St Stephen's Chapel

According to Cooke (1987), King Henry III witnessed the consecration of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris in 1248, and wished to construct a chapel in his principal palace at Westminster to rival it.[3] The other marriage occurred on 15 January 1478, between the younger of the two Princes in the Tower, Richard, Duke of York, and Anne Mowbray.Henry's son, King Edward VI, instituted the Abolition of Chantries Acts, 1545 and 1547, and St Stephen's Chapel thus became available for use as the debating chamber of the House of Commons.The members sat facing one another in the medieval choir stalls, creating the adversarial seating plan that persists in the chamber of the Commons to this day.Inside, the walls were reduced in thickness to accommodate extra seating and the addition of upper-level male-only public galleries along both sides of the chamber, and the remains of the medieval interior were concealed behind wainscoting and oak panelling.The fire of 1834 totally destroyed the main body of the chapel, with the crypt below, and the adjoining cloisters, barely surviving.Although it was demolished shortly after the fire, the surviving stone shell of the chapel, with all its later additions burned away, attracted many visitors and antiquaries who came to view the original medieval decorations which had become visible once again.
South-west view of St Stephen's Chapel after 1800 by James Basire
Conjectural restoration of Westminster during the reign of Henry VIII. [ 1 ] St Stephen's Chapel in the centre dominates the whole site, with the White Chamber and Painted Chamber on the left and Westminster Hall on the right. Westminster Abbey is in the background.
Cloister Court, separating the House of Commons from St Stephen's Chapel.
St Stephen's Chapel hosting a session of the House of Commons in 1710
A detail from John Rocque's 1746 map of London . St Stephen's Chapel, labelled "H of Comm" (House of Commons), was adjacent to Westminster Hall; the Parliament Chamber—labelled "H of L" (House of Lords)—and the Prince's Chamber were to the far south. The Court of Requests, between the two Houses, would become the new home of the Lords in 1801.
St Stephen's Chapel, AucklandJames BasirePalace of WestminsterHenry VIIIchamberHouse of Commons of EnglandGreat BritainChapel of St Mary UndercroftWestminsterWhite ChamberPainted ChamberWestminster AbbeyKing Henry IIISainte ChapelleHouse of CommonsKing Richard IIAnne of BohemiaPrinces in the TowerRichard, Duke of YorkAnne MowbrayStepneyKing Edward IVSt George's Chapel, WindsorThomas CranmerArchbishop of CanterburyKing Henry VIIIKing Edward VIOliver Cromwellwhitewashedwomen's suffragistEmily DavisonTony BennSpeakerJohn Rocque's 1746 map of LondonGothicChristopher WrenclerestorywainscotingJames WyattThe fire of 1834The HonourablechristeningMargaret ThatcherThe BuilderWayback Machine