Houses of Parliament in London architect. What is Big Ben and other interesting facts about the Palace of Westminster. Palace of Westminster in London - short tour

Palace of Westminster - the heart of the British Kingdom

London is the capital of England, and the heart of London is Palace of Westminster. Since the 11th century, all British monarchs have been crowned in the territory. This is the burial place of members of the royal dynasty. The first church was founded here at the beginning of the 11th century; only the bases of the columns remained from it. The Palace of Westminster is rightfully considered the symbol of London and the most famous.

The first palace was built on this site for King Edward, who ascended the throne in 1042. Westminster Hall was built almost half a century later. This is not just a majestic building, but also a symbol of the limits of royal power. In 1265, King Henry III summoned knights and representatives of British cities to Westminster. Now they too had to take part in governing the country. Thirty years later, parliament became elected. The British are rightfully proud of their democracy. The power of the monarch in this country has long ceased to be absolute.

Most of the abbey's buildings began to be built in 1220. The buildings were repeatedly completed and expanded. In 1268, the famous mosaic floor of the cathedral was created, depicting the structure of the world according to the views of the astronomer Ptolemy.

The modern building appeared in 1840-1860. on the site of a palace that burned down in 1834, combining elements of buildings from different eras. The most valuable part, Westminster Hall, survived the fire.

Miraculously, he was not injured during the bombing of German aircraft in May 1941, during which the House of Commons hall located next door was destroyed. Until the early 1880s. The Supreme Court of the Kingdom was held in Westminster Hall.

Westminster Hall is a grandiose monument of medieval secular architecture. The hall occupies an area of 1800 m2, its height is 28 m. The span of the hall is covered with carved oak rafters 21 meters wide, which are supported by a complex system of wooden brackets. Surprisingly, the roof has no supports.

The Palace of Westminster, which is often called the House of Parliament, was badly damaged by fire in 1834. A special commission decided to build a new Palace of Westminster on the old site. The architect Sir Charles Barry won the competition. During the construction of the new Westminster, part of the water area was reclaimed from the Thames, and now the building protrudes slightly forward, as if moving the coastline.

The Royal Entrance to the Houses of Parliament is at the base of the Victoria Tower. Its height is just over 100 m. St. Stephen's Tower, which is slightly lower - 98 m, is usually called Big Ben - in memory of the Minister of Public Works Benjamin Hall, who managed the construction. More strictly, this name refers to the bell located behind four huge dials, which weighs 13.5 tons, but for most people Big Ben is famous watches on a tower in central London. Construction of Big Ben began in 1837 with the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne. The clock's designer, Sir Edmund Grimthorpe, did not live to see the clock work in 1859.

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Considering London as one of the most attractive cities, it is impossible not to mention its traditions, culture and many valuable attractions, one of which plays a leading role in Foggy Albion. This is the Palace of Westminster.

In 2004, the British authorities decided to open the Palace of Westminster for public access. All tourists visiting London have an outstanding opportunity to see with their own eyes all the splendor of the internal halls and even observe the efficiency of the work process of the Lords and representatives of the House of Commons.

If you have the chance to visit the Houses of Parliament, you should not miss the opportunity to see Westminster Hall, the surviving legendary building built for the son of William the Conqueror. It is also important to mention that Westminster Hall became the venue for a memorial service for Winston Churchill.

History of reconstruction and significant significance

The first version of the parliamentary building was erected about a thousand years ago in a swampy area, then still uninhabited. Its construction was necessary for only one purpose - to replace the Tower, which in the expanded city was surrounded by the poverty of the poor living in that quarter.

Authorities began to experience difficulties associated with such a “foul-smelling” neighborhood. This fact simply forced them to organize a move to some distance from the lower class citizens. King Edward of England and members of his family also moved to the new residence, completed by the middle of the 11th century. It is worth noting an important detail that the first Palace of Westminster did not have any similarities with the current rich building.

The Palace of Westminster acquired historical importance after the signing of a key agreement that influenced the formation political system England in the 13th century. We are talking about the Magna Carta, signed under pressure from society by the English King John the Landless.

Nowadays, this decree has become, in a sense, exemplary, demonstrating a model of a modern full-fledged state, the fundamental principles of which should be democracy, getting rid of tyranny and bureaucratic delays. With the entry into force of the “liberties”, the king lost the rights of sole governance of the country, then most of the decisions made fell on the competent shoulders of the people’s parliament. The power of the monarchical dynasty remained symbolic, essentially performing only representative functions of leadership.

New Westminster

The construction and expansion of the Houses of Parliament was constantly carried out over the next several centuries. The turning point in its history was terrible fire in 1834, after which the main body of the building turned to ashes, but two parts of the palace survived: Westminster Hall and the tower storing the jewels.

The planned restoration of an architectural monument in London remained the first item on the agenda of the parliamentary meeting. The government immediately announced a competition for the most preferred option for the new Parliament House. The grand tender was won by Charles Barry. Collaborating with Welby Pugin, they completed their task and erected the colossal Palace of Westminster, which became business card modern London.

