Ruth Paley
Biographic Data
| ID | 4977093 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ruth Paley |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ruth |
| FAMILY NAME | Paley |
| SIGNATURE | PALEY R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Parliament of United Kingdom |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1174-1897 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1993 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Andrea Isobel Tanner (1956–2024)
Notes and Documents
The story of the widowed Elizabeth, duchess of Albemarle, is well known. Allegedly driven mad by her own arrogance, she was supposedly wooed by the earl of Montagu disguised as the emperor of China. The following document throws new light on this bizarre tale
The ‘insanity’ of Lady Durham
This essay draws on evidence in a late nineteenth-century court case and surviving medical notes to provide a case study of a hitherto unidentified case of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The case is particularly interesting in that it not only appears to be the first identification of historical ASD in a female, but also because the patient subsequently developed symptoms of psychosis suggestive of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The unusua…
Peers, Politics and the Price of Pepper
The case of Thomas Skinner v. the East India Company brought parliament to a standstill in 1668 in a confrontation between the Houses over their respective privileges that lasted nearly two years. There is no doubt that the case was exploited for political advantage by presbyterians anxious to block the passage of a new conventicles act, but that is far from being the whole story. This article examines for the first time the details of the case a…
The Oxford Edition of Blackstone: Commentaries on the Laws of England, Vol. 4: Of Public Wrongs
A Matter of Judgment
T homas W atson's controversial expulsion from the bishopric of S t D avid's – and hence from the house of lords – after a long and bitterly‐fought series of legal actions, raised fundamental and difficult questions about the right to control membership of the house of lords and about the relationship between politics and the law, as well as between church and state. This article explores both the local and the national political contexts that pr…
The Dying Embers of an Outdated Privilege
The year 1935 was an ominous year for E uropean peace. H itler's G ermany began to rearm; M ussolini's I taly provoked a major diplomatic crisis by invading A byssinia. Against this background it seemed extraordinary that E dward R ussell, 26th B aron de C lifford, had to be tried for manslaughter by his peers in the house of lords. Such trials of peers had once been perceived as powerful theatrical examples of the place of the aristocracy in B r…
The Speakership of the House of Lords, 1660–1832
The speakership of the house of lords was a lucrative and prestigious post, held by individuals who either as lord chancellor or lord keeper carried out a range of high‐profile and demanding judicial duties. There seems to be a contradiction between this and the time‐consuming but largely empty ceremonial duties appropriate to this role in the conduct of business in the theoretically self‐regulating house of lords. This article suggests that the …
Parliament and Slavery, 1660–c.1710
The discovery of the texts of several abortive bills that would enable the regulation of the status of slaves by Parliament at Westminster provides an opportunity for a preliminary exploration of a hitherto unknown discourse about slavery in late seventeenth-and early eighteenth-century England. The proposed legislation focused on the spiritual welfare of slaves and the associated need to eradicate the traditional belief that baptism conferred ma…
Politicians, Parishes and Police
The public outcry heard in the wake of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of December 1811 was muted by May 1812 when the 1812 Night Watch Bill died in the house of commons. Responding to the moral panic following the murder of two East End families, the home office gathered considerable information and input from the professional police magistrates and local authorities before proposing the reform of parochial night watch in much of metropolitan Lond…
Imperial Politics and English Law
One might have thought that after nearly 250 years there would be nothing left to discuss about what Lord Mansfield did or did not intend to say when he delivered his ruling in Steuart v. Somerset . Yet, as Van Cleve's essay shows us, Mansfield's words continue to provide fertile ground for scholarly investigation. Sadly, this is almost certainly because Somerset continues to resonate in contemporary American society for reasons that are as much …
After Somerset
The Somerset case In June 1772 Lord Mansfield freed a single slave and made legal history. From that day onwards there was no slavery in England. Or was there? Just what Lord Mansfield achieved that day remains a matter for speculation and controversy. This chapter seeks to re-examine the immediate aftermath of Somerset in the light of fresh evidence, in order to determine just what effect it had upon the legal status of slaves in England until s…
Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney
Journal Article Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney: The Justicing Notebook of Henry Norris and the Hackney Petty Sessions Book Get access Paley Ruth ed. Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney: The Justicing Notebook of Henry Norris and the Hackney Petty Sessions Book, London: London Record Society, 1991. xxxiii, 253 pp. £20.00 non-members. Randall McGowen Randall McGowen University of Oregon Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Acad…
Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney
Journal Article Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney: The Justicing Notebook of Henry Norris and the Hackney Petty Sessions Book Get access Paley Ruth ed. Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney: The Justicing Notebook of Henry Norris and the Hackney Petty Sessions Book, London: London Record Society, 1991. xxxiii, 253 pp. £20.00 non-members. Randall McGowen Randall McGowen University of Oregon Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Acad…
Imperial Politics and English Law
