The Great Fire of 1834 - UK Parliament The Great Fire of 1834 Churchill and the Commons Chamber The Great Fire of 1834 In 1834, the Exchequer was faced with the problem of disposing two cart-loads of wooden tally sticks. These were remnants of an obsolete accounting system that had not been used since 1826. When asked to burn them, the Clerk of Works thought that the two underfloor stoves in the basement of the House of Lords would be a safe and proper place to do so. Parliament on fire in 1834 On 16 October, a couple of workmen arrived in the morning to carry out his instructions. During the afternoon, a party of visitors to the House of Lords, conducted by the deputy housekeeper Mrs Wright, became puzzled by the heat of the floor, and by the smoke seeping through it. But the workmen insisted on finishing their job. The furnaces were put out by 5pm, and Mrs Wright, no longer worried, locked up the premises. Fire! At 6pm, Mrs Wright heard the terrified wife of a doorkeeper screaming that the House of Lords was on fire.

In no time, the flames had spread to the rest of the Palace. It was a great sight for the crowds on the streets (who were kept back by soldiers) and a great opportunity for artists such as J.M.W. Turner who painted several canvases depicting it. Both Houses of Parliament were destroyed along with most of the other buildings on the site. Westminster Hall was saved largely due to heroic fire fighting efforts, and a change in the direction of the wind during the night. The only other parts of the Palace to survive were the Jewel Tower, the Undercroft Chapel, the Cloisters and Chapter House of St Stephen's and Westminster Hall. With Restoration and Renewal of the Houses of Parliament in the news, Dr Caroline Shenton looks back at the petitions which occurred when the building was originally constructed in the nineteenth century. The Fire of 1834 | History of Parliament Online History of Parliament Online Home Explore > Periods > Modern > The Fire Of 1834 Modern Further Reading Caroline Shenton, The Day Parliament Burned Down (2012) M. H.

Port, The Palace of Westminster Surveyed on the Eve of the Conflagration, 1834, London Topographical Society Publication 171 (2011) Katherine Solender, Dreadful Fire! Burning of the Houses of Parliament (1984) External Links Parliament's Living Heritage Website Caroline Shenton, of the Parliamentary Archives at Westminster and author of 'The Day Parliament Burned Down' describes the dramatic events in Westminster on 16 October 1834. By the late Georgian period, the buildings of the Palace of Westminster had become an accident waiting to happen. The rambling complex of medieval and early modern apartments making up the Houses of Parliament - which over the centuries architects including Wren , Wyatt and Soane had attempted to improve and expand - was by then largely unfit for purpose. Complaints from MPs about the state of their accommodation had been rumbling on since the 1790s, and reached a peak when they found themselves packed into the hot, airless and cramped Commons chamber during the passage of the Great Reform bill. Unable to agree on a solution for new accommodation, in the end the decision was made for them.

The long-overdue catastrophe finally occurred on 16 October 1834. Throughout the day, a chimney fire had smouldered under the floor of the House of Lords chamber, caused by the unsupervised and ill-advised burning of two large cartloads of wooden tally sticks (a form of medieval tax receipt created by the Exchequer, a government office based at Westminster) in the heating furnaces below. Warning signs were persistently ignored by the senile Housekeeper and careless Clerk of Works, leading the Prime Minister later to declare the disaster, ‘one of the greatest instances of stupidity upon record’. At a few minutes after six in the evening, a doorkeeper’s wife returning from an errand finally spotted the flames licking the scarlet curtains around Black Rod’s Box in the Lords chamber where they were emerging through the floor from the collapsed furnace flues. There was panic within the Palace but initially no-one seems to have raised the alarm outside, perhaps imagining that the fire - which had now taken hold and was visible on the roof - could be brought under control quickly. They were mistaken.

