Here Are Hung Up As Trophies, 138
Colours, And 34 Standards, Taken From The French And Bavarians At
Hochstadt, Anno 1704.
The House of Lords, or chamber where the peers assemble in
Parliament, is situated between the Old Palace Yard and the Thames.
It is a spacious room, of an oblong form, at the south end whereof
is the King's throne, to which he ascends by several steps:
On the
right hand of the throne is a seat for the Prince of Wales, and on
the left another for the princes of the blood, and behind the throne
the seats of the peers under age.
On the east side of the house, to the right of the throne, sit the
archbishops and bishops; on the opposite side of the house sit the
dukes, marquises, earls, and viscounts; and on forms crossing the
area, the barons under the degree of viscounts.
Before the throne are three wool-sacks, or broad seats stuffed with
wool, to put the Legislature in mind, it is said, that the right
management of this trade is of the last importance to the kingdom.
On the first of these wool-sacks, next to the throne, sits the Lord
Chancellor, or Keeper, who is Speaker of the House of Peers; and on
the other two, the Lord Chief Justices and the rest of the judges,
with the Master of the Rolls, and the other Masters in Chancery:
about the middle of the house, on the east side, is a chimney, where
a fire is usually kept in the winter; and towards the north, or
lower end of the house, is a bar that runs across it, to which the
commons advance when they bring up bills or impeachments, or when
the King sends for them, and without this bar the council and
witnesses stand at trials before the peers. The house is at present
hung with tapestry, containing the history of the defeat of the
Spanish Armada, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, anno 1588.
The house or chamber where the commons assemble is to the northward
of the House of Lords, and stands east and west, as the other does
north and south. The room is pretty near square, and towards the
upper end is the Speaker's armed chair, to which he ascends by a
step or two; before it is a table where the clerks sit, on which the
mace lies when the Speaker is in the chair, and at other times the
mace is laid under the table. On the north and south sides, and at
the west end, are seats gradually ascending as in a theatre, and
between the seats at the west end is the entrance by a pair of
folding-doors. There are galleries also on the north, south, and
west, where strangers are frequently admitted to hear the debates.
This room was anciently a chapel, founded by King Stephen about the
year 1141, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; however, it obtained
the name of St. Stephen's Chapel.
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