THEMES

Stale Bread Act 1801

This entry is part [part not set] of 15 in the series Reformers and Radicals

What did the act say? This was an Act imposed at a time of panicked desperation by a British Government trying to keep the lid on an explosive and fed up population. The bread shortage of the previous five years had not abated and so the Government, in its wisdom decided that the population would…

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Law Code of King Cnut

law code of king cnut
This entry is part [part not set] of 2 in the series Legal Concepts
This entry is part [part not set] of 4 in the series Law and Democracy

When King Cnut came to rule England in 1016 it was a place torn apart by successive Danish invasions and rival would be kings. It was important that if Cnut was going to be successful he would have to resort to some very harsh measures to quell his rivals. This he did by having the…

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Mathematical Society Spitalfields.

Mathematical Society Spitalfields

Like many of the ‘societies’ of its time the Mathematical Society of Spitalfields, founded in 1717, was run as a club where people of like minded interests could meet, discuss and debate the latest news, views and ideas of their chosen interest, in this case mathematics with a bit of physics thrown in for good…

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Chimney Sweeps Act 1834

The Chimney Sweeps Act 1834 was enacted in an attempt to protect the children employed by the ‘sweeping’ masters from cruel exploitation. The act forbade the apprenticing of any boy under the age of 10 years and the employment of children under 14 in chimney sweeping unless they were apprenticed or on trial. There seemed…

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Joseph Priestley

Joseph Priestly
This entry is part [part not set] of 3 in the series Age of Reason and Enlightenment

Joseph Priestley radical dissenter and champion for the open and inquiring mind. Joseph Priestly was quite possibly one of the most important thinkers of the Enlightenment. His direct and open inquiry into both religious beliefs and ideas was also directed at science, politics and society. Who was Joseph Priestley? He was born on the 13th…

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Medieval Music in Britain

great resource on Medieval Music and its history
This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Intriguing Resources

Directly access this expert published work online for an authoritative view of the history of Medieval Music.This is by Frank Harrison a 19th cetury Senior Lecturer in Music at Oxford University. If you have discovered or would like to explore the wonders of British Medieval Music, Sacred Music or Polyphony then this is a great starting point. Click to access directly from here…an intriguing resource free to access and use online or to download.

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Education Act 1902

education acts

The act that provided for the provision of LEA Local Education Authority system and was also a catlyst in encouraging the development of Higher Education.

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Paris Peace Conference 1919

Was the Paris Peace Conference and four months of wrangling amongst the Allies robbing Germany of its Empire a key document that impacts on British Appeasement Policy in 1938 1939 and was it also a major factor in the problems that led to WW2? In full knowledge of its content is Chamberlain all too aware of its implications and seeks to appease Germany’s imperialist pretensions because of it, or in spite of it. Before we judge Chamberlain should we not take a long hard look at Britain in the ‘interwar years’ and how these outcomes constrain the options available as Baldwin resigns and Chamberlain picks-up the poison chalice.

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Parliament Act 1911

This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Constitutional Crisis 1909-1911

The Barons finally give way to democracy and yield their right of veto against democratically approved laws voted on and approved in the House of Commons. An Act of Parliament settles a bitter dispute from the 1909 Peoples Budget and a vital principle that had taken hundreds of years to establish.

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