The houses of parliament.

The Houses of Parliament from above “Big Ben” Westminster bridge

Westminster is the royal and political heart of London where the Houses of Parliament are situated. It is a very large building, which stands on the left bank of the Thames and is 948 feet (316m) in length. The Houses of Parliament has over 1000 rooms, and over 3 km of corridors, laid out they stretch from the Parliament

to St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The Houses of Parliament with its structure are a remarkable example of Gothic architecture. Royal Palaces and houses were built along the banks of the Thames in medieval days. The Houses of Parliament, called officially the Palace of Westminster, were formerly a palace for kings and queens. Later the palace was used both as a royal residence and also as a parliament house until the 16^th century.

The Houses of Parliament serve as the meeting place of two legislative bodies, the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Famous events in the history of the Houses of Parliament include the Gunpowder Plot and Charles I in the House of Commons.

At midnight on November 4^th, 1605, Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellarbeneath the House of Lords, about to set fire to a pile of gunpowderbarrels. Every autumn his capture is still celebrated. There are organized bonfires and firework displays around London.

In 1642 Charles I went to the House of Commons to arrest five Members of the Parliament (MPs), who criticized his rule. They foiled him by escaping. Since then, the sovereign has never been allowed into the Commons.

Parliament is reopened in November after a summer break with a ceremony called the State Opening, when the monarch makes a speech from the throne in the Lords Chamber. An official called “Black Rod” is sent to the Commons to summon MPs to hear the speech.

Two towers decorate the buildings of the Parliament. In the Victoria Tower millions of parliamentary documents are kept. A Union flag is flying when Parliament is sitting during daylight hours.

For many people the most distinctive feature of the Houses of Parliament is the Clock Tower, originally Saint Stephen’s Tower, or Big Ben as it is usually called. Properly speaking, the name derives from the great bell in the clock of the tower. The clock is one of the finest in the world. It is called “the voice of London” and it has been telling time to the second since 1859. In 2012 the tower was renamed in the Elizabeth Tower.

The construction of the 96m high Clock Tower began in the year Queen Victoria came to the throne, 1837. The architect and clock maker both died before the 13.5 ton bell was mounted behind the four clock faces, which each measures 7m in diameter. The minute hands are 4.3m long, the hour hands are 2.7m long.

The Great Bell has four Little Bens round it. Big Ben strikes only once an hour, but the other four bells tell the quarters and the half hours. At the side of Big Ben there is a huge hammer weighing over 440 pounds (8 tons). People are allowed to get inside the Tower if they wish to see the work of the clock. For this one has to go up 374 steps to reach the top. When Parliament is sitting at night light is shining above the clock.

Why Big Ben? The clock was named after Sir Benjamin Hall under whose direction it was made. Sir Benjamin Hall was a very tall and stout man, whose nickname was “Big Ben”. One day he said in Parliament, “Shall we call the bell St. Stephen’s? St. Stephen’s is the name of the Tower”. But someone joked, ”Why not call it Big Ben?”, now the bell is known all over the world by that name.

The House of Lords The State Opening The House of Commons

The House of Lords is a chamber in rich tones of red and gold and is the meeting place of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal. At the south end of the chamber there is the Throne, in front of which there is the Woolsack, where the Lord Chancellor, who is also the Speaker, has a seat. The Woolsack is a cushion stuffed with wool from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the countries of the Commonwealth to symbolize what was once England’s chief source of wealth.

The House of Commons is decorated in a simple style with tiers of green seats. The Government sits on one side of the room with the Opposition on the other. There are red stripes on the floor in front of each side with the distance between two drawn swords. No MP may cross it when addressing the House.

Westminster abbey.

Westminster Abbey at night Westminster Abbey Royal wedding: Prince William and

Kate Middleton

Westminster Abbey is one of the oldest buildings in London and one of the most important religious centres in the country.

The oldest part of the building dates back to the 8^th century. It was a monastery – the West Minster. In the 11^th century Edward the Confessor after years spent in France founded a great Norman Abbey. Later in the 13^th century Henry III decided to pull down the Norman Abbey and build a more beautiful one after the style prevailing in France. Since then the Abbey has remained the most French of all English Gothic churches, higher than any other English church (103 feet) and much narrower.

Westminster Abbey is famous for its architecture and historical association. It is a royal church – the scene of coronations of English Kings and Queens since 1066, royal weddings and many state occasions.

