After St Stephen’s

St Stephen’s Chapel was effectively destroyed by the fire of 1834; its remains were finally dismantled three years later. Nevertheless, it has left an important architectural legacy. When Charles Barry designed the new House of Commons, he perpetuated the basic layout of the old chamber, although innovations were also incorporated.

Barry’s Palace was completed in 1870, but bomb damage during the Second World War forced another reconstruction of the Commons chamber, completed in 1950.

Discover more about the evolution of the House of Commons by clicking on the images below.

Preliminary sketch for ‘The First Reformed House of Commons, 1833’, by Sir George Hayter, 1833. Oil on paper. Parliamentary Art Collection, Palace of Westminster, WOA 363. © Parliamentary Art Collection.
Pre-fire House of Commons chamber
‘Rt Hon T. Duncombe presenting the Chartists’ Petition May 2nd 1842, in the Temporary House of Commons’, by an unknown artist, c. 1842. Monochrome engraving on paper. Parliamentary Art Collection, Palace of Westminster, WOA 80. © Parliamentary Art Collection.
Temporary Chamber
‘The New House of Commons, Westminster: Mr. Barry R. A., Architect’, by George Godwin, c. 1850. Monochrome engraving on paper. From George Godwin, 'Buildings and Monuments, Modern and Medieval: Being Illustrations of the Edifices of the 19th Century, and Some of the Architectural Works of the Middle Ages' (London: The Office of ‘The Builder’, 1850), opp. p. 86.
Barry’s Original Design
‘The House of Commons, 1858’, by Joseph Nash, 1858. Bodycolour on paper. Parliamentary Art Collection, Palace of Westminster, WOA 2934. © Parliamentary Art Collection.
Barry’s Design as Modified
‘Commons Chamber, 1950, from the South East’. Monochrome photograph. Estates’ Archive, Palace of Westminster. © UK Parliament/Estates Archive.
Scott’s 1940s Rebuild
‘St Stephen’s Hall’. Colour photograph. Estates’ Archive, Palace of Westminster. © UK Parliament/Estates Archive.
St Stephen’s Hall
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