1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: The Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi everyone, I'm Eve's Welcome to this Day 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: in History Class, a podcast for folks who can never 4 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: have enough history knowledge. Today is October nineteen. The day 5 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: was October thirty four. Much of the Palace of Westminster, 6 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,520 Speaker 1: the home of the British Parliament, was destroyed in a fire. 7 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: In medieval times, the Palace of Westminster was the main 8 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:40,519 Speaker 1: royal residence in London, and it housed the law courts 9 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: and government departments. By the eighteen hundreds, the complex have 10 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: been expanded and renovated so much that it had become 11 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: a winding mix of passages, walls, staircases and buildings. Members 12 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: of Parliament have been raising concerns about the state of 13 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: their accommodations for a while. So though a fire on 14 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: October eighteen thirty four was accidental, conditions in the complex 15 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: were ripe for disaster. Wooden tally sticks were used as 16 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: a form of tax receipt until eighteen six when an 17 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,759 Speaker 1: act prohibiting the use of tallies for record went into force, 18 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: but it took years for the system to be overhauled. 19 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: By eighteen thirty four, there were still tallies that needed 20 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: to be thrown away. The Exchequer, a government department responsible 21 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: for collecting and managing taxes and revenues, was tasked with 22 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: getting rid of two carts full of tally sticks. The 23 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: Clerk of Works decided to have them burned unsupervised and 24 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: underfloor stoves in the basement of the House of Lords. 25 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: So workers followed his orders and did just that. People 26 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: who visited the House of Lords that day noticed how 27 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: hot the floor was and that smoke was rising from it, 28 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: but the housekeeper and the Clerk of Works ignored the warnings. 29 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: The misses were closed around five pm. Around an hour later, 30 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: a doorkeeper's wife announced that the House of Lords was 31 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: on fire. Not long after it was discovered, a fireball 32 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: exploded out of the building. The fire attracted a lot 33 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: of attention. Crowds of spectators gathered and many of them 34 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: painted and sketched the scene. Parish engines, insurance companies and 35 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: the private London Fire Engine Establishment worked to put out 36 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: the blaze. Volunteers including MPs and lords, also staffed water 37 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: pumps throughout the night. By the time the fire was 38 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: under control. Westminster Hall, the Undercroft Chapel of St Mary, 39 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: the Jewel Tower, the Chapter House of St. Stephen's and 40 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: part of the Cloisters were saved, but the House of 41 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: Commons in the House of Lords were destroyed, along with 42 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: most other buildings in the complex. After the fire, people 43 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: capitalized on the bus surrounding the event by selling cheap 44 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: prints and creating souvenirs from stone, lead and wood taken 45 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: from the site. The damage to the palace was estimated 46 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: at two million pounds. Nobody was prosecuted for causing the 47 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: fire and destruction of the buildings, but a public inquiry 48 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: did suggest the fire was a result of negligence. A 49 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 1: commission was formed to look into the loss of parliamentary records. 50 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: It made recommendations that led to the creation of the 51 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: Public Record Office, which later became the National Archives. Architect 52 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: Charles Berry won a government competition to design a new palace. 53 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: He and Augustus Pugin developed a new complex that included 54 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: the surviving structures. I'm Eve Steffcote and hopefully you know 55 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 56 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: Spend some of your daily social media time with us 57 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: at T D I h C podcast. You can also 58 00:03:54,400 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: email us at this Day at I heart media dot com. 59 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and we'll see you again tomorrow. For 60 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I heart 61 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 62 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: favorite shows.