"the 1870s. The shortest of the Palace's three principal towers (at ), the octagonal Central Tower stands over the middle of the building, immediately above the Central Lobby. It was added to the plans on the insistence of Dr. David Boswell Reid, who was in charge of the ventilation of the new Houses of Parliament: his plan called for a great central chimney through which what he called ""vitiated air"" would be drawn out of the building with the heat and smoke of about four hundred fires around the Palace. To accommodate the tower, Barry was forced to lower the"
"Palace of Westminster. It lies directly below the Central Tower and forms a busy crossroads between the House of Lords to the south, the House of Commons to the north, St Stephen's Hall and the public entrance to the west, and the Lower Waiting Hall and the libraries to the east. Its location halfway between the two debating chambers has led constitutional theorist Erskine May to describe the Lobby as ""the political centre of the British Empire"", and allows a person standing under the great chandelier to see both the Royal Throne and the Speaker's Chair, provided that all the"
"at the southern end of Westminster hall, which leads to the first floor where the major rooms are located. To the east of St. Stephens porch is St. Stephen's Hall, built on the surviving undercroft of St. Stephen's Chapel. To the east of this the octagonal Central Lobby (above which is the central tower), the centre of the building. North of the Central Lobby is the Commons' Corridor which leads into the square Commons' Lobby, north of which is the House of Commons. There are various offices and corridors to the north of the House of Commons with the clock"
"Members' Lobby The Members' Lobby is a hallway in the Palace of Westminster used by members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Members of Parliament may congregate here for discussions while not dealing with other business. The Lobby is situated immediately south of the Commons Chamber, close to the Central Lobby, and is off-limits to members of the public during voting sessions. It hosts offices of government and opposition whips, who are responsible for organising voting along party lines. Former British prime ministers are honoured with statues and busts in the"
"Victoria Tower The Victoria Tower is the square tower at the south-west end of the Palace of Westminster in London, facing south and west onto Black Rod's Garden and Old Palace Yard. At , it is slightly taller than the more famous Elizabeth Tower (formerly known as the Clock Tower and popularly known as 'Big Ben') at the north end of the Palace (). It houses the Parliamentary Archives in archive conditions meeting the BS 5454 standard, on 12 floors. All 14 floors of the building were originally linked via a single wrought-iron Victorian staircase of 553 steps, of which"
"Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in central London. It features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contains twelve statues of statesmen and other notable individuals. As well as being one of London's main tourist attractions, it is also the place where many demonstrations and protests have been held. The square is overlooked by various official buildings: legislature to the east (in the Houses of Parliament), executive offices to the north (on Whitehall), the judiciary to the west (the Supreme Court),"
"Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly 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 is derived from the neighbouring Westminster Abbey, may refer to either of two structures: the ""Old Palace"", a medieval building complex destroyed by fire in 1834, or its replacement, the ""New Palace"" that stands today. The"
"Palace, numerous turrets enliven the building's skyline. Like the Central Tower, these have been added for practical reasons, and mask ventilation shafts. There are some other features of the Palace of Westminster which are also known as towers. St Stephen's Tower is positioned in the middle of the west front of the Palace, between Westminster Hall and Old Palace Yard, and houses the public entrance to the Houses of Parliament, known as ""St Stephen's Entrance"". The pavilions at the northern and southern ends of the river front are called Speaker's Tower and Chancellor's Tower respectively, after the presiding officers of"
"the grounds of the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. To the north of the Yard is St Stephen's Entrance, the public entrance into the Palace, as well as the great South Window of Westminster Hall. Standing near this window and facing away from it is a bronze equestrian statue of Richard Coeur de Lion (King Richard I, also known as ""Richard the Lionheart""). Created by Baron Carlo Marochetti, the statue was completed in 1856 and installed in its present location in 1860. The eastern side of Old Palace Yard is defined by the"
"is Hampden, and not Eliot or Pym, who is seen as the central figure at the start of the English Revolution. It is Hampden whose statue rather than that of Eliot or Pym that was selected by the Victorians as a symbol to take its place at the entrance to the Central Lobby in the Palace of Westminster as the noblest type of the parliamentary opposition, sword at his side, ready to defend Parliament's rights and privileges by any means necessary. His statue stands opposite Earl of Clarendon in his Lord Chancellor's robes, a symbol of the respect for the"
"intervening doors are open. Constituents may meet their Members of Parliament here, even without an appointment, and this practice is the origin of the term ""lobbying"". The hall is also the theatre of the Speaker's Procession, which passes from here on its way to the Commons Chamber before every sitting of the House. The Central Lobby measures across and from the floor to the centre of the vaulted ceiling. The panels between the vault's ribs are covered with Venetian glass mosaic displaying floral emblems and heraldic badges, and the bosses in the intersections of the ribs are also carved into"
