Royal Palace in Westminster. Palace of Westminster, landmark of London

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In official documents, the Houses of Parliament is still referred to as the "Palace of Westminster" or "New Palace of Westminster" and has the status of a royal palace.
When the court left the Palace of Westminster, which housed the Royal Court from the time of Edward the Confessor until the reign of Henry III, and moved to Whitehall Palace, two most important inhabitants remained in Westminster - parliament and the judiciary.

The courts held their meetings in Westminster Hall, and Parliament had to huddle in two rooms: the House of Commons occupied the chapel of St. Stephen, and the House of Lords - the former premises of the Court of Motions, dissolved in 1641.
Old Westminster Palace(in the background - Westminster Abbey) from the side of the River Thames.

From the end of the eighteenth century until the accession of William IV, there was talk that Parliament needed a new building; Sir John Soane, the architect of the Bank of England building, presented his project for discussion, other architects followed his example, but the conversations turned out to be in vain.

But one night in 1834, the problem was resolved in just a few hours. Someone sent to burn the wooden plates from which the treasury notes were printed, overdid it a little, keeping the fire going; the flames fanned by a sharp October wind engulfed the park and ancient buildings in the twinkling of an eye, from which soon only smoking firebrands remained.

Fire brigades rushed to the scene of the fire, but the flames were too strong for them to cope with it. However, the descendants are still indebted to the valiant London firefighters who saved Westminster Hall that terrible night.

When the young Victoria ascended the throne, she was surprised to find that her Parliament had no home. It took several years to clear the area after the fire and to hold a competition among architectural designs; There was only one condition for the contestants - the new building should be in the Gothic or Elizabethan style.

victoria tower(view from the cloister of Westminster Abbey).

Since the construction of St. Paul's Cathedral in England, no larger and more magnificent building has been erected; its extended river façade, with the elegant Victoria Tower above the main building at one end and the Clock Tower at the other, is architectural masterpiece, immediately recognized worldwide as "quintessentially London".

No other view of London, even with St. Paul's Cathedral, has been so often depicted on the canvases of foreign artists. Preference was given to the design of Charles Barry.

Square on Parliament Square, Parliament House and Westminster Hall (left), Victoria Tower (right).

Clock tower, also known as Big Ben, was officially renamed Elizabeth Tower in honor of the reigning Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II. Big Ben, by the way, is not a clock, but a large bell, named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who served as the chief commissioner for public works in those years when the bells were hung on the tower. Its special, low and rolling rumble (associated, as they say, with a crack in the metal) penetrates literally into every corner of the globe.

A narrow spiral staircase of three hundred and seventy-four steps leads up; if the bells begin to ring as you rise, stone slabs trembles.

westminster hall- what remains of the old Palace of Westminster.

It is believed that the colossal oaks from which this majestic ceiling is made, sprouted from acorns no later than the sixth century. If this is true, then the ceiling of Westminster Hall is one of the oldest and most respected architectural details not only in England, but throughout the world.

Acorns sprouted in England, shrouded in the mist of the Dark Ages. It was the time of Celtic saints and tiny monasteries like Iona and Lindisfarne, the time of Viking gangs fighting their way to the ruins of ancient Roman settlements; this was England, in which the ringing of a bell calling to prayer and the cry of a seagull were often drowned out by the cries of the rabble in horned helmets, who sailed to rob and kill, fill longships with booty and return home across the North Sea.

For centuries, the Saxons and Normans drove deer, hunted wild boars and wolves on the very spot where Westminster Hall now rises; here they made love and had feasts. Meanwhile, the oaks grew, becoming thicker in girth and casting an ever denser shadow, and the world around was changing, the Middle Ages came, and in 1397 the gamekeepers of King Richard II came here, looking for the oldest oaks in Sussex, in order to restore the roof of the royal hall in Westminster . They cut down mighty trees - the very trees that were called old already in the reign of Alfred the Great (the Anglo-Saxon king).

Parliament Square- a large square in the center of Westminster, created in 1868 in order to streamline traffic near the Palace of Westminster. Parliament Square has a symbolic layout and represents all branches of government. On the east side, the legislative power is represented by the Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster), on the northern side, Whitehall serves as the embodiment of the executive power, on the western side, the judicial power is personified by the building of the Supreme Court, and on the south, Westminster Abbey is the seat of spiritual power.

Methodist Central Hall- Westminster Central Hall or Methodist Central Hall in Parliament Square - a public building intended for holding meetings of the Methodist Church. It was built in 1912 in the French Renaissance style. The Great Hall is crowned with a huge dome; this room is considered the second largest in the world in terms of capacity; at the same time, 2352 people can be in it.

Building to the right of Westminster Abbey.

Buckingham House- the official London residence of the British monarchs - became the royal palace, so to speak, involuntarily; this is a perfect illustration of the typical English reluctance to build palaces on a grand scale.

The area on which Buckingham Palace stands was occupied by mulberry plantations during the reign of James I; Yakov believed that sericulture "is able to save the people from idleness and the vices generated by it." However, this theory died with Jacob, and a roadside inn appeared on the site of the plantation, to which the gentlemen of Charles II brought their ladies and treated them to mulberry pies.
In the etchings of the time of Queen Anne we see a pretty square house of red brick in the Dutch style; two semicircular colonnades connect it with the stables and outbuildings. In front of the house there is a wide courtyard with a fountain, an iron fence and a wrought iron gate, decorated with the crown and coat of arms of the Duke of Buckingham - the garter and St. George.

Looking out of the upstairs windows, the duke saw the avenue of elms and lindens that is now the Mall. In the distance rose the dome of St. Paul's, surrounded by the spiers of the churches of the City, and a little closer and to the right, beyond the meadows and the park, could be seen the bell tower of Westminster. When looking at the Mall, the duke had a view of a long canal and a duck pool, dug out by order of Charles II; today it is a lake in St. James Park.