In accordance with the construction project of Charles Barry, who meticulously approached the layout of each room, the construction of the new building was approved in the new Gothic style. Thousands of workers were involved in lengthy, voluminous labor, as construction dragged on for almost 50 years.

As a result, 1888 was marked by the completion of the Palace of Westminster and St. Stephen's Tower, which can still be admired today. The famous British Big Ben is St. Stephen's Tower, which is known on all continents.

Inside the epoch-making palace

All the luxurious rooms, corridors and halls defy simple description, and you can only feel the weight of the structure by visiting it in person. Moreover, if you believe today's architectural figures, then any attempt to find something similar in the world will end in vain.

The incredible area of the building does not seem huge due to its execution in the neo-Gothic style. The Palace of Westminster consists of 11 courtyards, each of which is original and unique in its own way, about 100 staircases, almost 5.5 kilometers long corridors and more than 1000 rooms. Giving the impression of grace, it fits harmoniously into modern London.

The famous parliament is represented by two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords of England. Each of them is located at opposite ends of the structure, so the path from one chamber to another turns into a real journey through the picturesque heritage of the British past. All the walls of the halls are occupied by wall paintings depicting fragments of British history, and according to the guides, these works of art are truly priceless. An impressive part of the paintings belongs to the brushes of world classics, who began to create since the reign of the English King Arthur.

I can continue to describe the sculpture, the incomparable stucco molding and the golden decor of the premises ad infinitum. However, it is worth noting the most compelling and richest part of the palace premises - the House of Lords of England. Its purpose is to consider the main decisions for the state, where the Lords speak with their eloquent monologues.

A special feature of the House of Lords is the absence of a speaker, but his functions are taken over by an ordinary bag of sheep's wool. Even in ancient times, the sale of wool brought a significant share of income to the state treasury, and as a sign of gratitude to the valuable export product, he was appointed “Speaker” of the House of Lords.

In contrast to the pathos of the first chamber, the House of Commons received more modest decorations, since the Lords are not present there. At the same time, it is here that the main and important resolutions for the entire country are adopted. The House of Commons contains representatives of the ruling and opposition parties. The specially created distance between their stocks is equal to the length of two swords held out in the hands. The foresight of such a “green corridor” was explained by the medieval hot temper of political opponents - this way they would not be able to harm each other with a sword. Although disputes are not resolved by force in the House of Commons in Great Britain. Indeed, despite changes in the political structure, the parliamentary monarchy retained the main role, and therefore the behavior of members of the House of Commons, vested with powers from the people, is comparatively different from the meeting of deputies in the post-Soviet powers.

Having a long and fascinating history, the English Parliament House has become famous throughout the world for the uniqueness of its architectural form. The huge architectural structure is recognizable among millions of people. Travelers and tourists from dozens of countries constantly follow each other on excursions around the legendary house. All these facts indicate that the Palace of Westminster is one of the main attractions in all of Europe.

Palace of Westminster

Just think that this island is royal,

Land of greatness, home of Mars,

The royal throne, this second Eden,

Against the evils and horrors of war

A fortress built by nature itself,

The happiest tribe is the homeland,

This world is special, this wonderful diamond

In the silver frame of the ocean,

Which is like a castle wall

Or a protective moat encloses the island

From the envy of not so happy countries...

William Shakespeare. Richard II (translation by M. Donskoy)

The Palace of Westminster, the building of the British Parliament on the banks of the Thames, is probably familiar to everyone, including those who have never visited Foggy Albion. A huge gray building of strict outlines with numerous turrets and the Big Ben clock is a symbol of London, a symbol of English parliamentarism. And, looking at it, now, probably, they don’t often remember that the Palace of Westminster was at one time the oldest palace in London. But he's no longer there...

On the night of October 16, 1834, a fire broke out in the premises under the House of Lords. Ironically, the reason was the desire for renewal. The ancient treasury measuring rods, used for cash payments (this system was introduced in England during the time of King Henry I, around 1100), which were wooden slats with notches, were finally decided to be burned - the man who held a post in the treasury in this system , died back in 1826. Charles Dickens later wrote: “The slats were kept in Westminster, and it would have been clear to any reasonable person that the simplest solution would have been to allow the poor people living in the neighborhood to take them out and use them for firewood.<…>However, they were ordered to be burned secretly. It turned out that they began to burn them in a furnace in the House of Lords. The stove, filled with these ridiculous sticks, set fire to the wall paneling, and thus began a fire in the House of Lords. The House of Commons took over from him. Both buildings burned down completely." And not only them - little remains of the ancient complex of the Palace of Westminster. It was the biggest fire in London since the Great Fire of London in 1666, when large parts of the city burned down. The famous English landscape painter William Turner, shocked by the spectacle he witnessed, subsequently painted a huge burning palace from memory several times. The palace, which at that time was about eight hundred years old...

