A view behind the scenes

Did you catch the first episode of "Inside the Commons" on BBC2 last night? If not, it is available - at least in the UK - on BBC iPlayer. (press here) I don't know whether there are any plans to make it available outside Britain - I hope they do, because it gave a fantastic insight into what goes on in the Palace of Westminster.

Although I have worked in the Palace for many years - and recognised many people that I see on a regular basis - there was much I had never seen before. That's the incredible thing about the Palace - there are so many rooms, so many corridors, so many floors - that even old hands haven't seen it all. But it wasn't just the building which was interesting - some of the behind the scenes work was revealed - and we got views of the chamber that normally only MPs get to see.

The Open University have been involved in the making of this four part documentary - and there is both an OU website or the BBC's programme website with more information and links.

Westminster's Archaeology

I was down in London yesterday - and stopped in the Museum of London. I'm so excited - I bought the report entitled "The royal palace, abbey and town of Westminster on Thorney Island: Archaeological excavations (1991-8) for the London Underground Limited Jubilee Extension Project". A bit of a mouthful, but what a find. It has maps of the area from prehistory to the modern day. It is possible (thanks to photocopying onto transparencies) to compare each period with the modern streets and buildings. It gives such an insight into the way the area developed (and why).

I hope to share some of the findings over coming weeks.

Tours of the Palace

One of the things I enjoy about working at Westminster is that I can look around an incredibly important and interesting historical building - and occasionally take small tours. There is so much to see.

I often start my tours by putting the site in context. Unlike the US Congress it was not planned as a national legislature. It doesn't consequently stand on a hill dominating the capital city. Like so much at Westminster, it's position is due to accidents of geography and history.

Watling Street ran from Richborough and Dover (Kent) to Wroxeter (Shropshire), but makes some odd turns in the London area. The line from Kent turns sharply north across the original London Bridge into the Roman town of Londinium (excellent iPad app from the Museum of London) entering from the south but exiting to the West. It continues along Colchester Road and Oxford Street (see map above) then turns sharply northward.

London was in effect a "New City" - the original route, without diversions - went straight to the lowest ford on the River Thames - at Westminster. That ford ran through what is now the Terrace of the Houses of Parliament.

Most of the streams that flow into the Thames run straight down from the hills to the north and south of the River.

The River Tyburn is different. It's source is at Shepherds Well, south of Hampstead. It flowed normally through the sites of Swiss Cottage to Regent Park to near Marble Arch - but roughly on the site of Buckingham Palace it begins to split. One branch flows south to the site of Vauxhall Bridge. The other further splits to form "Thorney Island"

which mean "the place of blackberries" (sorry for the awful pun). This low lying, marshy - and often misty place is where Westminster now is. The streams are now underground. But it was from early times regarded as a place of religious significance. There are stories that the Druids had a "college" there  [the name "Toot Hill" is claimed to be a pagan religious site]. Tothill Street runs close to Parliament Square.


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There is also a local story which has a temple of Apollo on the site of Westminster Abbey. In the Second Century one of the first British Christians, Lucius, was converted when an earthquake destroyed that temple. He built a church there. In 785 the Benedictines, under St Dunstan built a monastry there.

Lucius was said to be a "British King", but the first royal in residence that we have evidence for was King Canute. He built a palace on Thorney Island in 1016. It was Edward the Confessor who was to play a critical role in Westminster's development. He was a deeply religious man - and sought to (and succeeded) in building a mighty Abbey. Sensibly he decided that the best way to ensure that work proceeded satisfactorily was to move close to the building site. He made the "Palace of Westminster" his home.

It remained as a principle royal residence for centuries. Where the tidy building is now, buildings were thrown up without any kind of planning. Westminster Hall is the oldest part remaining -  but by 1834 there were a hotch potch of buildings of different sizes, ages and purposes. The Palace remained a royal residence until 1512 when a fire caused Henry VIII to move out. As the institution of Parliament developed the "Houses" gained permanent buildings. However it wasn't until 1547 that the House of Commons gained St Stephen's Hall as their permanent place of meeting.

