| Palace of Westminster (picture by Peter Watts) |  |
Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster in London is also called The Houses of Parliament. It is the seat of debate between the parties in Britain. The building is a well known London landmark though visiting needs to be arranged. UK Residents can make arrangement through their MP both while Parliament is in session and when in recess. Overseas visitors are only able to visit the Houses of Parliament during the summer recess.The Palace of Westminster sits on the north bank of the Thames in the City of Westminster. Apart from the Chambers of Commons and Lords, the Palace of Westminster contains over 1000 rooms, including libraries, conference rooms, and not a few bars. The Palace is in fact an amalgamation of several buildings, the oldest surviving part of which dates back to 1097. However, most of the Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834, and much of the present building dates from the 18C. The Palace of Westminster was rebuilt in a Gothic style, and one of the most famous features is St. Stephens Tower, which contains the bell Big Ben, which has now become the common, but wrong, name for the tower itself.
Originally the Palace of Westminster served as the principal residence for the monarch in London, from the time William the Conqueror (1066) through to Henry VIII when a fire destroyed a part of the building in 1529. The King then moved to York Palace. Westminster Hall, the Jewel Tower, the crypt of St. Stephens Chapel and the cloisters are the only parts of the building dating from this era. The rest was destroyed by fire in 1824. The Chamber of Commons was again destroyed by bombing during WWII.
The Palace of Westminster is a Grade 1 listed building. Combined with Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's the area is classified as a World Heritage Site. There is so much that could be said about the building and those with more interest should see the Wikipedia article on the Houses of Parliament and the Palace of Westminser.
Guy Fawkes Night (November 5th) celebrates the failure of a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament, thereby killing King James 1 and both the House of Commons and the House of Lords in one swoop, in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
The nearest tube station is Westminster, but Charring Cross and St. James's Park are also nearby in Zone 1 of the London transport system. Other nearby London attractions include the London Eye, London Aquarium, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace.