impeachment, in common law, a proceeding instituted by a legislative body to address serious misconduct by a public official. In Great Britain the House of Commons serves as prosecutor and the House of Lords as judge in an impeachment proceeding. In the federal government of the United States, the House of Representatives institutes impeachment proceedings by authorizing a formal inquiry by the House Judiciary Committee, which may then recommend articles of impeachment (an impeachment resolution) for a vote by the full House (articles of impeachment may also be introduced in the House without a formal inquiry). If the articles are
WE VE been on a flight of fancy chronicling the area s dovecotes recently, and now, thanks to Ian Hillary, from Hurworth, we re able to link the wife who survived Henry VIII with a North Yorkshire pigeon pie. Now lockdown has eased, Ian has been out into North Yorkshire to check on some dovecotes which we haven’t yet mentioned in our tour of these curious structures. Dovecotes, of course, were important in the days before refrigerators as they proved a fresh source of eggs and meat. They became fashionable accessories to a country estate around 1700, although the older, more rustic, Durham ones are centuries older than that. Most of the building of dovecotes in our area was done by 1800.
DOVECOTES have a way of flying us back through time, and connecting us to one of the greatest royal stories of all time and the composition of some of the most romantic poems in the English language. In the days before refrigerators, dovecotes were important as they proved a regular source of fresh eggs and meat. They became fashionable accessories to a country estate around 1700, although the older, more rustic, are centuries older than that, and most of the building of dovecotes in our area was done by 1800 – however, you know all that because you’ve been following what has been a long running series on the locations of dovecotes.
The English word impeach is derived from the Latin preposition
in, meaning in, on or into, and noun
pedica, meaning a shackle or snare. The earliest recorded case of impeachment by the English House of Commons was in 1376 during the reign of Edward III. The accused was William Latimer, the 4th Baron Latimer. The practice continued for the next four reigns, but then died out until James I took the throne in 1603. The revival of impeachment led to the question of whether a royal pardon would bar impeachment. As recounted in this post from December 2019, the question was answered in the reign of Charles II, The Merry Monarch: