Grandmother Of Parliaments

By Christopher Davson

Reproduced from a “Rye’s Own” article of 1973

Westminster prides itself on its nickname the “Mother of Parliaments” — not because it was the first democratic assembly (even the Greeks had a word for that!) but because that Parliament which Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and victor of the battle of Lewes summoned at Westminster in 1265, including elected representatives, has not only continued ever since at Westminster but has formed the pattern for so many assemblies overseas. Continue reading Grandmother Of Parliaments