The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament, was designed by architects Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin. The palace’s interiors were designed and painted by J. G. Crace, working in collaboration with Pugin and others. The 1835 competition to redesign the Palace was won by Charles Barry, who was already a famous architect.
The Palace of Westminster is the legacy of architects Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin, who began rebuilding Parliament after a fire almost destroyed it in 1834. Pugin’s designs for the interior of the Palace of Westminster, London, included vanes and sparkling gilded shafts that gave the palace’s outline glamour and verticality. Construction started in 1840, and the palace’s stunning Gothic architecture is attributed to Barry and Pugin.
After the fire of 1834, a competition was held to find an architect to design the new building. Sir Charles Barry, assisted by A.W.N. Pugin, designed the present buildings in the Gothic Revival style. Construction began in 1837, and the cornerstone was laid in 1838. The Palace of Westminster is home to a rich collection of works of art, including the Great Hall, which was completed in 1099 by William II.
📹 Westminster Palace: One Thousand Years of History
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Who was the architect of Westminster Cathedral?
Westminster Cathedral, designed by architect John Francis Bentley, is a symbol of faith in London, with its 284ft high bell tower, or campanile, visible from across the city. The Cathedral’s Tower Viewing Gallery offers a breathtaking view of London, with carved stone eagles encircling the apex. Bentley resisted the use of iron in architecture, and the Cathedral’s three great domes are constructed from concrete. The cathedral’s bell tower, or campanile, can be seen from Buckingham Palace during the Changing of the Guard.
What happened to the original Westminster Palace?
The Palace of Westminster, built in 1834, was designed by Charles Barry, who won a competition to design a new Palace and Houses of Parliament. The Palace, constructed from Anston limestone and set on a concrete raft on the Thames, has a floorplate the size of 16 football pitches and 1, 100 rooms, 100 staircases, three miles of passageways, four floors, and 65 different levels. The first stone was laid in 1840, and most work was completed by 1860, but the Palace was not completed until 1870, costing £2. 5m more than the original budget.
Who designed the Palace of Westminster?
In 1835, Westminster-born architect Charles Barry won the competition to redesign the Palace, despite his classical architectural style. Barry sought assistance from 23-year-old Catholic architect Augustus Welby Pugin, who had devoted himself to Gothic architecture. Pugin was paid £400 for his assistance in drawing the competition’s drawings. Barry relied heavily on Pugin during the construction of the Palace, particularly in detail, fittings, and furnishings. Pugin designed most of the Palace’s sumptuous Gothic interiors, including carvings, gilt work, panelling, furniture, doorknobs, and spill trays.
Why is the Palace of Westminster Gothic?
The design of the building was undertaken by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin, who sought to create a structure that would symbolize Victorian values and a desire to escape the industrial world. To this end, they employed a combination of modern innovations and a Gothic exterior.
Who was the main architect of Westminster Abbey?
Westminster Abbey, built in a Geometric Gothic style, features an eleven-bay nave with aisles, transepts, and a chancel with ambulatory and radiating chapels. The building is supported by two tiers of flying buttresses and was designed by Henry Yevele in a Perpendicular Gothic style. The Henry VII Chapel was built in a late Perpendicular style in Huddlestone stone, likely by Robert and William Vertue. The west towers were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, blending the Gothic style of the abbey with the Baroque style popular during his lifetime.
The modern Westminster Abbey is largely based on French Gothic styles, especially those found at Reims Cathedral, rather than contemporaneous English Gothic styles. The church has the highest nave of any Gothic church in England and a narrower nave than any medieval English church of a similar height. It also has a long, rounded apse and chapels radiating from the ambulatory, typical of a French Gothic style. However, there are distinctively English elements, such as the use of materials of contrasting colors, such as Purbeck marble and white stone in the crossing.
The abbey retains its 13th- and 14th-century cloisters, which would have been one of the busiest parts of the church when it was part of a monastery. The west cloister was used for novice monk teaching, the north for private study, the south cloister led to the refectory, and the east to the chapter house and dormitory. The north cloister and northern end of the east cloister date back to around 1250, while the Little Cloister dates back to the end of the 17th century and contains a small garden with a fountain.
