History of Parliament
Encyclopedia
The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history
of the United Kingdom Parliament
and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain
and the Parliament of England
. The history will principally consist of a prosopography
, in which the history of an institution is told through the individual biographies of its members. After various amateur efforts the project was formally launched in 1940 and since 1951 has been funded by the Treasury. As of 2010 the volumes covering the House of Commons
in 1386-1421, 1509-1629, and 1660-1832 have been completed and published (in 41 separate volumes containing over 20 million words); research work on the remaining periods and on the House of Lords
is ongoing.
, who was himself Member of Parliament
for Newcastle-under-Lyme
from 1906
. In 1918-22 Wedgwood published the "Staffordshire Parliamentary History".
In 1928, Wedgwood decided to take the subject further. Together with other MPs who were interested in the subject, he wrote a memorial to the Prime Minister urging him to appoint a Committee to prepare a complete record of the personnel of every Parliament since 1264. The memorial noted that the Official Return was incomplete and inaccurate, and contained no information beyond a list of names; it attempted to head off Treasury objections to the cost, by pointing to the fact that pledges of voluntary assistance had been obtained. Wedgwood quickly obtained the signatures of more than 200 MPs. On 17 July 414 had signed, together with a number of members of the House of Lords, and a delegation saw Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
who was again wary of the cost; the delegation insisted that the question of publication need not be considered until the availability of material was assessed. Baldwin agreed to take the matter under consideration. The result of the pressure was that Baldwin announced in December (by which time 512 MPs were on board) that the Government agreed to appoint a Select Committee to report on materials available to write such a history.
The committee so formed in March 1929 included academics as well as politicians, and it soon became riven by ferocious differences about the nature of the project with Wedgwood's romanticism alienating most of the historians. The interim report of the Committee, covering 1264 to 1832, was published in September 1932 in the run-up to the centenary of the Reform Act
and gave a guide to the information available. The project then ran into funding difficulties given the economic situation in the 1930s, and no future reports were issued by the Committee. Wedgwood then undertook fundraising and worked with a small group of assistants, completing in 1936 and 1938 two volumes entitled 'The History of Parliament 1439-1509'. He took advantage of the one remaining offer of Government help and the books were published by His Majesty's Stationery Office
.
In 1940, the History of Parliament Trust was established to foster future volumes and arrange for their publication. However, the war and Wedgwood's death in 1943 meant that the project went into abeyance. At the end of the war, strenuous lobbying by L.B. Namier
who had been a member of the 1930s committee succeeded in getting agreement by the Treasury to provide funding for the History of Parliament Trust. Namier was Professor of History at the University of Manchester. The initial grant was for not more than £17,000 a year, and for 20 years, during which it was hoped that the whole period could be completed. Sir Frank Stenton
became the first chairman of the editorial board.
, in the History of Parliament Trust's 2006 annual lecture on 21 November 2006, noted that while Wedgwood and Namier are predominantly responsible for the foundation of the History, they were quite contrasting characters (Wedgwood a gregarious and high-spirited English aristocrat of advanced Liberal views, Namier a Polish Jew
who was joyless and a strong Tory). Despite working together on the Committee on House of Commons Personnel and Politics, they had quite different inspirations to take up the subject of Parliamentary history. Wedgwood looked on the history of Parliament as a member of the classic Whig school of history: as a romantic story of the spread of freedom and liberty to people of all backgrounds. Namier regarded such views as fashionable nonsense and was especially interested in the personalities of Parliament; he obsessed over the single question of why its Members had decided to go into Parliament.
to write biographies of eighteenth century Members of Parliament, with three paid assistants and other volunteers. Although Namier died in 1960, the first volumes of the History to be published in April 1964 carried his name along with that of his colleague John Brooke and covered the years 1754-1790.
The format of the first three volume set established the standard for all others. It began with an introductory survey (written by Brooke) which explained the period and provided some statistical analysis of the Members as a whole. There followed articles about each constituency which gave the results of elections and explained the influences at work. Volumes two and three gave biographies of each of the 1,964 men who sat in Parliament at any point in the period; where the Members concerned had served before the period or continued serving after, the biographies covered solely their activities within the period; they also concentrated entirely on Parliamentary activity and mentioned the other lives of Members only briefly.
