Among London's famous landmarks, program participants take a guided tour of Westminister Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and of course, the clock tower nicknamed Big Ben. The tour provides a terrific history of Great Britian's monarchy and current parliamentarian rule. The governmental and religious site is often referenced in various memoirs as well as literary texts consistently on the program's syllabus. Excerpts are located below.

The Site

The Building

In 1834 a fire destroyed nearly all the old palace, in which most Parliaments had sat since the 13th century. The new Palace was designed by Sir Charles Barry, assisted by Augustus Pugin. It was begun in 1840 and completed in 1860. Together with the ancient Westminster Hall, the Palace contains Royal reception rooms, a Chapel, the House of Lords and the House of Commons and extensive offices. It occupies 8 arces and contains 11 courtyards.

Interior Design

The decoration of the Palace was chiefly designed by Pugin, who worked on it from 1844 to his death in 1852. Carvings, furniture, tiles, wallpaper, carpets and metalwork were all made [according] to his plans. The Palace--in particular the House of lords, which escaped bombing in the Second World War-- contains probably the most important collection of 19th century furnishing still in use in the interior for which it was designed.

Parliament

The sovereignty of Parliament--that is, the supremem power of Parliament to make laws--is the main characteristic of the British consititution. The other principle functiosn of Parliament are:
to provide by taxation the means of carrying on the work of government;
and to watch and, if necessary, criticise the Government in its administration.

Parliament consists of two chambers. The House of Commons is elected by the people, and on it national democratic government depends. The House of Lords is composed of archbishops and bishops of the Church of England, of peers who have inherited their titles and of peers appointed for life. Certain judicially qualified members of the House of lords also sit as a court of law--the supreme court of appeal in the United Kingdom.¹

For further information about the Houses of Parliament or to learn about how laws are created and implimented in Great Britain, please click here.

Big Ben

Probably the most famous architectural component of the Palace of Westminister is the Clock Tower. The Tower contains the hour bell, Big Ben, whose chimes are broadcast throughout the world, and stands as a symbol of the continuity of British parliamentary government. Aside from the clock and located above its face, is a light which shines when either House of Parliament is sitting. In London, the tolling of the clock is just as familiar as the actual structure and has been countlessly written about. The British author, Blanchard Jerrold, and French illustrator/engraver, Gustave Doré, worked together to create a "sketchbook of the city [of London] in mid-Victorian times." First published in 1872, London: A Pilgrimage records the sights, sounds, and smells of life in an industrial urban center. Jerrold describes the voice of the famous clock tower as:

"Big Ben vibrating through these Lambeth potteries on one of those grey days, of which London holds the secret elements, seems to threaten the busy, heavy-faced crowds who are loading vans, boiling bones, sorting rubbish, making coarse paste into drain-pipes and chimney-pots, that they still mend the pace before he speaks his deep bass again." ²

For illustrations of Westminister from Jerrold and Doré's history, London: A Pilgrimage, click here.

Similarly, turn of the 20th century female novelist and Bloomsbury Lot member, Virginia Woolf, writes of Big Ben's echoing song in her novel, Mrs. Dalloway:
"Remember my party, remember my party, said Peter Walsh as he stepped down the street, speaking to himself rhythmically, in time with the flow of the sound, the direct downright sound of Big Ben striking the half-hour. (The leaden circles dissolved in the air.)" ³

¹ Most of the information on this page has been copied verbatim from a pamphlet prepared by the House of Lords Information Office entitled The Houses of Parliament: A Short Guide.

² Doré, Gustave and Blanchard Jerrold. London: A Pilgrimage. (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1970), 42, 97-98.

³ Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. (New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1925), 51.