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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 16h

Nevertheless, by the time he died in 1804 he had frittered away the majority of his immense wealth on gambling, art and feasting. 4/4

Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 16h

Returning to Britain, he bought election to the Commons to protect his wealth, making sure to vote with the government to discourage any investigation before it started. 3/4

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 16h

Born into a family with East India Company connections, he followed in their footsteps, making an obscene fortune in India (enough to give him billionaire status today) through smuggling, extortion, oppression and torture. 2/4

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 16h

MP Richard Barwell was born on this day - 8 October - 1741. It would be a life of blessings for him - although not for his Indian victims. 1/4

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 18h

A constituency wasn't the only thing the two shared. When Lewis died in 1838, Disraeli courted his widow. After dismissing many reservations, she married him. Mary Anne Disraeli would later reportedly say, 'Dizzy married me for my money, but if he had the chance again, he would marry me for love.’

Victorian Commons @victoriancommons.bsky.social · 1d

Born #OnThisDay 1780 the Conservative MP Wyndham Lewis. He was Disraeli’s running mate in the Maidstone constituency in 1837 and financed their election campaign. Find out more about his political career in our article: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/m...

MP of the month: Wyndham Lewis

Wyndham Lewis (1780-1838) is probably best remembered today for bankrolling the future prime minister Benjamin Disraeli’s election to Parliament. Lewis’s wife Mary, an aspiring society hostess with…

victoriancommons.wordpress.com

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Reposted by Debbie Kilroy

Get History @gethistory.bsky.social · 1d

What connects Glastonbury Chalice Well with Winston Churchill? Kit Kowol explains all in his fascinating new article.

The Silent Minute

What do you do when your army has retreated, your ally has capitulated, and you face invasion? You pray.

gethistory.co.uk

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Reposted by Debbie Kilroy

Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 1d

I agree with every word Zelda Williams says. And this at the end from OpenAI makes me want to go full Ned Ludd. Creators can’t have a blanket opt-out on copyright infringement of their work and have to fill out a form appealing to OpenAI’s mercy every time? Fuck off into the sun

OpenAI told the Guardian that content owners can flag copyright infringement using a “copyright disputes form” but that individual artists or studios cannot have a blanket opt-out. Varun Shetty, OpenAI’s head of media partnerships, said: “We’ll work with rights holders to block characters from Sora at their request and respond to takedown requests.”

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Reposted by Debbie Kilroy

Victorian Commons @victoriancommons.bsky.social · 3d

A surprising number of the MPs in our 1832-68 project came from humble backgrounds. John Rolt, born #OnThisDay 1804, began his working life as a draper’s apprentice. Find out more about his rise to the position of attorney-general here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2017/10/23/f...

From draper’s apprentice to attorney-general: Sir John Rolt and the 1867 Reform Act

With this year marking the 150th anniversary of the passing of the Second Reform Act, our MP of the Month is one of the lesser known architects of this measure, the attorney-general, Sir John Rolt,…

victoriancommons.wordpress.com

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 4d

Eighty-four arrests were made during what became known as the Battle of Cable Street, and hundreds of people – fascists, locals, communists and police – needed medical treatment. 3/3

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 4d

The East End had other ideas. After a series of running clashes between protesters and the Blackshirts, supported by 6k Met Police officers, the BFU gave up. The procession instead turned west and marched down the Embankment accompanied by jeers of ‘You’re going the wrong way!’ 2/3

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 4d

On this day, 4 October 1936, former MP Oswald Mosley attempted to lead 3,000 members of his British Union of Fascists on a march through London's East End. 1/3

Image of the Daily Mirror report, 5 October 1936, © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD through the British Newspaper Archive..

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Reposted by Debbie Kilroy

Guildhall Library @guildhalllibrary.bsky.social · 5d

#FreeEvent on Tues 7 Oct, 2pm: "New Beginnings: Rebuilding after the Great Fire" talk by Jill Finch, City Guide.

New rules and regulations and new ideas meant a renewed City emerged like a phoenix from the ashes.

Please book via: (online & in-person event).

newbeginningstalk7oct.eventbrite.co.uk

New Beginnings: Rebuilding after the Great Fire

Work to rebuild the City of London began almost immediately after the Great Fire of 1666.

newbeginningstalk7oct.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by Debbie Kilroy

Conor Brockbank @conorbrockbank.bsky.social · 6d

A great blog post by fellow @qubhistory.bsky.social PhD @jamesorchin.bsky.social exploring the Third Party of the 1790s. Insightful and well-researched. Well worth a read!

