In our years living in London, we never prioritized a visit to the British seat of government, the Westminster Palace. Of the various reasons for shunning it in the past, none stand up to scrutiny, so I’ll refrain from offering an explanation. It is part of a World Heritage site that I count as one of my earliest WH visits, having been to the Westminster Abbey – but not the palace – on my very first trip to London in 2000. My fondness for World Heritage designations should by itself have prompted me to prioritize visiting the palace at the first opportunity, but it required a ringing endorsement from our close friends, who loved their recent tour of the Parliament, to make a decision to include it on our itinerary.
These are perspectives from the Parliament Square, which are less frequently used in the Westminster Palace visuals than the riverside views, examples of which I included in my old recounting WH entry.
Once through the security controls, the first space that you enter is the cathedral-like Westminster Hall.
From there, you proceed to the beautifully painted Saint Stephen’s Hall.
The statues are of important British statesmen of yesteryear, while the paintings depict various momentous events in the country’s history.
Stained-glass windows would not be out of place in a grand Gothic church.
These two spaces collectively serve as grand approaches to the core working areas of the Parliament. You continue the tour through the rooms of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, some of which are no less impressive visually, but taking pictures is prohibited beyond St. Stephen’s Hall. The information provided by the audio guide, highlighting historic and architectural details found in every chamber and offering a good glimpse into the inner workings of the British parliament, compensates for the photography ban quite a bit.
Standing with our backs to the palace and looking at the church of St Margaret, the third part of this serial WH property, with the rose window of the Abbey in the background.
By the time we came over, the church was already closed to visitors for the day, so it remains one component of this site that I have yet to see. Why I never stepped inside it in the past similarly defies explanation.
For completeness, I will include one riverside perspective of the Westminster Palace with Big Ben at the forefront. This is from the Golden Jubilee Bridge.
