Microsoft Word - G11 - The Palace of Westminster.doc

Contents
The Site and its Royal Associations

Westminster Hall and the other
Medieval Survivals

The Fire of 1834 and Rebuilding

The Bombing of 1941

Brief Description of the Palace

Statues and Works of Art

Stone Restoration and
Conservation 9

Expansion 10

Control 10

Visiting the Palace

Appendix A

Some statistics relating to the
Palace 12

Appendix B

The Palace of Westminster Principal
(1

Floor) plan

Appendix C

Commonwealth Gifts

Further reading

Useful websites

Contact information

Feedback form

Factsheet G11
General Series

Revised March 2008

House of Commons Information Office

The Palace of

Westminster

This Factsheet gives information about the

Palace of Westminster as a building. The

Palace, home of the Houses of Parliament,

is an internationally famous building. The

Factsheet looks at the history of the

building, its construction and current uses.

This Factsheet and links to related

documents are available on the Internet

through:

http://www.parliament.uk/factsheets

March 2008
FS No.G11 Ed 3.4
ISSN 0144-4689

© Parliamentary Copyright
(House of Commons) 2008
May be reproduced for purposes of
private study or research without
permission.

Reproduction for sale or other
commercial purposes not permitted.

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

The Site and its Royal Associations

Within the walls of the Royal Palace of Westminster is the Parliament of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The building is situated on north bank
of the River Thames in the City of Westminster. Originally this place we now call
Westminster was known as Thorney Island.  It gained its name from the overgrown
briars and thorns that grew on the island. The Thames was much wider and shallower
than at present and two branches of the River Tyburn, which discharged into the
Thames from the north bank, created this tiny island.

It is possible that the Romans built a temple to Apollo on Thorney Island but this was
destroyed by an earthquake and on these ruins a new Saxon church, St Peter’s, was
built by the Christian King Sebert in the seventh century. The church managed to
survive the Danish invasions of the ninth century and area was made safe by King
Edgar (959-975) who restored the buildings and re-established an order of
Benedictine monks. Over the next century, there were further Danish invasions and it
was a Danish King, Canute (1016-1035), who set up a Royal palace during his reign
on this site as the area was sufficiently far away from the busy settlement to the east
known as London. It is believed that, on this site, Canute tried to command the tide
of the river to prove to his courtiers that they were fools to think that he could
command the waves.

It would be seven years after the death of Canute that an Anglo-Saxon King would
once more rule England. King Edward, who later became St Edward the Confessor
and Patron saint of England, was proclaimed King in 1042. Almost immediately after
his coronation, Edward began building his great Abbey. The Abbey became known
as the West Minster, St Paul’s, lying to the east in the heart of London, was known as
the East Minster. Edward resided here so he could oversee the construction of his
new Abbey.  Westminster Abbey was consecrated in the Christmas of 1065 and
Edward died just days after; leaving his kingdom without an heir. He was buried in his
beloved Abbey.

The power struggle that followed Edward’s death resulted in the Battle of Hastings in
1066. William, Duke of Normandy, who had defeated King Harold at Hastings, was
crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066 at Westminster Abbey and ended
the reign of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs.  William the Conqueror established his tight
grip on his newly acquired Kingdom by building a new fortress built of stone, the
Tower of London. The capital city of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings had been
Winchester in the Kingdom of Wessex. The new Norman King saw Westminster and
London, with its increasing population and importance as a trading port and
business centre, the place to locate many of the administrative functions of the
Kingdom. However, the seat of government was not permanently based at
Westminster; it was wherever the King happened to be with his seal. Although
William tried in vain to rebuild the Palace, it was his son, William II (William Rufus)(1087-
1100) who began work on a new palace in 1087. In 1097 the foundations of the
Great Hall (Westminster Hall) were laid and the Hall was ready for use by 1099. It was
the largest of its kind in England, and probably Europe, at the time (and still is today).
The Hall was used for ceremonial occasions such as Royal Feasts which made
Westminster the ceremonial centre of the Kingdom.
.