The Georgian Lords @georgianlords.bsky.social · 6d

Today we welcome PhD student @jamesorchin.bsky.social with a guest post for the Georgian Lords on William Windham's 'Third Party', which split from the Foxites in the 1790s and was known as 'The Alarmists'...
historyofparliament.com/2025/10/02/t...
#HistParl

‘The sect of Alarmists’: The Third Party and the reluctant leadership of William Windham, 1793-4 - The History of Parliament

In this latest post, the Georgian Lords welcomes a guest article by James Orchin, PhD student at Queen's University, Belfast, re-examining William Windham's

historyofparliament.com

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Reposted by Debbie Kilroy

English Civil War @englishcivilwar.bsky.social · 6d

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Brodie Waddell @brodiewaddell.bsky.social · 6d

Who did what in early modern England?

New #OpenAccess book, 'The Experience of Work in Early Modern England' by @jwhittle.bsky.social, @markhailwood.bsky.social, @hkrobb.bsky.social & @aucointaylor.bsky.social, based on thousands of #EarlyModern court depositions 🗃️

Read it: doi.org/10.1017/9781...

This book applies the innovative work-task approach to the history of work, which captures the contribution of all workers and types of work to the early modern economy. Drawing on tens of thousands of court depositions, the authors analyse the individual tasks that made up everyday work for women and men, shedding new light on the gender division of labour, and the ways in which time, space, age and marital status shaped sixteenth and seventeenth-century working life. Combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, the book deepens our understanding of the preindustrial economy, and calls for us to rethink not only who did what, but also the implications of these findings for major debates about structural change, the nature and extent of paid work, and what has been lost as well as gained over the past three centuries of economic development. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

Cover of Whittle, Jane, Mark Hailwood, Hannah Robb, and Taylor Aucoin. The Experience of Work in Early Modern England. of Cambridge Studies in Economic History - Second Series. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025.

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Reposted by Debbie Kilroy

The Georgian Lords @georgianlords.bsky.social · 7d

You can read more about Rich in our @histparl.bsky.social 1690-1715 volumes.
He collaborated with James II but after the 1688 Revolution worked hard to re-establish his good Whig credentials...
www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-...

www.historyofparliamentonline.org

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 7d

Instead, he moved in and let his own house, while charging all expenses – everything from furniture to firewood – back to the government at a cost of £500 (£100k+) p.a.

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 7d

Not that he needed another pad. Appointed lord of the Admiralty, he purchased a London townhouse in their name under pretence of using it for official purposes.

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 7d

This lovely Elizabethan house is Roos Hall near Beccles in Suffolk. As well as allegedly being one of the most haunted houses in Britain, it was also owned by the MP Sir Robert Rich, who died on this day - 1 October - in 1699.

Picture of Roos Hall by Rjm at Sleepers, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roos_Hall#/media/File:Roos_Hall.jpg

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 9d

With the mother placed under guard, Coke forced the marriage through. Frances was left to suffer decades of unhappy marriage, scandal – thanks to her ongoing relationship with another MP – and exile, all for her father’s glory.

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 9d

Frances and her mother had done everything they could to avoid it. But each attempt - running away, hiding, entering into a different marriage contract, begging the help of the privy council - was stymied by the money-grubbing, power-loving MP and 'protector of the common law' Sir Edward Coke.

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 9d

On this day, 29 September 1617, Frances Coke married Sir John Villiers, brother of James I's favourite, George. But it was not a cause for celebration.

Frances Coke portraitAshdown House © National Trust

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 9d

I think I'll just stick to the green eggs!

Victorian Commons @victoriancommons.bsky.social · 9d

A reminder of our September article on the Victorian Commons, which looked at the reporters' gallery in the 19thC Commons. Charles Dickens was among its occupants and the refreshments included 'a bottle of whisky' and 'a most nauseous-looking ham’.
victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2025/09/08/t...

‘The status of the Press is changed indeed’: the reporters’ gallery in the nineteenth-century House of Commons

Continuing our series on parliamentary buildings, Dr Kathryn Rix looks at the accommodation provided for the newspaper journalists who reported on the proceedings of the nineteenth-century House of…

victoriancommons.wordpress.com

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Reposted by Debbie Kilroy

Justin Colson @justincolson.bsky.social · 9d

@ihr.bsky.social and @ies-sas.bsky.social are partnering with @thelondonarchives.bsky.social to run a new series of public lectures, featuring the chance to see the original records first hand. First lecture by @patrickwallis.bsky.social on "Apprenticeship and the Rise of London", Weds 15th October!

SAS and The London Archives: Apprenticeship and the Rise of London, 1500-1800

ies.sas.ac.uk

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Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 11d

He was, of course, found out, and was required to repay the full £750,000 he'd embezzled. Society now shunned him; he took to turning up to the Commons drunk; and he was at last arrested in 1865 - after twice being re-elected to parliament.

Debbie Kilroy @debbiekilroyauthor.bsky.social · 11d

Hudson had overextended himself, and so turned to underhand practices: cutting safety and salaries, recording turnover as profit, submitting false expense claims, insider training, bribing fellow MPs to protect his monopoly. You name it, he did it.

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