Back in the 8th century, on the island of Thorney (literally “prickly”), located at the confluence of the River Tyburn with the Thames, St. Peter’s Church was built, which was called “Westminster,” the “western church,” as opposed to the nearby Church of St. Paul (though some researchers believe that this happened a century earlier). The next two hundred years the church had a hard time due to the constant raids of the Danes, so the island was gradually deserted. However, in 960, Saint Dunstan “brought twelve Benedictine monks there,” and on this site, thanks to the support of the Anglo-Saxon king Edgar (Dunstan, an outstanding church and statesman, later canonized, was a royal adviser), an abbey arose, into which the church became part of St. Peter's, which soon became royal. King Canute, who came to the throne in 1017, took the abbey under his guardianship and visited it often, and there is evidence that he built his own palace nearby, which allegedly burned down soon after. However, there is no exact certainty about this, so it is believed that the first royal palace on this site was built during the time of Edward the Confessor (who reigned in 1041–1066). The king especially revered St. Peter, and the place where the abbey was located also attracted him because of its location - next to what was then London, but outside it. Around 1045, construction began on a palace and a new stone abbey - Westminster Palace and Abbey, which were destined to play a huge role in the history of England.

There, in Westminster, Edward the Confessor died in January 1066, and his son-in-law, the last Anglo-Saxon king, became, it is believed, the first monarch to be crowned in Westminster Abbey. Since then, kings have been buried and crowned there... The next king, Harold Godwinson, did not rule for long - in October the famous Battle of Hastings took place, and the Anglo-Saxons submitted to the Normans. At Christmas, a new king, William, who received the nickname the Conqueror, was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

Under William's son, William II Rufus, the Palace of Westminster began to be rebuilt. The main hall of the palace, Westminster Hall, which began to be built around 1097, became the largest secular building in England, and perhaps in all of Europe at that time - seventy-four meters long, eighteen wide, with powerful walls two meters thick (it - all that remains of the buildings of Anglo-Saxon times; fortunately, during the fire of 1836 it was saved, although at great cost). Westminster Hall became the place where the king gathered his council, celebrations and ceremonies were held there - for example, the feast after the coronation of Richard the Lionheart in 1189.

However, in those days, kings rarely stayed in one place for a long time - their presence was constantly required in different parts of the country and beyond, so that neither Westminster nor any of the many royal possessions could be called the permanent residence of the monarch. However, it gradually became clear that for the convenience of governing the country, some kind of permanent “administrative center” was needed - for collecting taxes, administering justice, storing royal regalia and the treasury, etc. And gradually the Palace of Westminster became just such a place - under Richard’s father, Henry II (he reigned from 1154 to 1189), the royal treasurer settled there, and the council, which later turned into parliament, meets there more and more regularly. William FitzStephen, who left a description of London in the 12th century, described this home of the kings this way: “To the west, on the banks of the river, Royal Palace raises his head proudly; it extends in breadth, an unsurpassed structure, fortified with bastions and breastworks, at a distance of two miles from the city.”

Westminster continued to expand and strengthen, and, judging by the surviving records, they spent a lot on this. During the 12th and 13th centuries, a number of buildings were added to Westminster Hall, among which, for example, was the “Painted Chamber,” whose luxurious decoration, the richest and most exquisite in the entire kingdom, amazed the imagination of contemporaries. Two Irish monks described their impressions as follows: “The illustrious palace of the English kings, in which there is a famous chamber, the walls of which are decorated with wonderful art with paintings that depict military scenes from the Bible, and the one who looks at them is amazed, and the greatness of the king is glorified.” . It served as both a bedroom and a reception hall for Henry III and his son Edward I.

Now that the castle had become a relatively permanent residence for the kings, a throne was installed there. And, besides the throne, a table... In 2006, under Westminster Hall, archaeologists discovered fragments of dark marble - it was once a special “royal table”, which had not only a practical purpose, but also a ceremonial one. Behind him, the monarch assumed power over the kingdom before the coronation, and sat behind him during the banquet on the day of the coronation. Like the throne, the royal table was a symbol of power. At first it was wooden, but in the middle of the 13th century, under Henry III, it was replaced with marble. More than three and a half meters long, on a marble platform, the table was very majestic. Over the next few centuries, of course, it needed repairs from time to time, and who knows, maybe it would have survived to this day... but it was lost in the 17th century during the English Revolution. However, let's go back to the Middle Ages.

In 1292, construction began on the Chapel of St. Stephen - its creators were inspired by the Parisian Sainte-Chapelle, built half a century earlier. The work took a long time, until 1348, but thanks to Edward III, who ascended the throne in 1327, the interior decoration was luxurious. In addition, at the direction of Edward, a tower was built to house the royal treasury (the only tower that has survived to this day), and a clock tower - it was located next to the place where the tower with Big Ben now stands.

Under Edward's grandson, Richard II, the Palace of Westminster was finally established as the main residence of the English monarchs, and the work that was carried out under this king gave the main hall even greater grandeur than before. The work went on for many years, and, in particular, in 1389, Geoffrey Chaucer, the man better known to us as the “father of English literature”, was appointed to the post of official overseeing the work at the Palace of Westminster (as well as in some other places). new English literature. True, apparently, rather in order to receive a decent salary, and not because he was knowledgeable in construction...

