It seems that whenever we turn on the TV to watch Regency-based period drama, or pick up a historical novel set during this period, there are so many references to the London season.

Bridgerton, of course, has much of its storyline powered by the London season and the actions of the ton in the capital. But, you might find yourself asking, what actually was the season, and where did it come from as a concept?

The season corresponded with the sessions of government in the Houses of Parliament, which would run from November to June each year.

The elite would descend upon the capital, bringing with them their families, building fashionable townhouses or taking lodgings and contributing not only to the country’s politics, but its culture.

It’s also important to remember that the season was not endemic to the Regency. It had actually grown out of political tensions with the monarchy in the late seventeenth century, after the restoration of the British Monarchy in 1660 following the English Civil War and Interregnum.

No monarch would be allowed absolute power again, so legal stipulations for the nobility to have a parliamentary presence were instituted. The elite effectively had to be in the capital keep royalty in check. (But of course, the elite were corrupt and controlling of power in their own way!)

Because of this arrival of fashionable members of the elite, social and cultural institutions grew.

In Bridgerton, as well as in other period dramas such as Poldark and Harlots, we see the theatre, the opera and the pleasure gardens that became staples of entertainment and culture.

Museum culture in the city also grew: the British Museum opened in 1759, the first Royal Academy Summer Exhibition opened in 1769, and Dulwich Picture Gallery was founded in 1811, to name just a few.

The London season became a social and cultural phenomenon that grew out of a political need.