Archives & Heritage

Over 25 years working in the Parliamentary Archives at Westminster, I gained huge knowledge and experience of 500 years of Parliamentary records and record-keeping. 

  • A group of people in formal attire gathered around a hacking exhibit in a wood-paneled room, with one person explaining the exhibit to the others.

    I answered thousands of public enquiries about every subject under the sun. I helped academics, lawyers, local historians, family historians, the media and the general public make the most of the Parliamentary Archives collections. I did many tours and talks about the archives.

    Image © UK Parliament / photography by Roger Harris and Andy Bailey

  • An interior view of a historic church or cathedral with scaffolding, displaying a temporary installation titled 'Women's Place in Parliament' with large orange text 'VOICE & VOTE' and several people walking around the space.

    I delivered lots of displays and exhibitions, of which the biggest was as co-curator of 'Voice and Vote: Women's Place in Parliament'. This was the culmination of Parliament’s Vote100 project celebrating 100 years of the first votes for women and the first women MPs. It had 107,000 visits in Westminster Hall between June and October 2018.

    Image © UK Parliament/Mark Duffy

  • Group of women gathered in a historic, ornate building, posing for a photo. Many are wearing ribbons or rosettes, and the central figures are standing around a display case.

    On 6 February 2018, the centenary of the passage of the Representation of the People Act 1918, I managed the display of four Acts of Parliament in Central Lobby. Women MPs gathered to celebrate including the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, and the Mother of the House, Harriet Harman. 

    Image © UK Parliament/Jessica-Taylor

  • Exhibition display titled 'A Changing House' inside a grand, ornately decorated room with stained glass windows and detailed wall patterns.

    I’m also very proud of 'A Changing House: the Life Peerages Act 1958', which celebrated 50 years of women in the House of Lords. It ran in the Royal Gallery, House of Lords between June and September 2008.

    Image © UK Parliament

  • A large roll of old, yellowed paper tied with a white strap, set against a black background.

    I assisted with loans to other exhibitions, too. Most excitingly, I couriered the Stamp Act back home from its international loan to the New York Historical Society in 2012. In 2021 I organised the loan of the Longest Act to the People's History Museum, Manchester.

    Image © Parliamentary Archives, HL/PO/PU/1/1821/1and2G4n248

As you can see I'm an expert in the collections of the Parliamentary Archives, which will be held at The National Archives from later in 2025.

Can I help you with archival research there?

  • "The “Voice and Vote” exhibition has launched in Westminster Hall. Visitors can see just how far women in politics have come since they were hidden behind the brass grilles above this very Chamber. In this Vote 100 year, it is bound to be a hugely popular event. I hope many will come to Westminster to relive those achievements."

    — Leader of the House (Andrea Leadsom), Hansard, 28 June 2018

  • "I echo very much what the Leader of the House has just said about the magnificent and celebratory exhibition in Westminster Hall, and in echoing that I urge people attending our proceedings today if they have not already viewed the exhibition to do so. An enormous amount of specialist loving care and preparation have gone into it and, like the Leader of the House, I am very proud of the exhibition."

    — Mr Speaker, Hansard, 28 June 2018

  • "I want to join you and the Leader of the House in thanking Melanie Unwin and Mari Takayanagi, who have taken four years to curate the “Voice and Vote” exhibition in Westminster Hall. I, too, encourage all Members and their constituents to visit that fantastic exhibition."

    — Shadow Leader of the House (Valerie Vaz), Hansard, 28 June 2018