The
Palace of Westminster, the medieval royal palace used as the home of the
British parliament, was largely destroyed by fire on 16 October 1834. The blaze was caused by the burning of small wooden
tally sticks which had been used as part of the accounting procedures of the Exchequer until 1826. The sticks were disposed of in a careless manner in the two furnaces under the
House of Lords, which caused a
chimney fire in the two flues that ran under the floor of the Lords' chamber and up through the walls.