One might have thought that after nearly 250 years there would be nothing left to discuss about what Lord Mansfield did or did not intend to say when he delivered his ruling in Steuart v. Somerset . Yet, as Van Cleve's essay shows us, Mansfield's words continue to provide fertile ground for scholarly investigation. Sadly, this is almost certainly because Somerset continues to resonate in contemporary American society for reasons that are as much …
Parliament and Slavery, 1660–c.1710
The discovery of the texts of several abortive bills that would enable the regulation of the status of slaves by Parliament at Westminster provides an opportunity for a preliminary exploration of a hitherto unknown discourse about slavery in late seventeenth-and early eighteenth-century England. The proposed legislation focused on the spiritual welfare of slaves and the associated need to eradicate the traditional belief that baptism conferred ma…
Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney
Journal Article Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney: The Justicing Notebook of Henry Norris and the Hackney Petty Sessions Book Get access Paley Ruth ed. Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney: The Justicing Notebook of Henry Norris and the Hackney Petty Sessions Book, London: London Record Society, 1991. xxxiii, 253 pp. £20.00 non-members. Randall McGowen Randall McGowen University of Oregon Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Acad…
After Somerset
The Somerset case In June 1772 Lord Mansfield freed a single slave and made legal history. From that day onwards there was no slavery in England. Or was there? Just what Lord Mansfield achieved that day remains a matter for speculation and controversy. This chapter seeks to re-examine the immediate aftermath of Somerset in the light of fresh evidence, in order to determine just what effect it had upon the legal status of slaves in England until s…
Imperial Politics and English Law
One might have thought that after nearly 250 years there would be nothing left to discuss about what Lord Mansfield did or did not intend to say when he delivered his ruling in Steuart v. Somerset . Yet, as Van Cleve's essay shows us, Mansfield's words continue to provide fertile ground for scholarly investigation. Sadly, this is almost certainly because Somerset continues to resonate in contemporary American society for reasons that are as much …
Politicians, Parishes and Police
The public outcry heard in the wake of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of December 1811 was muted by May 1812 when the 1812 Night Watch Bill died in the house of commons. Responding to the moral panic following the murder of two East End families, the home office gathered considerable information and input from the professional police magistrates and local authorities before proposing the reform of parochial night watch in much of metropolitan Lond…
The Speakership of the House of Lords, 1660–1832
The speakership of the house of lords was a lucrative and prestigious post, held by individuals who either as lord chancellor or lord keeper carried out a range of high‐profile and demanding judicial duties. There seems to be a contradiction between this and the time‐consuming but largely empty ceremonial duties appropriate to this role in the conduct of business in the theoretically self‐regulating house of lords. This article suggests that the …
Parliament and Slavery, 1660–c.1710
The discovery of the texts of several abortive bills that would enable the regulation of the status of slaves by Parliament at Westminster provides an opportunity for a preliminary exploration of a hitherto unknown discourse about slavery in late seventeenth-and early eighteenth-century England. The proposed legislation focused on the spiritual welfare of slaves and the associated need to eradicate the traditional belief that baptism conferred ma…
The Dying Embers of an Outdated Privilege
The year 1935 was an ominous year for E uropean peace. H itler's G ermany began to rearm; M ussolini's I taly provoked a major diplomatic crisis by invading A byssinia. Against this background it seemed extraordinary that E dward R ussell, 26th B aron de C lifford, had to be tried for manslaughter by his peers in the house of lords. Such trials of peers had once been perceived as powerful theatrical examples of the place of the aristocracy in B r…
A Matter of Judgment
T homas W atson's controversial expulsion from the bishopric of S t D avid's – and hence from the house of lords – after a long and bitterly‐fought series of legal actions, raised fundamental and difficult questions about the right to control membership of the house of lords and about the relationship between politics and the law, as well as between church and state. This article explores both the local and the national political contexts that pr…
The Oxford Edition of Blackstone: Commentaries on the Laws of England, Vol. 4: Of Public Wrongs
Peers, Politics and the Price of Pepper
The case of Thomas Skinner v. the East India Company brought parliament to a standstill in 1668 in a confrontation between the Houses over their respective privileges that lasted nearly two years. There is no doubt that the case was exploited for political advantage by presbyterians anxious to block the passage of a new conventicles act, but that is far from being the whole story. This article examines for the first time the details of the case a…
Notes and Documents
The story of the widowed Elizabeth, duchess of Albemarle, is well known. Allegedly driven mad by her own arrogance, she was supposedly wooed by the earl of Montagu disguised as the emperor of China. The following document throws new light on this bizarre tale
The ‘insanity’ of Lady Durham
This essay draws on evidence in a late nineteenth-century court case and surviving medical notes to provide a case study of a hitherto unidentified case of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The case is particularly interesting in that it not only appears to be the first identification of historical ASD in a female, but also because the patient subsequently developed symptoms of psychosis suggestive of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The unusua…
Andrea Isobel Tanner (1956–2024)
Law (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · History (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Politics (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · History (5 works) · Parliament (4 works) · American Constitutional Law and Politics (3 works) · Historical Economic and Social Studies (3 works)