A huge fireball exploded out of the building at around 6.30pm, lighting up the evening sky over London, and immediately attracting hundreds of thousands of people. The fire turned into the most significant blaze in the city between 1666 and the Blitz, burning fiercely for the rest of the night. It was fought by parish and insurance company fire engines, and the private London Fire Engine Establishment, led by Superintendent James Braidwood, the grandfather of modern firefighting theory. Hundreds of volunteers, from the King’s sons and Cabinet ministers downwards, manned the pumps on the night, and were paid in beer for their efforts. Contrary to popular opinion, onlookers in the vast crowds did not generally stand around cheering. Most were awestruck and terrified by the spectacle, and some suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as result. Others were injured in the crush, and plenty were pickpocketed, but astonishingly no-one died in the disaster.

As it burned, the fire stripped away the later, and often ugly, accretions of many centuries, revealing the beautiful gothic buildings beneath, including the Painted Chamber, St Stephen’s Chapel, and its lower chapel of St Mary’s, in use at the time of the fire as the Court of Claims, House of Commons, and Speaker’s Dining Room respectively. In the aftermath of the fire these became a focus for much antiquarian activity and delighted the sightseers touring the ruins. By the middle of the evening it was clear that the fire was uncontrollable in most of the Palace. Westminster Hall then became the focus for Braidwood’s efforts and those of his men and hundreds of volunteers. The thick stone Norman walls provided an excellent barrier against the spread of fire, but the late fourteenth-century oak roof timbers were in great peril. “Damn the House of Commons, let it blaze away!” cried the Chancellor of the Exchequer desperately, “But save, O save the Hall!”.

The efforts of all, from the highest to the lowest, plus a lucky change of wind direction at midnight, and the arrival of the London Fire Engine Establishment’s great, floating, barge-mounted fire engine, which finally started to quell the fire in the early hours, and ultimately saved Westminster Hall. The fire crews finally left five days later, having put out the last of the fires which kept bursting out from the ruins. The following day revealed a shattered and smoking collection of buildings, most of which were cleared in the months that followed and the stone sold to salvage merchants or pushed into the river. Temporary chambers and committee rooms were available for occupation by February 1835, and a government competition commenced to design a new Houses of Parliament on the ruined site. Charles Barry, aided by Augustus Pugin, won the commission and together they created the most famous building in the United Kingdom. The patched-up parts of the old Palace were finally pulled down in the early 1850s. Only Westminster Hall, the Undercroft Chapel of St Mary and part of the Cloister remain today of the survivors of 1834. The damage to the wrecked and uninsured Palace was estimated at £2 million.

No-one, however was prosecuted, though the public inquiry which followed found various people guilty of negligence and foolishness. Coming at a moment in British history between the Georgian and Victorian ages, the stagecoach and the railway, the demise of the medieval city of London and the birth of the modern one, it is easy to load the great fire of 1834 with a wider historical significance. Later commentators have seen it as symbolic of the constitutional changes brought about by the Great Reform Act of 1832, but at the time it people were more likely to have seen it as a judgement from God for the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, against which Dickens – a Parliamentary reporter at the time of the fire - railed in Oliver Twist. For more on the rebuilding work, see ' The New Palace of Westminster '. Author: Caroline Shenton Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament, London - Things To Do - visitlondon.com A photo posted by MARKETA MARECKOVA (@marketamarecek) on Sep 4, 2016 at 11:26am PDT When was Big Ben Built? The Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834.

In 1844, it was decided the new buildings for the Houses of Parliament should include a tower and a clock. A massive bell was required and the first attempt (made by John Warner & Sons at Stockton-on-Tees) cracked irreparably. The metal was melted down and the bell recast in Whitechapel in 1858. Big Ben first rang across Westminster on 31 May 1859. A short time later, in September 1859, Big Ben cracked. A lighter hammer was fitted and the bell rotated to present an undamaged section to the hammer. This is the bell as we hear it today. You can visit the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and discover more about Big Ben's origins. How Tall is Big Ben? Elizabeth Tower stands at over 96 metres (105yrds) tall, with 334 steps to climb up to the belfry and 399 steps to the Ayrton Light at the very top of the tower. A photo posted by OUR GLOBE © (@travellingthroughourglobe) on Sep 5, 2016 at 12:07am PDT Where is Big Ben?

