History Of The Palace Of Westminster England
The palace of westminster serves as the meeting place of the house of commons and the house of lords the two houses of the parliament of the united kingdom.
History of the palace of westminster england. After the norman conquest william i adopted westminster to help validate his new regime and his son william rufus built the great hall westminster hall. The palace of westminster in london england is an ancient royal palace now inhabited by the british parliament though its origins are somewhat murky the palace is believed to have been first built sometime in the 11th century on the orders of edward the confessor. Westminster abbey stopped serving as a monastery in 1559 at roughly the same time it became an anglican church part of the church of england and formally left the catholic hierarchy.
The palace of westminster serves as the meeting place for both the house of commons and the house of lords the two houses of the parliament of the united kingdom informally known as the houses of parliament after its occupants the palace lies on the north bank of the river thames in the city of westminster in central london england. Transformed from royal residence to the home of a modern democracy the architecture and cultural collections of the palace and the wider parliamentary estate have continually evolved. Westminster hall is the oldest building on the parliamentary estate.
Westminster palace history the palace of westminster was established by king canute in the early 11th century and much expanded by edward the confessor after his coronation in 1042. Below is the history of the westminster palace london. The palace of westminster or the houses of parliament as it is also known has changed dramatically over the course of nearly a thousand years of history.
St edward the confessor the penultimate anglo saxon monarch of england built a royal palace on thorney. It has played a central role in 900 years of british history with the major institutions of the british state having grown up directly around it. Its name which derives from the neighbouring.
The palace of westminster site was strategically important during the middle ages as it was located on the banks of the river thames known in medieval times as thorney island the site may have been first used for a royal residence by canute the great during his reign from 1016 to 1035. It is the meeting place of the house of commons also known as the lower house and the house of lords also known as the upper house that comprises the parliament of the british.