Most of the Palace areas was destroyed by fire on the night of October 16th 1834. (the painting by Turner is reproduced in my post of last Wednesday)

Around Westminster

A little late today - my apologies. I've spent the morning doing a tour of the Palace of Westminster. There is so much history here - and much of it "accidental". By this, I mean that many of the revered practices at Westminster have arisen through an accident of history.

Members of the Commons go through the division lobby, bowing before their vote is counted. The reason is not some obscure courtesy to a person; office holder or place, but because when Cavaliers in the 17th Century approached the door of the lobby, they had to duck to avoid their huge hats being knocked off. Similarly MP's bow to the Speaker's Chair. The reason can be found below - the Chair replaced an earlier piece of "furniture".

Even the shape of the Commons Chamber and its layout results from an accident of history. MPs were thrown out of the Chapter House in Westminster Abbey - because they were too rowdy!!!. They hired rooms, but these were some distance from the Palace of Westminster - and petitioned the King for a permanent meeting room. They wanted the then redundant St Stephen's chapel. It was in the very centre of the Palace - and it was "available". The Speaker's Chair was placed on the site of the Altar - and MPs sat in the choir stalls - which faced each other - perhaps the two party system would have developed without it - but some are convinced that the layout influenced our style of government.

Christmas in London

On Wednesday I published a post about Christmas in Washington. Sadly 3600 miles separate me from that great city - at least for the moment. London however is closer - and has a lively Christmas scene. It too has a giant national Christmas tree - in Trafalgar Square.

One of the most magical places is the South Bank Centre



The website is accessible here.

Westminster is worth a visit - there is a Christmas tree close to the Clock tower (also known [incorrectly] as Big Ben). Leading off Parliament Square is the shopping street of Victoria Street. There are many shopping areas within London - but you can't beat Oxford Street at Christmas.

Ice skating rinks are now well established near the London Eye and Somerset House.

One of the best guides to events in London is "Time Out"

The Victoria Tower

The Clock Tower, often wrongly referred to as Big Ben, is one of the most well known towers in the world. At the other end of the Palace if Westminster is the Victoria Tower . It is 98m (323 ft) high - with a flagstaff adding a further 22m. It was not merely built to provide symmetry to the New Palace - but was custom designed to hold the parliamentary archives. [the rules for architects who had entered the competition to design a new palace to replace the one largely burned down in the disastrous fire of 16th October 1834 stated that the palace should include "fireproof repositories for books and documents"]. Today there are 5.5 miles of shelving - some in specially temperature and humidity controlled rooms - holding the archives which start in 1497. It is estimated that it is now 80% full!

Details of the holdings can be accessed here.
Click here for a history of the Parliamentary Archive

There is an online virtual tour of the tower accessible here. A souvenir booklet to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the completition of the tower will be produced towards the end of 2010.

Written Question

Yesterday's Hansard for the Houuse of Lords published the following written question and answer -

Lord Elton - To ask the Chairman of Committees whether consideration will be given to acquiring a number of respectable cats to reduce the rodent population of the Palace of Westminster.

The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): The possible use of cats, respectable or otherwise, to control the rodent population in the Palace of Westminster has been considered and ejected on a number of practical grounds. For example, the cats would ingest mouse poison when eating poisoned mice; there would be nothing to keep them in the areas where they are most needed, or to stop them walking on desks in offices and on tables in restaurants and bars; they can carry fleas and other parasites; and many people are allergic to cat hair. However, the Administration is taking a wide range of other control measures such as significantly increasing the number of bait boxes and traps, sealing mouse access points and intensifying the cleaning regime to minimise the presence of crumbs in the bars and food outlets. The age, construction and location of the Palace of Westminster are such that it will never be possible to eradicate mice entirely, but all appropriate measures are being taken to minimise the numbers.

I am aware from internal emails that mice have been spotted around the House of Lords end of the Palace - but haven't seen them myself! The Speaker's wife (who lives in the Speaker's House which is in the Palace) revealed a few weeks ago in a tweet - "Eeek we have a mouse again! Just seen it run under the dishwasher. The mouse-catcher man doesn't work on Sundays though... what to do?"

Why the Norman Porch?

The State Opening of Parliament is a grand occasion. Driven in a Coach from her residence at Buckingham Palace, the Queen is met at the Sovereign’s Entrance by the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain. After ascending the Royal Staircase she crosses the Norman Porch before entering the Robing Room.

