CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <title>Parliaments | History of Parliament Online</title> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/files/hop2_favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />  <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/book/book.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/node/node.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/system/defaults.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/system/system.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/system/system-menus.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/user/user.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/cck3/theme/content-module.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/ctools/css/ctools.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/date/date.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/date/date_popup/themes/datepicker.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/date/date_popup/themes/jquery.timeentry.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/filefield/filefield.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/footnotes/footnotes.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/hovertip/hovertip.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/lightbox2/css/lightbox.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/views_slideshow/contrib/views_slideshow_singleframe/views_slideshow.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/modules/contrib/cck3/modules/fieldgroup/fieldgroup.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/themes/custom/hop2/css/style.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/themes/custom/hop2/css/blocks.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/themes/custom/hop2/css/header.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/themes/custom/hop2/css/slideshow.css?W" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/themes/custom/hop2/css/uniform.aristo.css?W" />   <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/jquery_update/replace/jquery.min.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/misc/jquery-extend-3.4.0.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/misc/jquery-html-prefilter-3.5.0-backport.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/misc/drupal.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/hovertip/hovertip.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/jquery_aop/misc/jquery.aop.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/lightbox2/js/lightbox_modal.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/lightbox2/js/lightbox.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/views_slideshow/js/jquery.cycle.all.min.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/views_slideshow/contrib/views_slideshow_singleframe/views_slideshow.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/google_analytics/googleanalytics.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/boost/boost.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/themes/custom/hop2/js/jquery.uniform.min.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/themes/custom/hop2/js/init.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/themes/custom/hop2/js/remove_has_js.js?W"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[//><!]]> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[//><!]]> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[//><!]]> </script>  </head> <body class="not-front not-logged-in page-node node-type-landing-page no-sidebars page-research-parliaments section-research"><div id="wrapper"> <div id="header"> <div id="meta"> </div> <div id="header-bar"> <h1 id="site-name"><a href="/" title="Home" rel="home">History of Parliament Online</a></h1> <form action="/research/parliaments" accept-charset="UTF-8" method="post" id="search-theme-form"> <div><div class="form-item" id="edit-search-theme-form-1-wrapper"> <label for="edit-search-theme-form-1">Search </label> <input type="text" maxlength="128" name="search_theme_form" id="edit-search-theme-form-1" size="15" value="" title="Enter the terms you wish to search for." class="form-text" /> </div> <input type="submit" name="op" id="edit-submit" value="Search" class="form-submit" /> <input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" id="form-bMi83WcNIDUNYtI-cmHlItk30nytO_g2YPSBKvJMoGM" value="form-bMi83WcNIDUNYtI-cmHlItk30nytO_g2YPSBKvJMoGM" /> <input type="hidden" name="form_id" id="edit-search-theme-form" value="search_theme_form" /> </div></form> </div> <div id="navigation"> <div id="block-menu-menu-main-menu" class="block "> <div class="content"> <ul class="menu"><li class="leaf first active-trail"><a href="/research" title="Research" class=" active active-trail">Research</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/explore" title="Explore">Explore</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/discover-by-gallery" title="Discover by gallery">Gallery</a></li> <li class="leaf"><a href="/schools" title="Schools">Schools</a></li> <li class="leaf last"><a href="/about" title="About the history of Parliament">About</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="sub-navigation"> <div id="block-menu_block-1" class="block "> <div class="section-title"> <h2 class="title">Research</h2> </div> <div class="content"> <div class="menu-block-1 menu-name-primary-links parent-mlid-63 menu-level-1"> <ul class="menu"><li class="leaf first menu-mlid-65"><a href="/research/members" title="list of MP's">Members</a></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-64"><a href="/research/constituencies" title="List of Constituencies">Constituencies</a></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-66 active active-trail"><a href="/research/parliaments" title="List of Parliaments and their Sessions" class="active-trail active active-trail active">Parliaments</a></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-107"><a href="/research/surveys" title="Surveys">Surveys</a></li> </div> </div> <div id="block-menu_block-12" class="block "> <div class="content"> <ul class="menu"> <li class="leaf first menu-mlid-65"> <a href="/research/oral-history" title="Oral History">Oral History</a></li> </ul></div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div id="main"> <div id="main-content"><div class="breadcrumb"><a href="/" class="breadcrumb_first">Home</a> <a href="/research">Research</a> > Parliaments</div>  <div id="node-top"> <div id="block-hop-1" class="block "> <h2 class="title">Go To Section</h2> <div class="content"> <ul class="top"> <li class="ss-one"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1386-1421">1386-1421</a></li> <li class="ss-two"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1422-1504">1422-1504</a></li> <li class="ss-three"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1509-1558">1509-1558</a></li> <li