ABSTRACT
When this chamber became the House of Commons the Speaker’s chair was placed on the raised steps in front of the altar and members filled the stalls. The lectern was removed and the ante-chapel became the lobby. This spatial pattern became the template on which a range of succeeding chambers are modelled. The spatial structure was based upon an initial division which presupposed two opposed parties, facing each other as the two sides of the choir did, with no middle ground. This division was accentuated by the fact that the few return stalls were initially regarded as beyond the ‘Bar of the House’, a literal barrier which separated those on the return benches to cast them technically outside the house and its debates (Hastings 1950). The house was remodelled by Wren in 1707, adding galleries and transforming the style. A central table was added yet the spatial structure remained identical.
