Club Parliament
Preserved but no longer current.
The Parliament held at Nottingham in 1426, during the quarrel be- tween the Duke of Gloucester and Cardinal Beaufort, so called because the members, being forbidden to wear swords, came armed with cudgels, or "bats." Also called the Bats Parliament.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Club Parliament” mean?
The Parliament held at Nottingham in 1426, during the quarrel be- tween the Duke of Gloucester and Cardinal Beaufort, so called because the members, being forbidden to wear swords, came armed with cudgels, or "bats." Also called the Bats Parliament.
Is “Club Parliament” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.