The construction of Westminster Hall was entrusted to Henry Yevel, the most famous master mason of the era, who had recently built a tower for the royal treasury. Now he took on the difficult and dangerous job of completely remodeling the upper part of Westminster Hall. Huge wooden beams made of heavy oak support wooden arches, and thanks to the complex structure, the high, several tens of meters, ceiling of the huge room is not supported by columns. The roof was covered with lead, the total weight of which was one hundred seventy-six tons.

Both the walls and the ceiling of the building were, of course, richly decorated, for the first time they used the emblems of the monarch himself, in particular the white deer, and the angels on the ceiling held shields decorated with the royal coat of arms. They also ordered thirteen statues depicting English kings, starting with Edward the Confessor, whom Richard II especially revered. However, ironically, the first significant event in the renovated hall was the abdication of King Richard II from the throne in 1399... Well, thanks to him, Westminster Hall has been impressing visitors for more than six hundred years.

But it was by no means intended only for celebrations, and he had to see not only coronations or feasts - it also served as a place for hearings of criminal and civil cases, since it was there that the Court of Queen's Bench, the Court of Chancery and the Court of Common Pleas were held. The English Parliament also met there. Over the next, 15th century, the palace gradually became not so much a place where the king lived, but rather a place where the royal administration worked. And when in 1511 Henry VIII and his wife Catherine of Aragon magnificently celebrated the birth of their heir there, who, alas, soon died, this celebration turned out to be the last for the palace. The following year, a strong fire broke out, consuming a significant part of the building with the king’s personal chambers, and Henry VIII, who during his reign showed himself to be simply a collector of palaces, never lived there again. Officially, Westminster was still the residence of the monarch, and coronations were celebrated in Westminster Hall, but otherwise the palace was now occupied by parliament and the courts, and it was almost no longer connected with the private life of the monarch (however, it must be taken into account that this private life influenced the destinies the whole country, and sometimes in a radical way). And in 1536, an act was issued declaring that the Palace of Westminster, the “old palace of the king,” was now legally only part of the “new palace of the king,” which later became known as Whitehall (more about it below).

True, parliament had a hard time in the palace - like any ancient palace, Westminster was a jumble of buildings from different times, some of which were damaged during fires and were never restored, and some were simply not intended for meetings, and even two chambers - House of Lords and House of Commons. And if the first all these years met in the “Queen’s Chambers”, the oldest part of the palace, then the second, starting in 1547, began to meet in the chapel of St. Stephen...

In 1605, conspirators almost blew up the House of Lords on the opening day of Parliament, along with representatives of both houses and King James I himself, but the “Gunpowder Plot” was discovered, and since then, “Guy Fawkes Night” has been celebrated on November 5 in memory of this event. shooting off fireworks and burning an effigy of Fox, who was about to light the fuse, thereby changing the fate of Britain... It didn’t happen - probably for the better.

In January 1649, a trial took place in Westminster Hall, and this time it was not just anyone but King Charles I who was being tried. One can have different attitudes towards the personality of this monarch, but one cannot help but sympathize with the one who happened to be a prisoner, to become convicted and step onto the scaffold, and all this - within the walls of their own palaces.

After the restoration, the monarchy began to remodel the interior of St. Stephen's Chapel, so that it was more suitable for meetings of the House of Commons - of course, changes were made before, but now they have become very radical. So, everything inside was decorated with wooden oak panels, a “false ceiling” was made (to improve acoustics), etc. The magnificent colorful interior of the church of medieval English kings turned into a strict interior of a meeting room. When Ireland was annexed in 1801 and a place was needed for new members of parliament, the architect James Wyatt (his nephew would later be involved in the reconstruction of Windsor Castle), expanding the chapel, removed the panels, and it was here that the wall paintings were revealed again - unusually bright and fresh, according to a contemporary, colorful... Not for long. The reconstruction left nothing of it, nor of what still remained in the interior of the church from those ancient times.

After some time, history repeated itself - during the work begun in 1819 and the demolition of some buildings, in particular, paintings were discovered in the Painting Chamber, once so famous. They were sketched... and destroyed. Parliament needed new comfortable premises. Discussions about a new palace went on for many years and came to nothing, so when George IV ascended the throne, the new monarch commissioned the architect Sir John Soane to reconstruct the House of Lords - an ancient building that was once spared by the never-happened explosion of the Gunpowder Plot was demolished , and instead of it they built the so-called Royal Gallery. The building was built in a fashionable neoclassical style, and in order for it to at least somehow correspond to the rest of the palace, the architect had to decorate the facade with Gothic details. In a word, they tried to repair, reconstruct, change the Palace of Westminster in one place or another, which only worsened the situation. There were endless discussions in parliament about how it would be better.

And then there was a fire... And we had to discuss something else. As one participant in these discussions said, referring to the old Palace of Westminster, it seemed to him that “with the loss of this silent witness, the history of my native country would turn into a dream in which the dim shadows of the participants in the events would slide.” But a new palace was to be built on the site of the fire. Not in a new place, but precisely where the history of Britain was made for many centuries.

