1.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
2.
Limerick
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Limerick is a city in county Limerick, Ireland. It is located in the Mid-West Region and is part of the province of Munster. Limerick City and County Council is the authority for the city. The city lies on the River Shannon, with the core of the city located on Kings Island, which is bounded by the Shannon. Limerick is also located at the head of the Shannon Estuary where the river widens before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 95,854, Limerick is the third most populous area in the state. There are 102,161 people living in the Limerick City Metropolitan District, on 1 June 2014 following the merger of Limerick City and County Council a new Metropolitan District of Limerick was formed within the united council which extended the city area. The Metropolitan District includes the city area and extends outwards towards Patrickswell in the west. The City Metropolitan Area however excludes city suburbs located within County Clare, when included this increases the overall city and metropolitan area by a further 5,000 with a combined total population of 107,161. Limerick is one of the constituent cities of the Cork–Limerick–Galway corridor which has a population of 1 million people and it is located at a strategic position on the River Shannon with four main crossing points near the city centre. To the south of the city is the Golden Vale, an area of rich pastureland, historically, much of the citys industry was based on this rich agricultural hinterland and it is particularly noted for Limerick Ham. Luimneach originally referred to the area along the banks of the Shannon Estuary known as Loch Luimnigh. The earliest settlement in the city, Inis Sibhtonn, was the name for Kings Island during the pre-Viking and Viking eras. This island was also called Inis an Ghaill Duibh, The Dark- Foreigners Island, the name is recorded in Viking sources as Hlymrekr. Antiquitys map-maker, Ptolemy, produced in 150 the earliest map of Ireland, history also records an important battle involving Cormac mac Airt in 221 and a visit by St. Patrick in 434 to baptise an Eóganachta king, Carthann the Fair. Saint Munchin, the first bishop of Limerick died in 652, in 812 the Vikings sailed up the Shannon and pillaged the city, burned the monastery of Mungret but were forced to flee when the Irish attacked and killed many of their number. The Normans redesigned the city in the 12th century and added much of the most notable architecture, such as King Johns Castle, one of the kingdoms most notable kings was Brian Boru, ancestor of the OBrien Clan of Dalcassians. The word Thomond is synonymous with the region and is retained in place such as Thomondgate
3.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
4.
English Civil War
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The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists over, principally, the manner of Englands government. The war ended with the Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, the monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England ended with the victors consolidating the established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. The term English Civil War appears most often in the singular form, the war in all these countries are known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Unlike other civil wars in England, which focused on who should rule, this war was more concerned with the manner in which the kingdoms of England, Scotland, the two sides had their geographical strongholds, such that minority elements were silenced or fled. The strongholds of the royalty included the countryside, the shires, on the other hand, all the cathedral cities sided with Parliament. All the industrial centers, the ports, and the advanced regions of southern and eastern England typically were parliamentary strongholds. Lacey Baldwin Smith says, the words populist, rich, at times there would be two groups of three lines allowing one group to reload while the other group arranged themselves and fired. Mixed in among the musketeers were pikemen carrying pikes that were between 12 feet and 18 feet long, whose purpose was to protect the musketeers from cavalry charges. The Royalist cavaliers skill and speed on horseback led to early victories. While the Parliamentarian cavalry were slower than the cavaliers, they were better disciplined. The Royalists had a tendency to chase down individual targets after the initial charge leaving their forces scattered and tired, Cromwells cavalry, on the other hand, trained to operate as a single unit, which led to many decisive victories. The English Civil War broke out fewer than forty years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, in spite of this, James personal extravagance meant he was perennially short of money and had to resort to extra-Parliamentary sources of income. Charles hoped to unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland into a new single kingdom, many English Parliamentarians had suspicions regarding such a move because they feared that setting up a new kingdom might destroy the old English traditions which had bound the English monarchy. As Charles shared his fathers position on the power of the crown, at the time, the Parliament of England did not have a large permanent role in the English system of government. Instead, Parliament functioned as an advisory committee and was summoned only if. Once summoned, a continued existence was at the kings pleasure. Yet in spite of this role, Parliament had, over the preceding centuries. Without question, for a monarch, Parliaments most indispensable power was its ability to tax revenues far in excess of all other sources of revenue at the Crowns disposal
5.