Speaking about the new house in a letter to a friend, the duke said that under the very windows there was a patch of forest where thrushes and nightingales are found. Immediately after the coronation, Victoria moved to this palace, and she also rebuilt it; the first directive of the queen concerned the installation in Buckingham Palace front throne.

The crowd waiting for the rehearsal of the parade dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Now let's just walk around London. As I mentioned before, until you are near a famous landmark, you will not realize that you are in London. This is a very green city.

Although, no doubt, the spirit of a kind of aristocracy reigns here, that you still won’t be deceived :)

The whole city (as well as all other cities in Great Britain) is decorated with flags dedicated to the anniversary of the Queen's coronation.

One evening we went in search of King's Cross station, from which Harry Potter left for Hogwarts from the magical platform 9¾. There is a more remarkable building near this station st pancras station(Station of St. Pankratius).

Architecturally, the station consists of the main building - a landing stage, enclosed in the facades of the neo-Gothic building "Midland Grand Hotel" (now the Renaissance Hotel).

But here we go to Kings Cross station(King's Cross - "Crossroads of Kings").

On the top floor of the station, under the station clock, there is a giant bronze sculpture of a young couple "Meeting Point".

It is the hallmark of the capital of Great Britain and the seat of its parliament, consisting of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The architectural complex, also known as the Parliament, is located in the Westminster area. This included masterpiece of architecture includes historical London sights, the main of which are Westminster Hall and the Big Ben and Victoria towers.

Palace of Westminster construction history

The first Palace of Westminster, according to surviving documents, was built in an uninhabited and marshy area in 1042. It was erected by order of the rulers of the kingdom instead of the Tower, which, with the expansion of the city, in some incredible way ended up in the most impoverished quarter of the capital.

One has only to imagine what the authorities of the capital experienced among the poor, who still "smelled badly." This state of affairs simply forced the main building of the city to be moved away from the impoverished "rabble" of London. How could monarchs rule a country in such a terrible place? A new residence in a swampy area, from the windows of which the position in which England found itself in those distant times was not so clearly visible, was almost completely completed by 1042.

The Palace of Westminster was constantly growing: already 45 years after its completion, it was decided for the son of the legendary William the Conqueror to attach Westminster Hall to the architectural structure. The son of the great commander, who won many victories over his enemies in his lifetime, was called William the Red II.

It was this man who decided that the palace must necessarily have the most luxurious hall in which it would not be a shame to arrange magnificent receptions and even conduct coronation ceremonies in front of representatives of other countries. In addition to these ceremonies, by order of William the Red II, Westminster Hall began to constantly hold meetings of the highest judicial authority in England - the Supreme Court of the country.

The Palace of Westminster is interesting not only for its architecture. In the distant 13th century, a very important document was signed here, which played a key role in the formation of the political structure of England. It is under this document that many prestigious colleges currently teach students what a modern, secure, democratic state should look like and how to get rid of bureaucracy and tyranny. It was in the 13th century that King John of England, under pressure from the public, signed a decree that went down in history as the Magna Carta.

Naturally, there was no talk of any anarchy in it. All the "liberties" consisted in the fact that the king was deprived of the right to single-handedly rule the country: since the 13th century, many important decisions regarding foreign and domestic policy were made by the parliament, which was elected by the people. Monarchs have become only a kind of symbol of the country, something like a coat of arms or a flag.

Even taxes were introduced and calculated by the parliament, which was just the same salvation for the impoverished population of the country. For this reason, the Palace of Westminster can be considered not only the “visiting card” of London, its main attraction, a monument of architecture and history, but also a symbol of the constitutional parliamentary monarchy.

It is possible to talk about the construction of the Palace of Westminster and its expansion for an infinitely long time: the people constantly supported the improvements of the building, because the parliament sat there, which at one time saved it from the arbitrariness of the monarchs. However, in 1834, almost the entire Palace of Westminster, built in 1042, burned to the ground. From the former majestic building where the Parliament of England met, two buildings remained: the same Westminster Hall and the tower of jewels.

Restoring the building for Parliament was an urgent matter: immediately after the fire, the British government announced a competition for the best plan for the new Palace of Westminster. It was won without much difficulty by Charles Barry, who presented a grandiose and unique project of its kind.

True, Barry was well aware that it was impossible for him to cope with all the work alone, so he enlists the cooperation of Augustus Welby Pugin, with whom he builds the very Palace of Westminster, the view of which any tourist visiting the capital of England can enjoy today.

According to the plan of Charles Barry, a new building for the parliament was decided to be built in neo-Gothic (new Gothic style). To say that the construction of the Palace of Westminster took place in record time and "without a hitch" would not be true. There were difficulties, and they constantly arose before the architects and the huge number of workers involved in the construction of the facility. The construction site had to be prepared for more than three years, and the construction of the Palace of Westminster took just over 48 years (from 1840 to 1888).

Over such a long period of time, not only the Palace of Westminster was rebuilt, but also the Tower of St. Stephen, which can be found in our time on a huge number of posters, calendars and other printed matter - the very famous and legendary Big Ben, which, of course, knows almost every civilized inhabitant of our planet.

St Stephen's Tower or Big Ben

Despite the fact that the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben were built relatively recently, there is no exact evidence of where the name of St. Stephen's Tower "Big Ben" came from. There are only versions, and versions, as you know, are quite easy to refute.

