 | London Palace of Westminster ("Houses of Parliament") Reviews | Tips 51 - 60 of 319 |  |
The clock is synonimous with everything that is London.
It is an architectural beauty, makes an impressive noise and is gawked at by passers-by on a daily basis. When up close to it, it can be rather intimidating! :)
It was completed in 1859, stands 315ft high and was named after (or so the story goes) Sir Benjamin Hall, the First Commissioner of Works.
Big Ben weighs over 13 tons.
Wow. Well there you have it! Quite a clock :) Leave a Comment
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Each summer (from August 1st to September 30th) the Houses of Parliament are open to the public with gioded tours operating every few minutes. Tours last 75 minutes. Foreign language tours are also available in French, Spanish, German and Italian. You will be able to see the historic building, including the chambers of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
History of the Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster was the principal residence of the kings of England from the middle of the 11th century until 1512.
In 1834 the Palace was burned down. This fire destroyed almost all of the Palace except Westminster Hall, the crypt of St Stephen's Chapel, the adjacent cloisters and the Jewel Tower. The present Houses of Parliament were built over the next 30 years. They were the work of the architect Sir Charles Barry. The design incorporated Westminster Hall and the remains of St Stephen's Chapel.
The House of Commons Chamber was destroyed in a German air attack in 1941. It was rebuilt after the Second World War, taking care to preserve the essential features of Barry's building - the architect was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. The new Chamber was completed in 1950.
Layout of the Palace of Westminster
After coming through the public entrance St Stephen's Entrance, the approach to the Central Lobby of the Palace is through St Stephen's Hall from St Stephen's Porch at the southern end of Westminster Hall. Central Lobby, a large octagonal hall, is the centrepiece of the Palace. The Central Lobby is a great masterpiece of Victorian art.
From the Central Lobby, corridors lead northward to the House of Commons Lobby and Chamber and southward to the House of Lords. Beyond the House of Lords are the ceremonial rooms used at the State Opening of Parliament - the Queen's Robing Room and the Royal Gallery - reached by a separate entrance under the Victoria Tower.
NB: no photography is possible on the tour Leave a Comment
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Emmeline Pankhurst was born in 1858 and died in 1928. She was a very important person who fought for equal rights for women. Here statue is infront of the Houses of Parlement. Leave a Comment
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On the night of the 16th of October, 1834 the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire. The new Palace incorporated a clock tower, but the next 25 years saw many problems. It wasn’t until September 7th 1859 that the 316ft clock-tower finally became fully operational.
"Big Ben" does not refer to the whole clock tower, but to the huge thirteen ton bell that can be found inside the clock. The clock mechanism, alone, weights about 5 tons. The figures on the clock face are about 2 feet long, the minute spaces are 1 ft. square; and the copper minute hands are 14 ft. Long. The consensus today seems to be that it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, a heavy politician who was the Parliamentary Commissioner of Works. .
The next 114 years of the clock's history were relatively quiet and Big Ben soon developed a reputation for accuracy. The accuracy of the Clock is controlled using old pennies, to speed or slow the gears. In 1906, the gas lighting of the dials was replaced by electric lighting and in 1912, electric winding was introduced.
In 1976 a completely unanticipated event occurred which almost caused the complete destruction of the clock. At 3:45am on the 5th of August 1976 as the clock started to chime, metal fatigue in the shaft connecting the chiming train to its fly fan caused the shaft to break. It was necessary for the chiming train to be reconstructed from scratch which took almost one year to complete. Leave a Comment Directions: Westminster tube
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I collect postcards of government buildings and I've got tons of Parliament, but none do it justice. I would love to take a tour of these buildings, but not sure that is possible. Next time I go back I will spend more time in the area though, find a restaurant and hope to overhear British politics.
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A closer look on the Clock Tower.
So I told you earlier that Big Ben is in fact the name of the big bell (14 tonnes).
This clock is named after the supervisor sir Benjamin Hall.
The clock, it is the biggest clock in Great Britain with its 4 dial with a diameter of 7.5 m, and a minute’s indicator of 4.25 m long and made of hollow copper.
The typical bell sound is still transmitted every day on BBC radio.
Big Ben first beat was on Mai 31 1859, and till now there were only three interruptions. Leave a Comment
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Along the river Thames and near the Victoria Tower of the Houses of Parliament, there is a small garden, the Victoria tower gardens.
In the rear you see Lambeth Bridge, and a monument with a colourful roof. In this small park there is also a bronze copy of the statue of Rodin: the citizens of Calais. Leave a Comment
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Everybody calls this clock tower Big Ben, but in fact Big Ben is the name of the big bell inside the clock tower.
This 106 m high clock tower was built in 1858 - 59.
Whenever the Parliament is in session, a light is burning on top of this tower (of course it can only been seen when it is dark). Leave a Comment
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In the Houses of Parliament houses the House of Commons and the House of the Lords.
At this spot there was the Palace of Westminster. These Houses of Parliament were designed by Barry in 1834, after Westminster Palace burned down.
In fact this is also one London's highlights. Leave a Comment Directions: Subway : Westminster
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In the far end of the Victoria Tower Gardens stand a strange looking object. Well at first, it looks like the top of a tower, it looks medieval and it has a very colourful roof.
In fact this is the monument to the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire, and it was erected in 1824. Leave a Comment Directions: Subway : Westminster
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