In March 1835, a special commission was appointed, and within a year it selected, among the ninety-seven (!) projects presented, the only one worthy of implementation. The building was supposed to be in national style, and decided that it would be Gothic or Elizabethan. Why not the popular neoclassical? Pointed Gothic towers were reminiscent of the greatness of the monarchy, neoclassicism was too reminiscent of revolutionary France... In 1836, Charles Barry's project won - he not only proposed a building in the Gothic style, according to his plan, surviving ancient buildings, such as Westminster Hall and the tower, once used To store the treasury, it had to be included in a new building.

The first stone was laid in 1840, twelve years later the premises for the House of Commons and the House of Lords were ready (the second was several years earlier), but the entire work took about thirty years. And no wonder - the new parliament was huge. More than a thousand rooms, seemingly endless corridors (total length just under five kilometers); The Victoria Tower (named, of course, in honor of the then reigning monarch) was at the time of its completion - 1860 - the second tallest building in the world!

Although it was now a parliament and not, as it had once been, a royal palace, the most luxuriously decorated were, of course, the Royal Staircase, along which the monarch ascends in solemn accompaniment; the hall where he (or she) dons the ceremonial robe and puts on the imperial crown; The Royal Gallery is a huge hall through which, in particular, the royal procession passes on the opening day of parliament. The interior decoration of the state rooms illustrates the rich British history. Murals on the theme of the legends of King Arthur, the military past of the country or the most important scenes from the pages of historical chronicles, portraits of monarchs, windows with stained glass in the form of coats of arms, documents from the parliamentary archive (including the death sentence of King Charles I)... But history is not here just a memory of the past, it is still being created.

In the huge hall of the House of Lords there are benches covered with red cloth (as opposed to green in the House of Commons); a throne under a golden canopy - it almost always stands empty, except on the opening day of parliament; next to the throne is a red “wool sack”, a seat without a back or armrests, stuffed with wool (it was introduced into use, it is believed, under Edward III, and wool symbolized the importance of trade in this product for the English treasury - now the wool there is not only English, and from all countries of the British Commonwealth); it was once the seat of the Lord Chancellor, the Chairman of the House of Lords, the Speaker of the House - since 2005, the Speaker can be not only the Lord Chancellor. On one side sit the church members of parliament and those secular members who belong to the ruling party, the opposition on the other, and in the middle are those who do not belong to any party. Here, every year, during the opening ceremony of parliament, the monarch makes a speech from the throne (despite the “royal” name, this is the government’s action program for the next year, and it is written not by the monarch, but by members of the cabinet).

The monarch never enters the House of Commons, located at the opposite, northern end of the building - a tradition! This is one of the few parliament buildings that was destroyed during the bombing of London in World War II and later rebuilt.

Apart from some other minor changes, the Palace of Westminster, Parliament, looks the same as it did almost a century and a half ago when it was first built. It was not for nothing that the architect Charles Barry was awarded a knighthood - he managed to provide everything necessary for everyday meetings and for receptions, both for work and for leisure. State halls, offices, libraries, lobbies, dining rooms, relaxation rooms, a combination of beauty and comfort... No wonder in 1905 someone said that “The Palace of Westminster is best club in London".

So, nothing changes? It changes, of course. After all, when this building was built, only a fifth of the adult male population had the right to vote! Now the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords is a lady...

Winston Churchill, the famous British Prime Minister, once said: “First we make our homes, then they make us.” The Palace of Westminster was once the home of kings, then it passed to parliament, and, note, this transition was peaceful, gradual.

The British monarchy is over a thousand years old, but it is still alive. Perhaps the secret is that you need to be able to combine the old and the new, just as the current stately gray building of Victoria's times accommodates Westminster Hall of the times of former kings. The main thing is to remember, remember everything.

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Palace of Westminster

Initially, until 1529, it served as the capital residence of the English kings. After the fire on October 16, 1834, the palace was rebuilt according to the neo-Gothic design of C. Barry and O.U.N. Pugin. What remains of the medieval palace is Westminster Auditorium (1097), where the Westminster courts met, and the Tower of Jewels (built to store the treasury of Edward III).

Big Ben is the popular name for the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster. Official name towers since 2012 - Elizabeth Tower

The palace has 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and 5 kilometers of corridors. The most famous of the palace towers is the clock tower. Elizabeth Tower(Big Ben) is a symbol of Great Britain.

Victoria Tower is a tower located on the southwest corner of the Palace of Westminster in London. Like the entire palace, it was built in the neo-Gothic style according to the design of the architect Charles Barry.

The Victoria Tower is two meters taller, with a height of 98.45 m (323 ft). In 1987, the palace and nearby church of St. Margaret (1486–1523) were listed world heritage UNESCO.

The tower was named in honor of Queen Victoria, who laid the foundation stone on December 22, 1843, although the design name was the Royal Tower. The tower was completely built by 1860. It was built specifically as an archival storage facility for parliamentary documents.

