Construction begins on Houses of Parliament

Literary/ Cultural Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Domains

Architecture
Politics

Dates

Date of occurrence 1840

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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The Palace of Westminster, the seat of the two Houses of Parliament, had been almost completely destroyed by fire six years earlier. The fire had been started when the Clerk of Works attemped to dispose of now redundant tally-sticks by discreetly burning them in the underfloor coal furnaces that heated the House of Lords. Unfortunately these furnaces were overloaded and a fire started that quickly consumed both chambers.

This fire, which was the largest seen in the capital since the Great Fire of London in 1666, created a crisis regarding the future accommodation of Parliament. King William IV offered the little-liked Buckingham Palace, but this was judged to be unsuitable. Architect John Barry, aided by Augustus Pugin, won the competition to design a new Houses of Parliament with a

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151 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Construction begins on Houses of Parliament". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4809, accessed 05 May 2024.]

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