Some historians claim that Benjamin Hall, who was affectionately called Ben, who was in charge of the construction of the Palace of Westminster and St. Stephen's Tower, was of enormous growth. Others claim that Big Ben got its "nickname" in honor of the popular boxer. However, the most interesting and, at the same time, the most confusing version says that the tower was named after one representative of the parliament. His name was also Benjamin and his last name was Hall. He went to the podium and began to explain for a long time how to call the clock tower.

He talked for so long that he himself was confused in historical facts, and no one was listening to his mumbling. Finally, after an hour and a half, he ended his tirade, which had no meaning as such. Parliament breathed a sigh of relief and one of its members asked the speaker a question: "So what do you propose in the end?". Benjamin Hall was confused, and someone shouted: "Let's name the tower after this long and tedious speech - Big Ben!" The joke was accepted with a bang and the tower got its name. Which of these three versions to believe, everyone decides for himself. It is worth repeating, not a single official evidence in favor of this or that opinion has been found today.

Before the clock was installed on the tower of St. Stephen, quite a long time passed. The delays were connected with the requirements of the London authorities. The clock should lag behind or advance no more than 1 second per day. All the most respected watchmakers simply laughed at such a condition: 19th century technology simply did not allow the creation of a giant clock that had to be placed on a high tower and run with extreme accuracy.

Only Edmund Beckett Denison took up the development of the plan, who managed to fulfill all the requirements in five years. The clockwork of Big Ben did not lag behind by more than a second a day. By the way, the weight of the watch designed by Edmund Beckett Denison is just over 5,000 kilograms.

The height of the Tower of St. Stephen or Big Ben is almost 96 and a half meters. Many may think that this is the tallest building architectural ensemble called the Palace of Westminster. However, this opinion is far from the truth, tall tower Palace is the Victoria Tower, its height is 102 meters. In some tourist brochures, another figure is indicated - 98.4 meters, but it has nothing to do with reality.

The tower, named after Victoria, was built so huge with only one purpose, to fit in it the entire archive of documents considered by the Parliament of England. Big Ben and the Victoria Tower, however, like other rooms, are made entirely of refractory materials: the 1834 fire at the Palace of Westminster has forever remained in the memory of Londoners.

During World War II, the Palace of Westminster in London became a prime target for Nazi pilots. To hit him with a bomb was an honor for every Luftwaffe ace. For this reason, the main symbol of London, where Parliament met and where Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered his fiery speeches, was seriously damaged. The Palace of Westminster, which, as mentioned above, is a symbol of the constitutional parliamentary monarchy, was completely reconstructed in 1950.

It cannot be said that the building was only slightly damaged, on the contrary, the damage to the Palace of Westminster was serious: it was possible to revive it completely in 5 years only thanks to the huge budget and the heroism of the English workers. Alas, the bombs also hit the legendary Big Ben. The clock mechanism "gave a serious failure", it began to lag behind by as much as 2 seconds a day. The British eliminated the problem quite quickly and simply: they only did that they attached a coin to a huge pendulum. The weight of just one penny affected Big Ben's clock, and it again ticked with extreme precision.

Architecture and sights of the Palace of Westminster

Outside, it is crowned with innumerable small turrets, and its walls are decorated with lancet windows, lovely rosettes, and lacework of stone trimming of cornices and windows. The Parliament is especially beautiful in the evenings, when its towers and spiers, flooded with spotlights, stand out like a fantastic crown in the dark sky.

11 courtyards, each of which is unique, just over 100 staircases, corridors with a total length of more than five kilometers and 1,200 rooms - where else in the world can you find such scale and splendor? The area of the palace is huge, but thanks to the Neo-Gothic style, it does not seem like a massive bulk, on the contrary, it creates the impression of “lightness” and fits organically into modern London. Although, it would be more correct to say that modern London is in harmony with the Palace of Westminster.

Parliament, which is perhaps the most famous in the whole world, consists of two houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. They are located at different ends of the building and are interconnected by several giant halls at once, between which there are also corridors. It takes a long time to get from one chamber of the Palace of Westminster to another. However, a journey through these halls and corridors turns into a real tour of the museum!

The walls of the rooms connecting the chambers are decorated with wall paintings. Most of the paintings, which depict almost the entire history of Foggy Albion, starting from the reign of King Arthur, belong to the brushes of the most famous artists in the world. They, according to art historians and numerous guides, have no price - they are priceless.

The ceiling of the House of Lords is completely covered with images of heraldic birds, animals, flowers, etc.; its walls are lined with carved wooden panels, above which are images of six frescoes. Eighteen bronze statues of the barons who secured Magna Carta from the king stand in niches between the windows, looking out over the inlaid canopy of the royal throne, the rows of benches covered in bright red leather, and the famous "woolen bag" of the Lord Chancellor.

Centuries ago, this bag, covered with red cloth, was stuffed with wool, personifying the emblem of English industry. At present, the authentic "wool sack" has become a museum piece, but the tradition has remained: the chairman of the House of Lords, dressed in a black and gold robe and a lush white wig, opens the meeting, sitting on a soft red sofa without a back.

Adjacent to the House of Lords is an antechamber, furnished with the same sumptuous luxury as the hall of the Upper House itself. The northern doors from it lead to a corridor that ends at the octagonal Central Hall. There are statues of English kings in niches around the entire hall.
In the hall of the House of Commons there is not that stately pomp that is present in the hall of the House of Lords. This is not a very large room, finished in dark oak, and the dark green benches in it, running in parallel rows, leave only a small passage in the middle.

Members of the lower house of parliament during their meetings can even sit in a hat, but the chairman (speaker) is always dressed solemnly: in an old black suit, stockings and shoes, and according to the old tradition, his head is covered with an indispensable wig. In the hall of the House of Commons, in front of the speaker's chair, there is a large table on which lies a mace - a symbol of speaker's power, and three secretaries in judicial robes and wigs sit at the table.

