Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← History
HistoryChurch, state and society: 1066 to 174530 min★★★ difficulty

The emergence and growth of Parliament

Parliament started as a meeting kings called when they needed money. Following how it became permanent explains where modern British political power actually sits.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand how the emergence and growth of Parliament shaped political power in Britain

Key learning points

  • • Medieval beginnings
  • • Becoming necessary
  • • Conflict and settlement
  • • Consequences and limits

This lesson at a glance

  • 30 minutes
  • 19 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

emergencegrowthparliamentshapedpolitical

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 19 · Discover5%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 19

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The emergence and growth of Parliament

An English teaching video on this topic from UK Parliament. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand how the emergence and growth of Parliament shaped political power in Britain

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 19

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know that medieval kings needed consent to raise taxes.

Recap: Theory and practice of monarchy, 1509-1745
3

Key words

Part 3 of 19

Key words

Words you'll need today

Statute
A law passed by Parliament.
Commons
The elected house of Parliament.
Franchise
The right to vote.
Sovereignty
Supreme legal authority.
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Learning cycle

Part 4 of 19

Learning cycle 1 of 2

From event to institution

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

5

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 19

Learn

Medieval beginnings

Kings summoned councils of nobles and clergy for advice and money. From the thirteenth century representatives of counties and towns were included, creating the beginnings of a Commons. Parliament met when the monarch chose, and its power came from one fact: the Crown could not raise enough money without it.

6

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 19

Learn

Becoming necessary

Under the Tudors, Parliament passed the statutes that carried out the Reformation, making it central to the biggest changes in the realm. The habit of legislating by statute meant that major policy needed parliamentary form. What began as an occasional service to the Crown became an expected part of legitimate government.

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Quick check

Part 7 of 19

Quick check

Parliament's earliest source of leverage was...

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Quick check

Part 8 of 19

Quick check

The Reformation raised Parliament's status because it was enacted by...

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Reset break

Part 9 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
10

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 19

Learning cycle 2 of 2

From institution to sovereign power

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

11

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 19

Learn

Conflict and settlement

Seventeenth-century arguments over taxation, religion and the army escalated into civil war and, after 1688, a settlement in law. The Bill of Rights removed the monarch's power to suspend laws or tax alone, and the requirement for regular funding made frequent sessions unavoidable rather than optional.

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 19

Learn

Consequences and limits

By the eighteenth century ministers needed parliamentary support to govern, and the idea of parliamentary sovereignty took hold. But the franchise remained tiny and unequal, with constituencies that had almost no voters. Understanding both the achievement and the exclusion is essential to judging the period fairly.

13

Quick check

Part 13 of 19

Quick check

The Bill of Rights removed the monarch's power to...

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Quick check

Part 14 of 19

Quick check

In the eighteenth century the franchise was...

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Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 19

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • People often think Parliament was always powerful. Its power grew over centuries, mainly through control of money.
  • People often assume growing parliamentary power meant democracy. Very few people could vote before the nineteenth century.
16

Challenge round

Part 16 of 19

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

17

Challenge round

Part 17 of 19

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

____ met when the monarch chose, and its power came from one fact: the Crown could not raise enough money without it.

18

Mastery quiz

Part 18 of 19

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: The emergence and growth of Parliament

6 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. The Commons originally represented...

  2. 2. A statute is...

  3. 3. Parliamentary sovereignty means Parliament holds...

  4. 4. Frequent sessions after 1688 resulted from...

  5. 5. Ministers in the eighteenth century needed...

  6. 6. A fair judgement of Parliament's growth notes both power and...

19

Lesson round-up

Part 19 of 19

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

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Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

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Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Source

A factory inspector's notebook, 1842

"I visited the mill at seven in the morning. The machines were already running. I counted fourteen children at the frames, the youngest no more than nine years of age. The overseer told me they work from six until seven, with forty minutes for dinner."

"The air is thick with cotton dust and the windows are kept shut so the thread does not break. Two of the children showed me hands cut by the shuttles. The owner assured me that the work is light and that the families beg him for the places, since without the children's wages the rent cannot be paid."

"I have written to the magistrates. I doubt much will follow from it."

Original source-style text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Who wrote this, when, and why might that make it useful to a historian?
  2. What does the source tell you about children's work — and what does it not tell you?
  3. How far does this source show that mill owners were to blame? Answer with a judgement and evidence.

  • Source work

    Reading

    Read the source closely. Write who made it, when, and what it tells you — then what it does not tell you.

    2 paragraphs

  • Essay answer

    Writing

    Answer the enquiry question with a clear judgement. Use two pieces of evidence and finish with a sentence that weighs them up.

    300–400 words

  • Timeline

    Diagram

    Draw a timeline of the events in this lesson with dates, then photograph it.

    6–8 events

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Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover

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