Oliver Cromwell
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Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader and later Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Cromwell was born into the gentry, albeit to a family descended from the sister of King Henry VIIIs minister Thomas Cromwell. Little is known of the first 40 years of his life as only four of his letters survive alongside a summary of a speech he delivered in 1628. He became an Independent Puritan after undergoing a conversion in the 1630s. He was a religious man, a self-styled Puritan Moses. He was elected Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in 1628 and for Cambridge in the Short and he entered the English Civil War on the side of the Roundheads or Parliamentarians. Cromwell was one of the signatories of King Charles Is death warrant in 1649 and he was selected to take command of the English campaign in Ireland in 1649–1650. Cromwells forces defeated the Confederate and Royalist coalition in Ireland and occupied the country, during this period, a series of Penal Laws were passed against Roman Catholics, and a substantial amount of their land was confiscated. Cromwell also led a campaign against the Scottish army between 1650 and 1651, as a ruler, he executed an aggressive and effective foreign policy. He died from natural causes in 1658 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, the Royalists returned to power in 1660, and they had his corpse dug up, hung in chains, and beheaded. In a 2002 BBC poll in Britain, Cromwell, sponsored by military historian Richard Holmes was selected as one of the ten greatest Britons of all time. However, his measures against Catholics in Scotland and Ireland have been characterised as genocidal or near-genocidal, Cromwell was born in Huntingdon on 25 April 1599 to Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Steward. Katherine married Morgan ap William, son of William ap Yevan of Wales, Henry suggested to Sir Richard Williams, who was the first to use a surname in his family, that he use Cromwell, in honour of his uncle Thomas Cromwell. They had ten children, but Oliver, the child, was the only boy to survive infancy. Jasper was the uncle of Henry VII and great uncle of Henry VIII, Cromwells paternal grandfather Sir Henry Williams was one of the two wealthiest landowners in Huntingdonshire. Cromwells father Robert was of modest means but still a part of the gentry class, as a younger son with many siblings, Robert inherited only a house at Huntingdon and a small amount of land. This land would have generated an income of up to £300 a year, near the bottom of the range of gentry incomes, Cromwell himself in 1654 said, I was by birth a gentleman, living neither in considerable height, nor yet in obscurity. He was baptised on 29 April 1599 at St Johns Church and he went on to study at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, then a recently founded college with a strong Puritan ethos
6.
St Mary's Church, Attenborough
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St. Marys Church, Attenborough is a parish church in the Church of England in the village of Attenborough, Nottinghamshire. The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Culture and it is set within a conventional churchyard that is walled and gated on Church Lane. A chapel is said to have existed on the banks of the River Trent at Attenburgh in 964 AD and was overbuilt with the chancel of the present day church. The chancel was thought to exist as early as 1042 and is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it is referred to as being shared by Chilwell, the boundary division of these two civil parishes divided the churchyard for many years. The spire was rebuilt in 1848 and reaches a height of 130 feet, the church was restored in 1869 by the architect Richard Charles Sutton. The west end gallery was removed, and the arch was opened up. Until the 20th century, Attenborough was the parish responsible for the souls of the Chilwell. Bramcote was also adjoined with Attenborough, the parish being known as Attenborough cum Bramcote, in 1903 a separate mission church, Christ Church, had been built at Chilwell, and in 1923, a daughter church, St Peters, was built at Toton. In 1957, a mission church was built at the extremity of the rapidly developing area of Chilwell and was known as St. Barnabas Church. Eventually, in 1967 Bramcote became a parish and Rev James Hamilton-Brown became its first vicar. Then in 1975 Chilwell was recognised as a parish in its own right, the first vicar of this newly formed parish was the Rev John Williams. At the same time in 1975 Attenborough became Attenborough with Toton and merited its own vicar, a small amount of the old parish, which was situated South of the River Trent, was at this time transferred to Clifton. This arrangement continued until once more, due to growth, it was necessary to divide Attenborough. This division took effect from 1 May 2001 and Rev Peter Gibbs was to be re-licensed as vicar of Toton, Henry Ireton, the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell, was baptised here in 1611. There are eight bells in the tower, the oldest dates from 1370 where details of these are displayed in the tower. An organ was provided by Mr. Groves of London, and was restored in 1869 by Lloyd, the current organ was installed in 1928 by Brindley & Foster. Later centuries are represented by various arms and plaques. The most colourful of these is a wooden memorial bearing the arms of the Powtrell family, dated 1623 and depicted in red, white
7.
