5/5 Sherif El. M. 3 years ago on Google
The
Palace
of
Westminster
serves
as
the
meeting
place
for
both
the
House
of
Commons
and
the
House
of
Lords,
the
two
houses
of
the
Parliament
of
the
United
Kingdom.
Informally
known
as
the
Houses
of
Parliament
after
its
occupants,
the
Palace
lies
on
the
north
bank
of
the
River
Thames
in
the
City
of
Westminster,
in
central
London,
England.
Its
name,
which
derives
from
the
neighbouring
Westminster
Abbey,
may
refer
to
several
historic
structures
but
most
often:
the
Old
Palace,
a
medieval
building-complex
largely
destroyed
by
fire
in
1834,
or
its
replacement,
the
New
Palace
that
stands
today.
The
palace
is
owned
by
the
monarch
in
right
of
the
Crown
and,
for
ceremonial
purposes,
retains
its
original
status
as
a
royal
residence.
Committees
appointed
by
both
houses
manage
the
building
and
report
to
the
Speaker
of
the
House
of
Commons
and
to
the
Lord
Speaker.
The
first
royal
palace
constructed
on
the
site
dated
from
the
11th
century,
and
Westminster
became
the
primary
residence
of
the
Kings
of
England
until
fire
destroyed
the
royal
apartments
in
1512
(after
which,
the
nearby
Palace
of
Whitehall
was
established).
The
remainder
of
Westminster
continued
to
serve
as
the
home
of
the
Parliament
of
England,
which
had
met
there
since
the
13th
century,
and
also
as
the
seat
of
the
Royal
Courts
of
Justice,
based
in
and
around
Westminster
Hall.
In
1834
an
even
greater
fire
ravaged
the
heavily
rebuilt
Houses
of
Parliament,
and
the
only
significant
medieval
structures
to
survive
were
Westminster
Hall,
the
Cloisters
of
St
Stephen's,
the
Chapel
of
St
Mary
Undercroft,
and
the
Jewel
Tower.
In
the
subsequent
competition
for
the
reconstruction
of
the
Palace,
the
architect
Charles
Barry
won
with
a
design
for
new
buildings
in
the
Gothic
Revival
style,
specifically
inspired
by
the
English
Perpendicular
Gothic
style
of
the
14th–16th
centuries.
The
remains
of
the
Old
Palace
(except
the
detached
Jewel
Tower)
were
incorporated
into
its
much
larger
replacement,
which
contains
over
1,100
rooms
organised
symmetrically
around
two
series
of
courtyards
and
which
has
a
floor
area
of
112,476
m2
(1,210,680
sq
ft).[1]
Part
of
the
New
Palace's
area
of
3.24
hectares
(8
acres)
was
reclaimed
from
the
River
Thames,
which
is
the
setting
of
its
nearly
300-metre
long
(980
ft)
façade,
called
the
River
Front.
Augustus
Pugin,
a
leading
authority
on
Gothic
architecture
and
style,
assisted
Barry
and
designed
the
interior
of
the
Palace.
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
reconstruction
of
the
Commons
Chamber
following
its
bombing
in
1941.
The
Palace
is
one
of
the
centres
of
political
life
in
the
United
Kingdom;
"Westminster"
has
become
a
metonym
for
the
UK
Parliament
and
the
British
Government,
and
the
Westminster
system
of
government
commemorates
the
name
of
the
palace.
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,
one
of
the
most
popular
tourist
attractions
in
the
city,
and
an
emblem
of
parliamentary
democracy.
Tsar
Nicholas
I
of
Russia
called
the
new
palace
"a
dream
in
stone".
The
Palace
of
Westminster
has
been
a
Grade
I
listed
building
since
1970
and
part
of
a
UNESCO
World
Heritage
Site
since
1987