Palace of Westminster

 Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Comons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament  of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the House of Parliament after its occupants, the Palace lies on the Middlesex bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, in central London. Its name, which derives from the neighbouring Westminster Abbey, may refer to either of two structures: the Old Palace, a medieval building complex that was destroyedby fire in 1834, and its replacement, the New Palace that stands today. For ceremonial purposes, the palace retains its original style and status as a royal residence and is the property of the Crown.

The first royal palace was built on the site in the eleventh century, and Westminster was the primary residence of the Kings of England until a fire destroyed much of the complex in 1512. After that, it served as the home of the Parliament of England, which had been meeting there since the thirteenth century, and also as the seat of the Royal Courts of Justice, based in and aroundWestminster Hall. In 1834, an even greater fire ravaged the heavily rebuilt Houses of Parliament.

The subsequent competition for the reconstruction of the Palace was won by the architect Charles Barry, whose design was for new buildings in the Perpendicular Gotic style. The remains of the Old Palace (with the exception of the detached Jewel Tower).