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The Palace reaches a height of 84 m (276 ft), [1] has a floor area of 365,000 m 2 (3,930,000 sq ft) [2] and a volume of 2,550,000 m 3 (90,000,000 cu ft). The Palace of the Parliament is the heaviest building in the world, weighing about 4,098,500 tonnes (9.04 billion pounds), and is the third largest administrative building in the world. [3]
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England.It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative chambers which occupy the building.
The Palace of Westminster as a whole began to see significant alterations from the 18th century onwards, as Parliament struggled to carry out its business in the limited available space and ageing buildings. Calls for an entirely new palace went unheeded as instead more buildings of varying quality and style were added.
The palace includes two courtyards, the Old Palace Yard and New Palace Yard; the former dates to the time of Edward the Confessor, while the latter was built in 1097 on the orders of William II (Rufus). [3] The northern part of the Parliamentary Estate lies north of Bridge Street. It includes: Canon Row; Parliament Street
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised the English monarch. Great councils were first called Parliaments during the reign of Henry III (r. 1216 ...
The Palace of Westminster, the medieval royal palace used as the home of the British parliament, was largely destroyed by fire on 16 October 1834. The blaze was caused by the burning of small wooden tally sticks which had been used as part of the accounting procedures of the Exchequer until 1826.
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of England (established 1215) and the Parliament of Scotland (c. 1235), both Acts of Union stating, "That the United Kingdom of Great Britain be represented by one and the same Parliament to be styled The Parliament of Great Britain."
Change was necessitated after the Palace of Westminster was severely damaged by fire in 1514. In both 1523 and 1529, the Opening of Parliament took place in Bridewell Palace, following a service in nearby Blackfriars Church. At around this time, Westminster ceased to be a royal residence, becoming instead the fixed abode of Parliament itself.