. Although the twenty year agreement with the Treasury expired in 1971, funding was continued, and work continued through the 1970s. The early eighties saw three sections completed. Peter Hasler had taken over the section dealing with 1559-1603 after the death of Professor J. E. Neale
, and it was published in 1981. Professor S. T. Bindoff's section on 1509-1558 was published in 1982 shortly after his death in December 1980; Bindoff's death meant he was unable to write the usual introductory survey volume and the section appeared without it. In 1983, Basil Duke Henning's section on the History of Parliament in 1660-1690 was published.
The next section to appear was that for 1790-1820, which had originally been the work of Professor Arthur Aspinall before his death in 1972, and had been taken over by R. G. Thorne afterwards up to publication in 1986. Six years passed before the next section appeared, being the first volumes covering Parliament in the Middle Ages. Professor J. S. Roskell, Linda Clark and Carole Rawcliffe were jointly responsible for the section covering 1386-1421. By the mid 1990s many libraries and users of the History were struggling to cope with the 23 large volumes, and there had been new historical discoveries leading to revisions in the biographies of some Members included in previous volumes. In 1998 the History arranged for the republication, with corrections and revisions and some additional images, of all previous sections on a single CD-ROM
.
In the 21st century there were two sections published: David Hayton, Eveline Cruickshanks
and Stuart Handley completed their work on the period 1690-1715 in 2002, and the seven-volume History of Parliament 1820-1832 was published in December 2009.
) described the books as "magnificent", but some reviewers were animated by their own feuds with Namier and felt that the books had been limited by their determination to profile MPs individually rather than collectively. A. J. P. Taylor
was the most quoted critic, writing in The Observer
that the books were not a history but undigested raw material for one, and that many of the MPs profiled were of no importance in their own day. Later volumes attracted different criticism: the 1715-1754 section had been rushed into print and is relatively short, being criticised for giving undue weight to the few Jacobite
MPs. The introductory surveys to the 1558-1603 and 1660-1690 sections were criticised for being too brief. However, the more recent publications of 1790-1820, 1386-1421 and 1690-1715 (which have been longer) have been widely praised.
, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
, to digitise the early Journals
of the House of Commons and House of Lords, together with other material relating to British history. An 'electronic history of the House of Lords' is an integral part of the research into its history.
The History of Parliament also sponsors an annual lecture given on a topic relating to its work by an academic historian.
Additionally, the Trust has produced the following book, taking a different format to the above volumes:
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
of the United Kingdom Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
and the Parliament of England
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
. The history will principally consist of a prosopography
Prosopography
In historical studies, prosopography is an investigation of the common characteristics of a historical group, whose individual biographies may be largely untraceable, by means of a collective study of their lives, in multiple career-line analysis...
, in which the history of an institution is told through the individual biographies of its members. After various amateur efforts the project was formally launched in 1940 and since 1951 has been funded by the Treasury. As of 2010 the volumes covering the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
in 1386-1421, 1509-1629, and 1660-1832 have been completed and published (in 41 separate volumes containing over 20 million words); research work on the remaining periods and on the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
is ongoing.
History
The publication in 1878-9 of the 'Official Return of Members of Parliament', an incomplete list of the name of every Member elected to serve in lower Houses of Parliaments in the United Kingdom and predecessor states, gave a useful source on which Victorian historians could build, and there were several publications which identified and gave some biographical and genealogical details of the Members of Parliament for certain constituencies. Among those writing histories was Josiah WedgwoodJosiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood
Colonel Josiah Clement Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood, DSO, PC, DL sometimes referred to as Josiah Wedgwood IV was a British Liberal and Labour politician who served in government under Ramsay MacDonald...
, who was himself Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency)
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
from 1906
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
. In 1918-22 Wedgwood published the "Staffordshire Parliamentary History".
In 1928, Wedgwood decided to take the subject further. Together with other MPs who were interested in the subject, he wrote a memorial to the Prime Minister urging him to appoint a Committee to prepare a complete record of the personnel of every Parliament since 1264. The memorial noted that the Official Return was incomplete and inaccurate, and contained no information beyond a list of names; it attempted to head off Treasury objections to the cost, by pointing to the fact that pledges of voluntary assistance had been obtained. Wedgwood quickly obtained the signatures of more than 200 MPs. On 17 July 414 had signed, together with a number of members of the House of Lords, and a delegation saw Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
who was again wary of the cost; the delegation insisted that the question of publication need not be considered until the availability of material was assessed. Baldwin agreed to take the matter under consideration. The result of the pressure was that Baldwin announced in December (by which time 512 MPs were on board) that the Government agreed to appoint a Select Committee to report on materials available to write such a history.