The ancient name of the place where the Palace of Westminster is located is Thorney Island. The first royal palace on this site was built by Canute the Great, king of Denmark, England and Norway during his reign from 1016 to 1035. Edward the Confessor, the second to last of England's Anglo-Saxon monarchs, lived in this palace at the time Westminster Abbey was being built (1045-50).

The Abbey gave the area a new name, Westminster, from West Minster - the western church (the eastern church was St. Paul's Cathedral). The oldest surviving part of the palace, Westminster Hall, dates back to the reign of King William II.

The Earl of Chatham's last speech in the House of Lords, painting by John Singleton Copley (1779-1780)

The Palace of Westminster was the main royal residence during the late Middle Ages, and was also the meeting place of Parliament's predecessors, the royal council and Simon de Montfort's parliament of 1265. The first formal parliament of England met at the palace in 1295, and since then almost all subsequent parliaments of England (from 1707 of Great Britain) have met here. Since 1341 Parliament has been divided into the House of Lords and the House of Commons

Assembly Room, House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London photograph 1891 (Public Domain)

Joseph Mallord William Turner observed the fire in 1834 and painted several paintings that depict the event, including Fire in the Houses of Lords and Commons (1835).

At the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII, in 1512, a fire occurred in the royal part of the palace. In 1534, Henry VIII purchased the palace from Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, renamed it Whitehall and made it his main residence. From that time on, the Palace of Westminster became the building of parliament. Important ceremonies took place in Painted Chamber

The House of Lords met in the Queen's Chamber, then, with the increase in the number of peers in the 18th century, in the larger White Chamber. Since 1547, the House of Commons has met in St. Stephen's Chapel

Chapel of St. Stephen

Palace of Westminster before the fire of 1834

In the XVIII and 19th centuries The palace was renovated several times, in 1799-1801 under the leadership of the architect James Wyatt, in 1824-27 - Sir John Soane, in particular, the old premises of the House of Lords, which was mined during the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, were destroyed.

On October 16, 1834, a big fire occurred and the palace burned down almost completely. Only Westminster Hall and the Tower of Jewels survived

Undercroft Chapel and Priory and Chapel of St. Stephen. Immediately after the fire, King William IV proposed to parliament the almost completed Buckingham Palace, but the parliamentarians refused the gift and decided to stay in the Palace of Westminster. First of all, the Painted Chamber for the House of Lords and the White Chamber for the House of Commons were restored. They were ready in February 1835, and the architect Sir Robert Smirk supervised the reconstruction work.

In February 1836, the design of Charles Barry was chosen for the construction of a new palace on the site of the one that burned down. He intended to build a quadrangular building in the Gothic style, with the main facade facing the Thames and with a tower in the center 55 meters high. Augustus Pugin also made a significant contribution to the project. The cornerstone was laid in 1840. The House of Lords Chamber was completed in 1847, the House of Commons Chamber in 1852, and the bulk of the work was completed by 1860, although construction continued into the 20th century. The total construction cost was £2 million.

During the Second World War, the Palace of Westminster was bombed several times (in 1940 and 1941). The chamber of the House of Commons that suffered the most damage was completely burned down by an incendiary bomb. Reconstruction under the direction of architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott began after the end of the war and was completed in 1950

Parliament acquired the nearby Norman Shaw buildings in 1975, and Portcullis House was built in 2000.

Currently, the Palace of Westminster is in need of restoration; According to preliminary estimates, the amount needed for restoration could be £7.1 billion if MPs continue to work in the palace, or £3.5 billion if they move elsewhere for six years

Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge

View of the Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster has three towers. The largest and tallest of them is the Victoria Tower located in the southwestern part of the palace. In the northern part is the Elizabeth Tower, also known as Big Ben.

It houses the Great Clock of Westminster, created by Edward John Dent from designs by amateur watchmaker Edmund Beckett Denison in 1859.

They show the time on four smoked glass dials with a diameter of 7 meters; at night, the dials are illuminated from the inside. The Elizabeth Tower was designed by Augustus Pugin. Above the clock is a bell tower with five bells; the largest of these, weighing 13.8 tons, is called Big Ben, and this name is often used to refer to the entire tower.

The octagonal Central Tower is 91 meters high and is located in the middle of the building above the Central Hall. It was conceived as a chimney for four hundred fireplaces located throughout the palace, but it turned out to be of little use for this task and serves more of a decorative function, serving as an axis for two towers at the edges of the building. Also, the role of chimneys is played by turrets located along the entire facade.

In the middle of the western facade of the palace, above one of the three entrances to the building, is the Tower of St. Stefan. At the ends of the façade facing the Thames are the Speaker's Tower (at the northern end) and the Chancellor's Tower (at the southern end).

The most magnificent entrance to the palace is the Sovereign's Entrance at the base of the Victoria Tower, leading to the Royal Porch (top left on the plan). Through it, the British monarch enters by carriage for the annual Opening of Parliament ceremony. Next is the Royal Staircase, leading up to the Norman Porch, and beyond it to the Queen's Robing Room. This room is the southern end (left on the plan) of the main axis of the palace, which includes the Central Hall and the meeting rooms of the Houses of Lords and communities (on the plan, respectively, to the left and right of the hall).

