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Description

View from the sunken garden (now Cromwell Green) of the ruins of the Palace of Westminster following its 1834 fire.

The fire was started by the disposal of wooden tally sticks in the coal-burning furnaces under the peers' chambers in the House of Lords. The high heat of the coal and high flame of the wood melted the flues' copper linings, causing a chimney fire, further fueled by the oxygen entering the open-doored furnaces. By the time the  London Fire Engine Establishment arrived, the House of Lords and St. Stephen's Chapel (which housed the House of Commons) were destroyed. The brigade's chief, James Braidwood, directed efforts to save Westminster Hall, cutting away the roof that adjoined the Speaker's House and then soaking the rest of the roof. The House of the Clerk of the House of Commons, John Henry Ley's residence, was also destroyed.

The upper half of the view can be seen here.

Condition Description
Trimmed down, without the top half of the sheet, which had another view from a different perspective. Some soiling and foxing. Slight buckling of the paper. Mounting tape on the verso, which can be removed.