Life in a Revolutionary Decade in Britain (1649-1660)
Gresham College Lectures
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The Great War, Part I
After the parliamentarians won the war, and it looked likely a deal would be done with the king that would see him reinstated on restricted terms, the army intervened. The House of Commons was suddenly and unexpectedly purged by army officers in December 1648. 186 moderate MPs were physically prevented from entering the chamber. A further 86 members left in protest at this, leaving behind what would come to be known as the Rump Parliament. This group voted to put the king on trial, and on the 30th of January 1649, he was beheaded before a transfixed crowd near where Whitehall is today. For the following 11 years, England would remain a republic on a series of changing constitutional
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