served under William IV and Victoria.

[Dr Elizabeth Biggs @ElizabethCBiggs]

My favourite image of the Palace of Westminster, burnt down to the bare stone #OTD in 1834. Amazingly, the cloisters are the only thing in this image to survive into the current Houses of Parliament.

[simon.stanley @SimonDStanley]

During the ceremonial last week I was let through the cloisters in Parliament, part of the old Palace of Westminster usually off limits to staff. The restoration has been beautifully done, I hope more people get to see this great medieval survival.