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

The Palace was one of the monarch's principal homes throughout the later Middle
Ages with Westminster and Winchester sharing the royal seat of power but gradually
more of the institutions of government settled at Westminster. During the reign of
King Henry II (1154-1180), a subsidiary treasury was established at Westminster to keep
the Royal treasure safe when away from Winchester Castle. The Exchequer
(Treasury) was permanently moved to Westminster by King John (1199-1216) along
with the Courts of Common Pleas and the Kings Bench, which firmly established
Westminster as the Royal seat of government and the capital. The Chancery, the
administrative branch of the Crown, had established its headquarters in Westminster
Hall by 1310. To the east and south of the Hall lay the domestic apartments of the
medieval Palace. When in residence at Westminster, the King was attended by his
court and worshipped in St. Stephen's Chapel; his courtiers worshipped in the crypt
chapel below, now known as the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft.

During the reign of the Norman monarchs, meetings of the King’s Council, Curia
Regis, were sometimes held in Westminster Hall or in one of the smaller halls but the
Council never met at Westminster on a regular basis. Monarchs have sought the
advice and consent of their subjects stretching as far back as the Anglo-Saxon Kings.
The Witan, ‘the knowing ones’, were summoned to meetings know as the
Witenagemot to discuss legislation and taxes. After the Conquest, the Norman Kings
used the Witenagemot to entrench their control over the country and decided to
include the Normal feudal courts as part of the King’s Council. Eventually the House
of Lords, the courts of law and the Privy Council would evolve out of this council.

The 13

century was a turbulent time with wars against France and civil wars at

home. The issue of taxation and the implementation of Magna Carta were the two
big issues of the day. It was during the 13

century that Parliament, taken from the

French word parler - to speak or talk, was established. The need for monarchs to
raise additional taxation to pay for wars became ever more important with the loss
of the French territories and the disposal of Crown lands since the Conquest. Magna
Carta had limited the ability of the monarch to raise taxation so regular tax requests
were required and this could now only be achieved by summoning a Parliament.
Edward I called the first ‘Model’ Parliament on 13 November 1295. It was called the
Model Parliament because it was from this meeting that all future meetings were
based upon; two knights of each shire, two citizens from the cities and two burgesses
from the boroughs were elected to attend court at Westminster along with the
bishops, barons and noblemen. The additional burden of taxation would fall on
these persons but factions and groups soon emerged. By 1332, the knights, citizens
and burgesses had grouped together to form the Commons while the nobles and
bishops had come together to represent the interests of the Lords.  In 1341, the
Commons and Lords meet separately and the future architectural development of
the Palace was therefore inextricably bound up with its role as the meeting place of
both Parliament and of the Courts of Law.

It was often not possible to accommodate the whole of Parliament within the
Palace. The State Opening Ceremony would be held in the King's private
apartment, the Painted Chamber. The Lords would then retire to the White Chamber
for their discussions, but the Commons at this time did not have a recognised home
of their own. On occasions, they remained in the Painted Chamber but at other
times they held their debates in the Chapter House or the Refectory of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

Abbey.

There have been numerous fires and it was after a fire in 1512 that Henry VIII decided
to abandon the Palace as a residence and move to Whitehall Palace. The Canons
of St Stephen's, the religious order which had held the services for the royal family,
were dismissed in 1547 and by 1550 St Stephen's Chapel had become the first
permanent home of the House of Commons.

The other rooms vacated by the royal family were occupied by Members and
Officers of both Houses. The site thus developed into a Parliamentary building, rather
than a royal residence though both it, and its successor, remained a Royal Palace
with the official title the Palace of Westminster.

Westminster Hall and the other Medieval Survivals

Westminster Hall, of which the walls were built in 1097, is the oldest surviving building
on the site. Its floor area is about 1,547 sq m (1,850 sq yds) and it is one of the largest
medieval halls in Europe with an unsupported roof. It was believed that the original
roof was supported by two rows of pillars but recent archaeological explorations in
Westminster Hall found no evidence of this and that the roof may have been self
supporting. The present magnificent hammer beam roof was designed in the reign
of Richard II (1377-1399). The mason/architect of the 14th century rebuilding was
Henry Yevele and the carpenter/designer of the roof was Hugh Herland.

During this period the Hall, with its many shops and stalls, selling wigs, pens, books
and other legal paraphernalia, became one of the chief centres of London life. It
housed the courts of law and was the place of many notable state trials: Sir William
Wallace (1305), Sir Thomas More (1535), Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot
conspirators (1606), Charles I (1649) and Warren Hastings (1788-95). Westminster Hall
was also the traditional venue for Coronation banquets. The Hall is now used for
major public ceremonies.

