On May 10, 1941, an incendiary bomb destroyed the seat of British democracy, the chamber of the House of Commons. This was not the first time fire had struck the Palace of Westminster: most of it had already been rebuilt after a disastrous fire of 1834, caused not by enemy action but the burning of obsolete tally sticks – a medieval system of accounting which symbolised the antiquated nature of the place. Seventy-five years ago the House of Commons reopened, and John has joined the celebrations that are marking the anniversary.
This could have been an opportunity to reshape the Commons entirely, making it obviously modern. That was not the approach favoured by Sir Winston Churchill. In particular, he wanted the chamber to remain, as it had been before, slightly too small. This meant that it would still be crowded when important debates were held, heightening the drama and sense of occasion. The architect chosen for the work was Sir Giles Scott, famous for the Anglican cathedral at Liverpool as well as Battersea Power Station, the University Library in Cambridge and red telephone kiosks. Scott designed the chamber we have today in a simplified version of Gothic with modern elements, whose practical if not workaday character heightens the contrast with the House of Lords, where Pugin’s ornament drips with gold.