What else did Charles Barry design?
Sir Charles Barry was a renowned British architect known for his significant contributions to Italianate architecture in Britain, particularly in the design of country houses, city mansions, and public buildings. He also developed the Italian Renaissance garden style for many gardens surrounding country houses, contributing significantly to the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in London during the mid-19th century.
Who was the architect of the Westminster Hall?
Sir Charles Barry, a 19th-century architect, is credited with the stunning Gothic architecture of the Palace of Westminster. The House of Commons and House of Lords are home to the Parliamentary business home, providing updates on current bills, committees, and topical issues. The website also features Parliament TV, news from UK Parliament, and publications and records. The content is produced by the Commons Library, Lords Library, and Parliamentary Office Science and Technology.
Who designed the interior of the House of Parliament?
The Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, was built by Charles Barry, AWN Pugin, and Giles Gilbert Scott after a fire destroyed the old one in 1834. Barry, born and raised in Westminster, was a talented artist from a young age and was taken on by a firm of surveyors at 15. After traveling in Europe and the Middle East, Barry returned to the UK and began working as an architect. He won several architectural competitions to design new churches and rebuild King Edward VI’s Grammar School in Birmingham. Barry first met and worked with Pugin and sculptor John Thomas, who later worked on the new Palace of Westminster and developed his non-ecclesiastical Gothic Revival style.
Who were the builders of Westminster Abbey?
Westminster Abbey, located in the Greater London borough of Westminster, is a significant London church that is the site of coronations and other ceremonies of national significance. Built by St. Edward the Confessor in 1065, it was of considerable size and cruciform in plan. In 1245, Henry III removed the entire church (except the nave) and replaced it with the present abbey church in the pointed Gothic style of the period. Westminster Abbey, along with St.
Margaret’s Church and the Houses of Parliament, was collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Legend relates that Saberht, the first Christian king of the East Saxons, founded a church on a small island in the River Thames, which was miraculously consecrated by St. Peter. The monastery was enlarged and remodeled by St. Dunstan of Canterbury around 960. St. Edward the Confessor built a new church on the site, which was consecrated in 1065.
How did Charles and Ray Eames change the world of design?
The Eames couple, known for their pioneering work in architecture and furniture design, have left a lasting legacy in the field. They created iconic styles like the Eames Lounge Chair and the Eames Chaise, which are still echoed in contemporary design. Their 1947 house, Case Study House No. 8, is one of the most iconic 20th-century builds, designed to meet their needs as a cohabiting couple and a space to work and entertain. Made from prefabricated materials, the house was modern and innovative, with steel frames and floor-to-ceiling glass walls replicating those found in homes and buildings worldwide.
📹 Charles Barry and A.W.N. Pugin, Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament)
Charles Barry and A.W.N. Pugin, Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), 1840-70, London Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and …
Seriously – if someone would have told me a year ago that there will come a day when I check YouTube to see if one guy has uploaded a new article about some random stuff that could help enhance my general knowledge, I’d have laughed it off. Now, I log on saying “Let’s see what Simon uploaded today”. Geez. But then again: With those articles, I don’t care how long the pandemic keeps going. Thanks, Simon (and your team, ofc!)
OK, we’ve had the Palace of Westminster, how about some of the other Royal Palaces and Fortresses? Two that definitely spring to mind are the Tower of London (you did that as a Geographics) and Windsor Castle – the oldest inhabited castle in the world. This place has hosted many well known events. and of course had it’s own renovation after the fire. Other palaces that might work as Sideprojects are Sandringham, Balmoral, Kensington and St James Palace. Ely Cathedral might work as a Megaproject as it was started not long after the Battle of Hastings, is massive (Mega) and stands in as Westminster Abbey as a film set!
