Houses of Parliament

 

Houses of Parliament with  Elizabeth Tower ('Big Ben')

This evening, I am posting information and images on the U.K. Houses of Parliament (aka Palace of Westminster.)

This building serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It sits on the north bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, London, England.

The Westminster element of the name derives from nearby Westminster Abbey. The palace is owned by the Crown.

The first royal palace constructed on the site dated from the 11th century, and Westminster became the primary residence of the English monarchy until fire destroyed the royal apartments in 1512. The remainder of Westminster continued to serve as the home of the Parliament of England which had met there since the 13th century. In 1834 an even greater fire ravaged the heavily rebuilt Houses of Parliament.

In the subsequent competition for the reconstruction of the Palace, the architect Charles Barry won with a design for a new  building in the Gothic Revival style. Barry was assisted by Augustus Pugin.The remains of the Old Palace (except the detached Jewel Tower) were incorporated into its much larger replacement, which contains over 1,100 rooms. 

Construction started in 1840 and lasted for 30 years, suffering great delays and cost overruns, as well as the death of both leading architects. Works for the interior decoration continued intermittently well into the 20th century. Major conservation work has taken place since then to reverse the effects of London's air pollution and extensive repairs followed the Second World War, including the simplified reconstruction of the Commons Chamber following its bombing in 1941.

The Palace is one of the centres of political life in the U.K. "Westminster" has become a metonym for the UK Parliament The Elizabeth Tower, in particular, often referred to by the name of its main bell, Big Ben, has become an iconic landmark of London and of the United Kingdom in general,

Aspect of Houses of Parliament


 

Elizabeth Tower (aka 'Big Ben')

The Palace of Westminster has been part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reconstructed Roman Villa

Image
This evening, I am reporting on my visit earlier today to a meticulously reconstructed Roman Villa in Somerset, England.   Funding for the project was provided by a South African billionaire. Specific features of the reconstruction project which is known as 'Villa Ventorum': Employed hundreds of architects, builders, archaelogists, mosaic makers, fresco painters and experts on ancient plumbing. The new build was built close to the remains of the original villa which dates from AD351. Incorporates the only working hypocaust system in Europe to create authentic Roman underfloor heating. Thne system also provides heating for the internal baths. Designed to appear to visitors as though still in use. Mosaics and frescoes have been made below the top standards of the time (e.g. Chedworth ) to reflect the social rank of the resident family. Incorporates a Roman 'fast food bar' allong the lines of that found in Pompeii . (Core of above information sourced from the Times newspap
Read more

Glen Quaich, one of Scotland's best backroads tour routes

Image
This afternoon, I am reporting the route of Glen Quaich in Central Scotland. This is a scenic, single track road which is usually closed to traffic in winter. The route covers about twelve miles and runs between the villages of Amulree and Kenmore on the northern tip of Loch Tay in Perthshire. Depending on time of year it is possible to encounter low lying snow, many sheep, grouse and other exceptional opportunities for photography. Incidentally, Quaich means a drinking cup. In a certain place the landscape is shaped like a bowl. Glen Quaich, Perthshire, Scotland Glen Quaich Black Grouse at Glen Quaich Here are a couple of video clips.
Read more

Fort Augustus, a popular visitor site on southern tip of Loch Ness

Image
Loch Ness from flight of locks at Fort Augustus, Scottish Highlands This evening, I am posting information on Fort Augustus, a busy tourist village on the southern tip of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. Summary information on Fort Augustus as follows:- Population about 650 persons. Distance, about 160 miles from Edinburgh and 35 miles from Inverness entailing journey times of 3.5 hours and 1 hour respectively. Well endowed with hotels and other accommodation plus shops, restaurants and visitor attractions. From here visitors can avail of boat trips on Loch Ness. Home to an impressive flight of five locks on the Caledonian Canal. Latter dates from 1822 and is now primarily used by pleasure boats. Closely linked with the 18th century Jacobite uprising in that (a) the village was renamed Fort Augustus (after Prince William Augustus, third son of King George II) consequent upon construction of a British military (redcoat) fort in 1742 and (b) the same Prince
Read more