The committee so formed in March 1929 included academics as well as politicians, and it soon became riven by ferocious differences about the nature of the project with Wedgwood's romanticism alienating most of the historians. The interim report of the Committee, covering 1264 to 1832, was published in September 1932 in the run-up to the centenary of the Reform Act
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
and gave a guide to the information available. The project then ran into funding difficulties given the economic situation in the 1930s, and no future reports were issued by the Committee. Wedgwood then undertook fundraising and worked with a small group of assistants, completing in 1936 and 1938 two volumes entitled 'The History of Parliament 1439-1509'. He took advantage of the one remaining offer of Government help and the books were published by His Majesty's Stationery Office
Office of Public Sector Information
The Office of Public Sector Information is the body responsible for the operation of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and of other public information services of the United Kingdom...
.
In 1940, the History of Parliament Trust was established to foster future volumes and arrange for their publication. However, the war and Wedgwood's death in 1943 meant that the project went into abeyance. At the end of the war, strenuous lobbying by L.B. Namier
Lewis Bernstein Namier
Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier was an English historian. He was born Ludwik Niemirowski in Wola Okrzejska in what was then part of the Russian Empire and is today in Poland.-Life:...
who had been a member of the 1930s committee succeeded in getting agreement by the Treasury to provide funding for the History of Parliament Trust. Namier was Professor of History at the University of Manchester. The initial grant was for not more than £17,000 a year, and for 20 years, during which it was hoped that the whole period could be completed. Sir Frank Stenton
Frank Stenton
Sir Frank Merry Stenton was a 20th century historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society . He was the author of Anglo-Saxon England, a volume of the Oxford History of England, first published in 1943 and widely considered a classic history of the period...
became the first chairman of the editorial board.
Approach
The historian David CannadineDavid Cannadine
Sir David Nicholas Cannadine, FBA is a British historian, known for a number of books, including The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy and Ornamentalism. He is also notable as a commentator and broadcaster on British public life, especially the monarchy. He serves as the generaleditor...
, in the History of Parliament Trust's 2006 annual lecture on 21 November 2006, noted that while Wedgwood and Namier are predominantly responsible for the foundation of the History, they were quite contrasting characters (Wedgwood a gregarious and high-spirited English aristocrat of advanced Liberal views, Namier a Polish Jew
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
who was joyless and a strong Tory). Despite working together on the Committee on House of Commons Personnel and Politics, they had quite different inspirations to take up the subject of Parliamentary history. Wedgwood looked on the history of Parliament as a member of the classic Whig school of history: as a romantic story of the spread of freedom and liberty to people of all backgrounds. Namier regarded such views as fashionable nonsense and was especially interested in the personalities of Parliament; he obsessed over the single question of why its Members had decided to go into Parliament.
Organisation
Once the History of Parliament Trust started looking into the scope of its work, it quite rapidly realised the enormity of the task before it. Namier was critical of the quality of Wedgwood's work and so his period of 1439-1509 was included to be rewritten from the start. The History was initially divided into 15 sections, but by 1956 even this was impossible and they were reduced to six. For a decade, Namier himself worked nine hours a day at the Institute of Historical ResearchInstitute of Historical Research
The Institute of Historical Research is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate House. The Institute was founded in 1921 by A. F...
to write biographies of eighteenth century Members of Parliament, with three paid assistants and other volunteers. Although Namier died in 1960, the first volumes of the History to be published in April 1964 carried his name along with that of his colleague John Brooke and covered the years 1754-1790.
The format of the first three volume set established the standard for all others. It began with an introductory survey (written by Brooke) which explained the period and provided some statistical analysis of the Members as a whole. There followed articles about each constituency which gave the results of elections and explained the influences at work. Volumes two and three gave biographies of each of the 1,964 men who sat in Parliament at any point in the period; where the Members concerned had served before the period or continued serving after, the biographies covered solely their activities within the period; they also concentrated entirely on Parliamentary activity and mentioned the other lives of Members only briefly.
