Community & Culture
Lecture: Power & the Culture of the Commons in the Long Parliament
Titled Power & the Culture of the Commons in the Long Parliament, this talk will be presented on Wednesday 11 February 2026 in the Jubilee Room, Westminster Hall, 6:00pm
This event will also be streamed online via Microsoft Teams.
The mood of the Parliament that assembled in November 1640, if vengeful, was also reforming and optimistic. Members set about dismantling those agencies of Charles I’s government they found the most offensive, and struck down the ministers they considered the most oppressive. A parallel programme of legislation was set in train. But within a short period of time, Parliament found itself no longer a legislature only, but a source of executive authority. By the mid-point of the decade, Parliament had become the government.
In this lecture Dr Stephen Roberts will ask, in this unique period of parliamentary executive government, what was the impact of power on the Members of the House of Commons? How was power distributed, and how did the assumption of power affect the culture of the House, and the parliamentary work of its members?
The lecture will close with a Q&A session with Dr Roberts, and those attending in person will be invited to stay for a drinks reception.
For 25 years, Stephen Roberts was Editor of the History of Parliament team that produced The House of Commons 1640-60, published in 2023 in 9 volumes: the largest reference work ever produced on the British civil wars, the Commonwealth and the Protectorate of the House of Cromwell. He was also Director of the History for three years from 2018. He has published extensively on mid-17th century England and Wales. He is president of the Devon and Cornwall Record Society, and a vice-president of the Cromwell Association.
We are pleased to be able to offer this event as a hybrid session.
Guests are asked to select either 'in person' or 'online' when signing up to attend the lecture. Please note that there are a limited number of in person tickets available.
If choosing to attend online you will be sent an Eventbrite email featuring the Microsoft Teams link to join the event closer to the date.
Those who attend in person will be subject to Parliament's security protocols. Please enter the Parliamentary estate via the Cromwell Green Visitors entrance. Here guests will be asked to show their ticket and may need to show photo ID. Please note that you will have to go through airport-style security to gain entrance to Parliament; we recommend arriving 20 minutes before the start of the event - at busy times there is often a queue. For more information on security and gaining access to the parliamentary estate please click here.
Both ticket options are free, but you must register on this site in order to attend.
All guests will be sent an email containing further access information and a formal Parliament-approved ticket closer to the event.
Please contact cjeffery@histparl.ac.uk with any queries or additional access requirements.