If anyone is in/visiting London and looking for a different museum experience, check out Sir John Soane’s house. I had forgotten he was the architect of the earlier Palace, so was surprised to see him mentioned here. His house is a wonderful building crammed full of his collection of plaster reproductions of statuary, an actual Egyptian sarcophagus, pieces of architectural wonders, and a nice collection of art, especially Hogarth’s The Rake’s Progress. I found it a charming way to spend an hour or so a few blocks from the British Museum.
Speaking of gates, I remember visiting London for the first time in 1983 and encountering the Strangers Gate, which I assumed was for ordinary visitors to enter and perhaps watch the debate in either the Commons or the Lords. Unfortunately, a sign on the door told me it had been “temporarily” closed since 1979 for reasons I do not recall (possibly attacks from the IRA). Has that gate been re-opened since? Is it indeed the entrance by which a tourist can drop in to watch a session of the Lords or Commons?
Last try, don’t want to be a spammer! Suggestion – The Berlin Airlift This is the story of keeping a city surrounded on all sides alive; A logistical achievement of getting 8000 tons of food, fuel, medicine and supplies per day, into a single airport. The Berlin Airlift is a great story of a logistical nightmare in the middle of the post WW2 occupation of Germany; The Soviets have pushed passed and encircled Berlin. The West and the Soviets each control half. With little warning, the Soviets decide to cut off land and rail access to West Berlin, restricting all supplies to try and force capitulation and allow control of Berlin. The air corridors, however, remain open. The West draws a line – West Berlin will not be allowed to fall.
Request : perhaps not for the mega-projects series… I am a big fan of Democracy. We hear a lot about Democracy. Some of the folklore is fairly true, much of it is patent nonsense. I have not had the chance to watch a group of Neanderthals march around hunting & gathering at the end of the last ice age, but I have been able to observe a group of Australian native people doing it, and also in PNG not far from Port Moresby, in 1973. Both groups essentially went where the women went. Those were true democracies – they did what the majority of people did. Most people followed the ones who cooked. If you wanted to sustain & perpetuate the illusion that you were the boss or the king, you pretty quickly learned to ‘Lead’ where the cooks were about to go anyway… I bring this up in connection with the Houses of Pee at Westminster, because (as a patriotic Australian) I was born into a Secular Democracy, which was born because the people in the Houses at Westminster kicked us out and declared us an independent nation at the start of 1901. My concept of what a modern secular democracy is, what it means and why it’s worth risking your life for, comes from that building and the traditions and methodology developed there. Let’s offer the Greeks 30 seconds because they had a system they called Democracy, which wasn’t very, and the the Romans had one, during the Roman Republic, which the American Republican party named itself after (which tells you quite a bit about the American Republican Party) .
When the House of Commons was refitted after WWII, the Speaker’s chair was a gift from Australia and an exact replica of the Speaker’s chair in what is now known as Old Parliament House in Canberra. This chair was a gift from Great Britain when the Parliament building was constructed in Canberra in 1927. So the House of Commons has an Australian Speaker’s chair and Australia’s old House of Representatives has a British Speaker’s chair. The chair in Australia later had a desk added but retained the original chair design and the footrest.
Surprised not to see more about the origins, i.e. who was responsible for building what´s called the Westminster Hall originally, why all effort was put on saving it although rest of Westminster burned, the timbered ceiling… Ok, guess the quick answer is, go for a guided tour if you want such irrelevant detail… Probably need more that 16 plus minutes to cover everything about Westminster palace
Yes. I see why you put “must” for the queen in ‘air quotes’. 11:51 I heard from some of my overseas clients in conversation that the queen has no power over the government. Well if that’s the case, why is it we’ve had so many anti monarchist governments, bordering on open communisms and confrontation, and not one of them try to oust the monarchy. It must be they all know silence is no guarantee of weakness. They would not see tomorrows sun rise, as a few special forces, (remember the military is the queens) would be standing at the end of your bed if you had the bad timing of waking up to your death!
