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Palace of Westminster

January 01, 1970

"Houses of Parliament" redirects here. For other uses, see Houses of Parliament (disambiguation).

The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative chambers which occupy the building. The palace is the centre of political life in the United Kingdom; "Westminster" has become a metonym for the UK Parliament and the British Government, and the Westminster system of government commemorates the name of the palace. The clock bell in the Elizabeth Tower (commonly known as the Big Ben Tower) of the palace, nicknamed Big Ben, is a landmark of London and the United Kingdom in general. The Palace of Westminster has been a Grade I listed building since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

Palace of Westminster
Seen from across the River Thames in 2022
LocationWestminster
London
SW1A 0AA
United Kingdom
Coordinates51°29′57″N 00°07′29″W / 51.49917°N 0.12472°W / 51.49917; -0.12472
Area112,476 m2 (1,210,680 sq ft)[1] (internal)
Built1016 and later
Demolished1834 (due to fire)
Rebuilt1840–1876
ArchitectsCharles Barry and Augustus Pugin
Architectural style(s)Perpendicular Gothic Revival
OwnerKing Charles III in right of the Crown[2]
Official namePalace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church
TypeCultural
Criteriai, ii, iv
Designated1987 (11th session)
Reference no.
CountryUnited Kingdom
RegionEurope
Extensions2008
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameHouses of Parliament and The Palace of Westminster
Designated5 February 1970
Reference no.1226284
Location of the Palace of Westminster in central London

The building was originally constructed in the eleventh century as a royal palace, and was the primary residence of the kings of England until 1512, when a fire destroyed the royal apartments. The monarch moved to the adjacent Palace of Whitehall, but the remainder of the palace continued to serve as the home of the Parliament of England, which had met there since the 13th century. In 1834 a second, larger fire destroyed the majority of the palace, but Westminster Hall was saved and incorporated into the replacement palace.

The competition to design the new palace was won by the architect Charles Barry, who chose a Gothic Revival style for the building. Construction started in 1840 and lasted for 30 years, suffering delays, cost overruns, and the deaths of Barry and his assistant, Augustus Pugin. The palace contains chambers for the House of Commons, House of Lords, and the monarch, and has a floor area of 112,476 m2 (1,210,680 sq ft).[1] Extensive repairs had to be made after the Second World War, including rebuilding the destroyed Commons chamber. Despite further conservation work having been carried out since, the palace is in urgent need of major repairs.

History edit

Main article: History of the Palace of Westminster

Old Palace edit

 
Conjectural restoration of Westminster during the reign of Henry VIII (1509 – 1547).[3] St Stephen's Chapel is in the centre, with the White Chamber and Painted Chamber on the left and Westminster Hall on the right.

The site of the current palace may have been used by Cnut during his reign from 1016 to 1035, and from c. 1045 – c. 1050 Edward the Confessor built a palace and the first Westminster Abbey. The oldest surviving part of the palace is Westminster Hall, which dates from the reign of William II (r. 1087–1100). The palace was the principal residence of the English monarchs in the late Medieval period. In 1512, during the early reign of Henry VIII, a fire destroyed the royal apartments of the palace.[4] In 1534 Henry moved to the neighbouring Palace of Whitehall, formerly York Place, which he had seized from Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.[5] Although Westminster remained a royal palace, from this point on its primary occupants were the two houses of Parliament and various courts of law.

The predecessor of Parliament, the Curia Regis, met in Westminster Hall when the king was in residence. The "Model Parliament", considered the first Parliament of England, met at the palace in 1295;[6] while medieval parliaments of England met in a variety of locations, the palace was frequently used and developed into the body's permanent home. The palace did not have dedicated chambers for the House of Commons or the House of Lords; the Commons adapted St Stephen's Chapel for its use in the sixteenth century, and the Lords used the Painted Chamber and, from 1801, the White Chamber.

The palace underwent significant alterations from the 18th century onwards, as Parliament struggled to carry out its business in the limited available space. These included a new storage and committee rooms by John Vardy, completed in 1770; a new official residence for the Speaker of the House of Commons, completed in 1795; and significant alterations and a new building by James Wyatt, completed in 1801. The last alterations were undertaken by Sir John Soane between 1824 and 1827, and included new library facilities for both Houses of Parliament and new law courts for the Chancery and King's Bench.

Fire and reconstruction edit

Main article: Burning of Parliament
 
J. M. W. Turner watched the fire of 1834 and painted several canvases depicting it, including The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons (1835).

On 16 October 1834, a fire broke out in the palace after an overheated stove used to destroy the Exchequer's stockpile of tally sticks set fire to the House of Lords Chamber. Both Houses of Parliament were destroyed, along with most of the other buildings in the palace complex. Westminster Hall was saved thanks to fire-fighting efforts and a change in the direction of the wind. The Jewel Tower and the undercroft, cloisters, and chapter house of St Stephen's Chapel were the only other parts of the palace to survive.[7]

William IV offered the almost-completed Buckingham Palace to Parliament, hoping to dispose of a residence he disliked; however, the building was considered unsuitable for parliamentary use and the gift was rejected.[8] The Painted Chamber and White Chamber were hastily repaired for temporary use,[9] and in 1835, following that year's General Election, the King permitted Parliament to make "plans for [its] permanent accommodation".[10] Each house created a committee[11][12] and a Perpendicular Gothic Revival design by the architect Charles Barry was chosen. Barry was inexperienced with Gothic, and relied heavily on Augustus Pugin to design details. The Lords Chamber was completed in 1847, and the Commons Chamber in 1852. Although most of the work had been carried out by 1860, construction was not finished until a decade afterwards.

World War II damage and restoration edit

 
The old chamber of the House of Commons was in use between 1852 and 1941, when it was destroyed by German bombs in the course of the Second World War.

During the Second World War the palace was hit by bombs on fourteen separate occasions. A bomb that fell on 26 September 1940 lifted the statue of Richard the Lionheart from its pedestal and bent its sword, an image that was used as a symbol of the strength of democracy, "which would bend but not break under attack".[13]

The worst raid took place in the night of 10–11 May 1941, when the palace took at least twelve hits and three people (two policemen and Resident Superintendent of the House of Lords, Edward Elliott[14]) were killed.[15] The Commons Chamber and the roof of Westminster Hall were both set alight; as the firefighters could not save both, the hall was prioritised and saved, whilst the chamber was destroyed.[16][17] The Lords Chamber and Clock Tower were damaged in the same raid.[15] The Commons Chamber was rebuilt in a simplified style after the war, being completed in 1950.[18]

Recent history edit

As the need for office space in the palace increased, Parliament acquired office space in the nearby Norman Shaw Building in 1975 and in the custom-built Portcullis House, completed in 2000.[19] This increase has enabled all Members of Parliament (MP) to have their own office facilities.[6]

The palace was designated a Grade I listed building in 1970 and a World Heritage Site in 1987. The fabric of the building is in urgent need of restoration. In January 2018, the House of Commons voted for both houses to vacate the palace to allow for a complete refurbishment of the building, which will take at least six years and start no sooner than 2025.[20] In September 2022 the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, a joint committee of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, was formed to oversee the necessary works.[21]

Exterior edit

River front of the Palace of Westminster
 
View from across the Thames in the morning...
 
...and at dusk. Portcullis House is visible on the right.

Charles Barry's collaborative design for the Palace of Westminster uses the Perpendicular Gothic style, which was popular during the 15th century and returned during the Gothic revival of the 19th century. Barry was a classical architect, but he was aided by the Gothic architect Augustus Pugin. Westminster Hall, which was built in the 11th century and survived the fire of 1834, was incorporated in Barry's design. Pugin was displeased with the result of the work, especially with the symmetrical layout designed by Barry; he famously remarked, "All Grecian, sir; Tudor details on a classic body".[22]

Stonework edit

In 1839 Charles Barry toured Britain, looking at quarries and buildings, with a committee which included two leading geologists and a stonecarver.[23] They selected Anston, a sand-coloured magnesian limestone quarried in the villages of Anston, South Yorkshire, and Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire.[24] Two quarries were chosen from a list of 102, with the majority of the stone coming from the former. A crucial consideration was transport, achieved on water via the Chesterfield Canal, the North Sea and the rivers Trent and Thames.[25] Furthermore, Anston was cheaper, and "could be supplied in blocks up to four feet thick and lent itself to elaborate carving".[23]

 
View from the Westminster Bridge, highlighting the distinctive color of the stonework

Barry's new Palace of Westminster was rebuilt using the sandy-coloured Anston limestone. However the stone soon began to decay owing to pollution and the poor quality of some of the stone used. Although such defects were clear as early as 1849, nothing was done for the remainder of the 19th century even after much studying.[26] During the 1910s, however, it became clear that some of the stonework had to be replaced. In 1928 it was deemed necessary to use Clipsham stone, a honey-coloured limestone from Rutland, to replace the decayed Anston. The project began in the 1930s but was halted by the outbreak of the Second World War and completed only during the 1950s. By the 1960s pollution had again begun to take its toll. A stone conservation and restoration programme to the external elevations and towers began in 1981 and ended in 1994.[27]

Towers edit

Victoria Tower edit

Main article: Victoria Tower
 
The Victoria Tower

The Palace of Westminster has three main towers. The largest and tallest is the 98.5-metre (323 ft)[24] Victoria Tower, which occupies the south-western corner of the palace. The tower was an integral part of Barry's original design, and he intended it to be the most memorable element, conceiving it as the keep of a legislative "castle". The tower was redesigned several times, and its height increased progressively;[28] upon its completion in 1858 it was the tallest secular building in the world.[29]

At base of the tower is the Sovereign's Entrance, used by the monarch whenever entering the palace to open Parliament or for other state occasions. The 15 m (49 ft) high archway is richly decorated with sculptures, including statues of Saints George, Andrew and Patrick, and Queen Victoria.[30] The main body of the tower houses the Parliamentary Archives in 8.8 kilometres (5.5 mi) of steel shelves spread over 12 floors. The archives include the master copies of all Acts of Parliament since 1497 and important manuscripts such as the original Bill of Rights and the death warrant of King Charles I.[31] At the top of the cast-iron pyramidal roof is a 22 m (72 ft)[24] flagstaff, from which flies the Royal Standard (the monarch's personal flag) when the Sovereign is present in the palace. On all other days the Union Flag flies from the mast.[32]

Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) edit

Main article: Big Ben
 
The Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)

At the north end of the palace is the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben. At 96 metres (315 ft) it is only slightly shorter than the Victoria Tower, but much slimmer.[24] It was called the Clock Tower until 2012, when it was renamed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The Clock Tower was designed by Augustus Pugin and built after his death. Charles Barry asked Pugin to design the clock tower because Pugin had previously helped Barry design the palace.[33]

The tower houses the Great Clock, which uses the original mechanism built by Edward John Dent to designs by amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison.[34] It is highly accurate by nineteenth-century standards, striking the hour to within a second of the time, and remaining reliable since it entered service in 1859.[35] The time is shown on four dials 7 metres (23 ft) in diameter, which are made of milk glass and are lit from behind at night; the hour hand is 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 in) long and the minute hand 4.3 metres (14 ft).[36]

Five bells hang in the belfry above the clock. The four quarter bells strike the Westminster Chimes every quarter-hour.[37] The largest bell strikes the hours; officially called the "Great Bell", it is generally referred to as Big Ben, a nickname of uncertain origins which, over time, has been colloquially applied to the whole tower. The first hour bell cracked during testing and was recast;[38] the present bell later developed a crack of its own, which gives it a distinctive sound.[39] It is the third-heaviest bell in Britain, weighing 13.8 tonnes.[40][41] In the lantern at the top of Elizabeth Tower is the Ayrton Light, which is lit when either House of Parliament is sitting after dark. It was installed in 1885 at the request of Queen Victoria, so that she could see from Buckingham Palace whether the members were "at work", and named after Acton Smee Ayrton, who was First Commissioner of Works in the 1870s.[42][43]

Central Tower edit

 
The Central Tower

The shortest of the palace's three principal towers (at 91 metres (299 ft)[24]), the octagonal Central Tower stands over the middle of the building, immediately above the Central Lobby. It was added to the plans on the insistence of Dr. David Boswell Reid, who was in charge of the ventilation of the new Houses of Parliament: his plan called for a central chimney through which what he called "vitiated air" would be drawn out of the building with the heat and smoke of about four hundred fires around the palace.[44] To accommodate the tower Barry was forced to lower the high ceiling he had planned for the Central Lobby and reduce the height of its windows;[45] however, the tower proved to be an opportunity to improve the palace's exterior design,[46] and Barry to make it a spire in order to balance the effect of the more massive lateral towers.[47] The Central Tower completely failed to fulfill its stated purpose, but it remains notable as "the first occasion when mechanical services had a real influence on architectural design,"[48] withstanding certain climate-specific architectural elements such as windcatchers.

Smaller towers edit

Some other features of the palace of Westminster are known as towers. St Stephen's Tower is positioned in the middle of the west front of the palace, between Westminster Hall and Old Palace Yard, and houses the public entrance to the palace.[49] The pavilions at the northern and southern ends of the river front are called Speaker's Tower and Chancellor's Tower respectively,[27] after the presiding officers of the two Houses at the time of the palace's reconstruction—the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Chancellor. Speaker's Tower contains Speaker's House, the official residence of the Speaker of the Commons.[50]

As well as the pinnacles which rise from between the window bays along the fronts of the palace, numerous turrets enliven the building's skyline. Like the Central Tower these were been built for practical reasons, as they mask ventilation shafts.[46]

Grounds edit

See also: Parliamentary Estate
 
Cromwell Green, outside Westminster Hall, is the site of Hamo Thornycroft's bronze statue of Oliver Cromwell, erected amid controversy in 1899.[51]

There are a number of small gardens surrounding the Palace of Westminster. Victoria Tower Gardens is open as a public park along the side of the river south of the palace. Black Rod's Garden (named after the office of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is closed to the public and is used as a private entrance. Old Palace Yard, in front of the palace, is paved over and covered in concrete security blocks (see security below). Cromwell Green (also on the frontage, and in 2006 enclosed by hoardings for the construction of a new visitor centre), New Palace Yard (on the north side) and Speaker's Green (directly north of the palace) are all private and closed to the public. College Green, opposite the House of Lords, is a small triangular green commonly used for television interviews with politicians.

Interior edit

The Palace of Westminster contains over 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and 4.8 kilometres (3 mi) of passageways,[24] which are spread over four floors. The ground floor is occupied by offices, dining rooms and bars; the first, or principal, floor houses the main rooms of the palace, including the debating chambers, the lobbies and the libraries. The top two floors are used as committee rooms and offices.

Some of the interiors were designed and painted by J. G. Crace, working in collaboration with Pugin and others. For example, Crace decorated and gilded the ceiling of the Chapel of St. Mary Undercroft.[52]

Layout edit

 
Layout of the principal floor, with north to the right. The Central Lobby is the octagonal space in the centre; the Commons chamber is to the north, with the Elizabeth Tower beyond. The Lords chamber is to the south, with the monarch's rooms beyond. Westminster Hall is to the west, at an angle.

The palace is a roughly rectangular building with its long axis parallel to the River Thames. The building is planned around the Central Lobby, a large hall from which corridors lead north to the Commons Chamber, south to the Lords Chamber, and west to the public entrance and Westminster Hall; to the east are committee rooms and libraries. The monarch's rooms lie beyond the Lords chamber at the far south of the palace.