"on its doors. The bomb-damaged arch at the entrance to the Commons was retained as a reminder of 10–11 May 1941; it is now known as the ""Churchill Arch"". The feet of Oscar Nemon's bronze statue of Winston Churchill, as well as that of David Lloyd George, which flank the Commons doors, have been eroded, apparently by generations of MPs rubbing them for luck. Members' Lobby The Members' Lobby is a hallway in the Palace of Westminster used by members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Members of Parliament may congregate"
"of the present Palace of Westminster, the yard was an open public space used for a variety of purposes including speeches, tournaments, pilloryings, and executions. It has twice been the scene of terrorist attacks. New Palace Yard is situated in the north-west corner of the grounds of the Palace of Westminster. It is bordered to the north by Bridge Street, to the east by the Palace's North Front and Big Ben, to the south by Westminster Hall and to the west by Parliament Square. It is accessed from Parliament Square via the Carriage Gates. Underneath the yard is a five-level"
"and a further to the top of the crown finial at its summit. In 1897, the King's Tower was officially renamed as the ""Victoria Tower"" in tribute to Queen Victoria in her Diamond Jubilee year. The Parliamentary Archives underwent a complete reconstruction between 1948 and 1963 to provide 12 floors of air-conditioned document storage, and again between 2000 and 2004 to bring it up to contemporary archive storage standards. Victoria Tower The Victoria Tower is the square tower at the south-west end of the Palace of Westminster in London, facing south and west onto Black Rod's Garden and Old Palace"
"tower terminating the northern axis of the building. South of the Central Lobby is the Peers' Corridor leading to the Peers' Lobby, south of which lies the House of Lords. South of the House of Lords in sequence are the Prince's Chamber, Royal Gallery, and Queen's Robing Room. To the north-west of the Queen's Robing Chamber is the Norman Porch, to the west of which the Royal Staircase leads down to the Royal Entrance located immediately beneath the Victoria Tower. East of the Central Lobby is the East Corridor leading to the Lower Waiting Hall, to the east of which"
"and important manuscripts such as the original Bill of Rights and the death warrant of King Charles I. At the top of the cast-iron pyramidal roof is a flagstaff, from which flies the Royal Standard (the monarch's personal flag) when the Sovereign is present in the Palace. On all other days the Union Flag flies from the mast. At the north end of the Palace rises the most famous of the towers, Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben. At , it is only slightly shorter than Victoria Tower but much slimmer. Originally known simply as the Clock Tower (the"
"but was closed to the public in June 2018, when it was replaced as a museum by the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, high up in the Abbey triforium. Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. The building itself was a Benedictine monastic church until"
"Churchill's recommendation, Nemon made a bust of him at the request of Elizabeth II for Windsor Castle. Nemon also made a seated bronze sculpture of Churchill for the City of London's Guildhall, which Churchill described as a 'very good likeness' upon its unveiling in 1955. Statue of Winston Churchill, Palace of Westminster The statue of Winston Churchill is a standing bronze statue of statesman and writer Winston Churchill, situated in the Members' Lobby of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, part of the Palace of Westminster complex in Westminster, Central London. Churchill is depicted mid-stride, with his hands"
"has an enfilade of three Royal apartments that continues through the two legislative Chambers of the Lords and Commons. The enfilade of State Rooms presents a view from the Robing Room and Royal Gallery – B and C on the plan at right – through to the Prince's Chamber. From the throne in the adjacent Lords' Chamber (D) there is an uninterrupted view through three lobbies – Lords', Central, and Members' Lobby – to the Speaker's Chair in the Commons Chamber at the other end of the Palace. (Lords' Lobby and Members' Lobby are the round and square spaces to"
"result of a long tradition of MPs rubbing them for good luck on their way in before their maiden speech. The Lobby contains the busts and statues of most 20th-century prime ministers, as well as two large boards where MPs can receive letters and telephone messages, designed for the use of the House and installed in the early 1960s. The Chamber of the House of Commons is at the northern end of the Palace of Westminster; it was opened in 1950 after the Victorian chamber had been destroyed in 1941 and re-built under the architect Giles Gilbert Scott. The Chamber"
"Westminster Westminster is an area of central London within the City of Westminster, part of the West End, on the north bank of the River Thames. Westminster's concentration of visitor attractions and historic landmarks, one of the highest in London, includes the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral. Historically the area lay within St Margaret's parish, City & Liberty of Westminster, Middlesex. The name ""Westminster"" () originated from the informal description of the abbey church and royal peculiar of St Peter's (Westminster Abbey), literally West of the City of London, indeed until the Reformation there was"
"and the church to the south (with Westminster Abbey). Buildings looking upon the square include the churches Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's, Westminster, the Middlesex Guildhall which is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Government Offices Great George Street serving HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs, and Portcullis House. Roads that branch off the Parliament Square are St Margaret Street (towards Millbank), Broad Sanctuary (towards Victoria Street), Great George Street (towards Birdcage Walk), Parliament Street (leading into Whitehall), and Bridge Street (leading onto Westminster Bridge). Parliament Square was laid out in 1868 in order to"
