Houses of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster was the principal residence of the kings of England from the mid-11th century until the early-16th century.

The Westminster Hall was built in 1097, during the reign of William Rufus, its 14th century hammer-beam roof replaced an earlier version, which had been supported by a line of posts either side

After a fire in 1512 the Palace of Westminster ceased to be a royal residence and became the seat of the Houses of Parliament. Parliament was first housed in the choir stalls of St Stephen's Chapel, Members of Parliament facing each other from opposite sides of the chapel, a tradition which continues today.

In 1834 a fire destroyed the Palace of Westminster, and only Westminster Hall, the crypt of St Stephen's Chapel, the cloisters and the Jewel Tower survived.

The present Neo-Gothic building was built over the following 30 years by Sir Charles Barry and his assistant, Augustus Welby Pugin. Barry incorporated Westminster Hall and the remnants of St Stephen's into his new building, and Pugin embellished the late-perpendicular style with Gothic details.

In 1941, during the Blitz, the House of Commons Chamber was destroyed by a German bomb. The rebuilding work, under Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, preserved the essential feature's of Barry's original building. The Houses of Parliament contain 1,000 rooms, 11 courtyards, 8 bars and 6 restaurants - none open to the public.

The Palace of Westminster is dominated by its famous clock tower, 316 feet high and 40 feet square, with 393 steps to the very top. Big Ben is not the clock but the great bell that strikes each hour, there are also four quarter-hour bells.

Big Ben is named after Sir Benjamin Hall, Chief Commissioner of Works when the bell was hung in 1858. Made in Whitechapel, Big Ben was the second bell to be cast for the clock - the first one cracked during test ringing, although the present bell also has a slight crack. The clock is the largest in Britain and has kept exact time almost continuously since 1859. It is checked three times a week and is accurate to within one second.

The clock tower originally contained a small prison cell, and the last occupant was Emmeline Pankhurst, in 1902. A statue of the Suffragette can be seen in Victoria Tower Gardens by the river on the south side of Parliament

Big Ben's famous deep chimes can be heard daily on BBC radio.

The Palace of Westminster comprises two Houses of Parliament - the Commons and the Lords. The House of Commons is made up of 659 elected Members of Parliament (MPs) representing a number of political parties. The party with the majority of MPs forms the Government, with its leader becoming Prime Minister. The remaining MPs represent the Opposition. In the green upholstered Commons' Chamber the Government sits of the left and the Opposition on the right.

Commons debates are impartially chaired by an MP designated as Speaker, who presides over the Commons from a chair set between the Government and the Opposition.

The House of Lords is presently unelected and comprises law lords, bishops, archbishops, life peers and some hereditary peers.

At the yearly State Opening of Parliament the reigning monarch passes through the Royal Gallery to deliver a speech from the throne in the Gothic Hall of the House of Lords. This speech, supplied by the Government, outlines the Government's plans for the present session of parliament. The legislation formulated in the Commons is debated in both houses before becoming law. The 1.5 million Acts of Parliament passed since 1497 are stored in the magnificent Victoria Tower.

Members of the public can watch the Commons or Lords in session from the visitors' galleries, you need tickets from a local MP, apply eight weeks in advance, or queue up outside St Stephen's entrance. The best spectacle is Prime Minister's Question Time which is held at 15:00 on Wednesdays, though visitors will require tickets in advance for this.

Guided tours of the Palace and Westminster Hall are by arrangement only. Apply well advance to your local MP, the Public Information Office, or your embassy. Telephone 0207 219 4272 for details. Visitors who come to meet their MP wait under the rich mosaic ceiling of the Central Lobby. The galleries remain open to the public for guided tours (which are not free) when Parliament is in recess.