Big Ben is found in the Elizabeth Tower at the north end of The Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Central London, next to the river Thames. There are a several London bus routes that go past the tower, and Westminster Tube station is directly across the road, serviced by the Jubilee, District and Circle lines. Westminster pier is next to the tower and is served by a number of river bus travel options. Why is Big Ben Called Big Ben? The origin of the name Big Ben is not known, although two different theories exist. The first is that is was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the first commissioner of works, a large man who was known affectionately in the house as "Big Ben". The second theory is that it was named after a heavyweight boxing champion at that time, Benjamin Caunt. Also known as "Big Ben", this nickname was commonly bestowed in society to anything that was the heaviest in its class. Big Ben Chimes Watch video on YouTube Inside Big Ben and How to Visit Although the tower is not open to the general public, UK residents can arrange a visit by writing to their MP.

Applications should be made in writing, as far in advance as possible, to: House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA It is not possible for overseas visitors to tour the clock tower. Instead, take a tour of the Houses of Parliament next to The Elizabeth Tower. Alternatively, watch this behind-the-scenes video of Big Ben in action. Watch video on YouTube Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower Refurbishment Work From early 2017, refurbishment work will commence on Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben. The work is due to last three years. During this time, the tower will be scaffolded and the clock mechanism will be stopped for several months (no chiming or striking). Find out more about the refurbishment . Book Your London Hotel The Great Fire of 1834 - Palace of Westminster - London, U. K. - Famous Fires on Waymarking.com you are not logged in. [log in] The Great Fire of 1834 - Palace of Westminster - London, U. K. - Famous Fires on Waymarking.com Welcome to Waymarking.com! We hope you've been able to find what you are looking for.

We would also like to encourage you to take some time to browse some of the other aspects of our site. We recommend viewing our featured waymarks , or perhaps the newest waymarks . You can also create a free membership to track your progress online and share your locations with others. Click here to view the complete waymark directory N 51° 30.052 W 000° 07.482 30U E 699559 N 5709445 Quick Description: Fire in the Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, in London. Location: London, United Kingdom Date Posted: 12/19/2011 10:29:45 AM Waymark Code: WMDBD4 .KML File (Google Earth) Long Description: "In 1834, the Exchequer was faced with the problem of disposing two cart-loads of wooden tally sticks. These were remnants of an obsolete accounting system that had not been used since 1826.

When asked to burn them, the Clerk of Works thought that the two underfloor stoves in the basement of the House of Lords would be a safe and proper place to do so. Parliament on fire in 1834 On 16 October, a couple of workmen arrived in the morning to carry out his instructions. During the afternoon, a party of visitors to the House of Lords, conducted by the deputy housekeeper Mrs Wright, became puzzled by the heat of the floor, and by the smoke seeping through it. But the workmen insisted on finishing their job. The furnaces were put out by 5pm, and Mrs Wright, no longer worried, locked up the premises. Fire! At 6pm, Mrs Wright heard the terrified wife of a doorkeeper screaming that the House of Lords was on fire. In no time, the flames had spread to the rest of the Palace. It was a great sight for the crowds on the streets (who were kept back by soldiers) and a great opportunity for artists such as J.M.W. Turner who painted several canvases depicting it. Both Houses of Parliament were destroyed along with most of the other buildings on the site.

