HP sauce by rickyvilla81
Did you know that the HP in HP sauce stood for Houses of Parliament? It is known as the Mother of Parliaments. Someone told me once, "It is not the Oldest, that is the Alting in Iceland", to which I replied, "that my friend is the Father of Parliaments, but we all know who our mother is."
We've had a Parliament in England since 1235 AD. It is divided into two main chambers, The Commons and The Lords. The Commons has green seats, thus Westminster Bridge is green. The Lords sit on red, and Lambeth Bridge is, yes, red.
Most of the Palace of Westminster dates back to the 1840s, and was designed by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin, but the oldest part is the Great Hall, dating from the late eleventh century. It was the main hall of King William II, who tragically died in the New Forest in a freak accident when an arrow 'bounced off a dear' and hit him in the neck.
The large Tower at the end is Victoria Tower, but most people are interested in the Clock Tower, commonly called Big Ben , although that is just the name of the humungous bell inside (the second largest in London, after the one at St.Pauls). The clock face is not the largest in the capital, but the minute hand is fourteen feet long and takes a whole hour to go round once.
You can visit the interiors from July 26 to August 30, and again from September 19 to October 4 2003. Tickets cost £7, or £5 concessions. Book tickets on 0870 906 3773.
On the tour you'll see the Sovereign's Entrance, Victoria Tower, the House of Lords, the Queen's Robing Room, the House of Commons, Central Lobby, St.Stephen's Hall and Westminster Hall.
