White Chamber

Originally a dining hall, and then the location for the Court of Requests, it was the meeting place of the House of Lords from 1801 until it was gutted by fire in 1834.

The House of Lords moved from the Queen's Chamber to the White Hall in 1801, as it needed more space to accommodate Irish peers after the Act of Union with Ireland.

When used as the House of Lords, the King's throne was located on a dais at the south end of the White Hall, with the Lord Chancellor's woolsack and a table in front for the house's clerks and mace, surrounded by benches on three sides - for the government, the opposition, and the non-partisan crossbenches.

Many of the other principal rooms of the palace were severely damaged, including the Painted Chamber and St Stephen's Chapel.

The ruins of the White Chamber were demolished in September 1851 to make way for the building of the new Palace of Westminster.

The White Chamber housing the House of Lords, c. 1809
Plan of the Palace of Westminster in 1834, showing the position of the White Chamber, south (right) of Westminster Hall, and perpendicular to St Stephen's Chapel and the Painted Chamber to the east (top)