189 years ago in London the medieval Palace of Westminster, the ancient residence of the English kings, burned down
189 years ago in London the medieval Palace of Westminster, the ancient residence of the English kings, burned down. The painter William Turner, like most Londoners, watched the fire to the very end. The palace, where Parliament had sat since the sixteenth century, was almost completely destroyed.
Turner got into a boat and drew as near as he could to the burning buildings of Parliament, equipped with his drawing materials, and made sketches in watercolour and pencil from various vantage points. In the end he was left with several sketchbooks of the burning Houses of Parliament on the south bank of the Thames.
Turner captured the fire at Westminster in two large oil paintings entitled The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16 October 1834.
The new Parliament building was planned to take 6 years to build, at a cost of £710,000, but the construction dragged on for 24 years and ended up costing £2,400,000.
