Building    From 1295 

House of Commons

Building

The palace of Westminster has been the home of Parliament since a meeting there in 1295. It split into two "houses" in 1341 but, having been built as a royal residence, the palace had no suitable meeting spaces so the two houses used a number of different rooms. Then in 1547, as one of the results of the dissolution of the monasteries, St Stephen's Chapel, inside the Palace of Westminster, fell vacant and was used thereafter as the debating chamber for the Commons.

Over the years many changes were made to the chapel and then on 16 October 1834 the Palace of Westminster was largely destroyed in a fire and of St Stephen's only the cloisters and crypt survived.

Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin built the Gothic-style replacement palace over the period 1840-1870. The Commons chamber was completed in 1852.

On the night of 10/11 May 1941 the Commons chamber was badly bombed. After the war it was rebuilt by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, in a simplified version of what had been there before. More details at Parliament UK.

As well as the stonework in Hampstead there is also a finial in Maidstone (thanks to Scott Martin for this bit of info.) apparently 'set free' by the 1941 bomb but it's not clear if it is a rare on-site survivor of the fire or part of the Victorian replacement. The wonderful Londonist tells us that after the 1941 bomb authenticated lumps of stone from the building were modelled into ash-trays etc. and sold for war-time charities. Another Londonist post reports that a rather odd 2014 sculpture in Bermondsey contains fragments of the Houses of Parliament, which we'd guess came from the House of Commons.

See also Houses of Parliament.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
House of Commons

Commemorated ati

Millstream House - gargoyle

See the plaque at this site for more details.

Read More

Millstream House - plaque

The plaque seems to be attempting to justify the presence here of these bits ...

Read More

Well-head from House of Commons

This plaque is affixed to the top of the stonework of the well-head. Andrew ...

Read More

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
House of Commons

Creations i

Silver Jubilee fountain

Funded by private donations from MPs and unveiled by the Queen. 26 foot high,...

Read More

Other Subjects

Ernest Arthur Ebblewhite, FSA

Ernest Arthur Ebblewhite, FSA

Barrister, local politician and Mayor of Hornsey 1908-9. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and published a number of books on historical subjects. In the 1890s the College of Arms, Lond...

Person, History, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
George Henry William Lamb

George Henry William Lamb

Member of Brentford Council in 1909, the year his name was inscribed on the monument and the year he died. The Brentford High Street Project website gives much details about the life of this man t...

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Jules Pipe

Jules Pipe

 Mayor of Hackney 2002 - 16. In Hackney the Mayor is directly elected and is responsible for the executive function of the Council. unlike in many other Councils where it is a mainly ceremonial rol...

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
D. McCarthy

D. McCarthy

Member of the Commissioners of the 1890 Bermondsey Library.

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Sarah Reddish

Sarah Reddish

Sarah Reddish was a Bolton-based trade unionist and suffragette, who was active in the cooperative movement. A supporter of women running for local elections as a springboard to gaining national vo...

Person, Gender Issues, Politics & Administration

1 memorial