A secret doorway built during the reign of Charles II has just been uncovered by architects during the restoration of the Houses of Parliament.
The previously unknown passage was reportedly built for the procession to the King's coronation banquet in the 17th century and was used afterward to access parliament by political luminaries including Robert Walpole and William Pitt, before being bricked up and later covered by wood panelling.
During the ongoing restoration work of the Houses of Parliament, the passage was rediscovered, as was some 169-year-old graffiti left by stonemasons and bricklayers with a rather humorous memento. The message, written in pencil reads, ‘This room was enclosed by Tom Porter who was very fond of Ould Ale.’
And it’s been revealed that Porter was not the only one to leave his mark on the passage, further messages were found that historians believe were left by the stonemasons employed by architect Sir Charles Barry, who rebuilt the Palace of Westminster after the devastating fire of 1834.
The graffiti says, ‘These masons were employed refacing these groines … August 11th 1851 Real Democrats.’
The Real Democrats were part of the working class male suffrage Chartist movement and called for reforms to allow every man aged 21 to have a vote, and for would-be MPs to stand even if they did not have property.
Documents from the 1851 census return shows the stonemasons working on the project at the time were Richard Condon, James Williams, Henry Terry, Thomas Parker and Peter Dewal.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, The House of Commons Speaker, was the first senior member of the Commons to visit the find and said in a statement, ‘To think that this walkway has been used by so many important people over the centuries is incredible. '
He added, ‘I am so proud of our staff for making this discovery and I really hope this space is celebrated for what it is: a part of our parliamentary history.’
Liz Hallam Smith, the team’s historical consultant from the University of York, said, ‘We were trawling through 10,000 uncatalogued documents relating to the palace at the Historic England archives in Swindon, when we found plans for the doorway in the cloister behind Westminster Hall.’
Smith added, ‘As we looked at the panelling closely, we realised there was a tiny brass keyhole that no-one had really noticed before, believing it might just be an electricity cupboard. Once a key was made for it, the panelling opened up like a door into this secret entrance.’
The team were also surprised to discover that the room helpfully had a light installed which they believe may have been added in the 1950s after the restoration work following the Second World War.