British/UK Parliamentary Papers Research Guide

UK Parliamentary Papers are an excellent source for conducting research in various fields. This guide will help library users find and locate British Parliamentary Papers. This guide is based on a research guide created by Elizabeth McBride in 1975 and later revised by Jennifer McMullen in 1992 and Kristin Gager in 2006. Alain St. Pierre revised this guide in 2015. The most recent revision took place in 2023.

It is important to note that the UK Parliamentary Papers and the British History Online (BHO) online resources incorporate many of the resources listed here into an indexed and full-text searchable database. The items now available through these two databases/resources are enumerated below. They are also listed in other portions of this guide, along with their print equivalents.

Emory Libraries has purchased access to UK Parliamentary Papers, providing coverage from 1688 up to the 2013/14 session of parliament.

The UK Parliamentary Papers provides full-text search of the following resources:

• House of Commons Sessional Papers, including
  • House of Commons Papers
  • Command Papers
  • Bills
  • Reports of Committees (pre-1979 only)
  • Reports of Commissioners (pre-1979 only)
  • Accounts and Papers (pre-1979 only)

• Other materials relating to parliamentary business, including
  • House of Lords Papers (1714-1805)
  • Private and Local Bills and Acts (1695-1834)
  • Journals of the House of Commons (1688-1834)
  • Journals of the House of Lords (1685-1834)
  • Debates (1774-1805)
  • Histories and Proceedings (1660-1743)
  • House of Commons Hansard (1803-2005)
  • House of Lords Hansard (1803-2005)

Emory has an institutional subscription to British History Online. The website provides a wealth of core primary sources for the history of the British Isles, including the following Parliamentary Papers:

• Journal of the House of Commons, volumes 1-12 (covering the years 1547 to 1699) and volume 85 (1830).
• Journal of the House of Lords, volumes 1-39 (covering the years 1509-1793) and volumes 63-64 (1830-1832).
• Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660
• House of Commons, Grey's Debates, 1665-1695
• Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, 1275 to 1504
• Proceedings in Parliament 1624: The House of Commons
• The Journals of All the Parliaments During the Reign of Queen Elizabeth