First created 6 Apr 2012. Version 1.0 - 14 Apr 2012. Jerry Tse. London.

Palace of Westminster

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The Houses of Parliament, London

The present Neo-Gothic building of the Palace of Westminster was built between 1837 and 1860. It is about 150 years old, when the British Empire was on the rise.

The 1834 Fire

The old Houses of Parliament was burnt down in 1834. The watching public cheered as the roof fell in.

The Burning of the Houses of Parliament. 1835. by Turner. English. Cleveland Museum of Art.

Westminster Hall

Only the Westminster Hall survived the fire of 1834.

The hall was significantly remodelled by Richard II, in 1393.

The entrance façade of the Westminster Hall today.

The spacious interior of the Westminster Hall, first built in 1067. It was the largest hall in England and probably in Europe at that time. Originally it was used for banquets.

The roof was rebuilt in 1399. It is the largest medieval timber roof in northern Europe with a span of 69 feet.

There are 26 carved angels on the beams. It carries a shied with the royal arms of France and England and wings on the sides of the beams. It was carved by Robert Grassington.

The Queen address to Parliament in the Westminster Hall on 20 March 2012.

Chamber of the House of Commons.

The parliament has two houses. This is the House of Commons where the elected representatives debate and pass laws.

Interior

Chamber of the House of Lords. The 825 members of the House of Lords are made up of life peers (700) appointed by the government and hereditary Lords.

The Central Lobby, a common meeting place.

The Royal Gallery is often used when members of the two Houses meet together to hear addresses by visiting heads of State.

The Robing room is used by the Queen for the annual State Opening of Parliament. It is here the Queen puts on the Imperial State Crown and here ceremonial robes.

Exterior

The Bell Tower. The new building on the right provides more space for the parliament.

Big Ben installed in 1858.

The New Palace Yard with the Westminster Hall on the right.

Big Ben and the Westminster Hall behind Cromwell’s statue.

A tower near the St Stephen’s Entrance.

This is the statue of Oliver Cromwell, a parliamentarian of the English Civil War, holding a Bible in his hand.

He led a successful rebellion to overthrow the King Charles I, who was executed in 1649. This established the supremacy of the Houses of Parliament over the monarch.

Statue of Oliver Cromwell (Detail). 1899. Bronze. Hamo Thorneycroft. English. Palace of Westminster.

The St Stephen’s Entrance.

The façade above the St Stephen’s Entrance.

The Peer’s Tower.

The Central Lobby Tower in the middle.

The Palace Yard with the St Stephen Entrance on the left.

On the wall of the St Stephen’s Entrance.

The Equestrian Statue of Richard I (Lionheart). He led a crusade to the Holy land and spent 6 months of his 10 year in England.

Richard the Lionheart was born in France and French was his first language. The sculptor was Baron Marochetti, erected in 1856.

The House of Lords Entrance.

Victoria Tower.

A flag post holder lion on the Victoria Tower.

Statues on the Victoria Tower viewed from the south.

The façade of the south face.

A view from the south.

The Victoria Tower viewed from the Thames.

The façade face the River Thames.

All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective owners. Available free for non-commercial and personal use.

Music – An extract from Pomp and Circumstances by Edward Elgar.

The Houses of Parliament, Sunset. 1903. by Monet. French. National Gallery of Art. Washington DC.

The End