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278:'s chair was placed on the altar steps – arguably the origin of the tradition of members bowing to the Speaker, as they would formerly have done to the altar. Where the lectern had once been, the Table of the House was installed. 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. The old choir screen, with its two side-by-side entrances, was also retained and formed the basis of the modern voting system for parliamentarians, with "aye" voters passing through the right-hand door and "no" voters passing through the left-hand one.
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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. The historical importance of the chapel was realised in the design of the new palace in the form of St
Stephen's Hall, the lavishly decorated main public entrance hall built on the same floor plan as the old chapel, with the position of the Speaker's chair marked out on the floor.
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the view down into the chamber beneath through the lantern was severely restricted. More seating was later added for the extra members brought in by the Acts of Union with
Scotland (1707) and Ireland (1800). By the 19th century, the chapel's interior had a very bland and modest look in contrast to its former medieval magnificence. Further alterations were made to the exterior by
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totally destroyed the main body of the chapel, with the crypt below, and the adjoining cloisters, barely surviving. Amongst the few furnishings rescued from the flames was the Table of the House, which is now kept in the
Speaker's apartments at the palace. Although it was demolished shortly after the
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and vaulted ceiling while the great medieval windows were walled up, with smaller windows cut into the new stonework. 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
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form were made by various architects between 1547 and 1834. Initial changes during the late 16th century were relatively minor; the original chapel furnishings were replaced, the interior whitewashed and the stained-glass windows replaced with plain glass. More drastic alterations were undertaken by
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and oak panelling. A false ceiling was installed in the chamber to help to improve its acoustics, the quality of which was important in an age without artificial amplification. The newly created attic space above the ceiling housed a ventilation lantern and was used as the ladies' gallery, although
267:. 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.
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in 1248, and wished to construct a chapel in his principal palace at
Westminster to rival it. Work continued for many years under Henry's successors, to be completed around 1297. In the resulting two-storey chapel, the Upper Chapel was used by the Royal Family, and the Lower Chapel, by the Royal
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The crypt below St
Stephen's Hall, the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, which had fallen into disuse some time before the fire and had seen a number of uses, was restored, and returned to its original use as a place of worship. It is still used for this purpose today. Children of
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The present-day St
Stephen's Hall and its porch, which are within the new Palace of Westminster built in the 19th century, stand on exactly the same site and are today accessed through the St Stephen's Entrance, the public entrance of the House of Commons.
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MP. He put the plaque in place with his own hands and proudly showed it to visitors. He later installed a second plaque for a purpose which is now lost but the Palace authorities required him to remove it. The screw holes are still visible.
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The former chapel's layout and functionality influenced the positioning of furniture and the seating of
Members of Parliament in the Commons. The
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141:. Being five years old, she was close to a year older than Richard. At the age of eight, Anne died. Her coffin was discovered in a
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spent the night in a broom cupboard in the back of the crypt in order to be able to give her address as the
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in the 1690s. During that work the building was significantly reduced in height with the removal of the
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Two royal weddings are recorded as having been solemnised in St
Stephen's Chapel. On 20 January 1382,
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during the reign of Henry VIII. St
Stephen's Chapel in the centre dominates the whole site, with the
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In order to suit the needs of the House of
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St Stephen's Chapel and its Place in the Development of Perpendicular Style in England
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was kept in St Mary Undercroft on the night before her funeral on 17 April 2013.
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the Palace of Westminster ceased to be a royal residence. Henry's son,
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St Stephen's Chapel hosting a session of the House of Commons in 1710
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Former chapel situated within the old Palace of Westminster
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Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
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From Cranmer to Davidson: A Church of England Miscellany
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from Westminster Abbey website. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
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Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500
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Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom
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The bird's-eye view by H. J. Brewer was published in
568:Lords of Parliament: Manners, Rituals and Politics
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245:on the left and Westminster Hall on the right.
604:– shows various views of the chapel, notably
377:The Archaeology of Medieval England and Wales
529:Framing Places: Mediting Power in Built Form
295:the medieval interior were concealed behind
664:Buildings and structures completed in 1297
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181:Abolition of Chantries Acts, 1545 and 1547
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612:https://www.virtualststephens.org.uk/
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41:Royal Chapel of St Stephen
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616:'Visualizing St Stephens'
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113:Household and courtiers.
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169:Archbishop of Canterbury
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308:Fire and reconstruction
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514:in 1884, according to
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402:2011-09-20 at the
355:Sir Robert Cooke,
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658:Categories
628:51°29′58″N
606:this image
576:0719072077
472:Parliament
459:0851157424
385:0709923856
364:References
292:clerestory
71:survived.
49:Henry VIII
631:0°07′31″W
211:Tony Benn
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434:Archived
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276:Speaker
147:Stepney
79:History
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