Trinity College, Oxford
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Trinity College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas Pope, on land occupied by Durham College. Despite its large size, the college is small in terms of student numbers at approximately 400. As of July 2013, Trinity had an endowment of £104.2 million. Trinity has produced three British prime ministers, placing it joint-second with Balliol College in terms of students who have held the office. The site where Trinity College now stands was occupied by Durham College. This college had been founded after land was bought in 1291, Durham College was built around a single quadrangle, now known as the Durham Quadrangle. The site was surrendered to the crown in March 1545, being granted to private owners in 1553 and they were then acquired by civil servant Thomas Pope on 20 February 1555, who used them to found Trinity College 16 days later. Durham College was originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St Cuthbert, and the Trinity, Pope was a Catholic who had no surviving children, and he hoped that by founding a college he would be remembered in the prayers of its students. His remains are still encased beside the chapel altar, the original foundation provided for a president,12 fellows, and 12 scholars, and for up to 20 undergraduates. The fellows were required to take Holy Orders and to remain unmarried, the College remained a largely all-male institution until 1979, when it admitted its first women undergraduates. It is now fully co-educational and co-residential, Trinity was one of the locations used for filming of the original miniseries Brideshead Revisited, its grounds were also, in part, the basis for Fleet College in Charles Finchs The Last Enchantments. Sir Ivor Roberts, formerly HM Ambassador to Italy, succeeded The Hon. Michael Beloff QC as President on 26 September 2006. Peter Brown, Tutor in Classics, assumed the position of Pro-President during the interregnum, for many years, there has been a traditional and fierce rivalry shown between the students of Trinity and those of its immediate neighbour to the west, Balliol College. It has manifested itself on the field and the river, in the form of songs sung over the dividing walls. In college folklore, the rivalry back to the late 17th century. The traditional words run, Gordouli Face like a ham, Bobby Johnson says so And he should know, although these words are now rarely heard, the singing of songs over the wall is still known as a Gordouli. The traditional Gordouli is said to have been sung by Balliol, the rivalry was given an extra edge in the early 20th century by the contrast between the radical tendencies of many Balliol students and Trinitys traditional conservatism and social exclusivity
8.
Middle Temple
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It is located in the wider Temple area of London, near the Royal Courts of Justice, and within the City of London. In the 13th century, the Inns of Court originated as hostels and schools for student lawyers, the Middle Temple is the western part of The Temple, the headquarters of the Knights Templar until they were dissolved in 1312. The Temple Church still stands as a church of the Inner. Most of the Inn is occupied by offices, known as chambers. One of the Middle Temples main functions now is to provide education, Middle Temple Hall is at the heart of the Inn, and the Inns student members are required to attend a minimum of 12 qualifying sessions there. Qualifying sessions, formerly known as dinners, combine collegiate and educational elements and will combine an dinner or reception with lectures, debates, mooting. Middle Temple Hall is also a venue for banqueting, weddings, receptions. In recent years, it has become a much-used film location—the cobbled streets, historic buildings, william Shakespeares Twelfth Night received its first recorded performance here, at the feast Candlemas in 1602. Middle Temple Library possesses Emery Molyneuxs terrestrial and celestial globes, which are of particular historical cartographical value, Middle Temple is also one of the few remaining liberties, an old name for a geographic division. It is an independent extra-parochial area, historically not governed by the City of London Corporation, the Middle Temples functions as a local council are set out in the Temples Order 1971. It geographically falls within the boundaries and liberties of the City, some of the Inns buildings lie just outside the liberty of the Middle Temple and the Citys boundary, and are actually situated in the City of Westminster. Quadrant House was acquired by the Middle Temple in 1999 and after five years of conversion is now a barristers chambers and this lies outside the liberty but is within the City of London. List of members of Middle Temple Outer Temple Pump Court Middle Temple website
9.