Royal Gallery
To the north (right on the plan) from the Royal Changing Room is the Royal Gallery. This is one of the largest rooms in the palace (33.5 by 13.7 meters).

It serves as a stage of the royal procession in the opening ceremony of Parliament, and is also used to address members of both Houses of Parliament when visiting foreign statesmen. The walls are decorated with two frescoes by Daniel Maclis: "The Death of Nelson" and "The Meeting of Wellington and Blucher". Immediately after the completion of the frescoes, they began to deteriorate due to high humidity and air pollution, and now they are almost monochrome. In addition to the frescoes, the gallery contains portraits of all the kings since Edward I, and there are statues of kings during whose reign major battles took place, the work of the sculptor John Burney Philip.

Chamber of the House of Lords

The Chamber of the House of Lords is a richly decorated room measuring 13.7 by 24.4 meters. Here, as in other rooms of the lords, the dominant color is red. On the south side of the room is the canopied throne where the British monarch sits during the Opening of Parliament ceremony.

In front of the throne is the seat of the Lord Speaker (until 2006 - the Lord Chancellor), the so-called woolsack, a rectangular pillow stuffed with wool. Along the walls there are benches for peers, to the right of the Lord Speaker is the ecclesiastical side, to the left is the secular side. The spiritual side is occupied by the Lords Spiritual (archbishops and bishops) and members of the ruling party from among the Lords Secular. The secular side is occupied by members of opposition parties. Non-party peers (crossbenchers) occupy the benches opposite the Lord Speaker's seat.

Adjacent to the Chamber of the House of Lords on the north side are the peer chambers and the vestibule, where members of the House of Lords can discuss issues in an informal setting. It is a square room, 12 meters on a side and 10 meters high, characterized by a marble floor with a Tudor rose in the middle and massive copper doors weighing 1.5 tons, separating the corridors from the House of Lords. Through the corridor of peers, the lobbies connect to the Central Hall.

Central hall

Central hall
This is an octagonal room directly under the Central Tower. Here the corridors leading to the lobbies of the House of Lords and the House of Commons converge, through the western doors it opens into the hall of St. Stephen and the public entrance to the palace, and through the eastern ones - to the lower waiting room and the library.

The diameter of the hall is 18 meters, and the height to the center vaulted ceiling- 25 meters. Above each of the four doors of the hall there is a mosaic depicting the patron saints of the nations that make up the United Kingdom: St. George for England, St. Andrew for Scotland, St. David for Wales and St. Patrick's Day for Northern Ireland.

The corridor and corridors of the House of Commons are located symmetrically to the corridor and lobbies of the peers. The couloirs are a cube with a side of 13.7 meters. The premises were heavily damaged by bombing in 1941 and were restored in a simplified style; The doorway leading to the Commons Chamber has been left unrepaired as a reminder of the horrors of war, and is flanked by statues of Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George, the prime ministers who led Britain through the Second and First World Wars respectively.

House of Commons Chamber

The House of Commons Chamber is located at the north end of the Palace of Westminster; this premises was destroyed in 1941 and restored under the direction of architect Giles Gilbert Scott in 1950. The decoration of the House of Commons chamber is much more modest than that of the House of Lords; The dominant color here is green.

This color scheme (red for the upper house, green for the lower house) is also used by other parliaments of the member countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations - India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The dimensions of the hall are 14 by 20.7 meters, along the walls there are benches for members of the House of Commons, accommodating 427 of the 650 parliamentarians (in cases where the presence of all members of Parliament is required, those who do not fit on the benches stand at the ends of the hall). At the north end of the Chamber is the Speaker's chair, with the House table in front of it. Members of the ruling party (or coalition) sit on the benches to the right of the Speaker, and members of the opposition sit on the left.

Westminster Hall

Westminster Hall, 1808
Westminster Hall (also called Westminster Hall) is the oldest surviving part of the palace; its construction began in 1097 and was completed in 1099. In terms of architecture, its unique feature is its roof. The roof was originally supported by two rows of columns, but during the reign of Richard II this was replaced by a complex structure of oak rafters supported by trusses. Similar types of vaults (Hammerbeam roof) are characteristic of English medieval architecture, and Westminster Hall is the largest of its examples, the roof dimensions are 20.7 by 73.2 meters. It was completed in 1393 by the royal carpenter Hugh Herland. The area of Westminster Hall is 1547 m²[

Westminster Hall served various functions. The three most important courts of Great Britain (Westminster Courts) sat here: the Court of Queen's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of the Exchequer. In 1875 they were consolidated into the Supreme Court, which sat here until 1882. It was also here that issues of impeachment were decided and government trials took place, in particular the trials of Charles I (1649), William Wallace (1305), Thomas More (1535), Cardinal John Fisher, Guy Fawkes (1606), Thomas Wentworth, the rebel Scottish lords and Warren Hastings (1788-95).

