The Houses of Parliament, otherwise known as The Palace ofWestminster, stands on the site where Edward the Confessor had the
original palace built in the first half of the eleventh century. In 1547
the royal residence was moved to Whitehall Palace, but the Lords
continued to meet at Westminster, while the commons met in St. Stephen’s
Chapel. Ever since these early times, the Palace of Westminster has
been home to the English Parliament.
In 1834 a fire broke out which destroyed much of the old palace, all
that remained was the chapel crypt, The Jewel Tower and Westminster
Hall. It was Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister, who saved the great
hall by arranging for the fire engines to be brought right into the hall
and personally supervising the fire fighting operation.
The magnificent Gothic Revival masterpiece you see today was built
between 1840 and 1888, this was the work of Charles Barry who designed
the buildings to blend with nearby Westminster Abbey. The two imposing
towers, well known landmarks in London, are the clock tower, named after
it’s thirteen ton bell called Big Ben, and Victoria tower, on whose
flag pole the Union Jack flies when parliament is sitting. Much of the
Victorian detail of the interior was the work of Barry’s assistant
Augustus Pugin.
Entrance to Westminster Hall is permitted only as part of a guided
tour, otherwise it can be viewed from St. Stephen’s porch above. The
hall measuring 240 feet by 60 feet has an impressive hammerbeam roof of
oak and is one of the most imposing medieval halls in Europe. In this
noble setting coronation banquets were held until 1821. It was used as
England’s highest court of law until the nineteenth century and it was
here that Guy Fawkes was tried for attempting to blow up the House of
Lords on 5th November 1605. The statue of Oliver Cromwell, which stands
outside the hall, reminds us it was here in 1653 that he was sworn in as
Lord Protector.
The route to the upper and lower houses takes you through the huge
wooden doors into St. Stephen’s hall. The vaulted ceiling and murals
were designed by Barry to replicate the medieval chapel where the
commons met until 1834. From here you are ushered into the well known
octagonal Central Lobby, whose tiled walls are inscribed with Latin
mottos. This is the central meeting place where constituents can meet or
“lobby” their Members of Parliament. It is from here that you will be
shown your direction either to the House of Lords or Commons.
House of Commons.

An incendiary bomb destroyed the House of Commons in 1941. A
reconstruction of Barry’s original design for the house, taken from St.
Stephen’s chapel, the commons old meeting place, was completed in 1950.
The seating arrangement in the house is reminiscent of choir stalls, the
members of the cabinet sit on the front benches while opposition senior
members sit directly opposite. The distance between the benches marked
out on the floor in red lines, is exactly two sword lengths and one foot
apart. Members are not allowed to cross these lines, thus ensuring that
debates are kept orderly. In the centre of the floor stands the Table
of the House, on which the mace is placed at the start of each
parliamentary sitting; this is the Speaker’s sceptre. The speaker of the
house presides over sittings, keeping order.
House of Lords.

The House of Lords decorated in scarlet and gold has all the grandeur
one would expect in this chamber. This is where Her Majesty the Queen
comes to open Parliament each November. Placed beneath a regal canopy,
the gold throne which dominates the house is where the Queen sits to
deliver the traditional opening speech. The Lord Chancellor sits
opposite, on the famous Woolsack, this is a large scarlet cushion filled
with wool, a tradition dating back to the middle ages when wool was
England’s largest export. ПЕРЕВІДІТЕ