class="ss-four"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1558-1603">1558-1603</a></li> <li class="ss-five"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1604-1629">1604-1629</a></li> <li class="ss-six"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1640-1660">1640-1660</a></li> </ul> <ul class="bottom"> <li class="ss-one"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1660-1690">1660-1690</a></li> <li class="ss-two"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1690-1715">1690-1715</a></li> <li class="ss-three"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1715-1754">1715-1754</a></li> <li class="ss-four"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1754-1790">1754-1790</a></li> <li class="ss-five"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1790-1820">1790-1820</a></li> <li class="ss-six"><a href="/research/parliaments/parliaments-1820-1832">1820-1832</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>  <div id="node-41094" class="node node-right"> <div class="content content-landing-page clear-block"> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-landing-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <img class="imagefield imagefield-field_landing_image" width="900" height="120" alt="" src="http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/files/parliaments_landing.jpg?1474904168" /> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-icon"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> icon </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-landing-titles"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <p> </p><h2 class="title">Parliaments</h2> <h3 class="title">About the History of Parliament's 'Parliaments' articles</h3><p> </p> </div> </div> </div> <p>This section of the website is currently in progress. In time, it is planned to provide articles on each Parliament from the thirteenth century to the present day.</p><p>Most of these articles are being specially written for the website, and are intended to provide a brief introduction to the events and legislation of each Parliament to complement the History's articles on constituencies and Members.</p><p>Each will contain information on the key political, parliamentary and legislative episodes that took place during the period of a particular Parliament. Until 1690 Parliament was a meeting of the chief nobility and representatives of each county and selected towns that occurred irregularly and for comparatively short periods. After 1690 Parliament has met every year, usually for several months at a time, so becoming a permanent institution.</p><p>From at least 1690 each Parliament met for the first time following a general election and was only usually dissolved after several years. From 1694 the maximum length of a Parliament was set at 3 years by the Triennial Act. In 1716 this was changed to 7 years by the Septennial Act. The present maximum of five years was introduced in 1911 under the Parliament Act.</p><p>Since the sixteenth century long-lasting Parliaments have been divided into separate periods of sitting called sessions. Since 1690 this has become a routine practice, with sessions usually a year long, although the occurrence of a general election may make them shorter or longer.</p> </div> <div id="content-right"> <div id="block-block-33" class="block "> <div class="content"> <br> <br> <table width="900" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td style="background-color:#13A8C9;color:white; vertical-align:middle;white-space:nowrap; width: 0px; " height="140"><a href="/about/publications"><img src="http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/sites/all/themes/custom/hop2/images/backgrounds/buy-our-pubs-footer-block.jpg" alt="Our Publications" width="300" height="100"></a></td> </tr> </table> <br> <h2>Related Resources</h2> <br> <a href="http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/research/members">Members </a> <br /> <a href="http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/research/constituencies">Constituencies </a> <br /> <a href="http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/research/surveys">Surveys </a> <br /> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="content-bottom"> <div id="block-views-featured_members-block_5" class="block "> <h2 class="title"><div><div><span class="feat-head">Featured Parliaments</span></div></div></h2> <div class="content"> <div class="view view-featured-members view-id-featured_members view-display-id-block_5 view-dom-id-1"> <div class="view-content"> <table class="views-view-grid col-3"> <tbody> <tr class="row-1 row-first row-last"> <td class="col-1 col-first"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/volume/1422-1504/parliament/1426"><h3>1426</h3></a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-phpcode"> <span class="field-content">Parliament met in an atmosphere of great tension and serious danger of open violence. Even though the lords’ retainers were told not to carry weapons (‘every man was warnyd and i cryde throughe the towne that they shulde leve hyr wepyn yn hyr ynnys that ys to saye hyr swerdys and bokelers,...</span> </div> <span class="views-field-view-node"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/volume/1422-1504/parliament/1426">Read more</a></span> </span> </td> <td class="col-2"> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/volume/1640-1660/parliament/1656"><h3>1656</h3></a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-phpcode"> <span class="field-content">Of the three parliaments of the Cromwellian Protectorate, the second is arguably the most dramatic. This parliament was dominated by the need to provide money for the state to maintain a large army and navy to fight an expensive war against Spain; and the need to legitimise a government founded...</span> </div> <span class="views-field-view-node"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/volume/1640-1660/parliament/1656">Read more</a></span> </span> </td> <td class="col-3 col-last"> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>  </div> </div> <div id="footer-gradient"> </div> <div id="footer"><div id="copyright"> © Crown copyright and The History of Parliament Trust 1964-2020 </div> <div id="footer-links"> <ul> <li><a href="/about/terms-and-conditions" title="Terms & Conditions">Terms & Conditions</a></li> <li><a href="/help/privacy-and-cookies">Privacy & Cookies</a></li> <li><a href="/about/faqs">FAQs</a></li> <li><a href="/commonly-used-abbreviations" title="Abbreviations">Abbreviations</a></li> <li><a href="mailto:website@histparl.ac.uk">Contact Us</a></li> </ul> </div></div> <div id="ihr-logo"><a href="http://www.history.ac.uk" target="_blank"><img src="/files/IHR-maintained-logo.png" alt="IHR Logo" /></a></div> </div> </body> </html>