The palace has separate entrances for its different users: the monarch, members of the House of Lords, members of Parliament and the public. The Sovereign's Entrance is at the base of the Victoria Tower in the south-west corner of the palace, and leads direct to the monarch's suite of rooms. Members of the House of Lords use the Peers' Entrance in the middle of the Old Palace Yard façade, which opens to an entrance hall. A staircase from there leads, through a corridor and the Prince's Chamber, to the Lords’ Chamber.[53] Members of Parliament enter their part of the building from the Members' Entrance in the south side of New Palace Yard. Their route passes through a cloakroom in the lower level of the Cloisters and eventually reaches the Members' Lobby directly south of the Commons Chamber. St Stephen's Entrance, in the approximate centre of the building's western front, is the public entrance. From it visitors walk through a flight of stairs to St Stephen's Hall, which houses a collection of marble statues of prominent parliamentarians, and then to the Central Lobby.[54]

Monarch's rooms edit

Norman Porch edit

The Sovereign's Entrance is beneath the Victoria Tower. It was designed for the use of the monarch, and is used by them during the State Opening of Parliament.[55] The Sovereign's Entrance is also the formal entrance used by visiting dignitaries,[56][57] as well as the starting point of public tours of the palace.[58]

From the entrance, a staircase leads up to the principal floor in a broad, unbroken flight of 26 steps made of grey granite.[59] At the top is the Norman Porch, a square landing with a central clustered column and a ceiling of four groin vaults with lierne ribs and carved bosses. The porch was named for its proposed decorative scheme, which was never completed but would have consisted of statues of the Norman kings and frescoes depicting Norman history.[60] As completed, the porch contains stained glass windows depicting Edward the Confessor and a young Queen Victoria,[61] a copy of a 1900 painting of Victoria by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant,[62] and busts of prime ministers who have sat in the House of Lords on the plinths intended for the statues. A double door opposite the stairs leads to the Royal Gallery, and another to the right opens to the Robing Room.[55]

Robing Room edit

 
The Sovereign prepares for the State Opening of Parliament in the Robing Room. Behind is the Chair of State.
 
The robing room in 1897

The Robing Room lies at the southern end of the palace's north-south axis, and occupies the centre of the south front, overlooking Victoria Tower Gardens.[63] It is where the Sovereign prepares for the State Opening of Parliament by changing into their official robes and putting on the Imperial State Crown.[64] The focus of the room is the chair of state, which sits on a dais of three steps under a canopy adorned with the arms and floral emblems of England, Scotland and Ireland. A panel of purple velvet forms the backdrop to the chair, embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework with the royal arms, surrounded by stars and VR monograms.[55] Edward Barry designed both the chair—the cushion and back of which are also embroidered—and the ornate marble fireplace across the room, which features gilded statuettes of Saint George and Saint Michael.[63]

The decorative theme of the room is the legend of King Arthur, considered by many Victorians the source of their nationhood.[65] Five frescoes painted by William Dyce between 1848 and 1864 cover the walls, depicting allegorical scenes from the legend. Each scene represents a chivalric virtue; the largest, between the two doors, is titled Admission of Sir Tristram to the Round Table and illustrates the virtue of Hospitality.[55] Seven were originally commissioned but the remaining two paintings were not carried out due to the artist's death, and on the wallpapered panels flanking the Chair of State hang oil portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.[63][note 1] Other decorations in the room are also inspired by the Arthurian legend, namely a series of 18 bas-reliefs beneath the paintings, carved in oak by Henry Hugh Armstead,[55] and the frieze running below the ceiling, which displays the attributed coats of arms of the Knights of the Round Table.[66] The ceiling itself is decorated with heraldic badges, as is the border of the wooden floor[53]—which, as can be seen in the adjacent image, is left exposed by the carpeting.

The Robing Room was briefly used as the House of Lords' meeting chamber while the House of Lords Chamber was occupied by the House of Commons, whose chamber had been destroyed by the Blitz in 1941.

Royal Gallery edit

 
Following the rapid decay of Maclise's first two frescoes, the rest of the Royal Gallery's walls were left unpainted.

Immediately north of the Robing Room is the Royal Gallery. At 33.5 by 13.7 metres (110 by 45 ft), it is one of the largest rooms in the palace.[24] Its main purpose is to serve as the stage of the royal procession at State Openings of Parliament, which the audience watch from temporary tiered seating on both sides of the route.[68] It has also been used on occasion by visiting statesmen from abroad when addressing both Houses of Parliament, as well as for receptions in honour of foreign dignitaries,[69] and more regularly for the Lord Chancellor's Breakfast;[70] in the past it was the theatre of several trials of peers by the House of Lords.[69][71] Documents from the Parliamentary Archives are on display in the Royal Gallery (including a facsimile of Charles I's death warrant), and the tables and seating offer a workspace for members of the Lords that is conveniently close to their debating chamber.[55]

The decorative scheme of the Royal Gallery was meant to display important moments in British military history, and the walls are decorated by two large paintings by Daniel Maclise, each measuring 13.7 by 3.7 metres (45 by 12 ft): The Death of Nelson (depicting Lord Nelson's demise at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805) and The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo (showing the Duke of Wellington meeting Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815).[55] The murals deteriorated rapidly after their completion due to a range of factors, most importantly atmospheric pollution, and today they are almost monochrome, although a finished study of The Death of Nelson in better condition hangs in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.[65] The rest of the planned frescos were cancelled, and the walls are filled with portraits of kings and queens from George I onwards.[72] Another decorative element with military undertones are the eight statues of gilded Caen stone that flank the three doorways and the bay window of the Gallery, sculpted by John Birnie Philip. Each depicts a monarch during whose reign a key battle or war took place.[55] They are: Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror; Richard I and Edward III; Henry V and Elizabeth I; William III and Anne. The panelled ceiling, 13.7 metres (45 ft) above the floor,[24] features Tudor roses and lions, and the stained-glass windows show the coats of arms of the Kings of England and Scotland.[69]

Prince's Chamber edit

 
Her Majesty Queen Victoria, supported by Justice and Clemency, by John Gibson (sculptor), Prince's Chamber, The Illustrated London News, 7 March 1857

The Prince's Chamber is a small anteroom between the Royal Gallery and the Lords Chamber, named after the room adjoining the Parliament Chamber in the Old Palace of Westminster. Thanks to its location, it is a place where members of the Lords meet to discuss business of the House. Several doors lead out of the room, to the division lobbies of the House of Lords and to a number of important offices.[55]

The theme of the Prince's Chamber is Tudor history, and 28 oil portraits painted on panels around the room depict members of the Tudor dynasty. They are the work of Richard Burchett and his pupils, and their creation entailed extensive research, which contributed to the founding of the National Portrait Gallery in 1856. 12 bronze bas-reliefs are set into the wall below the portraits, executed by William Theed in 1855–1857.[55] Scenes included are The Field of the Cloth of Gold, The Escape of Mary, Queen of Scots and Raleigh Spreading His Cloak As a Carpet for the Queen.[73] Above the portraits, at window level, there copies of six of the ten Armada tapestries, which hung in the chamber of the House of Lords until their destruction in the 1834 fire and depicted the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The project was put on hold in 1861 (by which time only one painting had been completed), and was not revived until 2007; as of August 2010, all six paintings are now in their intended places.

The room also contains a statue of Queen Victoria, seated on a throne (itself placed on a pedestal) and holding a sceptre and a laurel crown, which show that she both governs and rules.[55] This figure is flanked by allegorical statues of Justice and Clemency—the former with a bare sword and an inflexible expression and the latter showing sympathy and offering an olive branch.[74] The sculptural ensemble, made of white marble and carved by John Gibson in 1855, reaches 2.44 metres (8 ft) in height; its size has long been considered out of proportion with the fittings of the Prince's Chamber, and the flanking statues ended up in storage between 1955 and 1976. However, the size and location of the group, in the archway opposite the doors to the Royal Gallery (which are removed before State Openings of Parliament to facilitate the royal procession), indicate that it was meant to be seen from a distance, and to symbolically remind the monarch of their royal duties as they would walk down the Royal Gallery on their way to deliver their speech.[55][75]

Lords Chamber edit

 
The Sovereign's Throne and its gilded Canopy dominate the ornate Lords Chamber.

The Chamber of the House of Lords is located in the southern part of the Palace of Westminster. The lavishly decorated room measures 13.7 by 24.4 metres (45 by 80 ft).[24] The benches in the Chamber, as well as other furnishings in the Lords' side of the palace, are coloured red. The upper part of the Chamber is decorated by stained glass windows and by six allegorical frescoes representing religion, chivalry and law.

At the south end of the Chamber are the ornate gold Canopy and Throne; although the Sovereign may theoretically occupy the Throne during any sitting, he or she attends only the State Opening of Parliament. Other members of the Royal Family who attend the State Opening use Chairs of State next to the Throne, and peers' sons are always entitled to sit on the steps of the Throne. In front of the Throne is the Woolsack, an armless red cushion stuffed with wool, representing the historical importance of the wool trade, and used by the officer presiding over the House (the Lord Speaker since 2006, but historically the Lord Chancellor or a deputy). The House's mace, which represents royal authority, is placed on the back of the Woolsack. In front of the Woolsack is the Judges' Woolsack, a larger red cushion that used to be occupied during the State Opening by the Law Lords (who were members of the House of Lords), and prospectively by the Supreme Court Justices and other Judges (whether or not members), to represent the Judicial Branch of Government. The Table of the House, at which the clerks sit, is in front.

Members of the House occupy red benches on three sides of the Chamber. The benches on the Lord Speaker's right form the Spiritual Side and those to his left form the Temporal Side. The Lords Spiritual (archbishops and bishops of the established Church of England) all occupy the Spiritual Side. The Lords Temporal (nobles) sit according to party affiliation: members of the Government party sit on the Spiritual Side, while those of the Opposition sit on the Temporal Side. Some peers, who have no party affiliation, sit on the benches in the middle of the House opposite the Woolsack; they are accordingly known as crossbenchers.

 
The passage of the Parliament Act 1911. Votes in both Houses of Parliament are conducted in the form of divisions.

The Lords Chamber is the site of nationally televised ceremonies, the most important of which is the State Opening of Parliament, which is held formally to open each annual parliamentary session, either after a General Election or in the autumn. At this occasion every constitutional element of the government is represented: the Crown (both literally, and figuratively in the person of the Sovereign), The Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and The Commons, (who together form the Legislature), the Judiciary (although no judges are members of either House of Parliament), and the Executive (both Government Ministers, and ceremonial military units in attendance on the Sovereign); and a large number of guests are invited to attend in the large Royal Gallery immediately outside the Chamber. The Sovereign, seated on the Throne, delivers the Speech from the Throne, outlining the Government's programme for the year and legislative agenda for the forthcoming parliamentary session. The Commons may not enter the Lords' debating floor; instead, they watch the proceedings from beyond the Bar of the House, just inside the door. A small purely formal ceremony is held to end each parliamentary session, when the Sovereign is merely represented by a group of Lords Commissioners.

Following the Blitz, which destroyed the chamber of the House of Commons, the Lords' chamber was occupied by the Commons. The Lords temporarily used the Robing Room during the reconstruction. The State Opening Of Parliament was carried out as normal, with the new rooms being used. Evidence can still be seen of this today, with damage clearly visible on one of the doors where they were struck by Black Rod.

Peers' Lobby edit

Directly north of the Lords Chamber lies the Peers' Lobby, an antechamber where Lords can informally discuss or negotiate matters during sittings of the House, as well as collect messages from the doorkeepers, who control access to the Chamber. The Lobby is a square room measuring 12 metres (39 ft) on each side and 10 metres (33 ft) in height,[24] and one of its main features is the floor centrepiece, a radiant Tudor rose made of Derbyshire marbles and set within an octagon of engraved brass plates.[76] The rest of the floor is paved with encaustic tiles featuring heraldic designs and Latin mottoes. The walls are faced with white stone and each is pierced by a doorway; above the arches are displayed arms representing the six royal dynasties which ruled England until Queen Victoria's reign (Saxon, Norman, Plantagenet, Tudor, Stuart and Hanoverian), and between them there are windows stained with the arms of the early aristocratic families of England.[77]

Of the doorways, the one to the south—which leads into the Lords Chamber—is the most magnificent, and sports much gilding and decoration, including the full royal arms. It is enclosed by the Brass Gates, a pair of elaborately pierced and studded doors together weighing 1.5 tonnes.[78] The side doors, which feature clocks, open into corridors: to the east extends the Law Lords Corridor, which leads to the libraries, and nearby to the west lies the Moses Room, used for Grand Committees.

To the north is the vaulted Peers' Corridor, which is decorated with eight murals by Charles West Cope depicting historical scenes from the period around the English Civil War.[79] The frescoes were executed between 1856 and 1866,[80][81] and each scene was "specifically chosen to depict the struggles through which national liberties were won".[79] Examples include Speaker Lenthall Asserting the Privileges of the Commons Against Charles I when the Attempt was Made to Seize the Five Members, representing resistance against absolute rule, and The Embarkation of the Pilgrim Fathers for New England, which illustrates the principle of freedom of worship.

Central Lobby edit

 
Saint George for England by Sir Edward Poynter and Saint Patrick for Ireland by Robert Anning Bell are two of the four mosaics decorating the Central Lobby.

Originally named "Octagon Hall" because of its shape, the Central Lobby is the heart of the Palace of Westminster. It lies directly below the Central Tower and forms a busy crossroads between the House of Lords to the south, the House of Commons to the north, St Stephen's Hall and the public entrance to the west, and the Lower Waiting Hall and the libraries to the east. Its location halfway between the two debating chambers has led constitutional theorist Erskine May to describe the Lobby as "the political centre of the British Empire",[82] and allows a person standing under the great chandelier to see both the Royal Throne and the Speaker's Chair, provided that all the intervening doors are open. Constituents may meet their Members of Parliament here, even without an appointment,[83] and this practice is the origin of the term lobbying.[84] The hall is also the theatre of the Speaker's Procession, which passes from here on its way to the Commons Chamber before every sitting of the House.

The Central Lobby measures 18 metres (59 ft) across and 23 metres (75 ft) from the floor to the centre of the vaulted ceiling.[24] The panels between the vault's ribs are covered with Venetian glass mosaic displaying floral emblems and heraldic badges, and the bosses in the intersections of the ribs are also carved into heraldic symbols.[85] Each wall of the Lobby is contained in an arch ornamented with statues of English and Scottish monarchs; on four sides there are doorways, and the tympana above them are adorned with mosaics representing the patron saints of the United Kingdom's constituent nations: Saint George for England, Saint Andrew for Scotland, Saint David for Wales and Saint Patrick for Ireland.[note 2] The other four arches are occupied by high windows, under which there are stone screens—the hall's post office, one of two in the palace, is located behind one of these screens. In front of them stand four bigger-than-life statues of 19th-century statesmen, including one of four-time prime minister William Gladstone.[79] The floor on which they stand is tiled with Minton encaustic tiles in intricate patterns and includes a passage from Psalm 127 written in Latin, which translates as follows: "Except the Lord build the House their labour is but lost that build it".[87]

The East Corridor leads from the Central Lobby to the Lower Waiting Hall, and its six panels remained blank until 1910, when they were filled with scenes from Tudor history.[88] They were all paid for by Liberal peers and each was the work of a different artist, but uniformity was achieved between the frescoes thanks to a common colour palette of red, black and gold and a uniform height for the depicted characters. One of the scenes is probably not historical: Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens, depicting the origin of these flowers as emblems of the Houses of Lancaster and York respectively, was taken from Shakespeare's play Henry VI, Part 1.[89]

Members' Lobby edit

Main article: Members' Lobby
 
U.S. President Barack Obama (right) in the Members' Lobby during a tour of the Palace in May 2011. With him are, from the left: the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Marquess of Cholmondeley, holding his white staff of office; the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman; and the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.

Continuing north from the Central Lobby is the Commons' Corridor. It is of almost identical design to its southern counterpart and is decorated with scenes of 17th-century political history between the Civil War and the Revolution of 1688. They were painted by Edward Matthew Ward and include subjects like Monk Declaring for a Free Parliament and The Lords and Commons Presenting the Crown to William III and Mary II in the Banqueting Hall.[79] Then, mirroring the arrangement at the Lords part of the palace, is another antechamber, the Members' Lobby. In this room, Members of Parliament hold discussions or negotiations, and are often interviewed by accredited journalists, collectively known as "The Lobby".[90]

The room is similar to the Peers' Lobby but plainer in design and slightly larger, forming a cube 13.7 metres (45 ft) on all sides.[24] After the heavy damage it sustained in the 1941 bombing, it was rebuilt in a simplified style, something most evident in the floor, which is almost completely unadorned. The archway of the door leading into the Commons Chamber has been left unrepaired as a reminder of the evils of war, and is now known as the Rubble Arch or Churchill Arch. It is flanked by bronze statues of Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George, the prime ministers who led Britain through the Second and First World War respectively; a foot of each is conspicuously shiny, a result of a long tradition of MPs rubbing them for good luck on their way in before their maiden speech. The Lobby contains the busts and statues of most 20th-century prime ministers, as well as two large boards where MPs can receive letters and telephone messages, designed for the use of the House and installed in the early 1960s.[91]

Commons Chamber edit

 
The Victorian House of Commons. Its benches could seat only about two-thirds of all Members of Parliament, as is the case for the postwar rebuilt chamber.

