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18 September 2014
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St Stephen's Chapel: From the Crown to the People

By Jacqueline Riding
Image of the Commons in St Stephen's debating chamber
The Commons assemble in St Stephen's (detail, Tillemans)听

Discover how St Stephen's Chapel was transformed from the private chapel of a king to a debating chamber for commoners - as ordinary people gradually took over the reins of state.

The debating chamber

The building that houses the British Parliament's modern Commons Chamber is the culmination of a series of changes that can be traced back over a thousand years to the original Palace of Westminster.

During this period structures originally created as part of the Privy Palace of the kings of England (bed chambers, chapels etc), slowly became the permanent homes of the houses of Lords and Commons. What began as a matter of convenience, the occupying of a suitably sized building in order for the Commons to assemble and debate, achieved over centuries a much greater significance - affecting the evolution of the Commons and the manner in which their assemblies and debates were conducted.

Published: 2005-04-02



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