History of the House of Lords

THE H O U S E of L O R D S - a brief guide - continued

Some Important Dates in the History of the House of Lords

14th Century – The Lords begin to sit in a separate House from the Commons. Members of the House of Lords are drawn from the Church (Lords Spiritual) and from magnates chosen by the Monarch (Lords Temporal), while Commons members represent the shires and boroughs.
15th Century – Lords Temporal become known as “peers”, meaning equal, but with five ranks within the peerage – Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron.

18th Century – Acts of Union with Scotland (1707) and Ireland (1800) entitle Scottish and Irish peers to elect representatives to sit in the Lords.

1834 – The Palace of Westminster, including the House of Lords is destroyed by fire. Rebuilding of the new Palace, designed by Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin begins in 1840.
1847 – The House of Lords first sits in its new Chamber.
1876 The Appellate Jurisdiction Act – Creates Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (Law Lords) to carry out the judicial work of the House as the final Court of Appeal.
1911 and 1949 Parliament Acts – Allow some bills to become Acts without the consent of the Lords and limit the power to delay other bills to one year.
1958 Life Peerages Act – Creates baronies “for life” for men and women; women sit in the House for the first time.
1963 Peerage Act – Allows hereditary peers to disclaim their peerages, and hereditary peeresses and all Scottish peers to sit in the House.



© Parliamentary copyright 1998	Prepared 2 November 1998