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Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised the English monarch. Great councils were first called Parliaments during the reign of Henry III (r. 1216–1272). By this time, the king required Parliament's consent to levy taxation.

This article is about the legislature used from c. 1215 to 1707. For the proposed contemporary English legislature, see Devolved English parliament. For the modern legislature, see Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Parliament of England

Unicameral
(c. 1236[1]–1341 / 1649–1657)
Bicameral
(1341–1649 / 1657–1707)

Upper house:
House of Lords
(1341–1649 / 1660–1707)
House of Peers
(1657–1660)
Lower house:
House of Commons
(1341–1707)

c. 1236[1]

1 May 1707

Final composition of the English House of Commons:
513 Seats

  Tories: 260 seats
  Whigs: 233 seats
  Unclassified: 20 seats

Originally a unicameral body, a bicameral Parliament emerged when its membership was divided into the House of Lords and House of Commons, which included knights of the shire and burgesses. During Henry IV's time on the throne, the role of Parliament expanded beyond the determination of taxation policy to include the "redress of grievances", which essentially enabled English citizens to petition the body to address complaints in their local towns and counties. By this time, citizens were given the power to vote to elect their representatives—the burgesses—to the House of Commons.


Over the centuries, the English Parliament progressively limited the power of the English monarchy, a process that arguably culminated in the English Civil War and the High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I.

the king

members of the

king's council

ecclesiastical magnates (archbishops, bishops, abbots, )

priors

lay magnates (earls and barons)

15th century[edit]

This period saw the introduction of a franchise which limited the number of people who could vote in elections to the House of Commons. From 1430 onwards, the franchise for the election of knights of the shires in the county constituencies was limited to forty-shilling freeholders, meaning men who owned freehold property worth forty shillings (two pounds) or more. The Parliament of England legislated for this new uniform county franchise in the statute 8 Hen. 6. c. 7. The Chronological Table of the Statutes does not mention such a 1430 law, as it was included in the Consolidated Statutes as a recital in the Electors of Knights of the Shire Act 1432 (10 Hen. 6. c. 2), which amended and re-enacted the 1430 law to make clear that the resident of a county had to have a forty shilling freehold in that county to be a voter there.

Parliament from the Restoration to the Act of Settlement[edit]

The revolutionary events that occurred between 1620 and 1689 all took place in the name of Parliament. The new status of Parliament as the central governmental organ of the English state was consolidated during the events surrounding the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660.


After the death of Oliver Cromwell in September 1658, his son Richard Cromwell succeeded him as Lord Protector, summoning the Third Protectorate Parliament in the process. When this parliament was dissolved under pressure from the army in April 1659, the Rump Parliament was recalled at the insistence of the surviving army grandees. This in turn was dissolved in a coup led by army general John Lambert, leading to the formation of the Committee of Safety, dominated by Lambert and his supporters.


When the breakaway forces of George Monck invaded England from Scotland, where they had been stationed without Lambert's supporters putting up a fight, Monck temporarily recalled the Rump Parliament and reversed Pride's Purge by recalling the entirety of the Long Parliament. They then voted to dissolve themselves and call new elections, which were arguably the most democratic for 20 years although the franchise was still very small. This led to the calling of the Convention Parliament which was dominated by royalists. This parliament voted to reinstate the monarchy and the House of Lords. Charles II returned to England as king in May 1660. The Anglo-Scottish parliamentary union that Cromwell had established was dissolved in 1661 when the Scottish Parliament resumed its separate meeting place in Edinburgh.


The Restoration began the tradition whereby all governments looked to parliament for legitimacy. In 1681 Charles II dissolved parliament and ruled without them for the last four years of his reign. This followed bitter disagreements between the king and parliament that had occurred between 1679 and 1681. Charles took a big gamble by doing this. He risked the possibility of a military showdown akin to that of 1642. However, he rightly predicted that the nation did not want another civil war. Parliament disbanded without a fight. Events that followed ensured that this would be nothing but a temporary blip.


Charles II died in 1685 and he was succeeded by his brother James II. During his lifetime Charles had always pledged loyalty to the Protestant Church of England, despite his private Catholic sympathies. James was openly Catholic. He attempted to lift restrictions on Catholics taking up public offices. This was bitterly opposed by Protestants in his kingdom. They invited William of Orange,[87] a Protestant who had married Mary, daughter of James II and Anne Hyde to invade England and claim the throne.


William assembled an army estimated at 15,000 soldiers (11,000 foot and 4000 horse)[88] and landed at Brixham in southwest England in November, 1688. When many Protestant officers, including James's close adviser, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defected from the English army to William's invasion force, James fled the country. Parliament then offered the Crown to his Protestant daughter Mary, instead of his infant son (James Francis Edward Stuart), who was baptised Catholic. Mary refused the offer, and instead William and Mary ruled jointly, with both having the right to rule alone on the other's death.


As part of the compromise in allowing William to be King—called the Glorious Revolution—Parliament was able to have the 1689 Bill of Rights enacted. Later the 1701 Act of Settlement was approved. These were statutes that lawfully upheld the prominence of parliament for the first time in English history. These events marked the beginning of the English constitutional monarchy and its role as one of the three elements of parliament.

List of acts of the Parliament of England

List of ordinances and acts of the Parliament of England, 1642–1660

Specific acts of Parliament can be found at the following articles:

various

York

various

Lincoln

1258 (Mad Parliament), 1681

Oxford

1266

Kenilworth

1283[89]

Acton Burnell Castle

1283 (trial of Dafydd ap Gruffydd), 1397 ('Great' Parliament)

Shrewsbury

1307

Carlisle

1398

Oswestry Castle

1328

Northampton

New Sarum (), 1330

Salisbury

1332, 1449

Winchester

1453

Reading Abbey

1459 (Parliament of Devils)

Coventry

Other than London, Parliament was also held in the following cities:

Duration of English parliaments before 1660

History of local government in England

Lex Parliamentaria

List of English ministries

List of parliaments of England

Modus Tenendi Parliamentum

UK Parliament

Birth of the English Parliament.

British Library

Parliament and People.

National Archives

Origins and growth of Parliament.

Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London

History of Parliament Online.