What 1834 event inspired J.M.W. Turner's painting 'The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons'?

The 1834 fire of the Houses of Parliament inspired J.M.W. Turner's painting “The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons.” Turner witnessed the blaze from the south bank of the River Thames and also observed it from a rented boat, making sketches in pencil and watercolour.

The fire began on the evening of 16 October 1834 and spread through much of the medieval Palace of Westminster. The disaster destroyed the House of Commons chamber, the House of Lords chamber, the Painted Chamber and other parts of the complex, although Westminster Hall survived. The fire was traced to the careless burning of wooden tally sticks in furnaces beneath the House of Lords.

Turner produced two oil versions, painted in late 1834 or early 1835. One shows the flames from upstream of Westminster Bridge; the other presents a more distant view near Waterloo Bridge, with smoke blown dramatically across the Thames. Both paintings were exhibited in London in 1835.

A common mix-up is treating “Palace of Westminster” and “Houses of Parliament” as entirely separate sites. The fire affected the palace complex that housed Parliament, so the stored wording is the standard quiz answer.