- All Timelines
- Britain - Changing Lives
- c.1066 |Medieval Manor
- c.1180 |Medieval Minds
- c.1250 |Medieval Towns
- c.1320 |Monastic Life
- c.1348 |The Black Death
- c.1420 |Yeoman England
- c.1520 |The Reformation
- c.1588 |Shakespeare's World
- c.1612 |Pendle Witches
- c.1775 |Iron and Industry
- c.1785 |Factories and Machines
- c.1810 |Urban Slums
- c.1834 |Tolpuddle Martyrs
- c.1853 |The Vision of Titus Salt
- c.1875 |Cities Transformed
- c.1910 |A Golden Age?
- c.1984 |Death of Industry
- Britain - Rulers & Ruled
- c.1066 |Norman Conquest
- c.1170 |Church & Crown
- c.1215 |Magna Carta
- c.1280 |First Parliaments
- c.1381 |Peasants Revolt
- c.1470 |The Pastons
- c.1528 |Henry VIII & Church
- c.1649 |Civil War
- c.1658 |The Wheel of History
- c.1688 |"Glorious" Revolution
- c.1789 |Rights of Man
- c.1819 |Peterloo Massacre
- c.1842 |The Chartists
- c.1867 |Dawn of Democracy
- c.1893 |Rise of Labour
- c.1903 |Votes for Women
- c.1919 |Century of Change
- Britain - Nations & Empire
- Smallpox Through Time
- c.1045BC |Face of a Pharaoh
- c.1562 |Arsenic and Old Lace
- c.1617 |Smallpox in America
- c.1711 |Child Pox
- c.1721 |Experiment in Newgate
- c.1758 |The Speckled Monster
- c.1796 |Jenner's Breakthrough
- c.1800 |The Vaccine Triumphant
- c.1806 |Ox-faced Boys
- c.1853 |Public Health & Protest
- c.1896 |Epidemic on Camera
- c.1967 |Global Action
- c.2010 |Smallpox Today
- The American West
- Britain - Changing Lives
- This Module
- The module explains the origins of the House of Commons in the 13th century, when Kings invited "commoners" to play their part in the political process in exchange for tax revenues. The module tells the story of one such commoner, Laurence of Ludlow, a wool merchant, who attended Edward I's Parliament of 1290.
- Credits
History of Britain - Rulers & Ruled
- 4.First Parliaments
-
1280
When, and why, did Commoners first play a part in the political process? (5.5 mins)
Chapter Breakdown
- 1. When did ordinary people - 'commoners' - first sit in Parliament?
- 2. Kings needed commoners on side, because their taxes paid for his wars.
- 3. Who were these 'commoners'? ... The story of Laurence of Ludlow, a country squire in the reign of Edward I.
- 4. How Edward 1 used Parliament to pay for his Conquest of Wales.
Picture Viewer
Location details
The opening sequence was shot in Parliament Square. Most of the Palace of Westminster was rebuilt after the fire of 1834; only Westminster Hall (behind the statue to Oliver Cromwell) is original. It was built by William II (who apparently complained on its completion that it was disappointingly small).
The rest of the module was shot at Stokesay Castle in Shropshire, one of my favourite places in England.
We visit Stokesay again in the resource, exploring life on the manor in the days of the Domesday Book - see 'The Medieval Manor'. It's well worth a visit - a real gem.
DVD
DVD Coming Soon!
We hope to release a new DVD pack containing all the video modules for the British timelines including 'Changing Lives', 'Rulers & Ruled', and 'Empire & Nations'.