Battle of Gainsborough
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The Battle of Gainsborough was a battle in the English Civil War, fought on 28 July 1643. When the English Civil War was declared, Gainsborough in Lincolnshire lay in an area which supported Parliament, the town was of strategic importance to both sides, sited as it was on a crossing of the River Trent, lying on important roads leading south and north. In March 1643 Sir John Henderson sent a party from the Royalist base at Newark to capture Gainsborough for the King. The town was surrounded and quickly surrendered without any resistance, the town was put into the charge of the Earl of Kingston and was used as a base to harass the Parliamentarians in Lincolnshire. Royalist attacks at Louth and Market Rasen, together with the capture of gunpowder intended for Rotherham, lord Willoughby of Parham launched a surprise night attack on Gainsborough on 16 July 1643 and captured it. The Earl of Kingston was later killed by a cannonball from his own men as he was being taken as prisoner down the river to Hull, the Royalists immediately sent Charles Cavendish with a force to retake Gainsborough. Parliament sent forces from Nottingham under Sir John Meldrum and Colonel Oliver Cromwell from Cambridgeshire to relieve, the two forces met on 27 July at North Scarle, ten miles south of Gainsborough, where they were joined by a detachment from Lincoln. The next day,28 July 1643, the 1200 strong force marched north, at the village of Lea, just south of Gainsborough, they met an advanced guard of 100 horse, part of Cavendishs army. After a short skirmish the horsemen were driven back to Cavendishs main body which was drawn up on top of Foxby Hill to the east of the town, the Royalists consisted of three regiments of Horse with a further regiment in reserve, and held the tactical advantage. The Lincoln troops were ordered to advance up the steep and sandy gradient, as the Lincolners were forming up, Cavendish attacked. Cromwell, seeing this, charged with his own regiment to meet Cavendish. After some fierce mounted fighting, the Royalists gradually began to fall back, with the attacking Parliamentary cavalry gone, Cavendish took advantage by counter-attacking the remaining Lincoln troops with his reserve. However, Cromwell was still on the field with a reserve of three cavalry troops and he charged into Cavendishs rear, forcing the Royalists down off the hill and into the flat marshy land of the Trent, where 300 Royalists were slaughtered. Cavendish was knocked off his horse and killed by a sword thrust in the chest, the place where he was killed was later known as Cavendish Bog. With the battle over, Cromwell rode into Gainsborough with supplies for Willoughbys garrison, while this was being done, news arrived that a small Royalist force was marching on Gainsborough from the north. Cromwell and Meldrum, thinking this was a remnant of Cavendishs force not yet engaged, at Morton they drove off two troops of Horse. Willoughbys foot soldiers fell back in disorder, with his own men and horses exhausted by the recent battle, Cromwell ordered a withdrawal. In a disciplined rearguard action, two parties of Horse, one from Cromwells regiment and one from the Lincolners, stood firm, with the loss of only two men, they held back the Royalists until finally reaching the safety of Lincoln
10.