Westminster Hall was saved largely due to heroic fire fighting efforts, and a change in the direction of the wind during the night. The only other parts of the Palace to survive were the Jewel Tower, the Undercroft Chapel, the Cloisters and Chapter House of St Stephen's and Westminster Hall." Destruction by fire, 1834 - UK Parliament Destruction by fire, 1834 The main hazard for the Palace over the centuries was fire. The Palace of Westminster on fire in 1834 Serious damage The original decorations of the Painted Chamber were destroyed by a fire in 1263. Flames also laid the Palace waste in 1298, and it was a large fire in 1512, destroying much of the residential part of the palace, which caused Henry VIII to move the royal family out to Whitehall Palace just a few hundred yards away. Twenty years after the fire, most of the damaged buildings were demolished, and their materials carted away as rubble. Colossal disaster predicted Towards the end of the 18th century, a committee of MPs charged with examining the state of the buildings reported that if the Palace caught fire there would be a colossal disaster.

In 1789, a report signed by fourteen architects, including John Soane and Robert Adam, similarly complained about the danger of fire at Westminster. Few precautions taken In 1828, John Soane again drew attention to the fire risk, pointing out that much of the Palace was constructed of timber covered with plaster. However, few precautions were taken over the subsequent years. On the night of 16 October 1834, a devastating fire broke out in the Palace after two underfloor stoves used to burn the Exchequer's stockpile of old tally sticks ignited panelling in the Lords Chamber. A great spectacle The fire quickly swept through the entire Palace and destroyed many of its buildings. Turner and Constable, and probably Dickens, witnessed the fire, along with thousands of other sightseers - it was the largest conflagration in London apart from the Great Fire of 1666 and the Blitz in the Second World War. Westminster Hall was saved, and the wind was blowing away from the Jewel Tower, which preserved the historic records stored inside it.

Also in this section History of Big Ben The Beginning On the night of the 16th of October, 1834 the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire. It is said that Charles Barry, an architect, was returning to London from Brighton, where he had designed a church, saw the glow of the fire in the distance and discovered that the Houses of Parliament were on fire. Following the destruction of the buildings, a competition was launched for design suitable for the new Palace. Charles Barry's design won. Charles Barry's design incorporated a clock tower. The dials were to be thirty feet in diameter, the quarter chimes were to be struck on eight bells, and the hours were to be struck on a 14 ton bell. Barry invited Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy, a clockmaker of reputation, to submit a design and price for constructing such a clock. No doubt Vulliamy was pleased to be the clockmaker of choice for what was then to be the largest clock in the world, but other enterprising firms were not happy with the manner in which they had no opportunity to compete for the contract.

Subsequently, the Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy, was appointed as referee for the new clock and produced a specification in 1846. A key requirement of the specification was that the clock was to strike the first blow of each hour correct to one second in time. Tenders were invited and were received from three makers, Dent, Vulliamy and Whitehurst. It was clear that Airy favoured Dent, with whom he had worked on the development of the chronometer. In 1849 the famous horologist, Edmund Beckett Denison (later Lord Grimthorpe) was appointed co-referee with Airy. Denison was in agreement with Airy that Dent was the maker most capable of constructing the clock and they produced a revised specification and drawings, in respect of which Dent was requested to revise his estimate. In 1852 Dent was awarded the contract. Early troubles The first of the difficulties occurred when it was discovered that the architect had failed to make the necessary provision for the clock in the tower. Denison certainly had the ability to propel the project forward, but he lacked any diplomatic skill and the tension which existed between him and Barry precluded any compromise by the architect.

It was necessary instead for the clock to be modified so that it would fit within the internal walls. Edward John Dent died in 1853 and the clock mechanism was completed by his stepson Frederick Rippon (who changed his name to Frederick Dent). In 1854 the mechanism was ready to be installed in the tower but this was not possible as the tower was incomplete. Denison was therefore able to spend a number of years testing out different types of escapement on the mechanism as it operated in Dent's workshop. It was during this period that he invented the double three-legged gravity escapement which enables the clock to keep such accurate time. Denison was also invited to produce a specification for, and referee, the casting of the bells. The contract was let to John Warner and Sons who cast the hour bell in 1856. The tower was not yet ready to receive the bell so upon delivery it was mounted in the New Palace Yard where it was struck regularly for the benefit of the public. This bell weighed about 16 tons, which was two tons heavier than intended. To compensate for this, Denison increased the weight of the ball hammer from 4 to 6 cwt.

