23 May: The Houses of Parliament

Sir Charles Barry, English architect, designer of the Houses of Parliament, was born on this date in 1795. He was born in Bridge Street, Westminster, opposite where Big Ben stands today. 10 things you might not know about his most famous building:

1. The Houses of Parliament may be what we normally call the building but the correct title is The Palace of Westminster. That's because it's actually owned by the monarch, and was, in its early days, a royal residence. The first royal palace constructed on the site dated from the 11th century. Westminster was the primary residence of the Kings of England the royal apartments were destroyed by a Fire in 1512.
2. The previous Palace of Westminster burned down in October 1834 due to a stove used for burning the Exchequer's stockpile of tally sticks overheating and catching fire. The only parts of that building to survive and be incorporated into the new one were Westminster Hall (which was saved by fire-fighters. A change in the direction of the wind also helped), the Jewel Tower, the Undercroft Chapel and the Cloisters and Chapter House of St Stephen's. Parliament was almost rehoused in Buckingham Palace. King William IV offered the palace to Parliament because he didn't like it. However, it was deemed unsuitable for that purpose, and in any case, Westminster was known as the seat of Parliament – so a new building on the same site was the preferred option.
3. The style of the building is Gothic Revival style, specifically inspired by the English Perpendicular Gothic style of the 14th–16th centuries. Sir Charles Barry was primarily a classical architect, and so he was helped by Augustus Pugin, a leading authority on Gothic architecture. They didn't always agree on what the final result should look like. Pugin once commented on Barry's design: "All Grecian, sir; Tudor details on a classic body". Construction started in 1840 and lasted for 30 years. Neither of the principal architects lived to see it finished, and the interior decoration wasn't completed until well into the 20th century.
4. The stone used was Anston, a sandy-coloured limestone quarried in the South Yorkshire village of the same name, and also in Nottinghamshire. Charles Barry chose it, after extensive tours of Britain looking at buildings and quarries, because it was cheaper, because it would be easy to transport using England's waterways, and because it "could be supplied in blocks up to four feet thick and lent itself to elaborate carving". Cheap stone which can be easily carved, however, is also easily eroded away, a problem which became obvious as early as 1849, but it was the early 20th century before anything was done about it. Clipsham stone, a honey-coloured limestone from Rutland was used to replaced the damaged stone.
5. The Palace of Westminster has over four floors, 100 staircases, 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) of corridors and 1,100 rooms, including the Commons and Lords Chambers, The Queen's Robing Room (which, as the name suggests, is where the Queen dons her ceremonial robes for the State Opening of Parliament), the Royal Gallery, numerous committee rooms, libraries and bars (which will stay open all hours when Parliament is sitting), a gym, two souvenir shops, a hair salon and a rifle range. The floor area is 112,476 m2 (1,210,680 sq ft)
6. Westminster Hall is the oldest room, built in 1097 by King William II. When it was finished, it was the largest hall in Europe. It was the venue for coronation banquets, until William IV, abandoned that tradition because he was a bit of a tight-wad and thought it was too expensive. The Hall is used as a place for lying in state during state and ceremonial funerals. While it is usually only monarchs and their consorts who lie in state here, occasionally non-royals have been granted the honour. Only two did in the 20th century: Frederick Sleigh Roberts in 1914 and Winston Churchill in 1965.
7. There are three main towers. The tallest is the Victoria Tower, 98.5-metre (323 ft) tall, at the south-western corner. It was originally called The King's Tower after William IV but was alter re-named to honour Queen Victoria. Barry designed it to look like a castle keep with a portcullis. On its completion in 1858, it was the tallest secular building in the world. It has the 15 m (49 ft) high archway known as the Sovereign's Entrance used by the monarch on state occasions; and houses the Parliamentary Archives. These contain copies of all Acts of Parliament since 1497, and other important documents like the original Bill of Rights and the death warrant of King Charles I. Needless to say, that's a lot of pieces of paper – more that three million. 8.8 kilometres (5.5 miles) of steel shelves spread over 12 floors is needed to house them. It is on this tower, too, that the Flag is flown. Usually the Union flag, except when the Queen is there, when it's the Royal Standard. The most famous is Elizabeth Tower, better known as Big Ben, which is slightly shorter at 96 metres (315 ft). It has been known as Elizabeth Tower since the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. Finally, at 91 metres (299 ft), there's the octagonal Central Tower in the centre of the building, which one Dr. David Boswell Reid insisted should be put there to house a chimney for ventilation purposes and forced Barry to re-work some of the design; this was "the first occasion when mechanical services had a real influence on architectural design".
8. The Palace of Westminster was hit by bombs 14 times during The Blitz. An incendiary bomb hit the chamber of the House of Commons and set it on fire; another set the roof of Westminster Hall alight. A bomb struck the Lords Chamber, but went through the floor without exploding. Another damaged the clock tower, blowing out all the glass on one of the clock's faces, but didn't damage the clock, which kept calm and carried on keeping accurate time in true British fashion. The statue of Richard the Lionheart was lifted from its pedestal by another blast, its upheld sword was bent. This image was used as a symbol of the strength of democracy, "which would bend but not break under attack". However, 70 or so years later, it looks like it might only take a bunch of clowns and a virus to break it completely from within.
9. Tsar Nicholas I of Russia called the new palace "a dream in stone".
10. The Palace of Westminster is a Grade 1 listed building and is again in need of extensive refurbishment. In 2012 a feasibility study chose the option of keeping the building open while the work was done, but when they learned how much that option was going to cost (£7.1 billion) the House of Commons voted to vacate the Palace of Westminster for the duration of refurbishment, which may take up to six years, starting in 2025 (Of course they could have easily afforded their preferred option had they not blown even more dosh than that on Brex-shit and track and trace systems that didn't work). The House of Commons will probably be temporarily housed in Richmond House in Whitehall and the House of Lords in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Parliament Square.

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