The History of the Palace of Westminster
Westminster sits right at the centre of London. But although it’s best known for Big Ben and parliament, this ‘city within a city’ covers a far larger area, including some very well known places.
Big Ben is one of London’s most iconic landmarks, a clock tower that was completed in 1859, and sits within the Houses of Parliament. It also has a little brother (‘Little John’) in Nottingham!
Elizabeth Tower is actually the building’s official name, ‘Big Ben’ is the bell within. To keep time, old pennies apparently are added or removed from the pendulum. Each of the four clock faces are made up of 324 pieces of glass, held together by a cast iron frame.
Big Ben’s Next Door Neighbour!
Next door of course is the Palace of Westminster, more commonly known as the Houses of Parliament. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1834, and the new one contains 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases, and 3 miles of passageways.
Obviously the House of Commons and the House of Lords are here, along with a hair salon, pub and post office. Unfortunately it also has a pest control service, instead of experts in humane deterrence to deal with the many visiting mice.
The old male barber shop has been replaced by a unisex hair salon, the owner saying that once she got caught short, when someone had to vote, with colour on their hair! She says the reason she has been there for 27 years, is because she treats everyone the same – from the Prime Minister to cleaners.