The lanterns of the guards are without candles, since the lower floors of the Parliament are well lit by electricity. It is known in advance that they will not find any barrels of gunpowder, especially since the new palace was built two and a half centuries after the “gunpowder plot”. But every year, on November 5, the guards, led by the bailiff of the chamber (“the bearer of the black rod”) go around the basement and check if there are any new intruders….

Britain is administered from the Palace of Westminster in London. This is also known as the Houses of Parliament. Parliament is made up of two chambers - the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The members of the House of Lords are not elected: they qualify to sit in the House because they are bishops of the Church of England, aristocrats who have inherited their seats from their fathers, people with titles. There has been talk of reform in this century because many Britons think that this system is undemocratic.

The House of Commons, by contrast, has 650 seats which are occupied by Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by the British public. The United Kingdom is divided into constituencies, each of which has an elected MP in the House of Commons.

Each of the major political parties appoints a representative (candidate) to compete for each seat. Smaller parties may have a candidate in only a few constituencies. There may be five or more parties, fighting for one seat, but only one person - the candidate who gets the greatest number of votes - can win.

Some parties win a lot of seats and some win very few, or none at all. The Queen, who is the Head of State, opens and closes Parliament. All new laws are debated (discussed) by MPs in the Commons, then debated in the Lords, and finally signed by the Queen.

All three are part of Parliament in Britain.

Text translation: Parliament. The Palace of Westminster. - Parliament. Palace of Westminster.

The British government is located in the Palace of Westminster in London. The Palace of Westminster is also known as Parliament House. Parliament consists of two chambers - the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Members of the House of Lords are not elected: they are members of Parliament because they are bishops of the English Church and aristocrats who have inherited their seats from their fathers, titled persons. There is talk of reforming this system in the present century, as many Britons do not see such a system as democratic.

The House of Commons, by contrast, has 650 seats. These seats are held by Members of Parliament elected by the British people. The United Kingdom is divided into constituencies, each of which has a representative (member of parliament) in the House of Commons.

Each of the major political parties appoints a representative (candidate) to compete for a seat in parliament. Smaller parties may only have candidates in a few constituencies. Five or more parties may compete for one seat, but only one person can win - the candidate who receives the most a large number of votes.

Some parties get a lot of seats, others get very few or none at all. The Queen, head of state, opens and closes Parliament. All laws are discussed by members of the House of Commons, then by members of the House of Lords, and finally signed by the Queen.

Parliament in Britain consists of: the Queen, the House of Commons, the House of Lords.

References:
1. 100 topics of oral English (V. Kaverina, V. Boyko, N. Zhidkih) 2002
2. English for schoolchildren and applicants to universities. Oral exam. Topics. Reading texts. Exam questions. (Tsvetkova I.V., Klepalchenko I.A., Myltseva N.A.)
3. English, 120 Topics. English language, 120 conversation topics. (Sergeev S.P.)

Well, since we have already seen so many English castles

Then we can’t get past the Palace of Westminster. And its history began a very long time ago.

This building arose in 1840-1860 on the site of an old palace that burned down in 1834, which by that time was a combination of the most diverse buildings. However, during the fire, they managed to save, in addition to the badly damaged crypt under the chapel of St. Stephen, the architecturally most valuable part of the old palace is Westminster Hall. Fate turned out to be merciful to him for the second time: the hall survived during the devastating bombing of German aircraft in May 1941, when the adjacent hall of the House of Commons was destroyed.

For modern London, Westminster Hall is the best and most expressive monument of medieval secular architecture. Started in 1097, it was rebuilt at the end of the 14th century. Henry Yevel, a talented London mason, laid out the walls. The famous wooden floors were built with the participation of the royal carpenter Hugh Erland.

But let's get it right...

In 1215, eighteen barons who were in opposition to royalty, forced the English king John Landless to sign the Magna Carta, which laid the foundation for the English constitution. A few years later, Baron Simon de Montfort, one of the leaders of the opposition, convened the first English Parliament. However, despite its ancient origin, Parliament for a long time did not have its own residence: meetings had to be held in the ancient Westminster Hall or share the Chapter Hall of Westminster Abbey with the monks. Only in 1547 did the English Parliament receive its permanent residence in the St. Stephen's Chapel of the old Palace of Westminster, which until the 16th century was the main residence of the English kings.

In the place of Westminster in ancient times there was an impenetrable swamp. However, the swamp was dried up, and in its place was erected Royal Palace. The palace was close to the Thames, next to Westminster Abbey, a few miles from the City.

The first palace was built for King Edward the Confessor, who came to the throne in 1042. Forty-five years later, for William Rufus, son of William the Confessor, Westminster Hall was built - the most elegant hall in Europe, where a feast was held in 1099. In the 13th century, Henry III added a painted chamber, and during his reign the first parliament was convened (from the French verb "parler" - to speak).

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January 20, 1265 at the Palace of Westminster met the first English Parliament, convened by Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester. In order to give the established order the appearance of legality, Montfort put forward the initiative to create a council in which, along with the rest, the third estate would be represented. Collected on January 20, 1265, this council very quickly developed into a permanent body, called the Parliament.

To adapt the chapel for holding parliamentary sessions, it was completely built up with benches and galleries, which, of course, distorted its architectural appearance. In addition, the entrance to it passed through Westminster Hall, where the Supreme Court of England sat. However, despite a number of inconveniences, the House of Commons met in St. Stephen's Chapel until the fire of 1834, after which it again found itself without a permanent seat.