Among the events that have taken place there have been; the presentation of
Addresses to the Queen on the Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Golden Jubilee in 2002, to
mark 50 years since the end of World War II in 1995 and the opening of the
Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in 1986. A similar event took place in
1988, to mark the tercentenary of the Glorious Revolution, and, in 1989, the Inter-
Parliamentary Union's Centenary Conference was held there. In 1995, the
Government organised a ceremony to mark 50 years of the United Nations. On
these occasions, the Hall is brightly lit and decked with flowers and coloured
hangings and presents an altogether different public face from its normal, rather
sombre, appearance.

The Hall is also the place where lyings in state, of monarchs, consorts and, rarely, very
distinguished statesmen traditionally take place. The most recent having been those
of King George VI in 1952, Queen Mary in 1953, Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 and
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother in 2002.

An exhibition to commemorate Westminster Hall’s 900th anniversary was held in the
summer of 1999, the ‘Voters of the Future’ exhibition was held there between April

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

and September 2000 and an exhibition commemorating the 400

anniversary of the

Gunpowder Plot in 2005. From the 31

January 2008 until 1

May 2008 there will be

an exhibition in Westminster Hall that charts the history of the hall and includes
fragments of the Kings Table found during an archaeological dig of the hall in 2006.
The exhibition is open to the public and further details can be found on the
Parliament website. A refreshment facility for the public, the Jubilee Café, opened in
May 2002. The café is situated near the North Door of Westminster Hall and opens
out on to New Palace Yard.

The other medieval buildings on the site are not accessible to the public. These are
the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, which is the lower part, at ground level (not
subterranean) of the former Chapel of St Stephen, which was built between 1292
and 1297 as a magnificent showpiece based on the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. The
upper part of St Stephen's Chapel was destroyed in fire of 1834 and had been the
Commons Chamber from 1547. The Cloisters were built between 1526 and 1529.
Much restored, they are used as offices and writing rooms and include an oratory,
the lower part of which is the private office of the Serjeant at Arms.

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

exhibition on the history and work of Parliament, called Parliament Past and Present.
The tower and exhibition are open to the public. [There is an admission charge].

The Fire of 1834 and Rebuilding

On 16 October 1834, the medieval palace with its later additions was virtually
destroyed by a devastating fire, which started by the overheating of a stove in the
House of Lords. Only two years after the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832,
Parliament itself would have to be reformed from the ashes of a great fire.

A House of Commons Committee was set up in 1835 and it was decided to
completely redevelop the site and not to keep to the original layout of the old
palace buildings but that any new design would have to incorporate Westminster
Hall, the Crypt and Cloister (the only parts of the building that had survived the fire).

A public competition was organised to design a new Palace of Westminster in either
the Gothic or Elizabethan style. A Royal Commission, consisting of amateurs of
architecture, was appointed to select between 3 or 5 designs for the consideration
of Parliament. There were 97 designs submitted with each designers identity
shrouded by the use of a motto or pseudonym. The Commission recommended 4
designs and the winner of the competition was entry number 64, which was marked
by a Portcullis.

The Portcullis symbol was used by Charles Barry (1795-1860) who had estimated the
time to build his design would be 6 years and at an estimated cost of £724,986. In
fact it took just over 30 years to build at a cost of over £2 million. In the execution of
the design and building, Barry was assisted by Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-1852),
particularly in the matter of detail, fittings and furniture.

Neither man would see their creation completed as they both worked long hours
and endlessly worried about every detail of the design and building of the the
Palace. It was not until 10 years after Barry’s death in 1860 that the new Palace was
completed, his son, Edward, taking over from his father as architect. Pugin’s health
suffered greatly from working on the building and refurbishing of the interior of the
Palace. He was committed to Bedlam (an asylum for the insane, now the site of the
Imperial War Museum) for a short period and he died soon after in 1852.

Building work began on the new Palace in 1840 and was substantially completed by
1860, but only in 1870 actually finished.  The site was extended into the river by
reclaiming land and now covers about 8 acres.  The Gothic style and its adoption for
the parliamentary buildings had an influence on the design of public buildings such
as town halls, law courts and schools throughout the country. The effect on the
imaginations of the public and 19th century architects of the huge new building
towering over the three-storey yellow brick terraces and ramshackle half-timbered
houses of mid-Victorian Westminster was enormous.