The Chamber of the House of Commons is at the northern end of the Palace of Westminster; it was opened in 1950 after the Victorian chamber had been destroyed in 1941 and re-built under the architect Giles Gilbert Scott. The Chamber measures 14 by 20.7 metres (46 by 68 ft)[24] and is plainer in style than the Lords Chamber;[92] the benches, as well as other furnishings in the Commons side of the palace, are coloured green. Members of the public are forbidden to sit on the benches. Other parliaments in Commonwealth nations, including those of India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have copied the colour scheme under which the Lower House is associated with green, and the Upper House with red.

 
Left to right: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, House of Commons Speaker John Bercow and U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague examine the despatch boxes on 25 February 2013

At the north end of the Chamber is the Speaker's Chair, a present to Parliament from the Commonwealth of Australia. The current British Speaker's Chair is an exact copy of the Speaker's Chair given to Australia, by the House of Commons, to celebrate the opening of Old Parliament House, Canberra. In front of the Speaker's Chair is the Table of the House, at which the clerks sit, and on which is placed the Commons' ceremonial mace. The Table was a gift from Canada.[93] The dispatch boxes, which front-bench Members of Parliament (MPs) often lean on or rest notes on during Questions and speeches, are a gift from New Zealand. There are green benches on either side of the House; members of the Government party occupy benches on the Speaker's right, while those of the Opposition occupy benches on the Speaker's left. There are no cross-benches as in the House of Lords. The Chamber is relatively small, and can accommodate only 427 of the 650 Members of Parliament[94]—during Prime Minister's Questions and in major debates MPs stand at either end of the House.

By tradition, the British Sovereign does not enter the Chamber of the House of Commons. The last monarch to do so was King Charles I, in 1642. The King sought to arrest five Members of Parliament on charges of high treason, but when he asked the Speaker, William Lenthall, if he had any knowledge of the whereabouts of these individuals, Lenthall famously replied: "May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here."[95] Since then, in the State Opening of Parliament, when Black Rod representing the monarch approaches the doors to the chamber of the House of Commons to make the summons, the doors are pointedly slammed in his or her face. Black Rod has to strike the door three times with a staff, to be admitted and issue the summons from the monarch to the MPs to attend. When repairs after the World War II bombing were completed, the rebuilt chamber was opened by King George VI on 26 October 1950 who was invited to an "unofficial" tour of the new structure by Commons leaders.[96][97]

The two red lines on the floor of the House of Commons are 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in)[24] apart, which, by apocryphal tradition, is intended to be just over two sword-lengths. It is said that the original purpose of this was to prevent disputes in the House from degenerating into duels. However, there is no record of a time when Members of Parliament were allowed to bring swords into the Chamber; historically only the Serjeant at Arms has been allowed to carry a sword as a symbol of their role in Parliament, plus Black Rod when summoning the Commons to the Lords, and there are loops of pink ribbon in the Members' cloakroom for MPs to hang up their swords before entering the Chamber. In the days when gentlemen carried swords, there were no lines in the Chamber.[98][99] Protocol dictates that MPs may not cross these lines when speaking; a Member of Parliament who violates this convention will be lambasted by opposition Members.

Westminster Hall edit

Main article: Westminster Hall
 
Westminster Hall in the early 19th century, surmounted by its medieval hammerbeam roof.

Westminster Hall is a large medieval great hall and the oldest surviving palace building.[100] It was erected in 1097 for William II ("William Rufus"), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe.[101] The building has had various functions over the years, including being used for judicial purposes from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries.[102][103] When a joint address is given to the two chambers of the UK Parliament, the House of Commons and House of Lords, the hall is typically the venue.[104] It was also used to host coronation banquets until the nineteenth century, and since the twentieth century has been the usual venue for the lyings in state of state and ceremonial funerals.[105][106]

The hall is particularly notable for its hammerbeam roof, a form typical of English Gothic architecture which uses horizontal trusses to span large distances; the hall originally had three aisles. The roof was commissioned for Richard II in 1393 and built by the royal carpenter, Hugh Herland.[107] It is the largest clearspan medieval roof in England, measuring 20.7 by 73.2 metres (68 by 240 ft).[24] The oak timbers came from woods in South-East England and were assembled near Farnham, Surrey, 56 kilometres (35 mi) away from Westminster.[108] At the same time the rest of the hall was remodelled by the master mason Henry Yevele, who refaced the walls and added fifteen life-size statues of kings placed in niches.[109] The renovations include eighty-three unique depictions of Richard's favourite heraldic badge, a resting chained white hart.[110]

Other rooms edit

Main articles: House of Lords Library and House of Commons Library

There are two suites of libraries on the Principal Floor, overlooking the river, for the House of Lords Library and House of Commons Library.

The Palace of Westminster also includes state apartments for the presiding officers of the two Houses. The official residence of the Speaker stands at the northern end of the palace; the Lord Chancellor's apartments are at the southern end. Each day, the Speaker and Lord Speaker take part in formal processions from their apartments to their respective Chambers.[111][112]

The Strangers' Bar is one of the numerous bars, cafeterias and restaurants in the Palace of Westminster, with differing rules regarding who is allowed to use their facilities; many of them never close while the House is sitting.[113] There is also a gymnasium, a hair salon; and a rifle range.[114] Parliament also has two souvenir shops, where items on sale range from House of Commons key-rings and china to House of Commons Champagne.

Security edit

 
Concrete barriers restrict access to Old Palace Yard.

The Lady Usher of the Black Rod oversees security for the House of Lords, and the Serjeant at Arms does the same for the House of Commons. These officers, however, have primarily ceremonial roles outside the actual chambers of their respective Houses. Security is the responsibility of the Parliamentary Security Director. Parliament has its own professional security force. Tradition still dictates that only the Serjeant at Arms may enter the Commons chamber armed.

With rising concern about the possibility that a vehicle full of explosives could be driven into the building, a series of concrete blocks were placed in the roadway in 2003.[115] On the river, an exclusion zone extending 70 metres (77 yd) from the bank exists, which no unauthorised vessels are allowed to enter.[116]

The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 formerly made it illegal to hold a protest near the palace, or anywhere else within a designated area extending up to 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) from Parliament Square, without authorisation from the Metropolitan Police. The Act also restricted the operation of loudspeakers in the designated area.[117] These provisions were repealed by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, which replaced them with a total ban on tents and sleeping bags in Parliament Square, as well as a prohibition on the use of loudspeakers in the Square without permission from the relevant local authority.[118]

Members of the public continue to have access to the Strangers' Gallery in the House of Commons. Visitors pass through metal detectors and their possessions are scanned.[119] Police from the Palace of Westminster Division of the Metropolitan Police, supported by some armed police from the Diplomatic Protection Group, are always on duty in and around the palace.

Incidents edit

The failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a conspiracy among a group of Roman Catholic gentry to re-establish Catholicism in England by assassinating the Protestant King James I and replacing him with a Catholic monarch. To this end, they placed large quantities of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords, which one of the conspirators, Guy Fawkes, would detonate during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605. If successful, the explosion would have destroyed the palace, killing the King, his family and most of the aristocracy. However, the plot was discovered and most of the conspirators were either arrested or killed while trying to evade capture. The survivors were tortured in the Tower of London, tried for high treason in Westminster Hall, convicted and gruesomely executed by hanging, drawing and quartering. Since then, the cellars of the palace have been searched by the Yeomen of the Guard before every State Opening of Parliament, a traditional precaution against any similar attempts against the Sovereign.[120]

The execution of Sir Walter Raleigh occurred at the palace of Westminster on 29 October 1618.

 
The assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in 1812 in the lobby of the House of Commons

The previous Palace of Westminster was also the site of a prime-ministerial assassination on 11 May 1812. While in the lobby of the House of Commons, on his way to a parliamentary inquiry, Spencer Perceval was shot and killed by a Liverpool merchant adventurer, John Bellingham. Perceval remains the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated.[121]

The New Palace became the target of Fenian bombs on 24 January 1885, along with the Tower of London. The first bomb, a black bag containing dynamite, was discovered by a visitor on the steps towards the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft. Police Constable (PC) William Cole attempted to carry it to New Palace Yard, but the bag became so hot that Cole dropped it and it exploded.[122] The blast opened a crater in the floor 1 metre (3 ft) in diameter, damaged the roof of the chapel and shattered all the windows in the Hall, including the stained-glass South Window at St Stephen's Porch.[123] Both Cole and PC Cox, a colleague who had joined him to offer assistance, were seriously injured.[122] A second explosion followed almost immediately in the Commons Chamber, causing great damage—especially to its south end—but no injuries, as it was empty at the time.[124] The incident resulted in the closure of Westminster Hall to visitors for several years; when visitors were re-admitted in 1889, it was under certain restrictions and never while the two Houses were sitting.[125]

On 17 June 1974, a 9-kilogram (20 lb) bomb planted by the Provisional IRA exploded in Westminster Hall. The explosion and the resulting fire, which was fed by a ruptured gas main, injured 11 people and caused extensive damage.[126] Five years later, a car bomb claimed the life of Airey Neave, a prominent Conservative politician, while he was driving out of the Commons car park in New Palace Yard. The attack occurred on 30 March 1979, one day after the announcement of that year's general election;[127] both the Irish National Liberation Army and the Provisional IRA claimed responsibility for Neave's assassination,[128] but it is now accepted that the former were responsible.[129][130]

 
Plane Stupid activists on the roof of the Palace of Westminster

The palace has also been the scene of numerous acts of politically motivated "direct action", which often took place in the Chamber of the House of Commons. In July 1970, a man in the Strangers' Gallery threw two canisters of tear gas into the Chamber to protest against the use of such gas in Northern Ireland; an MP and two members of the House's staff were taken to hospital and the sitting was suspended for almost two hours.[131][132] In 1978, activist Yana Mintoff and another dissident threw bags of horse manure,[133][134] and in June 1996 demonstrators dropped leaflets.[135][note 3] Concern about such attacks and a possible chemical or biological attack led to the installation of a glass screen across the Strangers' Gallery in early 2004.

The new barrier does not cover the gallery in front of the Strangers' Gallery, which is reserved for ambassadors, members of the House of Lords, guests of MPs and other dignitaries,[137] and in May 2004 protesters from Fathers 4 Justice attacked Prime Minister Tony Blair with flour bombs from this part, after obtaining admission by bidding for a place in the visitors' gallery in a charity auction.[138] Subsequently, rules on admission to the visitors' galleries were changed, and now individuals wishing to sit in the galleries must first obtain a written pass from a Member certifying that that individual is personally known to them. In September of the same year, five protesters opposed to the proposed ban on fox hunting disrupted the proceedings of the House of Commons by running into the Chamber, the first such occurrence since King Charles I's unauthorised entry in 1642, which triggered the English Civil War.[139]

The House of Lords has also been targeted by protesters. On 2 February 1988, the House debated the Local Government Bill's controversial Clause 28, a measure to prohibit the promotion of homosexuality in schools.[140] Following the division, in which the clause passed, a number of lesbian demonstrators in the public gallery started chanting slogans, and three of them tied ropes to the railing and climbed down onto the floor of the Chamber.[135][141] Lord Monkswell, who had provided the women with passes to attend the debate, later apologised to the House for the incident but did not criticise the protest.[142]

Similar actions have been carried out outside the Palace of Westminster. Early in the morning of 20 March 2004, two Greenpeace members scaled the Clock Tower to demonstrate against the Iraq War, raising questions about the security around such a likely target of terrorist attacks.[143] In March 2007, another four members of Greenpeace made their way to the palace's roof by means of a nearby crane, which was being used for repairs to Westminster Bridge. Once up, they unfurled a 15-metre (50 ft) banner protesting against the British government's plans to update the Trident nuclear programme.[144]

In February 2008, five campaigners from the Plane Stupid group gained admittance to the building as visitors and then moved up to the roof to demonstrate against the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport; from there they hung two banners they had smuggled past security. MPs and security experts found it worrying that the protesters made it to the roof in spite of the heightened security measures,[145] and the prosecution at the activists' trial argued that they may have received help from a House of Lords employee.[146][147] In October 2009, at least forty Greenpeace activists climbed to the roof of Westminster Hall to call for the adoption of policies combating climate change. Some of them climbed down after nearly five hours, while the rest spent the night on the roof.[note 4]

On 22 March 2017 an Islamist-related terror attack was carried out in which a man stabbed a police officer after ploughing into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge. Five people were killed, including the attacker and the police officer.[153] In August 2018 there was another attack, treated by prosecutors as terrorism.[154][155]

On 1 April 2019, a group of environmental protestors from the group Extinction Rebellion stripped semi-naked in the public gallery during a Brexit debate and glued themselves to the handrail and glass screen with their buttocks facing the Commons Chamber. MPs attempted to continue the debate, some of them incorporating puns and references to nakedness into their speeches, to much hilarity.[156]

There have been four fires on the Palace of Westminster site during 2019, and eight in 2018.[157]

In 2022, the body of the late Queen Elizabeth was left inside the hall for people to pay their respects. A man decided to jump the barriers and pull away the flag draped over the coffin. He was detained and taken away by police and officials.[158]

Rules and traditions edit

The palace has accumulated many rules and traditions over the centuries.

Eating, drinking and smoking edit

Smoking has not been allowed in the chamber of the House of Commons since the 17th century.[159] As a result, Members may take snuff instead and the doorkeepers still keep a snuff-box for this purpose. Despite persistent media rumours, it has not been permitted to smoke anywhere inside the palace since 2005.[160] Members may not eat or drink in the chamber; the exception to this rule is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who may have a beverage of the Chancellors' choice while delivering the Budget statement.[161] Traditionally this is an alcoholic beverage, often whisky or a similar spirit, but in recent times, Chancellors have opted for water.[161]

Dress code edit

 
The introduction of a new Member of Parliament, 1858. Wearing hats in the House of Commons has not always been treated in the same way.