This was not a wise move, and one year later in 1857, the great bell cracked irreparably while being struck by this hammer. Denison proclaimed the casting as faulty but the manufacturers denied this and claimed it was his fault for using too heavy a hammer. George Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry was given the contract to recast the bell from the metal of the old in 1858 which he did successfully, producing a bell weighing 13.5 tons which is the one in use today. The four quarter bells were cast by Warners. The name 'Big Ben' was first applied to the original hour bell cast by Warners. There is no firm evidence of the origin of this name, but it may have derived from Sir Benjamin Hall, Commissioner of Works who was involved with the project and who was a man of considerable size. The name was also applied to the recast hour bell and has since come to indicate not just the bell, but also the clock and the clocktower. Yet more difficulties... When the five bells were installed in the tower in 1858, it was possible to install the clock mechanism in the clockroom beneath the belfry.

The next difficulty arose over the hands for the dials of the clock. The original hands were designed and manufactured on behalf of Charles Barry but were too heavy for the clock to be able to operate with them. Denison requested Barry to have the hands remade, but when this was done it was found that the hands installed on the dials were heavier that the previous ones! The clock still could not function correctly, so Denison obtained permission for Dents to construct minute hands to his design. These minute hands are the ones in use today, the hour hands being from Charles Barry's second attempt. With the hands operating satisfactorily it was now possible to commence the chiming and hour striking so the clock became fully operational on the 7th of September 1859. This pleasant situation was short lived. Less than one month later, the great hour bell cracked while being struck by the same 6 cwt. hammer that ruined the original bell. A fierce dispute ensued between Denison and Mears, the bell founder, which culminated with Denison being sued for libel by Mears. The hours were struck on the largest of the quarter bells for two years while the argument was going on.

Eventually chemical analysis of the bell metal proved Denison right, but it was not considered feasible to have the bell recast for the second time. Instead, the bell was given a quarter turn to move the crack away from the point of the hammer's strike and a lighter hammer was substituted. Thus in 1862, striking of the hour bell resumed. At last The next 114 years of the clock's history were relatively serene and Big Ben soon developed a reputation for great accuracy. In 1906, the gas lighting of the dials was replaced by electric lighting. Electric winding of the clock was introduced in 1912. The mechanism was overhauled in 1934 and 1956. The first radio broadcast of Big Ben was made by the BBC at midnight on the 31st of December 1923 to welcome in the new year. Shortly afterwards, a permanent microphone installation enabled regular broadcasts of the chimes and the bell to function effectively as a time signal. The broadcasting of the bells on the BBC World Service assumed particular importance during the Second World War, when the sounds were a source of comfort and hope to those hoping that Britain would not be overcome.

Big Ben is still broadcast today on BBC Radio 4 at certain times. Disaster However, in 1976 a completely unanticipated event occurred which almost caused the complete destruction of the clock. At 3:45am on the 5th of August 1976 as the clock started to chime, metal fatigue in the shaft connecting the chiming train to its fly fan caused the shaft to break. Without the retarding and braking effect of the fly, the chiming mechanism, propelled by the 1.25 ton weight in the shaft, increased its speed of rotation dramatically. This led to the total destruction of the chiming mechanism, with various components and fragments of others being scattered about the clockroom. Some pieces of machinery were flung at the ceiling with sufficient force to penetrate to the room above. The cast iron frame was fractured and collapsed onto the winding motor below. The flying debris also caused damage to the going and striking trains. It was necessary for the chiming train to be reconstructed from scratch. The magnitude of this task meant that other options, such as replacement with an electric motor, were considered. The reconstruction took almost one year to complete.