The Bombing of 1941

At the height of the Blitz on London during the Second World War the Palace of
Westminster was bombed several times. The most devastating air raid to occur on

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

the Palace was on the night of 10 May 1941. The Commons Chamber was hit and a
great fire swept through the building and onto the roof of Westminster Hall. The
authorities had a choice of saving either the Commons Chamber or the roof of
Westminster Hall, they decided to save Westminster Hall. Barry’s Commons Chamber
was destroyed. To replace the devastated Chamber, a new block was designed by
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott: a steel-framed building, that incorporated five floors, two of
which were taken by up the Commons Chamber. Both above and below it are
offices. Commonwealth countries contributed to the refurbishing of the new
Chamber; Australia the Speaker’s Chair, Canada the Table of the House, Ceylon (Sri
Lanka) Serjeant at Arms chair, Jamaica the Bar of the House, India and Pakistan the
Entrance doors to the Chamber and New Zealand two Dispatch boxes, All other
Commonwealth countries contributed to the refurbishing of the new Ministrial Offices
located in the new block (See Appednix C). The new air-conditioned Chamber was
used for the first time on 26 October 1950. In Parliament 1939-50 (produced by the
House of Commons Library and available for purchase from The Stationery Office)

explains and illustrates the bombing and reconstruction.

Brief Description of the Palace

The building is on four main levels. The ground floor river front houses offices, private
dining rooms, bars and meeting rooms; the first or principal floor the Chambers,
Libraries, and dining rooms. The second or Committee floor is given over on the river
front to Committee rooms, as is the third or Upper Committee floor. At each end of
the building are apartments for the Speaker and the Lord Chancellor (the remnant
of a number of private apartments once available) and there are two great towers:
the Clock Tower (often called Big Ben) and the Victoria Tower. The very distinctive
Central Tower is built over the Central Lobby.

Along the whole length of the building, at ground level parallel to the river, is a
roadway leading into several courtyards, with a further line of courts on the west side.
The arches over the roadway are made to the dimensions of horse-drawn carts, and
are difficult to traverse with modern delivery lorries.

The main entrance for visitors is currently St Stephen's Porch and Hall (See Appendix B
for a map of the building). This was the original site of the Commons Chamber and
brass markings on the floor indicate where the Speaker’s Chair and the Table of the
House original stood. From Stephen’s Hall is Central Lobby, or Octagon Hall, which is
the centrepiece of the building. To the north of that lies the Members' Lobby and
House of Commons; to the south, and thus in a straight line, the Peers' Lobby, House
of Lords and Royal Gallery and Robing Room. In general, the Lords end of the
building is more ornate than the Commons, with red furnishings, and much gilt and
brasswork. By contrast, the Commons' accommodation is definitely austere, as
befitted its period of construction, the late 1940s. The colours used in the two
Chambers are discussed in Factsheet G10.

A good deal of internal restoration has taken place over the last thirty or so years,
including the reinstatement of Barry and Pugin's original designs and details wherever
possible. Carpets and wallpaper have had to be made especially for the purpose.

http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

A complete rebuilding of the House of Lords Chamber ceiling was necessary in the
early 1980s.

Among the parts of the Palace inaccessible to the public are the two Houses'
Libraries (ten rooms on the principal floor), Ministers' rooms (under the Chamber and
to the west of Speaker's Court), dining rooms, departmental offices, etc. There are
four acres of green lawns. The Terrace of the Palace, which was raised by some 4ft
in 1970-71, extends along the whole river front. Two prefabricated pavilions are
erected here in the summer months.

Old Palace Yard, by St Stephen's Entrance, and the cobbled New Palace Yard,
under which is the House of Commons car park, opening from the corner of Bridge
Street and St Margaret's Street, are reminders, in their names, of the earliest times.
New Palace Yard was laid out as a garden, with a fountain that commemorates the
Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, in 1977. In October 2002, an analemmatic sundial, the
Parliamentary Golden Jubilee gift to The Queen, was installed in Old Palace Yard
(Analemmatic sundials use the shape of a person to cast the necessary shadow).