"heraldic symbols. Each wall of the Lobby is contained in an arch ornamented with statues of English and Scottish monarchs; on four sides there are doorways, and the tympana above them are adorned with mosaics representing the patron saints of the United Kingdom's constituent nations: Saint George for England, Saint Andrew for Scotland, Saint David for Wales and Saint Patrick for Ireland. The other four arches are occupied by high windows, under which there are stone screens—the hall's post office, one of two in the Palace, is located behind one of these screens. In front of them stand four bigger-than-life"
"Tower 42 Tower 42 is a skyscraper in the City of London, England. It is the fourth-tallest in the City and tenth-tallest in Greater London. Its original name was the National Westminster Tower (commonly known as the NatWest Tower), having been built to house NatWest's international headquarters. Seen from above, the shape of the tower resembles that of the NatWest logo (three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement). The tower, designed by Richard Seifert and engineered by Pell Frischmann, is located at 25 Old Broad Street. It was built by John Mowlem & Co between 1971 and 1980, first occupied in"
"Whitehall Whitehall is a road in the City of Westminster, Central London, which forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Square. The street is recognised as the centre of the Government of the United Kingdom and is lined with numerous departments and ministries, including the Ministry of Defence, Horse Guards and the Cabinet Office. Consequently, the name 'Whitehall' is used as a metonym for the British civil service and government, and as the geographic name for the surrounding area. The name was"
"Golden Square Golden Square, in the City of Westminster, Soho, London, is one of the historic squares of Central London. The square is just east of Regent Street and north of Piccadilly Circus. The square has featured prominently in literature, and today is a sought-after corporate address for the media-related companies that populate the Soho area. Golden Square is a historic square in the Soho neighbourhood of the City of Westminster. Possibly laid down by Sir Christopher Wren, the plan bears Wren's signature, but the patent does not state whether it was submitted by the petitioners or whether it originated"
"Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London and is usually extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The tower was designed by Augustus Pugin in a neo-gothic style. When completed in 1859, its clock was the largest and most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock"
"Peace Tower The Peace Tower (in French: ""Tour de la Paix""), also known as the Tower of Victory and Peace (in French: ""tour de Victoire et de Paix""), is a focal bell and clock tower sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Tower after the latter burned down in 1916, along with most of the Centre Block; only the Library of Parliament survived. It serves as a Canadian icon and had been featured prominently on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill directly adjacent the queen's visage,"
"New Palace Yard New Palace Yard is an open courtyard northwest of the Palace of Westminster in Westminster, London, England. It forms part of the Palace estate and is not open to the public. The yard has existed since around the year 1100, but it has been considerably reduced in size over the years due to the construction of new streets and buildings, most notably the current palace, which was built across the eastern end of the yard in the 19th century. An underground car park used by Members of Parliament is located beneath the yard. Prior to the construction"
"the main characters, Martin, points ""at the splayed-out figure at Temple Bar; it looked as ridiculous as usual – something between a serpent and a fowl."" Its removal is also mentioned in ""The Warden"" by Anthony Trollope. Temple Bar, London Temple Bar was the principal ceremonial entrance to the City of London on its western side from the City of Westminster. It is situated on the historic royal ceremonial route from the Tower of London to the Palace of Westminster, the two chief residences of the medieval English monarchs, and from the Palace of Westminster to St Paul's Cathedral. The"
"Statue of Winston Churchill, Palace of Westminster The statue of Winston Churchill is a standing bronze statue of statesman and writer Winston Churchill, situated in the Members' Lobby of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, part of the Palace of Westminster complex in Westminster, Central London. Churchill is depicted mid-stride, with his hands on his hips. Churchill and Nemon first met in Marrakech in 1951, where Nemon sculptured a terracotta bust that Churchill's wife, Lady Clementine Churchill said that it ""represents to me my husband as I see him and as I think of him"". In 1952, on"
"central London focused on Trafalgar Square and outside Buckingham Palace. During the following year's protests, the Memorial was guarded by police officers. At the top of the central pylon stands a gilded bronze ""Winged Victory"", standing on a globe and with a victor's palm in one hand. Beneath her are personifications of ""Constancy"", holding a compass with its needle pointing true north, and ""Courage"", holding a club. Beneath these, on the eastern and western sides, are two eagles with wings outspread, representing Empire. Below these, statues of an enthroned Queen Victoria (facing The Mall) and of ""Motherhood"" (facing Buckingham Palace),"
"House of Commons, there is no prohibition on arrest within the Palace and such arrests have been effected in the past. The exterior of the Palace of Westminsterespecially the Elizabeth Tower which houses the bell known as Big Ben, and its setting on the bank of the River Thames—is recognised worldwide, and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in London. Tsar Nicholas I called it “a dream in stone”. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) classifies the Palace of Westminster, along with neighbouring Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's, as a World Heritage Site. It is"