I usually invite visitors to tell me why this area is known as the 'Norman' porch. It is hard to work out. The architectural style is clearly not Norman. There are no paintings of the Norman Kings - or even their coats of arms (the coats of arms of the saxon Kings are on the wall alongside the Royal Staircase). The busts are of Prime Ministers who were or became Peers.

The answer is that the original plan was to place busts of the Norman Kings in this area. It was never done - but the name remained.

Edward the Confessor

English history can be confusing - especially when it comes to the names by which monarchs are known. Edward is a particular problem. Edward I (1239-1307) was not the first English King of that name. He was preceded by Edward the Elder (c870-924), son of Alfred the Great; Edward the martyr (c962-978) and Edward the Confessor (c1003-1066).

It is this last Edward who was to play a key role in the development of Westminster. While there had been temples, monasteries and churches on Thorney Island in the centuries before Edward - it was he who set about being the Abbey. In order to oversee the building he build an adjacent palace.

Simon Thurley says "It was Edward the Confessor who founded Westminster as the political and religious capital of England. He built a palace and a great church more or less where Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament stand today." He lived, and died, in the Palace of Westminster.

He is known for his holiness. He was canonised in 1161 - and was for almost 150 years regarded as the patron saint of England. [today he is regarded as patron saint of kings, difficult marriages, and separated spouses].

He had no son to succeed him (this may be related to the fact that he took a vow of celibacy) - and as has happened so often in history, this led to a fight for the succession. 1066, the year Edward died is the greatest "memorable date" in English history. Later that year William of Normandy launched his invasion; defeated and killed (or is it the other way round?) King Harold - and then, after the English finally surrended at Berkhamsted, was crowned in Edward's Abbey.

Tours of Westminster

It is possible to tour the Palace of Westminster during the summer recess. Details of the tours can be found here. The Adult price is £11.70. As an alternative you can take a virtual tour. These are available at

http://www.parliament.uk/about/virtualtours.cfm

There are also some interesting materials on the Palace and its history and work at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/7098934.stm

Where should they go?

I've just finished a live-to-air interview with BBC Three Counties Radio about the prospects of MPs having to move out of the House of Commons to allow necessary renewal work to take place in the Palace of Westminster.

The House of Commons Commission has ordered a feasibility study, due to report by the middle of next year, to examine "whether substantial savings in cost, time and risk could be made by moving some operations of both Houses out of the Palace for a period to enable modernisation to be carried out continuously until its completion." This is unlikely to happen before 2012.

The problem is that the Palace is showing its age. Most of the structure was built after the great fire of 1834 (see yesterday's post on this blog). Some of the pipework dates back to that rebuilding. Most of the mechanical plant providing heating, ventilation and air conditioning services derives from the work done following the destruction of the House of Commons area during World War Two. In addition there is a great deal of asbestos that needs removal - and much could be done to make the building more energy efficient.

Normally major work is done over the summer recess - but the scale of the task is such that it could not be completed within that period. Options are limited. The Queen Elizabeth II Centre nearby might offer a temporary home - but it isn't just a question of moving the chamber. Both Houses rely on a massive support organisation - printing; parliamentary clerks; members' staff; dining facilities; broadcasting and the security operations. There is an extensive press presence plus all the visitors to the building (from tourists to lobbyists).

The Great Fire of Westminster

This blog has described the fire which destroyed the Congress building - at the hands of the British - in 1814. There was also a catastrophic fire at Westminster twenty years later. This however was an accident. Workmen were "recycling" wooden tally sticks - originally used for accounting purposes. A furnace was overstoked - and a fire quickly spread. It turned out to be the most devastating fire that the Palace has ever suffered. Most of the Palace - with buildings dating from many centuries - was destroyed.

The Parliamentary website describes the efforts to deal with the catastrophe - "By the time fire engines arrived at the burning Houses of Parliament during the fire of 1834, the House of Lords was already destroyed and the Commons was on fire.

The Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, directed the work to soak the roof of Westminster Hall. The rest of the Houses of Parliament was lost but the hall was saved."

More details - and graphic pictures can be seen at http://www.explore-parliament.net/nssMovies/06/0693/0693_.htm

Today is the anniversary of this great fire.