After the fire in the slightly damaged part of Westminster Hall, parliament still continued to temporarily sit, and the architect Smirke accepted the proposal to arrange two temporary rooms for their meetings on the ruins of the burnt chambers. The architect diligently set to work and usefully used all the parts that had survived from the fire. The former premises of the upper House of Lords were restored and given to the work of the House of Commons, and the Lords themselves received the restored Art Gallery for their meetings.

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But by the summer of 1835, a special commission decided to build a new Westminster Palace on the old site. According to legend, the choice of location was largely determined by security considerations: in the event of popular unrest, the Parliament building, located on the banks of the Thames, will not be surrounded by an indignant crowd. The palace was recommended to be built in the Gothic or Elizabethan style, that is, in the spirit of the secular architecture of England at the end of the 16th century.

97 projects were submitted to the competition, 91 of which were made in the Gothic style. Preference was given to the project of C. Barry, a young architect, but by that time the author of several well-known buildings. In addition to the main halls for the meetings of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, it was necessary to provide premises for the ceremonial ceremony of the annual opening of Parliament with the presence of the Queen, who opens its work. We needed separate voting rooms, corridors that would connect the central halls with libraries, canteens, as well as many other utility rooms. And Charles Barry was able to very logically arrange all this myriad of courtyards, rooms and corridors.

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In 1837, on the banks of the Thames, builders began to build terraces that pushed the river back, and three years later, C. Barry's wife laid the first stone in the foundation of the new Palace of Westminster.

To restore this masterpiece of architecture, a special commission was created, and soon a competition was announced for the development of the project, in which about a hundred people took part. As a result, ninety-seven options were considered, of which the project of Charles Barry (1795-1860) was recognized as the best. Restoration was entrusted to him, which he did in a magnificent Gothic style with the help of Augustus Pugin, who completed the picturesque ornamental work. St. Stephen's Chapel was renamed St. Stephen's Hall. It is a wide corridor lined with paintings, marble sculptures, and a lagoon marker where the speaker's chair used to be.

The preparatory work dragged on for 3 years - it took to build terraces on the banks of the Thames. Only in 1840 did work begin on the Parliament building itself. The construction of the palace was completed in 1888.

Currently, the building of the Palace of Westminster, which is now simply called the Parliament, is located in central London and is one of the largest buildings in the world. According to some, it is the main attraction of the English capital.

The Palace of Westminster stretches far along the banks of the Thames and covers an area of more than three hectares. Despite its size, the Parliament building does not overwhelm with its immensity, but on the contrary, caresses the eye with the lightness and beauty of its majestic romantic forms, although it has elements of late Gothic and some asymmetry of the silhouette and individual details. Outside, it is crowned with innumerable small turrets, and its walls are decorated with lancet windows, lovely rosettes, and lacework of stone trimming of cornices and windows. The Parliament is especially beautiful in the evenings, when its towers and spiers, flooded with spotlights, stand out like a fantastic crown in the dark sky.

The main verticals of the Palace of Westminster are the Victoria Tower (its height is 104 meters), rising above the royal entrance to the Parliament, and the Big Ben clock tower, 98 meters high. The name of the main hour bell, weighing more than 13 tons, was named after Benjamin Hall, Minister of Public Works. The clock itself, which has four 9-meter dials, was arranged under the guidance of the famous astronomer Erie. When the clock strikes the time, all British radio stations broadcast them. The "Victoria Tower" forms the royal entrance to Parliament, and during parliamentary sessions, the British national flag is hoisted on it.

The opening of the work of parliamentary sessions is accompanied by solemn traditional ceremonies. The royal couple arrive in a gilded carriage drawn by eight cream-coloured horses. These horses descend in a straight line from those that William of Orange brought with him to England from Holland at the end of the 17th century.

The royal throne, upholstered in red velvet and adorned with gold and diamonds, stands on a special dais in the House of Lords under an inlaid Gothic canopy.

The success in the construction of the Palace of Westminster, the architect C. Barry, was largely due to cooperation with O. Pugin, an enthusiast and connoisseur of English Gothic. An excellent draftsman, passionately in love with the art of the Middle Ages, he also participated in the development of the details of the facades of the palace. It was thanks to the inventive imagination of O. Pugin that the facades of the Parliament and its towers were decorated with intricate stone carvings. O. Pugin worked especially hard on the interior design of the Palace of Westminster, although some researchers note that sometimes his sense of proportion changed somewhat. You will not find smooth ceilings and walls anywhere, everywhere carved panels, canopies, niches, bright mosaics, huge frescoes, the floors in many rooms are lined with yellow, blue and brown tiles. somewhat tiring, but in the 1840s they delighted the wealthy bourgeois public.

Of greatest interest in the Palace of Westminster is the interior of the House of Lords and the premises associated with it by parliamentary ceremonial: the Royal Gallery for ceremonial processions; the room in which the Queen is dressed for her solemn appearance in Parliament; waiting room for the exchange of views and making private decisions and others.
The ceiling of the House of Lords is completely covered with images of heraldic birds, animals, flowers, etc.; its walls are lined with carved wooden panels, above which are images of six frescoes. Eighteen bronze statues of the barons who secured Magna Carta from the king stand in niches between the windows, looking out over the inlaid canopy of the royal throne, the rows of benches covered in bright red leather, and the famous "woolen bag" of the Lord Chancellor. Centuries ago, this bag, covered with red cloth, was stuffed with wool, personifying the emblem of English industry. At present, the authentic "wool sack" has become a museum piece, but the tradition has remained: the chairman of the House of Lords, dressed in a black and gold robe and a lush white wig, opens the meeting, sitting on a soft red sofa without a back.