Men are expected to wear formal attire, women are expected to dress in business-like clothing and the wearing of T-shirts with slogans is not allowed.[162] Hats must not be worn (although they used to be worn when a point of order was being raised),[163] and Members may not wear military decorations or insignia. Members are not allowed to have their hands in their pockets—Andrew Robathan was heckled by opposing MPs for doing this on 19 December 1994.[164][165]

Other traditions edit

The only animals allowed in the Palace of Westminster are guide dogs, police dogs and police horses.[159][166]

Speeches may not be read out during debate in the House of Commons, although notes may be referred to. Similarly, the reading of newspapers is not allowed. Visual aids are discouraged in the chamber.[167] Applause is also not normally allowed in the Commons, but it has since been tolerated in certain cases. Some notable exceptions to this were when Robin Cook gave his resignation speech in 2003;[168] when Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared for the last time at Prime Minister's Questions;[169] when Speaker Michael Martin gave his leaving speech on 17 June 2009;[170] and after the resignation statement of Sir Robert Rogers, Clerk of the House.[171] At the start of the new parliament in May 2015, the large influx of new Scottish National Party MPs flouted the convention and repeatedly applauded their party leader, to the displeasure of the Speaker.[172]

The status of the building as a royal palace raises legal questions—according to Halsbury's Laws of England, it is not possible to arrest a person within the "verges" of the palace (the palace itself and its immediate surroundings).[173] However, according to a memorandum by the Clerk of the House of Commons, there is no prohibition on arrest within the palace and such arrests have been effected in the past.[174]

Culture and tourism edit

Claude Monet's Houses of Parliament series
 
The Houses of Parliament, sunset (1903), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
 
London, Houses of Parliament. The Sun Shining through the Fog (1904), Musée d'Orsay, Paris
During three trips to London between 1899 and 1901, Impressionist painter Claude Monet worked on a series of canvasses that depicted the Palace of Westminster under various lighting conditions; the building was often shrouded in the smog prevalent in the city in Victorian times. The paintings share the same vantage point—a terrace at St Thomas's Hospital, across the river from the Palace—and many of the works were finished in Monet's studio in France over the following years.[175]

The exterior of the Palace of Westminster—especially the Elizabeth Tower which houses the bell known as Big Ben, and its setting on the bank of the River Thames—is recognised worldwide, and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in London. Tsar Nicholas I called it "a dream in stone".[176] The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) classifies the Palace of Westminster, along with neighbouring Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's, as a World Heritage Site. It is also a Grade I listed building.[177]

Although there is no casual access to the interior of the palace, there are several ways to gain admittance. UK residents may obtain tickets from an MP for a place in the viewing ("strangers") gallery of the House of Commons, or from a Lord for a seat in the gallery of the House of Lords. It is also possible for both UK residents and overseas visitors to queue for admission to them at any time of the day or night when either House is in session, but capacity is limited and there is no guarantee of admission. Either House may exclude "strangers" if it desires to sit in private.[178] Members of the public can also queue for a seat in a committee session, where admission is free and places cannot be booked,[179] or they may visit the Parliamentary Archives for research purposes. Booking an appointment is necessary in the latter case, along with a proof of identity.[180]

External videos
 
  Charles Barry and A. W. N. Pugin, Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), 1840–70, Smarthistory, 6:27

Free guided tours of the palace are held throughout the parliamentary session for UK residents, who can apply through their MP or a member of the House of Lords. The tours last about 75 minutes and include the state rooms, the chambers of the two Houses and Westminster Hall. Paid-for tours are available to both UK and overseas visitors during the summer recess and Saturdays throughout the year.[181][182] Tours of the Elizabeth Tower were suspended until 2021 while the tower underwent refurbishment.[183]

Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank selected the palace as one of his five choices for the 2006 BBC television documentary series Britain's Best Buildings.[184]

The nearest London Underground station is Westminster, on the District, Circle and Jubilee lines.

In 2015, Parliament organised a year-long programme of events called "Parliament in the Making" to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta on 15 June, and the 750th anniversary of the first representative parliament on 20 January.[185][186] Events were coordinated with Parliament Week. The BBC held events throughout the year including a "Democracy Day" on 20 January consisting of live discussions and debate in partnership with the Speaker's Office of the House of Commons, including broadcasts from inside the Palace of Westminster.[187]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Depicted (clockwise) are the virtues of Courtesy, Religion, Generosity, Hospitality and Mercy. The two missing frescoes were meant to depict Fidelity and Courage.[66] Queen Victoria's portrait can be seen in the Parliamentary website.[67]
  2. ^ The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland included all of Ireland until the Irish Free State's creation in 1922. Decorative references to Ireland exist throughout the Palace of Westminster and include symbols like the Irish harp and the shamrock. The saints' mosaics were planned from 1847, but Robert Anning Bell's design for Ireland was completed in 1924 and reflects the 1920–22 partition, with Saint Patrick flanked by Saint Columba over the arms of Ulster for Northern Ireland, and Saint Brigid over the arms of Ireland for the Free State.[86]
  3. ^ The Member for the Isle of Wight, Barry Field, subsequently commented that he was "showered by national lottery tickets" and asked the Speaker "whether they came from that long lottery finger in the advertisement that points down to people and says, 'It could be you' ".[136]
  4. ^ Sources differ on the exact number of demonstrators. A House of Commons spokeswoman stated that 45 people climbed to the roof,[148][149][150] and a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said that 20 climbed down on the first day,[148][149] but 31 activists stayed there overnight according to Greenpeace,[150][151] and the BBC later reported that 54 people were charged with "trespassing on land designated a protected site".[152]

References edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b (PDF). Restoration and Renewal. Houses of Parliament. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Planning (Application to the Houses of Parliament) Order 2006". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 682. United Kingdom: House of Lords. 17 May 2006. col. 339. The Palace of Westminster is therefore Crown land because it is land in which there is a Crown interest, in this case an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown.
  3. ^ The bird's-eye view by H. J. Brewer was published in The Builder in 1884, according to www.parliament.uk 13 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ "All Change at the Palace of Westminster". BBC History. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  5. ^ Fraser, Antonia (1992). The Wives of Henry VIII. New York: Alfred A Knopf. ISBN 978-0-394-58538-3.
  6. ^ a b (PDF). House of Commons Information Office. April 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Architecture of the Palace: The Great Fire of 1834". UK Parliament. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  8. ^ Jones (1983), p. 77; Riding and Riding (2000), p. 100; Port (1976), p. 20.
  9. ^ Jones (1983), pp. 77–78; Port (1976), p. 20.
  10. ^ "KING'S SPEECH". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. 24 February 1835. col. 63–64.
  11. ^ "NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 2 March 1835. col. 469–471.
  12. ^ "NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. 3 March 1835. col. 489–490.
  13. ^ "Richard I statue: Second World War damage". UK Parliament. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  14. ^ [1] 23 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Names on the Parliamentary War Memorial.
  15. ^ a b Fell and Mackenzie (1994), p. 27.
  16. ^ Field (2002), p. 259.
  17. ^ UK Parliament (29 July 2008). "Bombed House of Commons 1941". Flickr. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  18. ^ "'The House' Returns". British Pathé. Retrieved 8 February 2023. Newsreel 50/87, issue date 30 October 1950.
  19. ^ "The Norman Shaw Buildings" (PDF). House of Commons Information Office. April 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  20. ^ "MPs set to leave Houses of Parliament for £3.5bn restoration". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  21. ^ "Restoration and Renewal Client Board". Houses of Parliament. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  22. ^ Devey, Peter (February 2001). "Commons Sense". The Architectural Review. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  23. ^ a b UK Parliament website "stonework" page 2 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 4 January 2014.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "The Palace of Westminster" (PDF). House of Commons Information Office. May 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  25. ^ Richardson, Christine (2007). Yorkshire Stone to London: To Create the Houses of Parliament. Richlow Histories. ISBN 1-870002-95-4.
  26. ^ Appletons' annual cyclopaedia and register of important events of the year: 1862. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 1863. p. 201.
  27. ^ a b "Restoration of the Palace of Westminster: 1981–94" (PDF). House of Commons Information Office. August 2003. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  28. ^ Port (1976), pp. 76, 109; Riding and Riding (2000), p. 116.
  29. ^ Quinault (1991), p. 81.
  30. ^ Fell and Mackenzie (1994), p. 30.
  31. ^ Fell and Mackenzie (1994), p. 44.
  32. ^ "Early day motion 1199: Union Flag at Parliament". UK Parliament. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  33. ^ Taylor, Richard (19 January 2012). "God's Own Architect". Pugin. 54 minutes in. BBC Four. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  34. ^ "Building the Great Clock". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  35. ^ Macdonald (2004), pp. xiii–xiv.
  36. ^ "Great Clock facts". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  37. ^ Fell and Mackenzie (1994), pp. 24, 26.
  38. ^ "The Great Bell – Big Ben". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  39. ^ Macdonald (2004), pp. xvi–xvii, 50.
  40. ^ "The Great Bell and the quarter bells". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  41. ^ Macdonald (2004), p. 174.
  42. ^ Jones (1983), pp. 112–3.
  43. ^ "Elizabeth Tower virtual tour". UK Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  44. ^ Port (1976), p. 221; Jones (1983), p. 119.
  45. ^ Jones (1983), pp. 108–109; Field (2002), p. 189.
  46. ^ a b Riding and Riding (2000), p. 120.
  47. ^ Port (1976), p. 103.
  48. ^ Collins, Peter (1965). Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture 1750–1950 (1st ed.). Montreal, Quebec; Kingston, Ontario: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-7735-0048-8. cited in Port (1976), p. 206.
  49. ^ "Department of the Serjeant at Arms Annual Report 2001–02". House of Commons Commission. 2 July 2002. Retrieved 28 April 2010. St Stephen's Tower: This project involved the renovation and re-modelling of offices on four floors above St Stephen's Entrance.
  50. ^ Wilson (2005), p. 32.
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Bibliography edit

  • Cooke, Sir Robert (1987). The Palace of Westminster. London: Burton Skira. ISBN 978-0-333-45923-2.
  • Fell, Sir Bryan H.; Mackenzie, K. R. (1994) [1930]. Natzler, D. L (ed.). The Houses of Parliament: A Guide to the Palace of Westminster (15th ed.). London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 978-0-11-701579-1.
  • Field, John (2002). The Story of Parliament in the Palace of Westminster. London: Politico's Publishing; James & James Publishers. ISBN 978-1-904022-14-5.
  • Gerhold, Dorian (1999). Westminster Hall: Nine Hundred Years of History. London: James & James Publishers. ISBN 978-0-907383-88-8.
  • Guide to the Palace of Westminster. London: Warrington. 1911. OCLC 5081639. OL 13507081M.
  • Jones, Christopher (1983). The Great Palace: The Story of Parliament. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. ISBN 978-0-563-20178-6.
  • Macdonald, Peter (2004). Big Ben: The Bell, the Clock and the Tower. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-3828-0.
  • Port, M. H., ed. (1976). The Houses of Parliament. New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-02022-9.
  • Quinault, Roland (1992). "Westminster and the Victorian Constitution". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 6. 2: 79–104. doi:10.2307/3679100. JSTOR 3679100. S2CID 154705280. (subscription required)
  • Riding, Christine; Riding, Jacqueline, eds. (2000). The Houses of Parliament: History, Art, Architecture. London: Merrell Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85894-112-7.
  • Tanfield, Jennifer (1991). In Parliament 1939–50: The Effect of the War on the Palace of Westminster. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 978-0-10-850640-6. OCLC 26808272.
  • Wilson, Robert (2005) [1994]. The Houses of Parliament. Norwich: Jarrold Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84165-099-9.

Further reading edit

  • Shenton, Caroline (2012). The Day Parliament Burned Down. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-964670-8. OCLC 785869543.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palace of Westminster.
  • Official website
  • Westminster Hall – A Virtual Experience 23 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  • Winston Churchill State Funeral – Westminster Hall – UK Parliament Living Heritage
  • "A Victorian Novel in Stone" Rosemary Hill, The Wall Street Journal, 20 March 2009
  • Parliamentary Archives, Designs and working drawings for the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament 1 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine

