ABSTRACT
The temporary Houses of Parliament enabled MPs and Lords to be part of a long-term demonstration of the principles of environmental control that were to be applied in the Palace of Westminster. This demonstration began three years before David Boswell Reid was formally appointed to collaborate with Barry, but continued for another 11 years whilst he developed his plans for the new Palace. Reid knew that it was difficult to overcome deep-seated scepticism towards his ventilation technology. As part of an effort to counter it, he briefed MPs on 4 November 1836 about its design and capabilities, giving the first physical demonstration of the new system inside the House of Commons debating chamber. Reid also collaborated with the Commissioners of Woods on a series of short demonstrations of his gas lighting, following the principle of ‘exclusive lighting’. Following the suggestion of Joseph Hume, trials of a lighting method developed by Goldsworthy Gurney, a Cornish physician, were undertaken.