Statues and Works of Art
Many works of art are displayed in the Palace. Notable among the statues are the
modern bronzes of Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George, Clement Attlee and
Margaret Thatcher, in the Members’ Lobby; and a marble statue of Gladstone in the
Central Lobby. Sir Charles Barry, the architect of the Palace, is commemorated by a
large marble statue at the foot of the main staircase leading to the Committee floor.
There are numerous frescoes and mural paintings as well as a most extensive
collection of free-hanging pictures of subjects connected with British, particularly
Parliamentary, history. A series of reconstructions of the paintings which were found
in the old St Stephen’s Chapel in the early 19

century can be found on the Terrace

Stairs. Many of the items of furniture and fittings of the Palace, in which the design
and influence of Augustus Welby Pugin is clearly seen, can be classed as works of art
in their own right. The fine medieval statues of kings at the south end of Westminster
Hall were conserved in 1992/93.

Stone Restoration and Conservation
The Palace was faced with Anston stone, a magnesian limestone. However the
alkaline stone suffered badly because of the atmospheric pollution of London,
especially in the 19th and early 20

centuries, with its reliance on the burning of coal,

and consequent acidification of the rain. The decision was therefore taken in 1928 to
replace the worst decay, and a general programme of masonry replacement on
the perimeter was finished in 1960.

Many of the statues placed round the outside of the building had decayed badly
and, from 1962, many have been replaced. A new programme of stone-cleaning
and restoration was started in 1981: the north, west, and south fronts, the river front
and Clock Tower being finished by 1986. The Victoria Tower, whose cleaning was
completed in 1993, was the last part of the exterior to be dealt with. Of the inner
courts the Speaker’s Court was the first to be tackled; work started in January 1994.
An exhibition on the Restoration Programme was mounted in Westminster Hall from
January – April 1994.

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

Expansion
The House of Commons has taken over other nearby buildings as its functions and
staff have increased. These include the two Norman Shaw Buildings (see Factsheet
G13), the Derby Gate building, 3 Dean’s Yard (now vacated) and 7 Millbank. It
expanded further, into numbers 35-47 Parliament Street, renamed the Parliament
Street Building, in 1991 (see Factsheet G14). A new Parliamentary building, designed
by Michael Hopkins and called Portcullis House, was completed in Autumn 2000 on
the site of numbers 1 and 2 Bridge Street, St Stephen’s House, St Stephen’s Club and
Palace Chambers. The new building has provided additional committee rooms,
refreshment facilities and Members now all have their own offices for the first time.

Control
Control of the Houses of Parliament, as a Royal Palace, was vested in the Lord Great
Chamberlain as the Queen’s representative. In 1965, however, control passed to the
Speaker, for the House of Commons part of the building, and to the Lord Chancellor,
for the Lords’ part. The Lord Great Chamberlain retains joint responsibility with the
Speaker and Lord Chancellor for the Crypt Chapel and Westminster Hall. The
Parliamentary Estate is cared for and maintained (since 1992) by the Department of
Facilities. The title to the outbuildings was transferred from the Department of the
Environment following passage of the Parliamentary Corporate Bodies Act 1992.

The Palace is very much a living community, whose citizens are not only Members,
but their personal staffs, maintenance and cleaning personnel, and permanent
House staff, who work in many different offices and departments. The Palace is not,
however, simply a place for work. There are a number of social clubs and groups,
places for recreation, sitting and talking, sleeping, eating and drinking. It is not,
therefore, simply a huge office block peopled from 9 to 5 and at other times
absolutely deserted – indeed, it has a resident population, for there are still some
apartments for officers and staff of the Houses. It was designed as, and remains,
something of a village.

Visiting the Palace

UK residents wishing to tour the building should contact the Member of Parliament for
their constituency for a permit. At most times of the year, people holding such
permits visit at a prearranged time on Monday to Wednesday mornings, and all day
on Fridays (after 3.30 pm if the House is sitting). Permits (which admit up to 20) are
rationed, so visitors are advised to contact their Member well in advance.

Due to the recent changes in the sitting hours of both Houses, it is no longer possible
to provide overseas visitors with permits to tour the Houses of Parliament during
session. We apologise for any disappointment this may cause. Overseas visitors can
tour the Houses of Parliament during the period of the summer opening and are able
to attend debates in either House when Parliament is sitting.