6:28 I find it difficult to find very many, let alone good or large, images of the old palace at any stage of its life, but it always seemed a dumpy albeit fairly large cluster of buildings, not all that ornate. Although the various Lords chambers did seem quite decorative, neither they nor St Stephens Chapel as House of Commons ever looked a fraction as impressive as post fire ones. Not that a lot of good stuff wasn’t lost, but still. Perhaps it was just poorly documented in mass market material and on the web. To be fair, I expect that I would find Whitehall Palace, though at the time the largest in Europe, just a dumpy mishmash of multi-period buildings. Now if it had all been rebuilt like the surviving Banqueting House or the plan one period architect (Wren?) had, that’s have awed Versailles.
Question on sponsors- Were a sponsor to close up shop, would their sponsorship of one of these articles give them a sort of afterlife or would the article be taken down? The latter would be a pity, as content would be lost. Just curious. On the whole, Simon’s delivery of the hard sell right in the article is strangely more interesting and less intrusive than YT ads ever are. Less arbitrary, I suppose. I don’t know I’d want all creators to do it this way, or even at the beginning or end as many others do, but it is a positive feature here.
Two odd facts. No one is allowed to die within the Houses of Parliament. It is against the law. The reason is that a state funeral must be held for anyone, even a commoner, if they do die. Second, protests are not allowed around Westminster even though “parliament” means “speech” and protests are free speech.
The point about rules and protocol is very true. Certain rooms and passages can only entered into at certain times of the day even by staff and others never entered by anyone other than the lords or members. Some of this is a security function and other aspects based on tradition. The whole function is built upon many layers of tradition and protocol. Staff of one house do not cross into sections of the other house without permission/clearance.
Cnut huh? England’s Viking king. What’s curious to me is that modern English is almost 100% comprised of the languages of the invaders and many conquerors. Latin, Saxon, Dane, and Norman French. Less than ten words exist in English from the language of the ancient Britons. Celtic languages survive in Wales, Scotland and Cornwall. Whether or not those people were displaced from what became England is still not agreed upon. The modern English royal family is actually mostly German. The King of England and Kaiser of Germany during WWI were first cousins. The Tsar of Russia was also a close relative. Millions died over an imperial family row basically. They got their commoners to fight to the death over which royals get to dominate which lands etc. Feudal politics in the industrial age with its artillery and machines guns etc. A bloody mess and a crime against their own people I think. Russians got pay back on the Tsar, Germans forced their Kaiser into exile, but Brits kept calm and carried on waving their flags and idolizing the royals. WWI finished off the Austria Hungary Empire and the Ottoman Empire too. The nail in the coffin for the British Empire was WWII. The USA became top dog and the Brits owed them a massive fortune in war debts. The UK was forced to concede and allow independence for the nations it had subjugated. Now the UK is like America’s little yappy terrier dog on a leash.
Were you high when you made this? As you seemed like you were on something. Victoria Tower was initially called the Kings Tower and was renamed Victoria in honour of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It was partly this historical fact that inspired the renaming of the clock tower for Queen Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee year. You also showed an illustration early on in the article of the proposed third tower which would’ve towered above all else in the complex and form part of what was referred to as the Acropolis of Empire, yet you made no reference to this. I feel things like this would add to a article on the subject such as this And including things but not referencing them – leaving them hanging in effect detracts from the authority of your information and putd doubt in the viewers mind. Overall A little less flippancy And a little deeper research would’ve been more beneficial.
Seriously though that thing I always thought the British thought was an eye sore 😂 😂 It’s so tacky and ugly. And you’re praising it! Bahahaha what is this. You could have told the Danny of this website to totally skip this eye sore. The only way they’ll be able to to repair it is burn it again for insurance money. 😂 😂 😂 sorry you have that by the way. 😅
Good analysis but the conclusion is wrong. the only way to confront the horror and error of modernity is to revive and build upon traditional styles. as you said, neo gothic incoporates not only contemporary technology and innovation but also classical forms. it is the pinnacle of achievement in western architecture, the high tide mark before the decline into perpetual ugliness.