In the 12th - 19th centuries, coronation banquets were held here; the last such banquet took place in 1821 in honor of George IV. Important state ceremonies are also held in Westminster Hall: addresses from both houses of parliament to the monarch, addresses from heads of other states to parliamentarians, farewells to the bodies of deceased monarchs and important statesmen

Jewel Tower

Jewel Tower
The Jewel Tower is a three-story building next to the Palace of Westminster. It was built in 1365-66 to store the personal jewels of Edward III. It was originally surrounded by a moat filled with water from the Thames. The English monarchs used it until 1512, when after a fire the royal court moved to Whitehall.

At the end of the 16th century, the Tower began to be used to store the archives of the House of Lords, thanks to which these archives survived the fire of 1834, unlike the archives of the House of Commons. After the fire, the documents were moved to the Victoria Tower, and the Jewel Tower housed (from 1869 to 1938) the Standard Weights and Measures Department. After World War II, the building was restored and became open to tourists; 30 thousand people visit it annually.

Built in the neo-Gothic style, it stretches along the banks of the Thames for three kilometers. (This reminded me of one of the most famous palaces in Russia - the Winter Palace)

This beautiful palace many can recognize it by one of its towers - the famous Big Ben, as everyone calls it.

It's funny, but many people, when they hear "Palace of Westminster", do not immediately understand what it is about. And no wonder - he is known to everyone as London Houses of Parliament.

It is here that both houses of the British government are located, and here its fate is decided.

History of the Palace of Westminster

The palace was built back in the 11th century for King Edward, who ascended the throne in 1042, and was completed and expanded over several centuries.

Thus, the famous Westminster Hall - the heart of the palace and the most elegant European hall - was built half a century later for William Rufus. Another two centuries later, Henry III added a new chamber to the hall. And on January 20, 1265, a meeting of the first English parliament took place there. This first parliament appointed (and later elected) individuals from the upper classes, the clergy and the aristocracy.

Parliament shared its residence with the royal one for another century, until the royal couple decided to move to Whitehall in 1547, and the Parliament of London became the sole owner of the Palace of Westminster.

The palace continued to deteriorate until... there was a fire in 1834. Fortunately, Westminster Hall and the crypts were preserved, but the main ensemble of the building was badly damaged. Parliament decided to restore its beloved and now dear residence, but at the same time make several adjustments.

It took more than thirty years to restore this masterpiece of architecture designed by Charles Barry, but it was worth it - now we can admire a beautiful example of a palace in the neo-Gothic style.

How to get to the Houses of Parliament in London

Tourists have two opportunities to visit the Houses of Parliament, while for residents of the UK it is much easier - any Briton can contact Parliament with a question, and also visit the palace with a representative of their region. And most importantly, they can visit Big Ben and see the tower from the inside! Envy-envy-envy.

How cool it would be to see this tower from the inside...

Since we are not British citizens, our options are much smaller.

You can watch the Parliament debates for free from the guest gallery.
Buy an audio tour to Parliament or a guided tour.

Free debates in Parliament

Anyone can get to the debate by simply standing in line for the event. Debates are held daily from Monday to Thursday, and also during the sitting of Parliament on Friday.

Debates are different. Okay, off to the debate. "Question Time" Only UK residents are admitted who have a ticket issued to them by their regional representative. Those Britons who don't have a ticket, as well as tourists, can attend this debate if there is space left.

On other debates No registration is required, but you will have to wait in a long line. The wait usually takes one to two hours.

Schedule of Parliament meetings

Excursion to Parliament

To the joy of our compatriots who do not know English language and not wanting to overpay for individual tour in some agency (if there are any) - excursions to the Parliament are also conducted in Russian.

Audio tours runs from 9.20 to 16.30 on Saturdays, from 13.20 to 17.30 on Mondays and from 9.20 to 17.30 from Tuesday to Friday (from July 31 to August 29, from September 12 to October 19 - tours until 16.30) every 15 minutes. Duration - 1 hour.

Guided tours in English are held from 9.00 to 16.15 (except Mondays, on Mondays they start at 13.20) and start every 15-20 minutes.

Tours in other languages are held in certain time 2-3 times a day.

In French at 10.00, 12.20 and 15.00
In German at 10.20, 12.50 and 15.20
In Italian at 10.40, 13.00 and 15.40
In Spanish 11.00, 13.20 and 16.00
In Russian at 13.40 and 16.15

By the way, there is another offer for tourists - “Afternoon tea”. Those. You can drink tea right in the Parliament building! This pleasure costs a lot - £29.00 excluding the cost of a ticket for the excursion.

Afternoon tea is held at 13.30 and 15.15. The audio tour should be taken at least an hour and a half before this time, and the guided tour should be taken two hours in advance. It depends on everyone... but to me it seems like a waste.

Cost of visiting Parliament House

Tickets to individual excursions You can buy it on or order by phone.

Group excursions - only by phone +44 161 425 8677

Photography is prohibited inside. The rules for visiting Parliament and its news can be found on the official website - http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/

Entering the Houses of Parliament is like touching the history and government of Great Britain. Of course, you won't be allowed to see the entire Palace of Westminster. You can only follow a clearly defined route visiting several rooms: