Mr Barry's War: Rebuilding the Houses of Parliament after the Great Fire of 1834

When the brilliant classical architect Charles Barry won the competition to build a new, Gothic, Houses of Parliament in London he thought it was the chance of a lifetime. It swiftly turned into the most nightmarish building programme of the century. From the beginning, its design, construction and decoration were a battlefield. The practical and political forces ranged against him were immense.

The new Palace of Westminster had to be built on acres of unstable quicksand, while the Lords an...