1497 to the 19th century

1497
Clerk Richard Hatton retained 16 original Acts in the House of Lords

1509
Clerk of the Parliaments and his assistants separated from the Chancery

1510
Lords began retaining Journals of the House of Lords

1531
Lords began retaining Petitions and Papers laid on the Table of the Lords

1542
First Royal Assent given by a Royal Commission under Henry VIII

1547
First surviving Journal of the House of Commons

1558
Lords began retaining Bills

1597
The Lords decided that Journal Books of their proceedings should be kept officially and supervised by the House

1621
The Lords decided that all affairs of the House be recorded on parchment; records given a permanent home in the Jewel Tower

1623
First retention of Minute Books of Committees by the Commons

1625
First retention of Return Books of Elections by the Commons

1716-9
Jewel Tower reconstructed; two additional rooms renovated to house the ever-increasing records

1767
The Lords ordered the printing of their Journals

1834
Commons records destroyed in a great fire which devastated most of the Palace of Westminster on 16 October. Lords Records in the Jewel Tower survived due to their isolated location; Lords Clerk, Henry Stone Smith, also threw out many bundles of Lords papers from the main building into Old Palace Yard to save them

1843
First stone of Victoria Tower laid on 22 December; design undertaken by architect Charles Barry

1850
Manuscript rolls abolished; parchment rolls substituted with printed books

1854
All Acts were passed by assent of a Royal Commission from this date

1860
Victoria Tower completed; House of Lords records gradually transferred to the Tower

1870
Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts began to issue regular reports which highlighted the variety of manuscripts preserved by the House of Lords