We are delighted to announce that our Project's Ph.D. Researcher, Dr Elizabeth Biggs, has been appointed to a new post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Durham’s Institute of Medieval and Early Modern History.
News Archive
Wed 20th Jul, 2016
In this month's blog post, Dr Caroline Shenton, author of The Day Parliament Burned Down explains the significance of the Palace of Westminster's latest artwork, Mary Branson's New Dawn.
Fri 24th Jun, 2016
Our project draws to a close with a major conference that will present the results of our three-year project to explore the history of a building at the heart of the political life of the nation for over 700 years. The conference will be held on 19th-20th September 2016 at the Palace of Westminster.
Mon 20th Jun, 2016
In this month's blog post, Jennifer Caddick of the University of York explores the use of the medieval Place of Westminster's Painted Chamber as the meeting place for parliaments. How did its lavishly decorated walls inspire and inform proceedings?
Fri 20th May, 2016
The Project is delighted to announce the release of a new recording of early Tudor music, some of which was written for St Stephen's Chapel immediately before the Reformation.
Fri 13th May, 2016
In this month’s blog post, Dr Mark Collins, Archivist and Historian of the Parliamentary Estates Directorate, explores recent archaeological discoveries at the Palace of Westminster. Excavations by Museum of London Archaeology in Black Rod’s garden uncover evidence for the Tudor riverfront of the medieval palace, timber posts and fragments of high-status encaustic tile.
Mon 9th May, 2016
Our Principal Investigator, John Cooper, shares his thoughts and the latest Project Research with Mark D’Arcy, in a dedicated slot on BBC Radio Four’s Today in Parliament.
Thu 21st Apr, 2016
We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for our major Project Conference: St Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster: Visual and Political Culture, 1292-1941. This will take place over two days (Monday 19th - Tuesday 20th September 2016) at the Palace of Westminster.
Wed 13th Apr, 2016
In this month’s blog post, our Project’s Ph.D. Student Researcher, Elizabeth Biggs, opens a fascinating window into the House of Commons, from archival sources uncovered in the Huntington Library, California. The story is one of the vicissitudes of sixteenth century fashion, the suggestive power of institutional memory and the precedents for galleries inside the Commons Chamber itself.
Mon 29th Feb, 2016
We are delighted to announce that one of our Project's Associate Researchers, Dr James Hillson, has been elected to a Research Fellowship at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. The fellowship is tenable for three years, starting in October 2016.
Wed 14th Oct, 2015
James Ford of the University of Nottingham examines the continuing significance of one of the 'Building of Britain' murals in St Stephen's Hall. Thomas Monnington's monumental commemoration of the 1707 Act of Union provoked differing responses when unveiled, and its subject still resonates in current debate on the nature and future of the Union itself.
Mon 14th Sep, 2015
In this month's blog post our Associate Researcher, James Hillson, considers the singular reoccurrence of individuals named John in the history of St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster. From the medieval fabric roles, to Georgian antiquaries, and on to present-day scholars, why do so many Johns seem gravitate towards this one building?
Fri 14th Aug, 2015
To mark the Project’s Exhibition Parliament in the Making: St Stephen’s Chapel, Lizzie Atkinson, one of three volunteer interns with the Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP) at the University of York, records her impressions of fielding the public’s reaction and engagement to the seven-hundred-year saga of St Stephen’s Chapel.
Wed 24th Jun, 2015
Principal Investigator John Cooper will join Dr Geoffrey Webber and members of the Gonville and Caius College Choir for a dedicated feature on BBC Radio Three’s In Tune tomorrow.
Wed 24th Jun, 2015
We are delighted to announce that Elizabeth Biggs, our Ph.D. Student Researcher, has been awarded a four-month fellowship to the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
Tue 16th Jun, 2015
To commemorate the eight-hundredth anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta, our new associate researcher James Ford examines the reception of Charles Sims’ depiction of events at Runneymede in 1215. This is the first of two blog posts exploring the series of monumental canvases, collectively known as The Building of Britain series, commissioned in the early-Twentieth Century to decorate St Stephen's Hall.
Fri 15th May, 2015
We are delighted to announce that Ph.D. student James Ford has joined the St Stephen’s Chapel Project as an Associate Researcher. Based at the University of Nottingham and working closely with the Palace of Westminster’s Curator’s office, James’ research focuses upon the series of murals commissioned for St Stephen’s Hall.
Wed 13th May, 2015
Elizabeth Biggs of the University of York explores the surprising discovery of William Lyndwood's burial at St Stephen's Chapel in 1852, and muses upon why this fifteenth-century Bishop of St David's chose to be buried here.
Mon 13th Apr, 2015
Rebekah Moore of the Institute of Historical Research explains the significance of one of the last depictions of St Stephen’s before the 1834 fire, painted to commemorate the Great Reform Act of 1832.
Wed 18th Mar, 2015
We are delighted to announce that Dr Alan Bryson and Jonathan Hanley have joined the St Stephen’s Chapel Project for the next few months.
Tue 17th Mar, 2015
Dr Robin Eagles of the History of Parliament Trust explores the political career of that champion of liberty John Wilkes MP, and the importance of Alice’s Coffee House to the workings of eighteenth-century legislature.
Mon 2nd Feb, 2015
Elizabeth Biggs relates two recent encounters in the Museum of London, with some quite chop-fallen fellows from the College of St Stephen.
Fri 16th Jan, 2015
Dr James Jago explains the story behind the St Stephen’s Chapel Logo, and the enduring significance of St Stephen to the Palace of Westminster and this Project as a whole.
Tue 18th Nov, 2014
Dr Mark Collins looks at the encaustic tiles in St. Stephen’s Hall, which have recently undergone a programme of conservation.
Fri 17th Oct, 2014
Martha Vandrei considers the issues of national identity and stylistic association in the reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster following the 1834 fire.
Thu 25th Sep, 2014
Project PI John Cooper has provided a blog entry looking at the project's progress after one year.
Wed 2nd Jul, 2014
We are delighted to announce that Rosemary Hill has joined our Project Team (1st July). An established author on antiquaries and architecture, Rosemary will re-examine the flurry of interest in the fabric of St Stephen’s Chapel during the Romantic and early-Victorian eras.
Mon 23rd Jun, 2014
Exploring the story behind George Scharf's 'Panorama of the Ruins of the Old Palace of Westminster', a painting of the Westminster ruins in the immediate aftermath of the fire of 1834.
Fri 6th Jun, 2014
Find out more about the ongoing research into the architectural history of St Stephen's Chapel. This information then feeds into the production of accurate digital drawings, which will in turn inform the generation of 3D models.
Tue 27th May, 2014
Read the latest project blog entry from Liz Hallam Smith, Director of Information Services and Librarian at the House of Lords and Chair of the project's executive board.
Mon 3rd Feb, 2014
The project website is now live! Over the coming months we will be uploading updates on project progress, blog entries detailing our work and visuals/multimedia of our developmental 3D visualisation work.
Fri 24th Jan, 2014
Elizabeth Biggs has provided a blog entry on her role within the project. As the PhD student associated with the project, she is to research the history of the college of canons from the middle of the fourteenth century through to the Reformation in the sixteenth century.
