Pictures of Houses of Parliament

a Historic Building in the town of London, in the county of Greater London

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About Houses of Parliament

The Houses of Parliament, also known as The Palace of Westminster has been the seat of the two Houses of Parliament called the House of Lords and the House of Commons since 1512. The Commons is made up of elected Members of Parliament (MP's) from different political parties (Labour, Liberal Democrates, Conservative, etc). The party with the most MP's forms the Government of England, with its leader becoming Prime Minister of England. MP's from other parties make up the Opposition. The Commons debate legislations in both houses before passing them through as law.

Originally built for Edward the Confessor in 1042, The Palace of Westminster has been the place where virtually all English Monarchs since William the Conquerer have been coronated. In 1512 a fire broke out and the palace stopped being a royal residence, but the Lords continued to meet there. The Palace of Westminster has been home to the English Parliament ever since.

Another fire raged through the palace in 1834 destroying much of it, except the Jewel Tower and Westminster Hall which dates from 1097 and its hammerbeam roof dating from the 14th century. This part of the palace was saved by Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister at the time who saved the great hall by arranging for the fire engines to be brought right into the hall and then he personally supervised the fire fighting. The present magnificent building is Mock Gothic and was designed by Victorian Architect Sir Charles Barry and was finished in 1870. On the main picture above you will see the two main towers. The one on the right of the picture is Big Ben, and the tower on the left is Victoria Tower which contains 1.5 million acts of Parliament passed since 1497. Victoria Tower also flies the union jack whenever Parliament is sitting.

Every November the Fifth, England comemorates the death of Guy Fawkes, who along with others tried to blow up the king and the Houses of Parliament back in 1605. On this date in England fireworks fill the sky nationwide and bonfires light in every town and village

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Please see below for other recommended attractions and towns to visit near Houses of Parliament.

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Distances and directions shown below are approximate. For true driving distances please visit the AA Route Planner

Recommended attractions near Houses of Parliament

Big Ben	(0.1 miles, 0.1 km)	Pictures
London Eye	(0.3 miles, 0.5 km)	Pictures
London Aquarium	(0.3 miles, 0.5 km)	Pictures
Westminster Abbey	(0.4 miles, 0.7 km)	Pictures
Admiralty Arch	(0.5 miles, 0.8 km)	Pictures
Cleopatra's Needle, London	(0.5 miles, 0.9 km)	Pictures
Tate Britain	(0.6 miles, 1.0 km)	Pictures
Trafalgar Square	(0.6 miles, 1.0 km)	Pictures
St James's Palace	(0.7 miles, 1.1 km)	Pictures
Westminster Cathedral	(0.7 miles, 1.1 km)	Pictures

All attractions in Greater London
Complete A to Z of attractions in England

Recommended towns near Houses of Parliament

Westminster, in the county of Greater London (0.4 miles, 0.6 km)
Of all the jewels in the City of Westminster, none shines more brightly than Westminster Abbey, stunning setting for the coronation of almost every English monarch since William the Conqueror was crowned there in 1066.
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London, a Historic City in the county of Greater London (0.6 miles, 1.0 km)
London is one of the World's most exciting, cultural destinations where visitors can walk with history whilst enjoying all that is best of modern day facilities, shops, theatres...
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Piccadilly, in the county of Greater London (0.9 miles, 1.4 km)
One of the Capital's most noted places, Piccadilly sweeps uphill with handsome houses on one side and Green Park on the other.
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Mayfair, in the county of Greater London (1.2 miles, 2.0 km, direction NW)
Mayfair has it all, it is the haunt of the rich and famous, with elegant houses and apartment buildings that are the sole province of the wealthy.
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Marylebone, in the county of Greater London (1.7 miles, 2.7 km, direction NW)
Marylebone is one of London's more affluent area's, it is home mostly to the well to do, and yet only a couple of centuries ago a large workhouse was built here to give shelter to the poor and homeless, often foundlings were discovered on the workhouse doorstep.
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St Pancras, in the county of Greater London (1.9 miles, 3.0 km, direction N)
The name of the area is taken from the boy martyred in AD 304. Pancras was the orphaned Christian son of a Phrygian nobleman who was brought up at the court of the Emperor in Rome.
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Chelsea, in the county of Greater London (2.4 miles, 3.8 km, direction SW)
Chelsea is a district in London which in recent times gained fame as the 'home' of the 'swinging sixties' . The swinging sixties was defined on the Kings Road, which runs the length of the area and both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones lived here at one time.
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Camden Town, in the county of Greater London (2.8 miles, 4.6 km, direction N)
Camden town is a vibrant cosmopolitan region of London.
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Kensington, in the county of Greater London (3.1 miles, 5.0 km, direction W)
The attractive Royal borough of Kensington has many special places. Most prominent is Kensington Palace, birthplace of Queen Victoria.
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Notting Hill, in the county of Greater London (3.6 miles, 5.8 km, direction W)
This area of London is known throughout the world as the scene of London's biggest annual street party.
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All towns in Greater London
Complete A to Z of towns in England

Nearby travel help

Westminster Tube Station	(0.1 miles, 0.2 km)
St. James's Park Tube Station	(0.4 miles, 0.6 km)
Waterloo Station	(0.6 miles, 1.0 km)
Charing Cross Station	(0.6 miles, 1.0 km)
M1 Junction 1	(6.6 miles, 10.6 km, direction NW)
M4 Junction 1	(6.9 miles, 11.0 km, direction W)
London City Airport	(8.0 miles, 12.8 km, direction E)
London Heathrow Airport	(14.2 miles, 22.8 km, direction W)

Accommodation & Hotels near Houses of Parliament

Hotel Name
The Sanctuary House Hotel	(0.3 miles, 0.4 km)
Thistle Royal Horseguards	(0.4 miles, 0.7 km)
Plaza on the River Club and Residence	(0.4 miles, 0.7 km)
Novotel London Waterloo	(0.5 miles, 0.7 km)
Jolly St. Ermin's Hotel	(0.5 miles, 0.8 km)
Citadines Apart'hotel Trafalgar	(0.5 miles, 0.8 km)
City Inn Westminster	(0.5 miles, 0.9 km)
Club Quarters Trafalgar Square	(0.5 miles, 0.9 km)
Crowne Plaza London St James	(0.5 miles, 0.9 km)
Days Hotel Waterloo	(0.6 miles, 1.0 km)
All of our hotels are available to book online & with special discounts