In 1902, readers opening Sarah Tyson Rorer’s New Cook Book were instructed to wash vegetables carefully, keep utensils clean, and avoid serving spoiled milk. [i] To a modern audience, these directi…

My first encounter with Helen Taylor Whilst researching my M.A. dissertation on the feminist Irish nationalist, Anna Parnell, a brief reference to Helen Taylor in a newspaper piqued my interest.  I…

A digital mapping project created by The National Archives and The Open University

In April 1818, Catherine Macknally, described in the parish records of St Andrew, Plymouth, as a ‘common prostitute’, was apprehended while wandering and begging with her two illegitimate children—…

I first learned of Katherine Walker Lindsay in early 2025 when I was examining the letter books of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Society for Women’s Suffrage (GWSSWS), a branch of the National U…

Political defections, commonly known in Westminster parlance as ‘Crossing the Floor’, have been a phenomenon in Parliament since at least the 17th century.

The Contemporary British History seminar seeks to explore all aspects the recent past of the British Isles from a historical point of view.

Ahead of tonight’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, we hear from Lisa Berry-Waite, a Leverhulme-funded PhD

Ahead of Remembrance Day, and with 2025 marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War, Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons,

Josephine Fiddes was an English actress, vocalist, author and playwright who graced stages across three continents during the 19th century. Her creative output extended beyond acting to directing, …

We are delighted to post this guest blog in our Women and Parliament series from one of the public historians who has been at the forefront of activities to

When researching diplomatic challenges in early nineteenth century Europe, such as the Eastern Question or the Congress of Vienna, the subject matter can appear male dominated. The former refers to…

In this online exhibition, Parliament's War Effort, we highlight a selection of the people who protected Parliamentary democracy in wartime.

Read this brief history of women’s suffrage in England - the fight for women to gain the vote on the same terms as men. We explore the individuals and organisations involved in the fight for women’s s...

Separate Spheres The doctrine of the ‘separate spheres’ – women’s confinement in the home while men freely roamed the public world – is entrenched in popular imaginings of Victorian life. Historian…

More than half a century before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, cast a parliamentary vote. Dr Kathryn Rix

This map seeks to **geolocate the memorials to the Women's Suffrage Movement ** all over the world. --- It is a small contribution to the decades-long effort by activists and scholars to raise publi...

In our latest post, Dr. Paula Bartley reflects on some of the archival challenges of studying women’s history in her latest excellent book, Labour Women In Power: Cabinet Ministers in the Twe…

To mark Women’s History Month, we take a long view of working women. Our guest host, Jessamy Carlson invites three historians to explore the lives of