The Parliament Fart of Henry Ludlow

Let’s talk about Henry Ludlow, an English politician who was part of the House of Commons from 1601 to 1611. He’s famous for something pretty hilarious: during a very serious speech, Henry couldn’t hold back and let out a huge fart! The whole House couldn’t stop laughing. And guess what? They even had a big discussion about what to do when someone farts in a meeting!

Henry’s dad, Sir Edmund Ludlow, was a rich guy with lots of land in Hampshire and Wiltshire. In 1601, after Henry got married to Lettice West, his dad gave him some fancy properties. Henry moved to one of these places, Tadley, and left his old spot in the Middle Temple in 1600. He became the Member of Parliament for Andover in 1601 and for Ludgershall, near Salisbury, in 1604.

One time, during a debate about making Scots citizens, Henry’s fart was so loud that everyone heard it. In his diary, Robert Bowyer wrote that the fart came from “the nether end of the House,” and everyone laughed so much that it threw off the person speaking. But Bowyer said it wasn’t mean-spirited because Henry’s dad had also let one rip during a meeting before. He thought it was just a natural thing, not something done on purpose.

There was even a popular poem called “Censure of the Parliament Fart” that was written about the incident. It started a whole trend of political jokes in poems. These poems grew over the years, especially during the Parliaments of 1610 and 1614, with new lines added all the time. Even in the 1620s, they were still a hit, talking about over 100 members of parliament.

Henry wasn’t just known for his parliament fart. He had a bit of a temper and got into lots of fights and legal troubles. In 1602, he got accused of trying to kill a guy named Joel King, who had secretly married one of his sisters. Henry and his buddies beat up King pretty badly, and in another attack, they even tried to hang him!

In 1624, Henry took over his dad’s properties. He passed away in 1639 when he was about 63 years old. He and Lettice West had four sons and five daughters. But let’s be honest, he’ll always be remembered for that legendary fart in parliament!