Volumes published
The next volume to appear after 1754-1790 was the preceding period, 1715-1754, published in two volumes in 1970 edited by Romney SedgwickRomney Sedgwick
Romney Sedgwick was a British historian. He married Mana St David Hodson in 1936, having one son and one daughter together....
. Although the twenty year agreement with the Treasury expired in 1971, funding was continued, and work continued through the 1970s. The early eighties saw three sections completed. Peter Hasler had taken over the section dealing with 1559-1603 after the death of Professor J. E. Neale
J. E. Neale
Sir John Ernest Neale, FBA was a British historian who specialised in Elizabethan and Parliamentary history.-Academic career:...
, and it was published in 1981. Professor S. T. Bindoff's section on 1509-1558 was published in 1982 shortly after his death in December 1980; Bindoff's death meant he was unable to write the usual introductory survey volume and the section appeared without it. In 1983, Basil Duke Henning's section on the History of Parliament in 1660-1690 was published.
The next section to appear was that for 1790-1820, which had originally been the work of Professor Arthur Aspinall before his death in 1972, and had been taken over by R. G. Thorne afterwards up to publication in 1986. Six years passed before the next section appeared, being the first volumes covering Parliament in the Middle Ages. Professor J. S. Roskell, Linda Clark and Carole Rawcliffe were jointly responsible for the section covering 1386-1421. By the mid 1990s many libraries and users of the History were struggling to cope with the 23 large volumes, and there had been new historical discoveries leading to revisions in the biographies of some Members included in previous volumes. In 1998 the History arranged for the republication, with corrections and revisions and some additional images, of all previous sections on a single CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
.
In the 21st century there were two sections published: David Hayton, Eveline Cruickshanks
Eveline Cruickshanks
Eveline Cruickshanks is an historian specialising in Jacobitism and Toryism. She is of English, Scottish and French blood.Cruickshanks edited the volumes of the History of Parliament for the years 1690–1715 and wrote all of the major biographies of Tory parliamentarians for the volumes...
and Stuart Handley completed their work on the period 1690-1715 in 2002, and the seven-volume History of Parliament 1820-1832 was published in December 2009.
Volumes in preparation
The History of Parliament Trust currently estimates that the 1640-1660 edition edited by Dr Stephen Roberts will be published in 2016. It is expected that the period 1422-1504, under the direction of Dr Linda Clark, will be published in two sections, split in 1461. Work on the period since 1832 began only in January 2009, under the direction of Dr Philip Salmon.House of Lords
The History had not originally looked at the House of Lords, but in April 1999 launched a project under Dr Ruth Paley to produce a comprehensive account of its history. It is concentrating on the period 1660-1832, and intends to start with three volumes of biographies to be published in 2013, 2018 and 2027. It will also produce a two volume study of the House of Lords as an institution in 2013 and 2019.Reception
The first appearance of the History in 1964 occasioned many reviews. The Times Literary Supplement review (anonymous but by J. P. CarswellJ. P. Carswell
John Patrick Carswell CB FRSL was an English civil servant and author who served as Secretary of the British Academy from 1978 to 1983. Professionally and as an author, he was known as J. P...
) described the books as "magnificent", but some reviewers were animated by their own feuds with Namier and felt that the books had been limited by their determination to profile MPs individually rather than collectively. A. J. P. Taylor
A. J. P. Taylor
Alan John Percivale Taylor, FBA was a British historian of the 20th century and renowned academic who became well known to millions through his popular television lectures.-Early life:...
was the most quoted critic, writing in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
that the books were not a history but undigested raw material for one, and that many of the MPs profiled were of no importance in their own day. Later volumes attracted different criticism: the 1715-1754 section had been rushed into print and is relatively short, being criticised for giving undue weight to the few Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
MPs. The introductory surveys to the 1558-1603 and 1660-1690 sections were criticised for being too brief. However, the more recent publications of 1790-1820, 1386-1421 and 1690-1715 (which have been longer) have been widely praised.
Other work associated with the history
The primary source material for Parliament's activities were needed for the History and in the 21st century the History has been keen to digitise them for its own use and for access by others. The History of Parliament has a joint project with the Institute of Historical ResearchInstitute of Historical Research
The Institute of Historical Research is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate House. The Institute was founded in 1921 by A. F...
, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City and Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, endowed with wealth accumulated by the late Andrew W. Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969...
, to digitise the early Journals
Public journal
A public journal is a day-by-day record of the business and proceedings of a public body....
of the House of Commons and House of Lords, together with other material relating to British history. An 'electronic history of the House of Lords' is an integral part of the research into its history.
The History of Parliament also sponsors an annual lecture given on a topic relating to its work by an academic historian.
List of publications
- 1386-1421 ed. J.S. Roskell, Linda Clark, Carole Rawcliffe, The House of Commons, 1386-1421, 4 vols (Alan Sutton, Stroud, 1992)
- Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices, constituencies
- Vol.2: Members A-D
- Vol.3: Members E-O
- Vol.4: Members P-Z
- 1422-1504 In preparation, under the direction of Dr Linda Clark, will be published in two sections, split in 1461
- 1509-1558 ed. S.T. Bindoff, The House of Commons, 1509-1558, 3 vols (Secker & Warburg, London, 1982)
- Vol.1: Constituencies, members A-C
- Vol.2: Members D-M
- Vol.3: Members N-Z
- 1558-1603 ed. P.W. Hasler, The House of Commons, 1558-1603, 3 vols (Secker & Warburg, London, 1981)
- Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices, constituencies, Members A-C
- Vol.2: Members D-L
- Vol.3: Members L-Z
- 1604-1629 eds. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, The House of Commons, 1604-1629, 6 vols (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2010)
- Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices
- Vol.2: Constituencies
- Vol.3: Members A-C
- Vol.4: Members D-J
- Vol.5: Members K-Q
- Vol.6: Members R-Y, appendix
- 1640-1660 In preparation, under the direction of Dr Stephen Roberts, due for publication in 2016.
- 1660-1690 ed. B.D. Henning, The House of Commons, 1660-1690, 3 vols (Secker and Warburg, London, 1983)
- Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices, constituencies, members A-B
- Vol.2: Members C-L
- Vol.3: Members M-Y
- 1690-1715 eds. Eveline CruickshanksEveline CruickshanksEveline Cruickshanks is an historian specialising in Jacobitism and Toryism. She is of English, Scottish and French blood.Cruickshanks edited the volumes of the History of Parliament for the years 1690–1715 and wrote all of the major biographies of Tory parliamentarians for the volumes...
, Stuart Handley and David Hayton, The House of Commons, 1690-1715, 5 vols (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002)- Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices
- Vol.2: Constituencies
- Vol.3: Members A-F
- Vol.4: Members G-N
- Vol.5: Members O-Y
- 1715-1754 ed. Romney Sedgwick, The House of Commons, 1715-1754, 2 vols (Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1970)
- Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices, constituencies, members A-D
- Vol.2: Members E-Y
- 1754-1790 eds. Lewis Namier and John Brooke, The House of Commons, 1754-1790, 3 vols (Secker & Warburg, London, 1964)
- Vol.1: Introductory survey, constituencies, appendices
- Vol.2: Members A-J
- Vol.3: Members K-Y
- 1790-1820 ed. R.G. Thorne, The House of Commons, 1790-1820, 5 vols (Secker & Warburg, London, 1986)
- Vol.1: Introductory survey
- Vol.2: Constituencies
- Vol.3: Members A-F
- Vol.4: Members G-P
- Vol.5: Members Q-Y
- 1820-1832 ed. D.R. Fisher, The House of Commons, 1820-1832, 7 vols (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009)
- Vol.1: Introductory survey, appendices
- Vol.2: Constituencies, part I: England, Bedfordshire-Somerset
- Vol.3: Constituencies, part II: England, Staffordshire-Yorkshire and Cinque Ports, Wales, Scotland, Ireland
- Vol.4: Members A-D
- Vol.5: Members E-K
- Vol.6: Members L-R
- Vol.7: Members S-Y
- 1832- In preparation, under the direction of Dr Philip Salmon, due for publication in 2019.
Additionally, the Trust has produced the following book, taking a different format to the above volumes:
- eds. Ruth Paley and Paul Seaward, Honour, Interest & Power: An Illustrated History of the House of Lords, 1660-1715 (Boydell & Brewer, London, 2010)