January 01, 1970
palace, westminster, houses, parliament, redirects, here, other, uses, houses, parliament, disambiguation, meeting, place, parliament, united, kingdom, located, london, england, commonly, called, houses, parliament, after, house, commons, house, lords, legisla. Houses of Parliament redirects here For other uses see Houses of Parliament disambiguation The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London England It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords the two legislative chambers which occupy the building The palace is the centre of political life in the United Kingdom Westminster has become a metonym for the UK Parliament and the British Government and the Westminster system of government commemorates the name of the palace The clock bell in the Elizabeth Tower commonly known as the Big Ben Tower of the palace nicknamed Big Ben is a landmark of London and the United Kingdom in general The Palace of Westminster has been a Grade I listed building since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 Palace of WestminsterSeen from across the River Thames in 2022LocationWestminsterLondonSW1A 0AAUnited KingdomCoordinates51 29 57 N 00 07 29 W 51 49917 N 0 12472 W 51 49917 0 12472Area112 476 m2 1 210 680 sq ft 1 internal Built1016 and laterDemolished1834 due to fire Rebuilt1840 1876ArchitectsCharles Barry and Augustus PuginArchitectural style s Perpendicular Gothic RevivalOwnerKing Charles III in right of the Crown 2 UNESCO World Heritage SiteOfficial namePalace of Westminster Westminster Abbey and St Margaret s ChurchTypeCulturalCriteriai ii ivDesignated1987 11th session Reference no 426CountryUnited KingdomRegionEuropeExtensions2008Listed Building Grade IOfficial nameHouses of Parliament and The Palace of WestminsterDesignated5 February 1970Reference no 1226284Location of the Palace of Westminster in central London The building was originally constructed in the eleventh century as a royal palace and was the primary residence of the kings of England until 1512 when a fire destroyed the royal apartments The monarch moved to the adjacent Palace of Whitehall but the remainder of the palace continued to serve as the home of the Parliament of England which had met there since the 13th century In 1834 a second larger fire destroyed the majority of the palace but Westminster Hall was saved and incorporated into the replacement palace The competition to design the new palace was won by the architect Charles Barry who chose a Gothic Revival style for the building Construction started in 1840 and lasted for 30 years suffering delays cost overruns and the deaths of Barry and his assistant Augustus Pugin The palace contains chambers for the House of Commons House of Lords and the monarch and has a floor area of 112 476 m2 1 210 680 sq ft 1 Extensive repairs had to be made after the Second World War including rebuilding the destroyed Commons chamber Despite further conservation work having been carried out since the palace is in urgent need of major repairs Contents 1 History 1 1 Old Palace 1 2 Fire and reconstruction 1 3 World War II damage and restoration 1 4 Recent history 2 Exterior 2 1 Stonework 2 2 Towers 2 2 1 Victoria Tower 2 2 2 Elizabeth Tower Big Ben 2 2 3 Central Tower 2 2 4 Smaller towers 2 3 Grounds 3 Interior 3 1 Layout 3 2 Monarch s rooms 3 2 1 Norman Porch 3 2 2 Robing Room 3 2 3 Royal Gallery 3 2 4 Prince s Chamber 3 3 Lords Chamber 3 3 1 Peers Lobby 3 4 Central Lobby 3 5 Members Lobby 3 6 Commons Chamber 3 7 Westminster Hall 3 8 Other rooms 4 Security 4 1 Incidents 5 Rules and traditions 5 1 Eating drinking and smoking 5 2 Dress code 5 3 Other traditions 6 Culture and tourism 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 9 1 Footnotes 9 2 Bibliography 10 Further reading 11 External linksHistory editMain article History of the Palace of Westminster Old Palace edit nbsp Conjectural restoration of Westminster during the reign of Henry VIII 1509 1547 3 St Stephen s Chapel is in the centre with the White Chamber and Painted Chamber on the left and Westminster Hall on the right The site of the current palace may have been used by Cnut during his reign from 1016 to 1035 and from c 1045 c 1050 Edward the Confessor built a palace and the first Westminster Abbey The oldest surviving part of the palace is Westminster Hall which dates from the reign of William II r 1087 1100 The palace was the principal residence of the English monarchs in the late Medieval period In 1512 during the early reign of Henry VIII a fire destroyed the royal apartments of the palace 4 In 1534 Henry moved to the neighbouring Palace of Whitehall formerly York Place which he had seized from Cardinal Thomas Wolsey 5 Although Westminster remained a royal palace from this point on its primary occupants were the two houses of Parliament and various courts of law The predecessor of Parliament the Curia Regis met in Westminster Hall when the king was in residence The Model Parliament considered the first Parliament of England met at the palace in 1295 6 while medieval parliaments of England met in a variety of locations the palace was frequently used and developed into the body s permanent home The palace did not have dedicated chambers for the House of Commons or the House of Lords the Commons adapted St Stephen s Chapel for its use in the sixteenth century and the Lords used the Painted Chamber and from 1801 the White Chamber The palace underwent significant alterations from the 18th century onwards as Parliament struggled to carry out its business in the limited available space These included a new storage and committee rooms by John Vardy completed in 1770 a new official residence for the Speaker of the House of Commons completed in 1795 and significant alterations and a new building by James Wyatt completed in 1801 The last alterations were undertaken by Sir John Soane between 1824 and 1827 and included new library facilities for both Houses of Parliament and new law courts for the Chancery and King s Bench Fire and reconstruction edit Main article Burning of Parliament nbsp J M W Turner watched the fire of 1834 and painted several canvases depicting it including The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons 1835 On 16 October 1834 a fire broke out in the palace after an overheated stove used to destroy the Exchequer s stockpile of tally sticks set fire to the House of Lords Chamber Both Houses of Parliament were destroyed along with most of the other buildings in the palace complex Westminster Hall was saved thanks to fire fighting efforts and a change in the direction of the wind The Jewel Tower and the undercroft cloisters and chapter house of St Stephen s Chapel were the only other parts of the palace to survive 7 William IV offered the almost completed Buckingham Palace to Parliament hoping to dispose of a residence he disliked however the building was considered unsuitable for parliamentary use and the gift was rejected 8 The Painted Chamber and White Chamber were hastily repaired for temporary use 9 and in 1835 following that year s General Election the King permitted Parliament to make plans for its permanent accommodation 10 Each house created a committee 11 12 and a Perpendicular Gothic Revival design by the architect Charles Barry was chosen Barry was inexperienced with Gothic and relied heavily on Augustus Pugin to design details The Lords Chamber was completed in 1847 and the Commons Chamber in 1852 Although most of the work had been carried out by 1860 construction was not finished until a decade afterwards World War II damage and restoration edit nbsp The old chamber of the House of Commons was in use between 1852 and 1941 when it was destroyed by German bombs in the course of the Second World War During the Second World War the palace was hit by bombs on fourteen separate occasions A bomb that fell on 26 September 1940 lifted the statue of Richard the Lionheart from its pedestal and bent its sword an image that was used as a symbol of the strength of democracy which would bend but not break under attack 13 The worst raid took place in the night of 10 11 May 1941 when the palace took at least twelve hits and three people two policemen and Resident Superintendent of the House of Lords Edward Elliott 14 were killed 15 The Commons Chamber and the roof of Westminster Hall were both set alight as the firefighters could not save both the hall was prioritised and saved whilst the chamber was destroyed 16 17 The Lords Chamber and Clock Tower were damaged in the same raid 15 The Commons Chamber was rebuilt in a simplified style after the war being completed in 1950 18 Recent history edit As the need for office space in the palace increased Parliament acquired office space in the nearby Norman Shaw Building in 1975 and in the custom built Portcullis House completed in 2000 19 This increase has enabled all Members of Parliament MP to have their own office facilities 6 The palace was designated a Grade I listed building in 1970 and a World Heritage Site in 1987 The fabric of the building is in urgent need of restoration In January 2018 the House of Commons voted for both houses to vacate the palace to allow for a complete refurbishment of the building which will take at least six years and start no sooner than 2025 20 In September 2022 the Restoration and Renewal Client Board a joint committee of the House of Lords and the House of Commons was formed to oversee the necessary works 21 Exterior editRiver front of the Palace of Westminster nbsp View from across the Thames in the morning nbsp and at dusk Portcullis House is visible on the right Charles Barry s collaborative design for the Palace of Westminster uses the Perpendicular Gothic style which was popular during the 15th century and returned during the Gothic revival of the 19th century Barry was a classical architect but he was aided by the Gothic architect Augustus Pugin Westminster Hall which was built in the 11th century and survived the fire of 1834 was incorporated in Barry s design Pugin was displeased with the result of the work especially with the symmetrical layout designed by Barry he famously remarked All Grecian sir Tudor details on a classic body 22 Stonework edit In 1839 Charles Barry toured Britain looking at quarries and buildings with a committee which included two leading geologists and a stonecarver 23 They selected Anston a sand coloured magnesian limestone quarried in the villages of Anston South Yorkshire and Mansfield Woodhouse Nottinghamshire 24 Two quarries were chosen from a list of 102 with the majority of the stone coming from the former A crucial consideration was transport achieved on water via the Chesterfield Canal the North Sea and the rivers Trent and Thames 25 Furthermore Anston was cheaper and could be supplied in blocks up to four feet thick and lent itself to elaborate carving 23 nbsp View from the Westminster Bridge highlighting the distinctive color of the stonework Barry s new Palace of Westminster was rebuilt using the sandy coloured Anston limestone However the stone soon began to decay owing to pollution and the poor quality of some of the stone used Although such defects were clear as early as 1849 nothing was done for the remainder of the 19th century even after much studying 26 During the 1910s however it became clear that some of the stonework had to be replaced In 1928 it was deemed necessary to use Clipsham stone a honey coloured limestone from Rutland to replace the decayed Anston The project began in the 1930s but was halted by the outbreak of the Second World War and completed only during the 1950s By the 1960s pollution had again begun to take its toll A stone conservation and restoration programme to the external elevations and towers began in 1981 and ended in 1994 27 Towers edit Victoria Tower edit Main article Victoria Tower nbsp The Victoria Tower The Palace of Westminster has three main towers The largest and tallest is the 98 5 metre 323 ft 24 Victoria Tower which occupies the south western corner of the palace The tower was an integral part of Barry s original design and he intended it to be the most memorable element conceiving it as the keep of a legislative castle The tower was redesigned several times and its height increased progressively 28 upon its completion in 1858 it was the tallest secular building in the world 29 At base of the tower is the Sovereign s Entrance used by the monarch whenever entering the palace to open Parliament or for other state occasions The 15 m 49 ft high archway is richly decorated with sculptures including statues of Saints George Andrew and Patrick and Queen Victoria 30 The main body of the tower houses the Parliamentary Archives in 8 8 kilometres 5 5 mi of steel shelves spread over 12 floors The archives include the master copies of all Acts of Parliament since 1497 and important manuscripts such as the original Bill of Rights and the death warrant of King Charles I 31 At the top of the cast iron pyramidal roof is a 22 m 72 ft 24 flagstaff from which flies the Royal Standard the monarch s personal flag when the Sovereign is present in the palace On all other days the Union Flag flies from the mast 32 Elizabeth Tower Big Ben edit Main article Big Ben nbsp The Elizabeth Tower Big Ben At the north end of the palace is the Elizabeth Tower commonly known as Big Ben At 96 metres 315 ft it is only slightly shorter than the Victoria Tower but much slimmer 24 It was called the Clock Tower until 2012 when it was renamed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Clock Tower was designed by Augustus Pugin and built after his death Charles Barry asked Pugin to design the clock tower because Pugin had previously helped Barry design the palace 33 The tower houses the Great Clock which uses the original mechanism built by Edward John Dent to designs by amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison 34 It is highly accurate by nineteenth century standards striking the hour to within a second of the time and remaining reliable since it entered service in 1859 35 The time is shown on four dials 7 metres 23 ft in diameter which are made of milk glass and are lit from behind at night the hour hand is 2 7 metres 8 ft 10 in long and the minute hand 4 3 metres 14 ft 36 Five bells hang in the belfry above the clock The four quarter bells strike the Westminster Chimes every quarter hour 37 The largest bell strikes the hours officially called the Great Bell it is generally referred to as Big Ben a nickname of uncertain origins which over time has been colloquially applied to the whole tower The first hour bell cracked during testing and was recast 38 the present bell later developed a crack of its own which gives it a distinctive sound 39 It is the third heaviest bell in Britain weighing 13 8 tonnes 40 41 In the lantern at the top of Elizabeth Tower is the Ayrton Light which is lit when either House of Parliament is sitting after dark It was installed in 1885 at the request of Queen Victoria so that she could see from Buckingham Palace whether the members were at work and named after Acton Smee Ayrton who was First Commissioner of Works in the 1870s 42 43 Central Tower edit nbsp The Central Tower The shortest of the palace s three principal towers at 91 metres 299 ft 24 the octagonal Central Tower stands over the middle of the building immediately above the Central Lobby It was added to the plans on the insistence of Dr David Boswell Reid who was in charge of the ventilation of the new Houses of Parliament his plan called for a central chimney through which what he called vitiated air would be drawn out of the building with the heat and smoke of about four hundred fires around the palace 44 To accommodate the tower Barry was forced to lower the high ceiling he had planned for the Central Lobby and reduce the height of its windows 45 however the tower proved to be an opportunity to improve the palace s exterior design 46 and Barry to make it a spire in order to balance the effect of the more massive lateral towers 47 The Central Tower completely failed to fulfill its stated purpose but it remains notable as the first occasion when mechanical services had a real influence on architectural design 48 withstanding certain climate specific architectural elements such as windcatchers Smaller towers edit Some other features of the palace of Westminster are known as towers St Stephen s Tower is positioned in the middle of the west front of the palace between Westminster Hall and Old Palace Yard and houses the public entrance to the palace 49 The pavilions at the northern and southern ends of the river front are called Speaker s Tower and Chancellor s Tower respectively 27 after the presiding officers of the two Houses at the time of the palace s reconstruction the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Chancellor Speaker s Tower contains Speaker s House the official residence of the Speaker of the Commons 50 As well as the pinnacles which rise from between the window bays along the fronts of the palace numerous turrets enliven the building s skyline Like the Central Tower these were been built for practical reasons as they mask ventilation shafts 46 Grounds edit See also Parliamentary Estate nbsp Cromwell Green outside Westminster Hall is the site of Hamo Thornycroft s bronze statue of Oliver Cromwell erected amid controversy in 1899 51 There are a number of small gardens surrounding the Palace of Westminster Victoria Tower Gardens is open as a public park along the side of the river south of the palace Black Rod s Garden named after the office of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod is closed to the public and is used as a private entrance Old Palace Yard in front of the palace is paved over and covered in concrete security blocks see security below Cromwell Green also on the frontage and in 2006 enclosed by hoardings for the construction of a new visitor centre New Palace Yard on the north side and Speaker s Green directly north of the palace are all private and closed to the public College Green opposite the House of Lords is a small triangular green commonly used for television interviews with politicians Interior editThe Palace of Westminster contains over 1 100 rooms 100 staircases and 4 8 kilometres 3 mi of passageways 24 which are spread over four floors The ground floor is occupied by offices dining rooms and bars the first or principal floor houses the main rooms of the palace including the debating chambers the lobbies and the libraries The top two floors are used as committee rooms and offices Some of the interiors were designed and painted by J G Crace working in collaboration with Pugin and others For example Crace decorated and gilded the ceiling of the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft 52 Layout edit nbsp Layout of the principal floor with north to the right The Central Lobby is the octagonal space in the centre the Commons chamber is to the north with the Elizabeth Tower beyond The Lords chamber is to the south with the monarch s rooms beyond Westminster Hall is to the west at an angle The palace is a roughly rectangular building with its long axis parallel to the River Thames The building is planned around the Central Lobby a large hall from which corridors lead north to the Commons Chamber south to the Lords Chamber and west to the public entrance and Westminster Hall to the east are committee rooms and libraries The monarch s rooms lie beyond the Lords chamber at the far south of the palace The palace has separate entrances for its different users the monarch members of the House of Lords members of Parliament and the public The Sovereign s Entrance is at the base of the Victoria Tower in the south west corner of the palace and leads direct to the monarch s suite of rooms Members of the House of Lords use the Peers Entrance in the middle of the Old Palace Yard facade which opens to an entrance hall A staircase from there leads through a corridor and the Prince s Chamber to the Lords Chamber 53 Members of Parliament enter their part of the building from the Members Entrance in the south side of New Palace Yard Their route passes through a cloakroom in the lower level of the Cloisters and eventually reaches the Members Lobby directly south of the Commons Chamber St Stephen s Entrance in the approximate centre of the building s western front is the public entrance From it visitors walk through a flight of stairs to St Stephen s Hall which houses a collection of marble statues of prominent parliamentarians and then to the Central Lobby 54 Monarch s rooms edit Norman Porch edit The Sovereign s Entrance is beneath the Victoria Tower It was designed for the use of the monarch and is used by them during the State Opening of Parliament 55 The Sovereign s Entrance is also the formal entrance used by visiting dignitaries 56 57 as well as the starting point of public tours of the palace 58 From the entrance a staircase leads up to the principal floor in a broad unbroken flight of 26 steps made of grey granite 59 At the top is the Norman Porch a square landing with a central clustered column and a ceiling of four groin vaults with lierne ribs and carved bosses The porch was named for its proposed decorative scheme which was never completed but would have