Images of the House of Commons Chamber

This is the House of Commons Chamber around 1710, shortly after the Act of Union with Scotland. Wooden panelling round the walls and a false ceiling hide the fact that the Chamber is located in the Collegiate Chapel of St Stephen. However the three windows at the back of the Chamber indicate where the Chamber was in relation to the burnt-out shell on the large panorama.

Women could listen to debates by gathering in the space above the ceiling of the Commons Chamber, in what was the upper part of the original Chapel of St Stephen. Floorboards and chairs were placed round the ventilation lantern but the women had only a restricted view of the Chamber below. They could see only the Clerks Table, some of the opposition benches and the Speaker’s feet.

Sir Arthur Onslow commissioned this painting to record his election as Speaker in 1728 and his association with the Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, who is standing next to Speaker’s Chair.

The new Commons Chamber was ready for occupation in 1850 but, following complaints from Members, further work was done over the next two years, including the redesign of the ceiling to improve acoustics. This is the scene, six years later in 1858, with Lord Palmerston addressing the House. The tradition of Members sitting in benches facing each other, was continued from the previous Chamber, when Members sat in the pews of St Stephen’s Chapel of.