In the hall of the House of Commons there is not that stately pomp that is present in the hall of the House of Lords. This is not a very large room, finished in dark oak, and the dark green benches in it, running in parallel rows, leave only a small passage in the middle. Members of the lower house of parliament during their meetings can even sit in a hat, but the chairman (speaker) is always dressed solemnly: in an old black suit, stockings and shoes, and according to the old tradition, his head is covered with an indispensable wig.

The arrangement of the speaker's place is also associated with long traditions. His armchair, behind and on the sides surrounded by an iron lattice, stands in front of the front door. In former times this portcullis protected the President of the House of Commons from occasional attacks. During the reign of the Stuarts, the speakers were henchmen of the king, so they often complained about all sorts of incidents. For example, how some deputy “stood behind my chair and barked in my ear so much that I, like the other members of the chamber, was extremely frightened”; or how some “deputy came up and stuck out his tongue at me.”

The need for an iron lattice has long passed, but the builders of the new building did not dare to deviate from tradition.
In the hall of the House of Commons, in front of the speaker's chair, there is a large table on which lies a mace - a symbol of the speaker's power, and three secretaries in judicial robes and wigs sit at the table.

At the western end of the hall of the lower house of the English Parliament, several steps lead down to the vestibule, on the right side of which the entrance to Westminster Hall opens. It remains from that huge building, the foundation of which was laid in 1097 by William the Red, the son of William the Conqueror. Burnt in a fire in 1291, Westminster Hall was rebuilt in its present form in 1308.

Westminster Hall is a very large hall, its dimensions are 88x21x28 meters. Its ceiling does not rest on a single column, and there is no other such building. This ceiling was refurbished in 1820, for which timber was taken from old ships of the line.

Lot historical events took place in Westminster Hall, perhaps only the Tower has seen more drama than this hall. The first English Parliament met in it, and Kings Edward II and Richard II were deposed here; in it, Richard III received his captives - the Scottish king David II and the king of France, Jean the Good. In this hall, the utopian philosopher Thomas More heard his death sentence, King Charles II was tried here. At Westminster Hall, during the coronation of George IV, a knight rode on a horse, throwing down a glove to anyone who dares to challenge the crown of his king.

At Westminster Hall, through a small door, now sealed up, King Charles I appeared and demanded the extradition of five members of the opposition. This was the only time in the history of the English Parliament that the king entered the hall of the lower house. Here, later, Charles I himself was tried, and the crowd that filled the hall and looked out the windows shouted: “Execution! Execution! The king's death sentence was passed unanimously, and this document is still kept in the library of the House of Commons.

At Westminster Hall, Oliver Cromwell, in a purple and ermine robe, with a golden scepter in one hand and a Bible in the other, assumed the title of Lord Protector. And four years later, here, his head was put on a stake.

Both chambers are connected by a corridor to Westminster Hall, which is the central hall of the building and occupies the middle of the palace. The corridor itself serves as a kind of reception room, a place of communication between parliamentarians and the "outside world", so there is always a revival here and there are a lot of public and tourists.

Part of the Palace of Westminster, which houses the hall of the House of Commons, was destroyed during the Second World War, but the general Gothic character of its architecture was preserved during the restoration. Unfortunately, the details of decoration carved in stone and wood and many other items of decoration, which previously constituted a single style complex with the entire room, could not be repeated. Lighting spotlights of modern forms have further violated the artistic integrity of this hall.

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Another long tradition has been preserved in the English Parliament since the 17th century. In 1605, a group of conspirators dug under the building of the Palace of Westminster and laid gunpowder there in order to blow up all the deputies along with the king at the time of the solemn meeting. The plot was uncovered, and Guy Fawkes, who led the gunpowder plot, was executed along with his accomplices. But every year the guards, dressed in ancient costumes, with lanterns and halberds in their hands, search all the cellars and nooks and crannies of the palace. The lanterns of the guards are without candles, since the lower floors of the Parliament are well lit by electricity. It is known in advance that they will not find any barrels of gunpowder, especially since the new palace was built two and a half centuries after the “gunpowder plot”. But every year, on November 5, the guards, led by the bailiff of the chamber (“the bearer of the black rod”) go around the basement and check if there are any new intruders….

Westminster Hall covers an area of 1800 square meters. Its height is 28 meters. This is one of the most grandiose medieval halls known in the architecture of Western Europe, the wooden roof of which, moreover, is not supported by any supporting pillars. The span of the hall, 21 meters wide, is covered with carved oak open rafters, supported by a complex system of wooden brackets that are strongly extended forward. The shape of these overlaps is difficult to describe.

It is usually customary to compare them with the frames of ancient frigates, as if turned upside down. But this comparison by no means reveals the full complexity of the construction, the high level of carpentry skills of the builders and the amazing artistic effect that they managed to achieve. Such a system of wooden floors, usually used in residential buildings and parish churches in England, was one of the peculiar achievements of English medieval architecture and nowhere else in Europe has it become so widespread and has not reached such a high artistic level as in this country.

In Westminster Hall, one is surprised by the integrity of the composition, the impeccability of proportions and lines of the carved pattern. Over the centuries, the wood of the floors has darkened, and now they seem to be immersed in a mysterious twilight. The space of the hall is filled with silvery-purple light pouring through the colored stained-glass windows of the gothic lancet windows. According to the British, in any weather it blows cold from the walls. Everything reminds of the antiquity of the hall, helps to revive the events that took place in it.

The Houses of Parliament is the most significant creation of the architect Barry. And although it caused the most controversial judgments and assessments, this did not prevent it from immediately becoming one of the city's attractions. Attention is drawn to the correctly found proportion of the main volumes of such a significant structure in its scale. When viewed from afar, the almost classical austerity and wide scope of its facades, and at the same time, the picturesqueness of its outlines as a whole, invariably impresses. The mighty, square in plan, Victoria Tower and the huge clock tower, asymmetrically located in the northern and southern parts of the palace, give it a unique identity. Together with a small tower with a spire, placed above the central hall, they not only decorate it, but also balance the huge length of the facades with their height.