consisted of statues of the Norman kings and frescoes depicting Norman history 60 As completed the porch contains stained glass windows depicting Edward the Confessor and a young Queen Victoria 61 a copy of a 1900 painting of Victoria by Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant 62 and busts of prime ministers who have sat in the House of Lords on the plinths intended for the statues A double door opposite the stairs leads to the Royal Gallery and another to the right opens to the Robing Room 55 Robing Room edit nbsp The Sovereign prepares for the State Opening of Parliament in the Robing Room Behind is the Chair of State nbsp The robing room in 1897 The Robing Room lies at the southern end of the palace s north south axis and occupies the centre of the south front overlooking Victoria Tower Gardens 63 It is where the Sovereign prepares for the State Opening of Parliament by changing into their official robes and putting on the Imperial State Crown 64 The focus of the room is the chair of state which sits on a dais of three steps under a canopy adorned with the arms and floral emblems of England Scotland and Ireland A panel of purple velvet forms the backdrop to the chair embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework with the royal arms surrounded by stars and VR monograms 55 Edward Barry designed both the chair the cushion and back of which are also embroidered and the ornate marble fireplace across the room which features gilded statuettes of Saint George and Saint Michael 63 The decorative theme of the room is the legend of King Arthur considered by many Victorians the source of their nationhood 65 Five frescoes painted by William Dyce between 1848 and 1864 cover the walls depicting allegorical scenes from the legend Each scene represents a chivalric virtue the largest between the two doors is titled Admission of Sir Tristram to the Round Table and illustrates the virtue of Hospitality 55 Seven were originally commissioned but the remaining two paintings were not carried out due to the artist s death and on the wallpapered panels flanking the Chair of State hang oil portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert by Franz Xaver Winterhalter 63 note 1 Other decorations in the room are also inspired by the Arthurian legend namely a series of 18 bas reliefs beneath the paintings carved in oak by Henry Hugh Armstead 55 and the frieze running below the ceiling which displays the attributed coats of arms of the Knights of the Round Table 66 The ceiling itself is decorated with heraldic badges as is the border of the wooden floor 53 which as can be seen in the adjacent image is left exposed by the carpeting The Robing Room was briefly used as the House of Lords meeting chamber while the House of Lords Chamber was occupied by the House of Commons whose chamber had been destroyed by the Blitz in 1941 Royal Gallery edit nbsp Following the rapid decay of Maclise s first two frescoes the rest of the Royal Gallery s walls were left unpainted Immediately north of the Robing Room is the Royal Gallery At 33 5 by 13 7 metres 110 by 45 ft it is one of the largest rooms in the palace 24 Its main purpose is to serve as the stage of the royal procession at State Openings of Parliament which the audience watch from temporary tiered seating on both sides of the route 68 It has also been used on occasion by visiting statesmen from abroad when addressing both Houses of Parliament as well as for receptions in honour of foreign dignitaries 69 and more regularly for the Lord Chancellor s Breakfast 70 in the past it was the theatre of several trials of peers by the House of Lords 69 71 Documents from the Parliamentary Archives are on display in the Royal Gallery including a facsimile of Charles I s death warrant and the tables and seating offer a workspace for members of the Lords that is conveniently close to their debating chamber 55 The decorative scheme of the Royal Gallery was meant to display important moments in British military history and the walls are decorated by two large paintings by Daniel Maclise each measuring 13 7 by 3 7 metres 45 by 12 ft The Death of Nelson depicting Lord Nelson s demise at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and The Meeting of Wellington and Blucher after the Battle of Waterloo showing the Duke of Wellington meeting Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 55 The murals deteriorated rapidly after their completion due to a range of factors most importantly atmospheric pollution and today they are almost monochrome although a finished study of The Death of Nelson in better condition hangs in the Walker Art Gallery Liverpool 65 The rest of the planned frescos were cancelled and the walls are filled with portraits of kings and queens from George I onwards 72 Another decorative element with military undertones are the eight statues of gilded Caen stone that flank the three doorways and the bay window of the Gallery sculpted by John Birnie Philip Each depicts a monarch during whose reign a key battle or war took place 55 They are Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror Richard I and Edward III Henry V and Elizabeth I William III and Anne The panelled ceiling 13 7 metres 45 ft above the floor 24 features Tudor roses and lions and the stained glass windows show the coats of arms of the Kings of England and Scotland 69 Prince s Chamber edit nbsp Her Majesty Queen Victoria supported by Justice and Clemency by John Gibson sculptor Prince s Chamber The Illustrated London News 7 March 1857 The Prince s Chamber is a small anteroom between the Royal Gallery and the Lords Chamber named after the room adjoining the Parliament Chamber in the Old Palace of Westminster Thanks to its location it is a place where members of the Lords meet to discuss business of the House Several doors lead out of the room to the division lobbies of the House of Lords and to a number of important offices 55 The theme of the Prince s Chamber is Tudor history and 28 oil portraits painted on panels around the room depict members of the Tudor dynasty They are the work of Richard Burchett and his pupils and their creation entailed extensive research which contributed to the founding of the National Portrait Gallery in 1856 12 bronze bas reliefs are set into the wall below the portraits executed by William Theed in 1855 1857 55 Scenes included are The Field of the Cloth of Gold The Escape of Mary Queen of Scots and Raleigh Spreading His Cloak As a Carpet for the Queen 73 Above the portraits at window level there copies of six of the ten Armada tapestries which hung in the chamber of the House of Lords until their destruction in the 1834 fire and depicted the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 The project was put on hold in 1861 by which time only one painting had been completed and was not revived until 2007 as of August 2010 update all six paintings are now in their intended places The room also contains a statue of Queen Victoria seated on a throne itself placed on a pedestal and holding a sceptre and a laurel crown which show that she both governs and rules 55 This figure is flanked by allegorical statues of Justice and Clemency the former with a bare sword and an inflexible expression and the latter showing sympathy and offering an olive branch 74 The sculptural ensemble made of white marble and carved by John Gibson in 1855 reaches 2 44 metres 8 ft in height its size has long been considered out of proportion with the fittings of the Prince s Chamber and the flanking statues ended up in storage between 1955 and 1976 However the size and location of the group in the archway opposite the doors to the Royal Gallery which are removed before State Openings of Parliament to facilitate the royal procession indicate that it was meant to be seen from a distance and to symbolically remind the monarch of their royal duties as they would walk down the Royal Gallery on their way to deliver their speech 55 75 Lords Chamber edit nbsp The Sovereign s Throne and its gilded Canopy dominate the ornate Lords Chamber The Chamber of the House of Lords is located in the southern part of the Palace of Westminster The lavishly decorated room measures 13 7 by 24 4 metres 45 by 80 ft 24 The benches in the Chamber as well as other furnishings in the Lords side of the palace are coloured red The upper part of the Chamber is decorated by stained glass windows and by six allegorical frescoes representing religion chivalry and law At the south end of the Chamber are the ornate gold Canopy and Throne although the Sovereign may theoretically occupy the Throne during any sitting he or she attends only the State Opening of Parliament Other members of the Royal Family who attend the State Opening use Chairs of State next to the Throne and peers sons are always entitled to sit on the steps of the Throne In front of the Throne is the Woolsack an armless red cushion stuffed with wool representing the historical importance of the wool trade and used by the officer presiding over the House the Lord Speaker since 2006 but historically the Lord Chancellor or a deputy The House s mace which represents royal authority is placed on the back of the Woolsack In front of the Woolsack is the Judges Woolsack a larger red cushion that used to be occupied during the State Opening by the Law Lords who were members of the House of Lords and prospectively by the Supreme Court Justices and other Judges whether or not members to represent the Judicial Branch of Government The Table of the House at which the clerks sit is in front Members of the House occupy red benches on three sides of the Chamber The benches on the Lord Speaker s right form the Spiritual Side and those to his left form the Temporal Side The Lords Spiritual archbishops and bishops of the established Church of England all occupy the Spiritual Side The Lords Temporal nobles sit according to party affiliation members of the Government party sit on the Spiritual Side while those of the Opposition sit on the Temporal Side Some peers who have no party affiliation sit on the benches in the middle of the House opposite the Woolsack they are accordingly known as crossbenchers nbsp The passage of the Parliament Act 1911 Votes in both Houses of Parliament are conducted in the form of divisions The Lords Chamber is the site of nationally televised ceremonies the most important of which is the State Opening of Parliament which is held formally to open each annual parliamentary session either after a General Election or in the autumn At this occasion every constitutional element of the government is represented the Crown both literally and figuratively in the person of the Sovereign The Lords Spiritual and Temporal and The Commons who together form the Legislature the Judiciary although no judges are members of either House of Parliament and the Executive both Government Ministers and ceremonial military units in attendance on the Sovereign and a large number of guests are invited to attend in the large Royal Gallery immediately outside the Chamber The Sovereign seated on the Throne delivers the Speech from the Throne outlining the Government s programme for the year and legislative agenda for the forthcoming parliamentary session The Commons may not enter the Lords debating floor instead they watch the proceedings from beyond the Bar of the House just inside the door A small purely formal ceremony is held to end each parliamentary session when the Sovereign is merely represented by a group of Lords Commissioners Following the Blitz which destroyed the chamber of the House of Commons the Lords chamber was occupied by the Commons The Lords temporarily used the Robing Room during the reconstruction The State Opening Of Parliament was carried out as normal with the new rooms being used Evidence can still be seen of this today with damage clearly visible on one of the doors where they were struck by Black Rod Peers Lobby edit Directly north of the Lords Chamber lies the Peers Lobby an antechamber where Lords can informally discuss or negotiate matters during sittings of the House as well as collect messages from the doorkeepers who control access to the Chamber The Lobby is a square room measuring 12 metres 39 ft on each side and 10 metres 33 ft in height 24 and one of its main features is the floor centrepiece a radiant Tudor rose made of Derbyshire marbles and set within an octagon of engraved brass plates 76 The rest of the floor is paved with encaustic tiles featuring heraldic designs and Latin mottoes The walls are faced with white stone and each is pierced by a doorway above the arches are displayed arms representing the six royal dynasties which ruled England until Queen Victoria s reign Saxon Norman Plantagenet Tudor Stuart and Hanoverian and between them there are windows stained with the arms of the early aristocratic families of England 77 Of the doorways the one to the south which leads into the Lords Chamber is the most magnificent and sports much gilding and decoration including the full royal arms It is enclosed by the Brass Gates a pair of elaborately pierced and studded doors together weighing 1 5 tonnes 78 The side doors which feature clocks open into corridors to the east extends the Law Lords Corridor which leads to the libraries and nearby to the west lies the Moses Room used for Grand Committees To the north is the vaulted Peers Corridor which is decorated with eight murals by Charles West Cope depicting historical scenes from the period around the English Civil War 79 The frescoes were executed between 1856 and 1866 80 81 and each scene was specifically chosen to depict the struggles through which national liberties were won 79 Examples include Speaker Lenthall Asserting the Privileges of the Commons Against Charles I when the Attempt was Made to Seize the Five Members representing resistance against absolute rule and The Embarkation of the Pilgrim Fathers for New England which illustrates the principle of freedom of worship Central Lobby edit nbsp Saint George for England by Sir Edward Poynter and Saint Patrick for Ireland by Robert Anning Bell are two of the four mosaics decorating the Central Lobby Originally named Octagon Hall because of its shape the Central Lobby is the heart of the Palace of Westminster It lies directly below the Central Tower and forms a busy crossroads between the House of Lords to the south the House of Commons to the north St Stephen s Hall and the public entrance to the west and the Lower Waiting Hall and the libraries to the east Its location halfway between the two debating chambers has led constitutional theorist Erskine May to describe the Lobby as the political centre of the British Empire 82 and allows a person standing under the great chandelier to see both the Royal Throne and the Speaker s Chair provided that all the intervening doors are open Constituents may meet their Members of Parliament here even without an appointment 83 and this practice is the origin of the term lobbying 84 The hall is also the theatre of the Speaker s Procession which passes from here on its way to the Commons Chamber before every sitting of the House The Central Lobby measures 18 metres 59 ft across and 23 metres 75 ft from the floor to the centre of the vaulted ceiling 24 The panels between the vault s ribs are covered with Venetian glass mosaic displaying floral emblems and heraldic badges and the bosses in the intersections of the ribs are also carved into heraldic symbols 85 Each wall of the Lobby is contained in an arch ornamented with statues of English and Scottish monarchs on four sides there are doorways and the tympana above them are adorned with mosaics representing the patron saints of the United Kingdom s constituent nations Saint George for England Saint Andrew for Scotland Saint David for Wales and Saint Patrick for Ireland note 2 The other four arches are occupied by high windows under which there are stone screens the hall s post office one of two in the palace is located behind one of these screens In front of them stand four bigger than life statues of 19th century statesmen including one of four time prime minister William Gladstone 79 The floor on which they stand is tiled with Minton encaustic tiles in intricate patterns and includes a passage from Psalm 127 written in Latin which translates as follows Except the Lord build the House their labour is but lost that build it 87 The East Corridor leads from the Central Lobby to the Lower Waiting Hall and its six panels remained blank until 1910 when they were filled with scenes from Tudor history 88 They were all paid for by Liberal peers and each was the work of a different artist but uniformity was achieved between the frescoes thanks to a common colour palette of red black and gold and a uniform height for the depicted characters One of the scenes is probably not historical Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens depicting the origin of these flowers as emblems of the Houses of Lancaster and York respectively was taken from Shakespeare s play Henry VI Part 1 89 Members Lobby edit Main article Members Lobby nbsp U S President Barack Obama right in the Members Lobby during a tour of the Palace in May 2011 With him are from the left the Lord Great Chamberlain the Marquess of Cholmondeley holding his white staff of office the Lord Speaker Baroness Hayman and the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow Continuing north from the Central Lobby is the Commons Corridor It is of almost identical design to its southern counterpart and is decorated with scenes of 17th century political history between the Civil War and the Revolution of 1688 They were painted by Edward Matthew Ward and include subjects like Monk Declaring for a Free Parliament and The Lords and Commons Presenting the Crown to William III and Mary II in the Banqueting Hall 79 Then mirroring the arrangement at the Lords part of the palace is another antechamber the Members Lobby In this room Members of Parliament hold discussions or negotiations and are often interviewed by accredited journalists collectively known as The Lobby 90 The room is similar to the Peers Lobby but plainer in design and slightly larger forming a cube 13 7 metres 45 ft on all sides 24 After the heavy damage it sustained in the 1941 bombing it was rebuilt in a simplified style something most evident in the floor which is almost completely unadorned The archway of the door leading into the Commons Chamber has been left unrepaired as a reminder of the evils of war and is now known as the Rubble Arch or Churchill Arch It is flanked by bronze statues of Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George the prime ministers who led Britain through the Second and First World War respectively a foot of each is conspicuously shiny a result of a long tradition of MPs rubbing them for good luck on their way in before their maiden speech The Lobby contains the busts and statues of most 20th century prime ministers as well as two large boards where MPs can receive letters and telephone messages designed for the use of the House and installed in the early 1960s 91 Commons Chamber edit nbsp The Victorian House of Commons Its benches could seat only about two thirds of all Members of Parliament as is the case for the postwar rebuilt chamber The Chamber of the House of Commons is at the northern end of the Palace of Westminster it was opened in 1950 after the Victorian chamber had been destroyed in 1941 and re built under the architect Giles Gilbert Scott The Chamber measures 14 by 20 7 metres 46 by 68 ft 24 and is plainer in style than the Lords Chamber 92 the benches as well as other furnishings in the Commons side of the palace are coloured green Members of the public are forbidden to sit on the benches Other parliaments in Commonwealth nations including those of India Canada Australia and New Zealand have copied the colour scheme under which the Lower House is associated with green and the Upper House with red nbsp Left to right U S Secretary of State John Kerry House of Commons Speaker John Bercow and U K Foreign Secretary William Hague examine the despatch boxes on 25 February 2013 At the north end of the Chamber is the Speaker s Chair a present to Parliament from the Commonwealth of Australia The current British Speaker s Chair is an exact copy of the Speaker s Chair given to Australia by the House of Commons to celebrate the opening of Old Parliament House Canberra In front of the Speaker s Chair is the Table of the House at which the clerks sit and on which is placed the Commons ceremonial mace The Table was a gift from Canada 93 The dispatch boxes which front bench Members of Parliament MPs often lean on or rest notes on during Questions and speeches are a gift from New Zealand There are green benches on either side of the House members of the Government party occupy benches on the Speaker s right while those of the Opposition occupy benches on the Speaker s left There are no cross benches as in the House of Lords The Chamber is relatively small and can accommodate only 427 of the 650 Members of Parliament 94 during Prime Minister s Questions and in major debates MPs stand at either end of the House By tradition the British Sovereign does not enter the Chamber