St Stephen's Chapel, Medieval chapel in Palace of Westminster, United Kingdom
St Stephen's Chapel is a two-level chapel within the Palace of Westminster featuring separate spaces for different purposes. The upper floor served royal ceremonies while the lower level, called St Mary Undercroft, is a stone-vaulted crypt beneath it.
Originally a medieval place of worship, the chapel was repurposed as a meeting chamber for the House of Commons in 1547. It served this political function for nearly three centuries until 1834, when it returned to religious use.
The chapel shaped how Parliament's spaces are arranged today, with the Speaker's chair positioned where the altar once stood. Visitors walking through can sense how religious and political purposes have always been inseparable in this building.
The chapel is not freely open to the public as it sits within the secured parliamentary complex. Access is limited to specific occasions such as weddings and christenings for families connected to Parliament.
Emily Davison, a women's suffrage activist, hid in a broom cupboard in the crypt the night before the 1911 census to make a political statement. This hidden spot remains an overlooked detail of protest history within the Parliament building.
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