Guided tours of the Palace of Westminster were established in 2000 and have taken
place during the summer recess each year since then, with tours operating every
few minutes from 9.15am to 4.30pm. For details see:

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

http://www.parliament.uk/about/visiting.cfm

The Parliamentary Education Service organises a programme of visits for students.
The Autumn Visits Programme is for Year 11-13 students. The Discover Parliament
Programme is aimed at Year 8-10 and the Citizenship for the 21

Century programme

covers Years 3-9. The Education Service also holds a series of Pupil (Mock)
Parliaments and teacher seminar days.

For further information contact:

Parliamentary Education Service

House of Commons

London SW1A 2TT

Phone 020 7219 2105
Fax: 020-7219 0818

Email: education@parliament.uk

Website: http://www.explore.parliament.uk

It is not possible to have a tour of the Palace just by turning up. Advance
arrangements, as above, must be made although some tickets may be available on
the day during the summer opening.

The Line of Route
Those in possession of permits enter at the point on the plan (Appendix B) marked
Entrance (tours) and then proceed, after security examination, via the Robing Room,
Royal Gallery, Princes Chamber, Peers Lobby, Central Lobby, Members Lobby, No
Lobby, to the Commons Chamber. They then return to Central Lobby and go via St
Stephen's Hall to Westminster Hall, leaving the premises via New Palace Yard.

Parts of the Route may be closed, particularly for maintenance work, from time to
time.

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

Appendix A

Some statistics relating to the Palace

General
Length of River Front

265.8m*

872ft

Height of roofline

21.3m

70 ft

Dimensions of Terrace

206.7m x 10m 678 ft x 33 ft

Area of masonry (superficial) 83,610 sq m

900,000 sq ft

Length of North Front

70.7m

232 ft

Length of South Front

98.2m

322 ft

Area of site:

3.24 hectares approx 8 acres

Staircases:

100

Length of passageways:

about 3 miles 4.8km

Rooms:

1,100

Towers
Clock Tower

Height 96.3m 316 ft 12.2m square 40 ft square

Central Tower

Height 91.4m 300 ft 22.9m across 75 ft across

Victoria Tower

Height 98.5m 323 ft 22.9m across 75 ft square

Flagstaff on Victoria Tower

Height 22.3m 73 ft

Principal rooms
St Stephen's Hall

29m x 9.1m

95 ft x 30 ft

Royal Gallery

33.5m x 13.7m 110 ft x 45 ft Height 13.7m 45 ft

Lords Chamber

24.4m x 13.7m 80 ft x 45 ft Height 13.7m 45 ft

Peers' Lobby

11.9m x 11.9m 38 ft x 38 ft Height 10m 33 ft

Central Lobby

18.3m 60 ft across octagon Height 22.9m 75 ft

Members' Lobby

13.7m x 13.7m 45 ft x 45 ft

Commons Chamber
Floor of Chamber

20.7m x 14m 68 ft x 46 ft

Across Galleries

31.4m x 14.5m 103 ft x 48 ft

Height

14m

Distance between red lines on carpet 8 ft 2½ ins 2.5m

Commons Library (6 rooms) 79.3m x 9.1m 260 ft x 30 ft

(main rooms each – 16.8m x 9.1m (55 ft x 30 ft))

Lords Library (4 rooms)

51.8m x 9.1m 170 ft x 30 ft

Crypt Chapel of

27.4m x 8.5m 90 ft x 28 ft

Height 6.1m 20 ft

St Mary Undercroft

*(Metric figures are rounded to one decimal place)

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

Westminster Hall
Length

73.2m

240

Width

20.7m

Height

28.0m

The Great Clock
Hands:

Minute (copper)

Length 4.3m (14 ft) Weight 101.6kg (2 cwt)

Hour (gunmetal)

Length 2.7m (9 ft)

Weight 304.8kg (6 cwt)

Pendulum:

Total Length 4.4m (14 ft 5 in)

Length of Roman numerals: 61cm (2 ft)
Minute squares:

30.5cm (1 ft)

Number of panes of glass

312

in each clockface

The Bells

Big Ben (the Great Bell)

Weight 13.8 tonnes 13 tons 10 cwt 99 lb

Note

Hammer

Weight

203.2kg 4

cwt

Quarter

Bells

Note G sharp Weight 1 ton 1 cwt 23 lb

1.07 tonnes

Note F sharp Weight 1 ton 5 cwt 30 lb

1.28 tonnes

Note E

Weight 1 ton 13 cwt 69 lb

1.71 tonnes

Note B

Weight 3 tons 10 cwt 69 lb

3.59 tonnes

Time between Strikes:

From start of chime to 12

strike

95 seconds

Big Ben: From 1

strike to 12

strike 54 seconds, 5 seconds between strikes

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

Appendix C

Commonwealth Gifts

The following gifts were made by the countries of the Commonwealth in 1950 to
mark the rebuilding of the House of Commons Chamber:

AIDEN (Yemen)- Members' Writing Room table
AUSTRALIA - Speaker's Chair in Australian black bean
BAHAMAS - Minister's writing desk and chair
BARBADOS - Minister's writing desk and chair
BERMUDA - Two triple silver gilt inkstands
BOTSWANA - One silver gilt ashtray
BRITISH HONDURAS (Belize)- Minister's writing desk and chair and Royal Coat of Arms
CANADA - Table of the House in Canadian oak
CEYLON (Sri Lanka) - Serjeant at Arm's chair
CYPRUS - Members' Writing Room table
DOMINICA - One silver gilt inkstand
FALKLAND ISLANDS - One silver gilt ashtray
FIJI - One silver gilt inkstand
THE GAMBIA - Two silver gilt ashtrays
GHANA - Minister's writing desk and chair
GIBRALTAR - Two oak table lamps with bronze shades
GRENADA - One silver gilt inkstand
GUERNSEY - Minister's writing desk and three chairs
GUYANA - Four triple silver gilt inkstands
HONG KONG - One triple silver gilt inkstand
INDIA - Entrance doors to Chamber
ISLE OF MAN - One silver gilt inkstand and two silver gilt ashtrays for Prime Minister's
Conference Room
JAMAICA - Bar of the House in bronze
JERSEY - Minister's writing desk and chair and silver gilt inkstand
KENYA - Minister's writing desk and chair
LEEWARD ISLANDS - Six oak table lamps with bronze shades
LESOTHO - Two silver gilt ashtrays
MALAWI - One triple silver gilt inkstand and one silver gilt ashtray
MALAYA - Minister's writing desk and chair
MALTA - Three silver gilt ashtrays
MAURITIUS - Minister's writing desk and chair
NEWFOUNDLAND - Six chairs for Prime Minister's Conference Room
NEW ZEALAND - Two dispatch boxes in pururi
NIGERIA - Furniture for Aye Division Lobby in iroko
NORTHERN IREALND - Two clocks and division clock for the Chamber
PAKISTAN - Entrance doors to Chamber
RHODESIA - Two silver gilt inkstands with paper racks
SABAH - One table and five chairs for interview room
SEYCHELLES - Minister's writing desk and chair
SIERRA LEONE - Minister's writing desk and chair
SINGAPORE - One table and five chairs for interview room
SOUTH AFRICA - Three chairs for Clerks at the Table
ST HELENA - One Chairman's chair for Prime Minister's Conference Room

The Palace of Westminster House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

Further reading

Robert Wilson
The Houses of Parliament
Jarrold Publishing 1994

Nigel Smith
The Houses of Parliament: their history
and purpose
Wayland 1997

Christine Riding and Jacqueline Riding
The Houses of Parliament: History, Art
and Architecture
Merrell 2000

Edited by Robert Smith & John S Moore
The House of Commons: seven
hundred years of British tradition
Smiths Peerage Ltd. 1996

Edited by Robert Smith & John S Moore
The House of Lords: a thousand years of
British tradition
Smiths Peerage Ltd. 1994

Useful websites

The Parliamentary website:
www.parliament.uk
The Education Service website:
www.explore.parliament.uk
The British Monarchy website:
www.royal.gov.uk

Contact information

House of Commons Information Office
House of Commons
London SW1A 2TT
Phone 020 7219 4272
Fax 020 7219 5839
hcinfo@parliament.uk
www.parliament.uk

House of Lords Information Office
House of Lords
London SW1A 0PW
Phone 020 7219 3107
Fax 020 7219 0620
hlinfo@parliament.uk

Parliamentary Education Service
House of Commons
London SW1A 2TT
Phone 020 7219 2105
Fax 020 7219 0818
education@parliament.uk

Parliamentary Bookshop
12 Bridge Street
Parliament Square
London SW1A 2JX
Phone 020 7219 3890
Fax 020 7219 3866
bookshop@parliament.uk

The House of Commons Administration House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G11

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Factsheet G11

The Palace of Westminster

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