'St. Stephen's Chapel' was a chapel in the old
Palace of Westminster. It was largely lost in the fire of
1834, but the Chapel of
St Mary Undercroft in the crypt survived. St. Stephen's porch and hall, of the new
Palace of Westminster, were built in the same location, and are accessed via St. Stephen's Entrance (the public entrance).
History
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
Westminster to rival it. Work continued for many years under Henry's successors, to be completed around
1297.
When the Palace of Westminster ceased to be a royal residence, St. Stephen's Chapel became the debating chamber of the
House of Commons. In subsequent centuries, various changes to the chapel's original
gothic form were made by Sir
Christopher Wren and others.
References
★ Cooke, Sir Robert. (1987). The Palace of Westminster. London: Burton Skira.
★
House of Commons Information Office. (2004). "The Palace of Westminster."
External links
★
explore-parliament.net - shows various views of the chapel, notably
this image.