As the scene of coronation of English Kings, Westminster Abbey continues a tradition established by William the Conqueror who was crowned on Christmas Day, 1066. When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on June 2, 1953, the ritual was essentially the same. Monarchs are crowned while sitting on the Coronation Chair. It was designed to hold the ancient Stone of Scone, a symbol of Scottish royalty,

seized from the Scots in 1296. It was stolen by some Scots in 1950 but replaced the following year and in 1996 it was given back to the Scots.

Chapel of Henry VII, fan-vaulting Coronation Chair Stained glass of the Abbey

One of the greatest glories of the Abbey is the Chapel of Henry VII. The Chapel is of stone and glass, so wonderfully cut and sculptured that it seems unreal. Its lace-likefan-vaulting, delicate arches and the stone carvings of saints are the finest example of early Tudor workmanship. It contains an interesting collection of swords and standards of the “Knights of the Bath”. The Abbey is famous for its stained glass.

The Abbey is sometimes compared to a mausoleum, because there are tombs and memorials of almost all English monarchs, many statesmen, famous scientists, writers and musicians.

If you go past the magnificent tombstones of kings and queens, some made of gold and precious stones, past the gold-and-silver banners of the Order of the Garter, which are hanging from the ceiling, you will come to Poets’ Corner. There many of the greatest writers are buried: Geoffrey Chaucer, Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Alfred Tennyson, Thomas Hardy and Rudyard Kipling. Though William Shakespeare, Byron, Burns, Walter Scott, William Thackeray are not buried in Westminster, the marble statues and memorials to these distinguished people can also be found there. Westminster Abbey sheltersthe graves of Newton and Darwin.

Tomb of Mary Queen of Scots Tomb of Isaac Newton Memorial to Shakespeare Tomb of the Unknown Warrior

Near the entrance to the Abbey you can see the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, a symbol of the nation’s grief. The inscription on the tomb reads, “Beneath this stone rests the body of a British Warrior unknown by name or rank brought from France to lie among the most illustrious of the land …”.

Buckingham Palace.

Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace Queen Elizabeth II in the coach Changing of the guard

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence and workplace of the British sovereign. It is located in the City of Westminster and is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality.

It was originally the home of John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, who lived there in the 1700’s. Then it was rebuilt by John Nash in the 1800’s. Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.

The Victoria Memorial was created by sculptor Sir Thomas Brock in 1911 and erected in front of the main gates at Buckingham Palace.

When the Queen stays in the palace the Royal Standard flag flies above the central balcony. The palace has its own post office. About 400 people work at the palace. The Queen and Prince Phillip have rooms on the first floor. Every morning during breakfast bagpipes are played outside her private dining room. There are 600 rooms at the Palace. At the State Dining Room there is a table for 60 guests. The Queen’s Gallery houses the paintings from the royal collections.

In the Palace royal stables one can see the Gold state Coach and the Glass Coach used at royal weddings. There are twenty Rolls Royces with the royal coat of arms.

Here at 11.30 a.m. one can witness the colourful ceremony of famous Changing of the Guard before the palace when the Queen is in the residence. One can enjoy the colour, the movement and the music of Her Majesty’s Household Troops. Both the Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry are on parade. The Guards originally were the tallest and the finest soldiers not less than 6 feet 4 inches (1.90m). The Guards have colourful uniforms: scarlet tunics, blue trousers and 30cm high bearskin caps. The caps by tradition are made of Canadian grizzly bear skin.

Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar Square fountain Statue of Admiral Lord Nelson Trafalgar Square

At the beginning of the 19^th century Britain defeated the French and Spaniards in a great sea battle at Trafalgar. It was a great triumphant victory of the British nation over Napoleon. Admiral Lord Nelson, the commander of the British Navy, was fatallywounded in this battle. Trafalgar Square was made to commemorate the victory of Lord Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805.

Nowadays it is the main square of London. It is a very popular meeting place of Londoners and the guests of the capital. The Square’s most famous landmark is Nelson’s Column. There are four bronze lions at the bottom, around the column. They were cast from the cannons of the battleships. The column is a copy of one from a temple in Rome. It is 51m high. Nelson’s statue is over 5m high. The statue shows Nelson without one arm and one eye. He lost them in the battle. The bas-relief around the bottom shows battle scenes cast from captured French cannons.

In December a huge Christmas tree from Norway stands at Trafalgar Square. Norway sends a Christmas Tree as thanks for wartime help. The ambassador of Norway switches on the lights.