The Painted Chamber was part of the original Palace of Westminster. It was destroyed by fire in 1834.
Because it was originally a royal residence, the Palace did not include any purpose-built chambers for the two Houses. Important state ceremonies, including the State Opening of Parliament, were held in the Painted Chamber. The House of Lords usually met in the White Chamber. The House of Commons, however, did not have a chamber of its own; it sometimes held its debates in the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey until a permanent home in the former St. Stephen's chapel became available in the 16th Century.
At the trial of Charles I, the evidence of the witnesses summoned was heard in the Painted Chamber rather than Westminster Hall.
Read more about Painted Chamber: Bibliography
Famous quotes containing the words painted and/or chamber:
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—Stephen Bayley (b. 1951)
“Beautiful glooms, soft dusks in the noon-day fire,—
Wildwood privacies, closets of lone desire,
Chamber from chamber parted with wavering arras of leaves,—
Cells for the passionate pleasure of prayer to the soul that grieves,
Pure with a sense of the passing of saints through the wood,
Cool for the dutiful weighing of ill with good;—”
—Sidney Lanier (1842–1881)