The Commons 1640-1660

Editor
Dr Stephen Roberts

Research staff
Dr Andrew Barclay
Dr Vivienne Larminie
Dr Patrick Little
Dr David Scott

The Period

This period includes some of the most turbulent events in the whole course of British history: the Civil War, the trial and execution of King Charles I and the interregnum regimes of 1640-1660. The Short Parliament of 1640, the Long Parliament and `Rump’ (1640-53, 1659-60), the Nominated or 'Barebones' Parliament of 1653, and the three Cromwellian Parliaments of 1654, 1656-8 and 1659 were all difficult assemblies: the very legitimacy of some of them was contested. It was an exceptional period in parliamentary history. There were republican experiments; the Long Parliament was for a time not only a legislative assembly but also provided executive government; Members of the Nominated Assembly of 1653 were not elected at all, but were appointed under the patronage of Oliver Cromwell.

Some 1799 Members of Parliament are known to have been authorised to sit during the period, in 316 constituencies. Because of the importance of executive authority vested in Parliament at this time, we will include 19 articles on executive committees of the Long Parliament.  The introductory survey will include the usual elements dissecting MPs’ backgrounds, education, social networks, business interests, wealth and religious views.  It must also incorporate a substantial analysis of high politics of the time, when Parliament was subject to the prototype ‘party’ groupings of Independents and Presbyterians, ‘Country’ members and ‘Kinglings’, to name a few of the often pejorative, always contentious, labels of the day.

Among the household names to figure among our biographies will be not only Cromwell, but men like John Pym, Sir Henry Vane junior, Denzell Holles, Col. Thomas Harrison and the libertine republican, Henry Marten.

At April 2008, the biographies of 1,847 of these MPs have been completed in draft, as are 265 of our articles on constituencies. The intended publication date of this Section is 2016.