of the House of Commons The last monarch to do so was King Charles I in 1642 The King sought to arrest five Members of Parliament on charges of high treason but when he asked the Speaker William Lenthall if he had any knowledge of the whereabouts of these individuals Lenthall famously replied May it please your Majesty I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me whose servant I am here 95 Since then in the State Opening of Parliament when Black Rod representing the monarch approaches the doors to the chamber of the House of Commons to make the summons the doors are pointedly slammed in his or her face Black Rod has to strike the door three times with a staff to be admitted and issue the summons from the monarch to the MPs to attend When repairs after the World War II bombing were completed the rebuilt chamber was opened by King George VI on 26 October 1950 who was invited to an unofficial tour of the new structure by Commons leaders 96 97 The two red lines on the floor of the House of Commons are 2 5 metres 8 ft 2 in 24 apart which by apocryphal tradition is intended to be just over two sword lengths It is said that the original purpose of this was to prevent disputes in the House from degenerating into duels However there is no record of a time when Members of Parliament were allowed to bring swords into the Chamber historically only the Serjeant at Arms has been allowed to carry a sword as a symbol of their role in Parliament plus Black Rod when summoning the Commons to the Lords and there are loops of pink ribbon in the Members cloakroom for MPs to hang up their swords before entering the Chamber In the days when gentlemen carried swords there were no lines in the Chamber 98 99 Protocol dictates that MPs may not cross these lines when speaking a Member of Parliament who violates this convention will be lambasted by opposition Members Westminster Hall edit Main article Westminster Hall nbsp Westminster Hall in the early 19th century surmounted by its medieval hammerbeam roof Westminster Hall is a large medieval great hall and the oldest surviving palace building 100 It was erected in 1097 for William II William Rufus at which point it was the largest hall in Europe 101 The building has had various functions over the years including being used for judicial purposes from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries 102 103 When a joint address is given to the two chambers of the UK Parliament the House of Commons and House of Lords the hall is typically the venue 104 It was also used to host coronation banquets until the nineteenth century and since the twentieth century has been the usual venue for the lyings in state of state and ceremonial funerals 105 106 The hall is particularly notable for its hammerbeam roof a form typical of English Gothic architecture which uses horizontal trusses to span large distances the hall originally had three aisles The roof was commissioned for Richard II in 1393 and built by the royal carpenter Hugh Herland 107 It is the largest clearspan medieval roof in England measuring 20 7 by 73 2 metres 68 by 240 ft 24 The oak timbers came from woods in South East England and were assembled near Farnham Surrey 56 kilometres 35 mi away from Westminster 108 At the same time the rest of the hall was remodelled by the master mason Henry Yevele who refaced the walls and added fifteen life size statues of kings placed in niches 109 The renovations include eighty three unique depictions of Richard s favourite heraldic badge a resting chained white hart 110 Other rooms edit Main articles House of Lords Library and House of Commons Library There are two suites of libraries on the Principal Floor overlooking the river for the House of Lords Library and House of Commons Library The Palace of Westminster also includes state apartments for the presiding officers of the two Houses The official residence of the Speaker stands at the northern end of the palace the Lord Chancellor s apartments are at the southern end Each day the Speaker and Lord Speaker take part in formal processions from their apartments to their respective Chambers 111 112 The Strangers Bar is one of the numerous bars cafeterias and restaurants in the Palace of Westminster with differing rules regarding who is allowed to use their facilities many of them never close while the House is sitting 113 There is also a gymnasium a hair salon and a rifle range 114 Parliament also has two souvenir shops where items on sale range from House of Commons key rings and china to House of Commons Champagne Security edit nbsp Concrete barriers restrict access to Old Palace Yard The Lady Usher of the Black Rod oversees security for the House of Lords and the Serjeant at Arms does the same for the House of Commons These officers however have primarily ceremonial roles outside the actual chambers of their respective Houses Security is the responsibility of the Parliamentary Security Director Parliament has its own professional security force Tradition still dictates that only the Serjeant at Arms may enter the Commons chamber armed With rising concern about the possibility that a vehicle full of explosives could be driven into the building a series of concrete blocks were placed in the roadway in 2003 115 On the river an exclusion zone extending 70 metres 77 yd from the bank exists which no unauthorised vessels are allowed to enter 116 The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 formerly made it illegal to hold a protest near the palace or anywhere else within a designated area extending up to 1 kilometre 0 6 mi from Parliament Square without authorisation from the Metropolitan Police The Act also restricted the operation of loudspeakers in the designated area 117 These provisions were repealed by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 which replaced them with a total ban on tents and sleeping bags in Parliament Square as well as a prohibition on the use of loudspeakers in the Square without permission from the relevant local authority 118 Members of the public continue to have access to the Strangers Gallery in the House of Commons Visitors pass through metal detectors and their possessions are scanned 119 Police from the Palace of Westminster Division of the Metropolitan Police supported by some armed police from the Diplomatic Protection Group are always on duty in and around the palace Incidents edit The failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a conspiracy among a group of Roman Catholic gentry to re establish Catholicism in England by assassinating the Protestant King James I and replacing him with a Catholic monarch To this end they placed large quantities of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords which one of the conspirators Guy Fawkes would detonate during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605 If successful the explosion would have destroyed the palace killing the King his family and most of the aristocracy However the plot was discovered and most of the conspirators were either arrested or killed while trying to evade capture The survivors were tortured in the Tower of London tried for high treason in Westminster Hall convicted and gruesomely executed by hanging drawing and quartering Since then the cellars of the palace have been searched by the Yeomen of the Guard before every State Opening of Parliament a traditional precaution against any similar attempts against the Sovereign 120 The execution of Sir Walter Raleigh occurred at the palace of Westminster on 29 October 1618 nbsp The assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in 1812 in the lobby of the House of Commons The previous Palace of Westminster was also the site of a prime ministerial assassination on 11 May 1812 While in the lobby of the House of Commons on his way to a parliamentary inquiry Spencer Perceval was shot and killed by a Liverpool merchant adventurer John Bellingham Perceval remains the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated 121 The New Palace became the target of Fenian bombs on 24 January 1885 along with the Tower of London The first bomb a black bag containing dynamite was discovered by a visitor on the steps towards the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft Police Constable PC William Cole attempted to carry it to New Palace Yard but the bag became so hot that Cole dropped it and it exploded 122 The blast opened a crater in the floor 1 metre 3 ft in diameter damaged the roof of the chapel and shattered all the windows in the Hall including the stained glass South Window at St Stephen s Porch 123 Both Cole and PC Cox a colleague who had joined him to offer assistance were seriously injured 122 A second explosion followed almost immediately in the Commons Chamber causing great damage especially to its south end but no injuries as it was empty at the time 124 The incident resulted in the closure of Westminster Hall to visitors for several years when visitors were re admitted in 1889 it was under certain restrictions and never while the two Houses were sitting 125 On 17 June 1974 a 9 kilogram 20 lb bomb planted by the Provisional IRA exploded in Westminster Hall The explosion and the resulting fire which was fed by a ruptured gas main injured 11 people and caused extensive damage 126 Five years later a car bomb claimed the life of Airey Neave a prominent Conservative politician while he was driving out of the Commons car park in New Palace Yard The attack occurred on 30 March 1979 one day after the announcement of that year s general election 127 both the Irish National Liberation Army and the Provisional IRA claimed responsibility for Neave s assassination 128 but it is now accepted that the former were responsible 129 130 nbsp Plane Stupid activists on the roof of the Palace of Westminster The palace has also been the scene of numerous acts of politically motivated direct action which often took place in the Chamber of the House of Commons In July 1970 a man in the Strangers Gallery threw two canisters of tear gas into the Chamber to protest against the use of such gas in Northern Ireland an MP and two members of the House s staff were taken to hospital and the sitting was suspended for almost two hours 131 132 In 1978 activist Yana Mintoff and another dissident threw bags of horse manure 133 134 and in June 1996 demonstrators dropped leaflets 135 note 3 Concern about such attacks and a possible chemical or biological attack led to the installation of a glass screen across the Strangers Gallery in early 2004 The new barrier does not cover the gallery in front of the Strangers Gallery which is reserved for ambassadors members of the House of Lords guests of MPs and other dignitaries 137 and in May 2004 protesters from Fathers 4 Justice attacked Prime Minister Tony Blair with flour bombs from this part after obtaining admission by bidding for a place in the visitors gallery in a charity auction 138 Subsequently rules on admission to the visitors galleries were changed and now individuals wishing to sit in the galleries must first obtain a written pass from a Member certifying that that individual is personally known to them In September of the same year five protesters opposed to the proposed ban on fox hunting disrupted the proceedings of the House of Commons by running into the Chamber the first such occurrence since King Charles I s unauthorised entry in 1642 which triggered the English Civil War 139 The House of Lords has also been targeted by protesters On 2 February 1988 the House debated the Local Government Bill s controversial Clause 28 a measure to prohibit the promotion of homosexuality in schools 140 Following the division in which the clause passed a number of lesbian demonstrators in the public gallery started chanting slogans and three of them tied ropes to the railing and climbed down onto the floor of the Chamber 135 141 Lord Monkswell who had provided the women with passes to attend the debate later apologised to the House for the incident but did not criticise the protest 142 Similar actions have been carried out outside the Palace of Westminster Early in the morning of 20 March 2004 two Greenpeace members scaled the Clock Tower to demonstrate against the Iraq War raising questions about the security around such a likely target of terrorist attacks 143 In March 2007 another four members of Greenpeace made their way to the palace s roof by means of a nearby crane which was being used for repairs to Westminster Bridge Once up they unfurled a 15 metre 50 ft banner protesting against the British government s plans to update the Trident nuclear programme 144 In February 2008 five campaigners from the Plane Stupid group gained admittance to the building as visitors and then moved up to the roof to demonstrate against the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport from there they hung two banners they had smuggled past security MPs and security experts found it worrying that the protesters made it to the roof in spite of the heightened security measures 145 and the prosecution at the activists trial argued that they may have received help from a House of Lords employee 146 147 In October 2009 at least forty Greenpeace activists climbed to the roof of Westminster Hall to call for the adoption of policies combating climate change Some of them climbed down after nearly five hours while the rest spent the night on the roof note 4 On 22 March 2017 an Islamist related terror attack was carried out in which a man stabbed a police officer after ploughing into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge Five people were killed including the attacker and the police officer 153 In August 2018 there was another attack treated by prosecutors as terrorism 154 155 On 1 April 2019 a group of environmental protestors from the group Extinction Rebellion stripped semi naked in the public gallery during a Brexit debate and glued themselves to the handrail and glass screen with their buttocks facing the Commons Chamber MPs attempted to continue the debate some of them incorporating puns and references to nakedness into their speeches to much hilarity 156 There have been four fires on the Palace of Westminster site during 2019 and eight in 2018 157 In 2022 the body of the late Queen Elizabeth was left inside the hall for people to pay their respects A man decided to jump the barriers and pull away the flag draped over the coffin He was detained and taken away by police and officials 158 Rules and traditions editThe palace has accumulated many rules and traditions over the centuries Eating drinking and smoking edit Smoking has not been allowed in the chamber of the House of Commons since the 17th century 159 As a result Members may take snuff instead and the doorkeepers still keep a snuff box for this purpose Despite persistent media rumours it has not been permitted to smoke anywhere inside the palace since 2005 160 Members may not eat or drink in the chamber the exception to this rule is the Chancellor of the Exchequer who may have a beverage of the Chancellors choice while delivering the Budget statement 161 Traditionally this is an alcoholic beverage often whisky or a similar spirit but in recent times Chancellors have opted for water 161 Dress code edit nbsp The introduction of a new Member of Parliament 1858 Wearing hats in the House of Commons has not always been treated in the same way Men are expected to wear formal attire women are expected to dress in business like clothing and the wearing of T shirts with slogans is not allowed 162 Hats must not be worn although they used to be worn when a point of order was being raised 163 and Members may not wear military decorations or insignia Members are not allowed to have their hands in their pockets Andrew Robathan was heckled by opposing MPs for doing this on 19 December 1994 164 165 Other traditions edit The only animals allowed in the Palace of Westminster are guide dogs police dogs and police horses 159 166 Speeches may not be read out during debate in the House of Commons although notes may be referred to Similarly the reading of newspapers is not allowed Visual aids are discouraged in the chamber 167 Applause is also not normally allowed in the Commons but it has since been tolerated in certain cases Some notable exceptions to this were when Robin Cook gave his resignation speech in 2003 168 when Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared for the last time at Prime Minister s Questions 169 when Speaker Michael Martin gave his leaving speech on 17 June 2009 170 and after the resignation statement of Sir Robert Rogers Clerk of the House 171 At the start of the new parliament in May 2015 the large influx of new Scottish National Party MPs flouted the convention and repeatedly applauded their party leader to the displeasure of the Speaker 172 The status of the building as a royal palace raises legal questions according to Halsbury s Laws of England it is not possible to arrest a person within the verges of the palace the palace itself and its immediate surroundings 173 However according to a memorandum by the Clerk of the House of Commons there is no prohibition on arrest within the palace and such arrests have been effected in the past 174 Culture and tourism editClaude Monet s Houses of Parliament series nbsp The Houses of Parliament sunset 1903 National Gallery of Art Washington D C nbsp London Houses of Parliament The Sun Shining through the Fog 1904 Musee d Orsay ParisDuring three trips to London between 1899 and 1901 Impressionist painter Claude Monet worked on a series of canvasses that depicted the Palace of Westminster under various lighting conditions the building was often shrouded in the smog prevalent in the city in Victorian times The paintings share the same vantage point a terrace at St Thomas s Hospital across the river from the Palace and many of the works were finished in Monet s studio in France over the following years 175 The exterior of the Palace of Westminster especially the Elizabeth Tower which houses the bell known as Big Ben and its setting on the bank of the River Thames is recognised worldwide and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in London Tsar Nicholas I called it a dream in stone 176 The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO classifies the Palace of Westminster along with neighbouring Westminster Abbey and St Margaret s as a World Heritage Site It is also a Grade I listed building 177 Although there is no casual access to the interior of the palace there are several ways to gain admittance UK residents may obtain tickets from an MP for a place in the viewing strangers gallery of the House of Commons or from a Lord for a seat in the gallery of the House of Lords It is also possible for both UK residents and overseas visitors to queue for admission to them at any time of the day or night when either House is in session but capacity is limited and there is no guarantee of admission Either House may exclude strangers if it desires to sit in private 178 Members of the public can also queue for a seat in a committee session where admission is free and places cannot be booked 179 or they may visit the Parliamentary Archives for research purposes Booking an appointment is necessary in the latter case along with a proof of identity 180 External videos nbsp nbsp Charles Barry and A W N Pugin Palace of Westminster Houses of Parliament 1840 70 Smarthistory 6 27 Free guided tours of the palace are held throughout the parliamentary session for UK residents who can apply through their MP or a member of the House of Lords The tours last about 75 minutes and include the state rooms the chambers of the two Houses and Westminster Hall Paid for tours are available to both UK and overseas visitors during the summer recess and Saturdays throughout the year 181 182 Tours of the Elizabeth Tower were suspended until 2021 while the tower underwent refurbishment 183 Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank selected the palace as one of his five choices for the 2006 BBC television documentary series Britain s Best Buildings 184 The nearest London Underground station is Westminster on the District Circle and Jubilee lines In 2015 Parliament organised a year long programme of events called Parliament in the Making to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta on 15 June and the 750th anniversary of the first representative parliament on 20 January 185 186 Events were coordinated with Parliament Week The BBC held events throughout the year including a Democracy Day on 20 January consisting of live discussions and debate in partnership with the Speaker s Office of the House of Commons including broadcasts from inside the Palace of Westminster 187 See also editParliament of the United Kingdom relocation List of legislative buildings Parliament Buildings Northern Ireland Senedd Building Scottish Parliament Building Official royal residences in London Buckingham Palace The principal royal residence since 1837 Kensington Palace The principal residence of English and later British monarchs between 1689 and 1760 Palace of Whitehall The principal residence of the English kings from 1530 until 1689 St James s Palace The principal royal residence from 1702 until 