Cavalier
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It was later adopted by the Royalists themselves. Prince Rupert, commander of much of Charles Is cavalry, is considered to be an archetypal Cavalier. Cavalier derives from the same Latin root as the French word chevalier, Cavalier is chiefly associated with the Royalist supporters of King Charles I in his struggle with Parliament in the English Civil War. Charles, in the Answer to the Petition 13 June 1642 speaks of Cavaliers as a word by what mistake soever it seemes much in disfavour, Cavalier was not understood at the time as primarily a term describing a style of dress, but a whole political and social attitude. Most Parliamentarian generals wore their hair at much the length as their Royalist counterparts. The best patrons in the nobility of Charles Is court painter Sir Anthony van Dyck, probably the most famous image identified as of a cavalier, Frans Hals Laughing Cavalier, shows a gentleman from the strongly Calvinist Dutch town of Haarlem, and is dated 1624. These derogatory terms also showed what the typical Parliamentarian thought of the Royalist side – capricious men who cared more for vanity than the nation at large. Although they did not share the same outlook on how to worship God as the English Independents of the New Model Army, if I forget Thee, do not forget me. However, the word was coined by the Roundheads as a propaganda image of a licentious, hard drinking and frivolous man. It is this image which has survived and many Royalists, for example Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, fitted this description to a tee. Of all his qualifications dissimulation was his masterpiece, in which he so much excelled and this sense has developed into the modern English use of cavalier to describe a recklessly nonchalant attitude, although still with a suggestion of stylishness. Likewise during Exclusion Bill crisis the term Roundhead was replaced with Whig, an example of the Cavalier style can be seen in the painting Charles I, King of England, from Three Angles by Anthony van Dyck. The mascot of Cavalier has been commonly used in the sports world. Most prominently it has been that of the professional Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA since 1970 and it has also been adopted by smaller organizations such as Johnson County Community College, Kankakee Community College, St. Gregorys University, and the University of Virginias College at Wise. Cavaliers have been represented as a class and subclass of role-playing character since 1983 in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Cavalier Generals, King Charles I and His Commanders in the English Civil War, 1642–46. Going to the Wars, The Experience of the British Civil Wars 1638-1651, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Goring, George Goring, Lord. Clarendon, Edward Hyde, 1st earl of, the history of the rebellion and civil wars in England. The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution 1688, the Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639-1660
11.
Appleby (UK Parliament constituency)
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Appleby was a parliamentary constituency in the former county of Westmorland in England. It existed for two periods, from 1295 to 1832, and from 1885 to 1918. Appleby was enfranchised as parliamentary borough in 1295, and abolished by the Great Reform Act of 1832 and it returned two Members of Parliament using the bloc vote system. Its best-known MP was William Pitt the Younger who became Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24, for the 1885 general election the Redistribution of Seats Act created a county constituency of the same name, which returned a single MP elected by the first-past-the-post system. The county constituency was abolished at the 1918 general election, the right to vote rested with the occupiers of around a hundred burgage tenements. The seats were kept for members of those families, but Applebys other representatives included William Pitt the younger. After abolition the borough was absorbed into the Westmorland county constituency, the Appleby constituency created for the 1885 election was, in full, The Appleby or Northern Division of Westmorland, and was sometimes referred to as Westmorland North. It consisted of the whole of the half of the county, including the towns of Ambleside, Grasmere. It was abolished at the 1918 general election, the whole county henceforth being united in a single Westmorland constituency, figures are those following a recount General Election 1914/15, Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915
12.
House of Lords
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The House of Lords of the United Kingdom, referred to ceremonially as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords are appointed, the membership of the House of Lords is drawn from the peerage and is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England, of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they include some hereditary peers including four dukes. Very few of these are female since most hereditary peerages can only be inherited by men, while the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. There are currently 805 sitting Lords, the House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament to be larger than its respective lower house. The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons, while it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process, Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. Members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, the House of Lords has its own support services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library. The Queens Speech is delivered in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the House also has a Church of England role, in that Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual. This new parliament was, in effect, the continuation of the Parliament of England with the addition of 45 MPs and 16 Peers to represent Scotland, the Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium, the Great Council that advised the King during medieval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, the first English Parliament is often considered to be the Model Parliament, which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs of it. The power of Parliament grew slowly, fluctuating as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined, for example, during much of the reign of Edward II, the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1569, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, further developments occurred during the reign of Edward IIs successor, Edward III. It was during this Kings reign that Parliament clearly separated into two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the fifteenth century
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ireton, Henry". Encyclopædia Britannica. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 792.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 