The Victoria Tower, rising 104 meters in height, marks the royal entrance to Parliament. During the session, the British national flag is raised on it. The clock tower is 98 meters high. It has a clock mechanism, which is highly accurate. We can say that this is the "main clock" of the state. A huge bell "Big Ben" (Big Bon), specially cast for the tower, weighing 13.5 tons, strikes the clock. Big Ben's fight is constantly broadcast by English radio stations. The watch got its name from Benjamin Hall, one of the construction leaders. During the parliamentary session, with the onset of darkness, a searchlight is lit on the tower.

The British Empire erected for its parliament a building of rare splendor and size even according to the tastes of that time. Reference books give figures: 3.2 hectares of area, 3 kilometers of corridors, 1,100 rooms, 100 stairs. . . Of course, dry figures do not reveal the artistic merits or shortcomings of the palace, but to some extent they testify to the complex layout of the building, which affected the features of the parliamentary structure, the traditions that have long accompanied meetings, and the daily business life of the English parliament. In addition to the main halls of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, it was necessary to provide premises designed for the ceremonial ceremony of the annual opening of Parliament with the presence of the Queen reading the throne speech. We needed special rooms for voting, kilometers of corridors that would connect the central halls with libraries, canteens, and various utility rooms. Barry managed to arrange all this myriad of rooms, corridors, courtyards in a very logical way.
The northern part of the building, overshadowed by the Victoria Tower, is occupied by the House of Lords and the premises associated with it by parliamentary ceremonial. These include: the magnificent Royal Gallery, designed for ceremonial processions; the room in which the Queen is dressed for her solemn appearance in Parliament; lobby, in literal translation from English - a waiting room, but in fact - the sidelines, a room for exchanging opinions, making private decisions. Characteristically, the same term in parliamentary jargon refers to a group of figures who, in their own interests, put pressure on deputies.

In the southern half of the palace, next to Big Ben, is the hall of the House of Commons. There is also the lobby of the House of Commons, voting rooms, the residence of the speaker.

Corridors connect these most important parts of the Palace of Westminster with the Central Hall, which occupies the middle of the building and serves as a kind of reception room, a place for members of Parliament to communicate with the “outside world”. This room is almost always lively. Deputies accept petitions from their constituents. Journalists, having learned the latest parliamentary news, immediately report it to their agencies from numerous telephone booths. There are a lot of people and tourists here.
From here, a corridor leads to St. Stephen, built on the site of a chapel destroyed by fire. The dais at the end of the hall offers the best view of the interior of Westminster Hall.

The builder of the Houses of Parliament, Barry, owed much of his success to his contemporaries to his collaboration with Augustus Pugin, a great connoisseur of gothic architecture, a man fanatically in love with the art of the Middle Ages and his zealous propagandist. In addition, Pugin was an excellent draftsman. Recent studies show that many carefully and even gracefully executed architectural drawings of the Palace of Westminster belong to his hand.

Thanks to the inventive imagination of Pugin, the facades and towers of Barry were decorated with intricate stone carvings. Pugin's inspiration was the Henry VII Chapel, built in the late Gothic "perpendicular" style and located right there, just across the street from the new palace under construction. Pugin worked especially hard on interior design of the Houses of Parliament. However, here the sense of proportion often betrayed him. Nowhere you will find a calm surface of ceilings and walls. Everywhere - carved wooden panels, canopies, niches, bright mosaics, huge frescoes, colorful wallpapers. The floors of many rooms are lined with tiles - yellow, blue, brown. The fragmentation of the ornament, the overload of details, the variegation of colors - everything that delighted the wealthy bourgeois public of the 1840s, tires the eye of the modern viewer and only prevents them from noticing the truly high craftsmanship.

Of greatest interest is the interior of the House of Lords. Decorative techniques found in the interior decoration of the entire palace reach their climax here. The ceiling is completely covered with images of heraldic birds, animals, flowers, etc. The walls are lined with carved wooden panels, above which there are six frescoes. Eighteen bronze statues of the barons who won Magna Carta from King John stand in the niches between the windows, looking out over the inlaid canopy of the royal throne, the rows of pews covered in bright red leather, the famous sofa of the Lord Chancellor.

This sofa recalls a long tradition: the Lord Chancellor used to sit in parliament on a wool sack, symbolizing the foundations of British trade and wealth. The original wool sack has now become a museum exhibit, but the tradition has remained: the chairman of the House of Lords, dressed in a black and gold robe, in a lush white wig, opens the meetings of the House sitting on a soft sofa.

And also, according to tradition, there is a bronze wrought-iron barrier at the north end of the House of Lords meeting room, marking the place of the members of the House of Commons and the speaker who heads it, which they occupy during the opening of Parliament.

Part of the Palace of Westminster, which houses the House of Commons, was destroyed during the Second World War. During the restoration work, the general Gothic character of the architecture was preserved. But the decoration details carved in stone and wood, as well as many items of decoration that previously constituted a single stylistic complex with the entire room, were not repeated. The introduction of lighting spotlights of modern forms further violated the artistic integrity of the appearance of the hall. However, in its original form, the hall of the House of Commons was much more modest and businesslike than the hall of the House of Lords. Its walls were covered in dark oak panelling, and its pews were upholstered in green leather. This combination has been preserved to our time.

