Sometimes in life you must take a chance regardless of the consequences. One hundred years ago Labour leader Ramsey Macdonald found himself in this position. With no clear victor determined from a General Election, he grasped the opportunity to lead …
Since 2022 the Parliamentary Archives' social media platforms have inducted historical figures from our collections into a richly diverse Hall of Fame. In this article, I’ll be celebrating a selection of inductees divided into six categories as they are rewarded …
Some former Prime Ministers got themselves to 10 Downing Street driven by a tunnel vision bordering on the obsessed. Others seemed to make it happen by accident rather than design. Lord Alec Douglas-Home falls into the latter category and this …
As members of the Parliamentary Archives Collection Care team, we are entrusted with the preservation of over three million records, a vast collection housed within the historic Palace of Westminster’s Victoria Tower. Our journey has taken a significant turn as …
The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords. The title has been around in some form since the Middle Ages. It wasn’t until the Clerk of the Parliaments Act 1824 that the role was …
It can be argued that the purpose of an archive is to hold documents for the continued access of the public, sharing historical information of the past to present and future researchers. However, not all documents within the archives can …
The Field Detectives are a group of historians who have been investigating historic landscapes since 1999. We have a saying that ‘Every Field Tells a Story’, but the field surveys are just the beginning of those stories. Field-walking, metal detecting …
We continue our latest series of blog posts on ‘Inside the Act Room’ exploring those significant years in modern British history that were like no other. In this instalment, we travel back just over a century to 1922 as domestically …
In 2023 The Parliamentary Archives were asked to display collections objects at Mr Speaker’s Black History Month Reception. The UK Black History Month 2023 theme was Saluting Our Sisters. The event highlighted the crucial role Black people have played in …
Our social media followers will know that since 2021 we’ve dedicated one Friday a month to showcase random items held in the Parliamentary Archives collections. It is only right to compile eight of the best entries. Here’s an insider look …
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