1837 which continues today as the formal palace of the monarchy as the Court of St James s Bushy House future William IV took up residence here in 1797 when appointed Ranger of Bushy Park and remained through his reign as king 1830 1837 Notes edit Depicted clockwise are the virtues of Courtesy Religion Generosity Hospitality and Mercy The two missing frescoes were meant to depict Fidelity and Courage 66 Queen Victoria s portrait can be seen in the Parliamentary website 67 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland included all of Ireland until the Irish Free State s creation in 1922 Decorative references to Ireland exist throughout the Palace of Westminster and include symbols like the Irish harp and the shamrock The saints mosaics were planned from 1847 but Robert Anning Bell s design for Ireland was completed in 1924 and reflects the 1920 22 partition with Saint Patrick flanked by Saint Columba over the arms of Ulster for Northern Ireland and Saint Brigid over the arms of Ireland for the Free State 86 The Member for the Isle of Wight Barry Field subsequently commented that he was showered by national lottery tickets and asked the Speaker whether they came from that long lottery finger in the advertisement that points down to people and says It could be you 136 Sources differ on the exact number of demonstrators A House of Commons spokeswoman stated that 45 people climbed to the roof 148 149 150 and a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said that 20 climbed down on the first day 148 149 but 31 activists stayed there overnight according to Greenpeace 150 151 and the BBC later reported that 54 people were charged with trespassing on land designated a protected site 152 References editFootnotes edit a b Palace of Westminster Factsheet PDF Restoration and Renewal Houses of Parliament Archived from the original PDF on 14 September 2017 Retrieved 13 September 2017 Planning Application to the Houses of Parliament Order 2006 Parliamentary Debates Hansard Vol 682 United Kingdom House of Lords 17 May 2006 col 339 The Palace of Westminster is therefore Crown land because it is land in which there is a Crown interest in this case an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown The bird s eye view by H J Brewer was published in The Builder in 1884 according to www parliament uk Archived 13 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine All Change at the Palace of Westminster BBC History Retrieved 8 February 2023 Fraser Antonia 1992 The Wives of Henry VIII New York Alfred A Knopf ISBN 978 0 394 58538 3 a b A Brief Chronology of the House of Commons PDF House of Commons Information Office April 2009 Archived from the original PDF on 23 June 2015 Retrieved 5 August 2010 Architecture of the Palace The Great Fire of 1834 UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 Jones 1983 p 77 Riding and Riding 2000 p 100 Port 1976 p 20 Jones 1983 pp 77 78 Port 1976 p 20 KING S SPEECH Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Lords 24 February 1835 col 63 64 NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Commons 2 March 1835 col 469 471 NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Lords 3 March 1835 col 489 490 Richard I statue Second World War damage UK Parliament 28 July 2009 Retrieved 27 December 2009 1 Archived 23 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Names on the Parliamentary War Memorial a b Fell and Mackenzie 1994 p 27 Field 2002 p 259 UK Parliament 29 July 2008 Bombed House of Commons 1941 Flickr Retrieved 5 August 2010 The House Returns British Pathe Retrieved 8 February 2023 Newsreel 50 87 issue date 30 October 1950 The Norman Shaw Buildings PDF House of Commons Information Office April 2007 Retrieved 5 August 2010 MPs set to leave Houses of Parliament for 3 5bn restoration The Guardian Retrieved 1 February 2018 Restoration and Renewal Client Board Houses of Parliament Retrieved 25 October 2022 Devey Peter February 2001 Commons Sense The Architectural Review Archived from the original on 8 July 2012 Retrieved 3 December 2009 a b UK Parliament website stonework page Archived 2 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 4 January 2014 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o The Palace of Westminster PDF House of Commons Information Office May 2009 Retrieved 5 August 2010 Richardson Christine 2007 Yorkshire Stone to London To Create the Houses of Parliament Richlow Histories ISBN 1 870002 95 4 Appletons annual cyclopaedia and register of important events of the year 1862 New York D Appleton amp Company 1863 p 201 a b Restoration of the Palace of Westminster 1981 94 PDF House of Commons Information Office August 2003 Retrieved 5 August 2010 Port 1976 pp 76 109 Riding and Riding 2000 p 116 Quinault 1991 p 81 Fell and Mackenzie 1994 p 30 Fell and Mackenzie 1994 p 44 Early day motion 1199 Union Flag at Parliament UK Parliament 29 March 2010 Retrieved 19 November 2016 Taylor Richard 19 January 2012 God s Own Architect Pugin 54 minutes in BBC Four Retrieved 7 May 2021 Building the Great Clock UK Parliament Retrieved 14 May 2010 Macdonald 2004 pp xiii xiv Great Clock facts UK Parliament Retrieved 14 May 2010 Fell and Mackenzie 1994 pp 24 26 The Great Bell Big Ben UK Parliament Retrieved 14 May 2010 Macdonald 2004 pp xvi xvii 50 The Great Bell and the quarter bells UK Parliament Retrieved 14 May 2010 Macdonald 2004 p 174 Jones 1983 pp 112 3 Elizabeth Tower virtual tour UK Parliament Retrieved 15 May 2010 Port 1976 p 221 Jones 1983 p 119 Jones 1983 pp 108 109 Field 2002 p 189 a b Riding and Riding 2000 p 120 Port 1976 p 103 Collins Peter 1965 Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture 1750 1950 1st ed Montreal Quebec Kingston Ontario McGill Queen s University Press p 238 ISBN 978 0 7735 0048 8 cited in Port 1976 p 206 Department of the Serjeant at Arms Annual Report 2001 02 House of Commons Commission 2 July 2002 Retrieved 28 April 2010 St Stephen s Tower This project involved the renovation and re modelling of offices on four floors above St Stephen s Entrance Wilson 2005 p 32 Riding and Riding 2000 p 268 Art in Parliament Archived 27 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Houses of Parliament St Stephen s Crypt Restored a b Guide to the Palace of Westminster p 28 St Stephen s Hall UK Parliament Retrieved 5 November 2023 a b c d e f g h i j k l Lords Route virtual tour UK Parliament Archived from the original on 16 August 2010 Retrieved 5 August 2010 UK Parliament 2 April 2009 President of France arrives at Parliament Flickr Retrieved 29 January 2010 UK Parliament 2 April 2009 President of Mexico and the Mexican First Lady arrive at Parliament Flickr Retrieved 29 January 2010 Wilson 2005 inside of front cover Fell and Mackenzie 1994 p 30 Wilson 2005 p 8 Guide to the Palace of Westminster p 25 Fell and Mackenzie 1994 p 31 Riding and Riding 2000 p 190 a b c Wilson 2005 pp 8 9 Architecture of the Palace The Robing Room UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 a b Field 2002 p 192 a b Guide to the Palace of Westminster p 26 Queen Victoria 1819 1901 UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 Quinault 1992 pp 84 85 a b c Architecture of the Palace The Royal Gallery UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 Lord Chancellor s breakfast UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 Guide to the Palace of Westminster p 29 Wilson 2005 pp 8 10 11 Guide to the Palace of Westminster pp 32 33 Fell and Mackenzie 1994 p 38 Riding and Riding 2000 p 262 Riding and Riding 2000 p 253 Wilson 2005 p 16 Guide to the Palace of Westminster pp 47 49 Guide to the Palace of Westminster pp 50 51 a b c d Central Lobby virtual tour UK Parliament Archived from the original on 16 July 2010 Retrieved 5 August 2010 Wilson 2005 p 21 Guide to the Palace of Westminster p 53 Quinault 1992 p 93 Architecture of the Palace Central Lobby UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 Lobbying BBC News 1 October 2008 Retrieved 21 January 2010 Guide to the Palace of Westminster pp 53 54 St Patrick and Ireland Official website UK Parliament Retrieved 2 January 2016 Wilson 2005 p 19 Wilson 2005 p 20 Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 Architecture of the Palace The Members Lobby and the Churchill Arch UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 House of Commons Chamber virtual tour UK Parliament Archived from the original on 16 July 2010 Retrieved 5 August 2010 The Commons Chamber Commonwealth Gifts made to the House of Commons in 1950 UK Parliament Parliament uk 26 October 1950 Retrieved 29 May 2013 Architecture of the Palace Churchill and the Commons Chamber UK Parliament Retrieved 14 May 2010 Sparrow Andrew 18 October 2000 Some predecessors kept their nerve others lost their heads The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 3 December 2009 On This Day Daily Post Liverpool 26 October 2005 Archived from the original on 25 August 2011 Retrieved 24 May 2011 Foreign News Renovated Bottle TIME 6 November 1950 Archived from the original on 31 January 2011 Retrieved 24 May 2011 Rogers Robert Walters Rhodri 2006 1987 How Parliament Works 6th ed Longman p 14 ISBN 978 1 4058 3255 7 Rogers Robert 2009 Order Order A Parliamentary Miscellany London JR Books p 27 ISBN 978 1 906779 28 3 Westminster Hall UK Parliament Retrieved 5 November 2023 Cescinsky Herbert Gribble Ernest R February 1922 Westminster Hall and Its Roof The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 40 227 76 84 JSTOR 861585 subscription required Early law courts Retrieved 9 June 2020 Later Law Courts UK Parliament Retrieved 23 October 2020 US President Barack Obama addressing MPs and peers BBC News 22 May 2011 Archived from the original on 25 May 2011 Retrieved 25 May 2011 Westminster Hall Coronation Banquets UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 Lyings in State in Westminster Hall UK Parliament Retrieved 23 February 2023 The hammer beam roof UK Parliament Retrieved 28 May 2011 Gerhold 1999 pp 19 20 Jonathan Alexander amp Paul Binski eds Age of Chivalry Art in Plantagenet England 1200 1400 pp 506 507 Royal Academy Weidenfeld amp Nicolson London 1987 Only six of the statues rather damaged remain and the dias has been remodelled but otherwise the hall remains largely as Richard and his master builder Henry Yevele left it Bouell Charles 1914 Fox Davies Arthur Charles ed The Handbook to English Heraldry 11th ed London Reeves amp Turner p 28 Speaker s procession BBC News 30 October 2008 Retrieved 21 May 2010 Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords UK Parliament 19 February 2007 Retrieved 21 May 2010 The House of Commons Refreshment Department PDF House of Commons Information Office September 2003 Retrieved 5 August 2010 Mason Rowena 27 January 2013 Mystery over cost of House of Lords rifle range The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 3 February 2013 Security tightens at Parliament BBC News 23 May 2003 Retrieved 3 December 2009 Permanent Notice to Mariners P27 Port of London Authority Archived from the original on 4 October 2011 Retrieved 3 December 2009 Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 c 15 sections 132 138 Archived 9 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 c 13 sections 141 149 Archived 9 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Security information UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 The Gunpowder Plot PDF House of Commons Information Office September 2006 Retrieved 5 August 2010 Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline BBC Retrieved 16 May 2010 a b The Albert medal The story behind the medal in the collection UK Parliament Retrieved 5 August 2010 All England Frightened the Damage to the Parliament Buildings Enormous PDF The New York Times 26 January 1885 Retrieved 21 December 2009 Sullivan T D 1905 Recollections of Troubled Times in Irish Politics Dublin Sealy Bryers amp Walker M H Gill amp Son pp 172 173 OCLC 3808618 OL 23335082M Gerhold 1999 p 77 On This Day 17 June 1974 IRA bombs parliament BBC News 17 June 1974 Retrieved 2 March 2013 On This Day 30 March 1979 Car bomb kills Airey Neave BBC News 30 March 1979 Retrieved 2 March 2013 Pallister David Hoggart Simon 31 March 1979 From the archive Airey Neave assassinated The Guardian London Retrieved 2 March 2013 Brain Timothy 2010 A History of Policing in England and Wales from 1974 A Turbulent Journey Oxford Oxford University Press p 52 ISBN 978 0 19 921866 0 Who are the INLA BBC News 11 October 2009 Retrieved 2 March 2013 Noyes Hugh 24 July 1970 CS gas thrown in Commons to cry of Belfast The Times London p 1 European Communities Ministerial Meeting Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Commons 23 July 1970 col 785 Northern Ireland Ten Years Later Coping and Hoping Time 17 July 1978 Archived from the original on 4 April 2008 Retrieved 17 May 2010 SCOTLAND BILL Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Commons 6 July 1978 col 675 676 a b Parliament s previous protests BBC News 27 February 2008 Retrieved 20 February 2013 Points of Order Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Commons 12 June 1996 col 323 See diagram of the Chamber s gallery level at Peele Gillian 2004 Governing the UK 4th ed Oxford Malden Massachusetts Carlton Victoria Blackwell Publishing p 203 ISBN 978 0 631 22681 9 Blair hit during Commons protest BBC News 19 May 2004 Retrieved 3 December 2009 Pro hunt protesters storm Commons BBC News 15 September 2004 Retrieved 3 December 2009 Local Government Bill Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Lords 2 February 1988 col 993 1023 Travis Alan 3 February 1988 Rope trick ladies drop in on the Lords The Guardian London p 1 Lord Monkswell Personal Statement Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Lords 4 February 1988 col 1183 Big Ben breach immensely worrying BBC News 20 March 2004 Retrieved 22 January 2010 Commons crane protest at Trident BBC News 13 March 2007 Retrieved 22 January 2010 Parliament rooftop protest ends BBC News 27 February 2008 Retrieved 20 February 2013 Barkham Patrick 13 November 2008 Five in court for rooftop protest at Westminster The Guardian London Retrieved 20 February 2013 Five unfurled Heathrow banners BBC News 12 November 2008 Retrieved 20 February 2013 a b Greenpeace protesters refuse to leave roof of Palace of Westminster The Daily Telegraph London 12 October 2009 Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 3 April 2017 a b Sinclair Joe Hutt Rosamond 12 October 2009 Rooftop protest continues as MPs return The Independent London Archived from the original on 24 May 2022 Retrieved 20 February 2013 a b Pidd Helen 12 October 2009 Greenpeace protesters spend night on parliament roof The Guardian London Retrieved 20 February 2013 Parliament rooftop protest ends BBC News 12 October 2009 Retrieved 20 February 2013 Parliament rooftop protest leads to 55 charges BBC News 12 March 2010 Retrieved 20 February 2013 London attack Four dead in Westminster terror incident BBC News 22 March 2017 A colleague of the officer who was stationed nearby was armed and shot the attacker Westminster car crash Man arrested on suspicion of terror offences BBC News 14 August 2018 Retrieved 14 August 2018 Westminster car crash Suspect appears in court BBC News 20 August 2018 Retrieved 20 August 2018 Three people were injured in the incident on 14 August which is being treated by prosecutors as terrorism Semi naked climate protesters disrupt Brexit debate The Guardian 1 April 2019 Retrieved 15 September 2022 Activists spent almost 20 minutes with their hands glued to the public gallery and buttocks facing the chamber Fires 2019 UK Parliament Retrieved 12 October 2020 Happened so fast Horror as man is tackled after rushing at Queen s coffin 16 September 2022 a b Some Traditions and Customs of the House PDF House of Commons Information Office January 2009 Retrieved 5 August 2010 Palace of Westminster Smoking Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Commons 11 June 2007 col 736W Retrieved 31 May 2008 a b Faqs The Budget and Parliament UK Parliament Archived from the original on 9 June 2010 Retrieved 20 March 2018 9 absurd rules about what you can t do in Parliament The Independent Archived from the original on 24 May 2022 Points of Order BBC News 22 September 2009 Retrieved 22 January 2010 Column 1380 Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Commons 19 December 1994 col 1380 Retrieved 31 May 2008 You can t do that BBC News 5 April 2012 Retrieved 31 October 2008 MP s Commons cow protest banned BBC News 3 June 2008 Retrieved 22 January 2010 Column 983 Parliamentary Debates Hansard House of Commons 12 February 1992 col 983 Retrieved 31 May 2008 Cook s resignation speech BBC News 18 March 2003 Retrieved 3 December 2009 Blair resigns Brown takes power The Age Melbourne 27 June 2007 Retrieved 17 May 2010 Martin s parting shot on expenses BBC News 17 June 2009 Retrieved 13 May 2010 Tim Walker 6 May 2014 Katy Balls ed Sir Robert Rogers finds comfort in retirement The Telegraph Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Wheeler Brian 28 May 2015 Why are MPs banned from clapping BBC News Retrieved 3 April 2017 Halsbury s Laws of England volume 12 1 Crown and Royal Family paragraph 53 Jack Malcolm Arrest of Members and searching of offices in the Parliamentary precincts PDF UK Parliament Retrieved 23 August 2011 Paintings reveal pollution clues BBC News 9 August 2006 Retrieved 30 October 2010 Helm Toby 14 January 2017 Parliament burned down 183 years ago Only 24 hour patrols are stopping another fire The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 22 December 2018 Historic England Houses of Parliament and The Palace of Westminster 1226284 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 4 October 2021 Attend debates UK Parliament Retrieved 3 April 2017 Watch committees UK Parliament Retrieved 3 April 2017 Visit the Parliamentary Archives UK Parliament Retrieved 3 April 2017 Houses of Parliament guided tours UK Parliament Retrieved 19 April 2019 Arrange a tour through your MP UK Parliament Retrieved 18 April 2019 Big Ben and the Elizabeth Tower tours UK Parliament Retrieved 5 November 2019 Britain s Best Buildings Palace of Westminster UK BBC Four Archived from the original on 25 May 2007 Parliament in the Making 2015 Historic Anniversaries programme UK Parliament Archived from the original on 14 January 2015 Retrieved 18 January 2015 2015 Anniversaries An Update PDF UK Parliament 11 June 2013 Archived from the original PDF on 18 January 2015 Retrieved 18 January 2015 BBC marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta with Taking Liberties season PDF BBC Retrieved 18 January 2015 Bibliography edit Cooke Sir Robert 1987 The Palace of Westminster London Burton Skira ISBN 978 0 333 45923 2 Fell Sir Bryan H Mackenzie K R 1994 1930 Natzler D L ed The Houses of Parliament A Guide to the Palace of Westminster 15th ed London Her Majesty s Stationery Office ISBN 978 0 11 701579 1 Field John 2002 The Story of Parliament in the Palace of Westminster London Politico s Publishing James amp James Publishers ISBN 978 1 904022 14 5 Gerhold Dorian 1999 Westminster Hall Nine Hundred Years of History London James amp James Publishers ISBN 978 0 907383 88 8 Guide to the Palace of Westminster London Warrington 1911 OCLC 5081639 OL 13507081M Jones Christopher 1983 The Great Palace The Story of Parliament London British Broadcasting Corporation ISBN 978 0 563 20178 6 Macdonald Peter 2004 Big Ben The Bell the Clock and the Tower Stroud Sutton Publishing ISBN 978 0 7509 3828 0 Port M H ed 1976 The Houses of Parliament New Haven Connecticut London Yale University Press ISBN 978 0 300 02022 9 Quinault Roland 1992 Westminster and the Victorian Constitution Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 6 2 79 104 doi 10 2307 3679100 JSTOR 3679100 S2CID 154705280 subscription required Riding Christine Riding Jacqueline eds 2000 The Houses of Parliament History Art Architecture London Merrell Publishers ISBN 978 1 85894 112 7 Tanfield Jennifer 1991 In Parliament 1939 50 The Effect of the War on the Palace of Westminster London Her Majesty s Stationery Office ISBN 978 0 10 850640 6 OCLC 26808272 Wilson Robert 2005 1994 The Houses of Parliament Norwich Jarrold Publishing ISBN 978 1 84165 099 9 Further reading editShenton Caroline 2012 The Day Parliament Burned Down Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 964670 8 OCLC 785869543 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palace of Westminster Official website Westminster Hall A Virtual Experience Archived 23 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine Winston Churchill State Funeral Westminster Hall UK Parliament Living Heritage A Victorian Novel in Stone Rosemary Hill The Wall Street Journal 20 March 2009 Parliamentary Archives Designs and working drawings for the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament Archived 1 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine Portals nbsp United Kingdom nbsp England nbsp London nbsp Architecture nbsp History nbsp Monarchy nbsp Politics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Palace of Westminster amp oldid 1220597395, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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