St Stephen’s chapel was completed in 1347, as the royal chapel of the Palace of Westminster, but from the Reformation, c 1550, until its destruction by fire in 1834 it served as the House of Commons. Adam Lee, Labourer in Trust at Westminster, completed a series of 43 plans, elevations and perspective views of the chapel and palace, which were exhibited in 1834; seven of these survive, all in the collections of the Museum of London.

Lee’s work is reassessed in the light of other antiquarian records, which indicate that his attempts at reconstructing the chapel as originally designed in medieval times were over-influenced in some details by Wyatt’s rebuilding c 1800. Of particular importance, however, is his depiction of the interior, which does seem to reflect accurate observation of medieval work behind later panelling. The paper concludes by discussing the drawings in the context both of early 19th-century architectural illustration and of panoramic painting – showpieces intended for popular entertainment.

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