The History of Parliament: The House of Lords, 1660–1715, ed. Ruth Paley

Abstract

The publication of any set of History of Parliament volumes is always something of a major event and achievement that deserves celebration. The research is the result of a huge collaborative effort, producing a valuable reference work in its own right but also contributing to the larger unfolding history of the palace of Westminster since medieval times. These particular volumes are the first of a new and very welcome History of Parliament project. Having largely completed the history of the House of Commons (though there are still three, eagerly awaited sets in preparation, covering 1422–1504, 1640–60 and 1832–68), the new volumes focus on the Lords, in what was an important evolutionary period for the Upper House, between the restoration of Charles II and the accession of George I. Parliament and the Treasury are to be applauded for providing the funding that made the expansion beyond the Commons possible, since this will lead to a much more complete picture of life at Westminster. Some of the content of the new volumes was trailed in Ruth Paley and Paul Seaward’s more accessible Honour, Interest and Power: An Illustrated History of the House of Lords, 1660–1715 (2010), which might be the better place for the general reader to begin. But what we have here is a five-volume work of wonderful, erudite and admittedly at times dense research. There is an introductory volume offering some overall analysis of Members and the House during the period (of the type familiar to users of the House of Commons volumes), followed by three volumes of biographies of English and Welsh peers. A final volume contains biographies of the bishops and of the Scottish representative peers. Further volumes will appear in due course, covering the periods 1715–90 and 1790–1832, as well as the earlier period 1604–60, and it is to be hoped that funding will later be available to expand the remit further back and forward so that the research on the Upper House matches that which is, or will be, available for the Lower (1386–1868). For now, Ruth Paley and her very strong team of researchers (which included David Hayton, a principal editor of the equivalent volumes for the Commons) are to be congratulated for producing a work that will benefit many scholars.