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sources
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Rebuilt in 1840 after being destroyed in the Middle Ages, the Palace of Westminster today serves as an outstanding example of neo-Gothic architecture. The new Palace of Westminster is one of the sights of the English capital. It is located in the heart of London on the banks of the Thames and is its architectural center.

Location of the Palace of Westminster

The writer HG Wells wrote in 1911: "For me, London is the most interesting, the most beautiful, the most wonderful city in the world." Many who have ever visited the capital agree with him. Today's London is a major international center, the area of the city is about 625 sq. miles.

In the place of Westminster in ancient times it was impassable. However, the swamp was dried up, and a royal palace was erected in its place. The palace was close to the Thames, next to Westminster Abbey, a few miles from the City.

History of the Palace of Westminster

At the Palace of Westminster, one of the most famous buildings world, houses Parliament: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The first palace was built for King Edward the Confessor, who came to the throne in 1042. Forty-five years later, for William Rufus, the son of William the Confessor, Westminster Hall was built - the most elegant hall in the city, where a feast was held in 1099. In the 13th century, Henry III added a painted chamber, and during his reign the first parliament was convened (from the French verb "parler" - to speak).

After 30 years, the parliament became more democratic, since representatives were no longer appointed, but elected. By 1550, members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords were meeting separately with members of Parliament in the elegant chapel of St. Stephen.

The Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834. To restore this masterpiece of architecture, a special commission was created, and soon a competition was announced for the development of the project, in which about a hundred people took part. As a result, ninety-seven options were considered, of which the project of Charles Barry (1795-1860) was recognized as the best. Restoration was entrusted to him, which he did in a magnificent Gothic style with the help of Augustus Pugin, who completed the picturesque ornamental work. St. Stephen's Chapel was renamed St. Stephen's Hall. It is a wide corridor lined with paintings, marble sculptures, and a lagoon marker where the speaker's chair used to be.

The crypt and Westminster Hall survived, but the adjacent House of Commons was again destroyed during World War II due to heavy bombing by the German army. The new reconstruction was led by Gil Gilbert Scott. Restoration was a difficult and costly process, as the highest quality timber was required. The palace was restored by 1950.

Features of the architecture and interior of the Palace of Westminster

The unusual layout and, as a result, the unparalleled volumetric and spatial composition of the palace are explained not only by the complex structure of the government institution, but also by the inclusion in the total volume of the building of a national relic - Westminster Hall - a masterpiece of English Gothic of the 11th-14th centuries and part of the walls heavily damaged by the fire of the medieval chapel of St. Stephen.

The total area of the entire area occupied by the palace is 3.2 hectares. Spread along the Thames for 300 meters, the complex includes more than 1,100 rooms, 100 stairs, and connects it all with a corridor, whose length is almost 3 kilometers. In addition to various buildings in the palace itself, there are 11 more courtyards.

The palace is decorated very skillfully: outwardly, despite its large size, it does not seem bulky. The decoration of the palace are two main towers - a tower with a height of 102 meters and a clock tower of St. Stephen with a height of 98 meters. The clock on the latter has four dials with a diameter of 9 meters each. The well-known astronomer Erie supervised the creation of these. Time is beaten off by the hour bell, which weighs almost 14 tons. This is the famous Big Ben. They are named after Benjamin Hall, who was Minister of Public Works. It was he who supervised the setting of the clock. Big Ben (big Benn) was nicknamed by the people for his rather big weight. At first, the bell was called Big Ben, then the clock, and now the whole tower, which has become the hallmark of London, is called so.

The Royal Passage is located in the Victoria Tower. Through it, on solemn occasions, the royal cortege moved.

A whole complex of premises adjoins the House of Lords. In ancient times, the monarch climbed the Royal Stairs to the Norman portico and from there went to the hall of the Royal mantle. The Hall of the Royal Robe is still adorned with paintings by William Dick depicting scenes from the stories of King Arthur. The Royal Gallery has statues of rulers, ranging from King Alfred the Great to the sculpture of Queen Anne. From the Royal Gallery, the monarch passed into the Prince's room with a statue of Queen Victoria located in it, and then solemnly entered the Lord's chamber.

The most richly decorated room in the Palace of Westminster is the House of Lords. Among the decorative elements are wood and stone carvings, many paintings and frescoes painted by many great masters. The ceiling is covered with various heraldic emblems. Colored stained-glass windows are inserted into the windows.

The House of Lords and the House of Commons are connected by several halls. The Hall of the Peers is decorated with the coats of arms of six royal dynasties. Through the Hall of Peers one can get into the Central Hall, which has an octagonal shape. As in the Royal Gallery, there are sculptural portraits of the royal family. The Commons Corridor leads into the Hall of Commons, behind which is the House of Commons. It is less pompously decorated than the House of Lords. The walls are finished with red oak, on the sides there are balconies for the press and spectators. The deputies sit on the central benches upholstered in green leather. Traditionally, representatives of the ruling party sit on the right, and the opposition on the left. Not far from the entrance is the speaker's chair, surrounded by bars.

In the center of the palace is the oldest part - Westminster Hall. It was built in 1097. Many times it was destroyed, but restored the same as it was from ancient times. The dimensions of the hall are quite impressive: length - 88 meters, width - 28 meters, height - 21 meters. Westminster Hall is connected to both chambers through long corridors.

In addition to the main halls, the palace has many rooms for commissions and committees.

Until recently, the Palace of Westminster was only a government residence, but since 2004 it has been operating as a museum. Tours are organized during summer holidays English Parliament - from August 7 to September 16. Tourists begin their inspection of the palace from the royal dressing room, the royal gallery, then enter the debate chambers and end the tour in the oldest part of the palace - Westminster Hall, built in the 11th century. Here, visitors can see an exhibition on the history of parliamentary democracy in England and look into the gift shop.