The sounds of Big Ben have traditionally been the focus of the entry of the New Year. In December 1999 they were of particular significance, marking the beginning of the new Millennium. The sounds of the chimes were relayed on television and radio broadcasts and to the crowd assembled in the Millennium Dome. For the first time also, cameras were located in the belfry so that viewers could see as well as hear the chimes and twelve o'clock being struck on the bells. Almost all of the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834. The present building was officially opened, incomplete, in 1852. Where did the Houses of Parliament sit in the intervening period? Is it absolutely necessary that Parliament only sits in London? | Notes and Queries | guardian.co.uk YESTERYEAR Almost all of the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834. The present building was officially opened, incomplete, in 1852. Where did the Houses of Parliament sit in the intervening period? Is it absolutely necessary that Parliament only sits in London? Will Holdaway, London, England In Westminster Hall.

One of the few bits of the old palace to survive William Gosling, Dommeldange, Luxembourg During the Second World War I believe the boys college in Malvern, Worcestershire was to be used as temporary Parliament - but never was. Myles Zipski, London, UK I have a definitive answer to this question from the House of Commons information office. It wrote me the following: "When the Chamber was destroyed the House of Commons moved to sit in old Court of Requests (which had been used by the Lords from 1801) and the Lords moved to the remains of the Painted Chamber. The site of the Court of Requests is now marked by the statue of Richard Lionheart." Will Holdaway, London England I'm sure the back-up location is Birmingham. Gerry Dunlop, Crediton, England Charles II moved his court to Oxford in 1665 during the Great Plague. Parliament removed there too. Hitler planned to make Oxford Britain's capital after the invasion. Reginald Harrold , Monterrey Mexico Parliament Square in Hertford marks the report that it sat there too during the Great Plague.

As peers and elected Members are called together by Summons it is conceivable that the summons could specify any address for meeting together (though probably only within the jurisdiction of the UK) John Cockling, Halesowen West Midlands Recent articles have the alternate site of both houses at Bramshill Police Staff College in Hampshire, although I'm sure there are other sites earmarked too. Dave McQuirk, Norwich, UK Big Ben Clock Tower Facts, Picture & History - View Larger Map When one speaks of visiting London, Big Ben is a must-see. This four-faced freestanding clock is the third largest clock tower in the world. It recently celebrated its 150th anniversary last May. It was in 1288 when the clock tower was established at Westminster. The Chief Justice of King’s Bench at that time, Ralph Hengham financed the construction of the tower using the money accumulated from the fine collected. When the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire on that fateful night of October 1834, everything was destroyed. So the palace instructed their chief architect, Charles Barry to design the palace using Neo-gothic style as inspiration.

Hand in hand with Augustus Pugin who designed the present 316-ft clock tower, the new palace was built. It may be one of the most well-known tourist destinations in the world, but the insides of the tower remains unseen by the general public because of security reasons. However, at certain times, the press and other personalities are given right of entry. The faces of each of the four clocks are placed in an iron frame, which measures 23 ft in diameter. It owes its stained-glass window look to the 312 pieces opal glass embedded on the face. At the bottom of each clock “Domine Salvam Fac Reginam Nostram Victoriam Primam” is written, which means, “O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria First.” This famed clock tower has appeared numerous times in different TV shows as well as in movies. It was shown in Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson’s film, Shanghai Knights, in Doctor Who’s episode “Aliens of London,” Mars Attacks, The Avengers and even the animated film, The Great Mouse Detective used Big Ben in one of its scenes.

London Famous Landmarks BBC - History - A History of British Architecture A History of British Architecture By Adrian Tinniswood Last updated 2011-03-29 From the Middle Ages to the 20th century, what are the influences and movements that have shaped the changing face of British architecture? On this page Print this page The Middle Ages - 1066 and all that Architecture is about evolution, not revolution. It used to be thought that once the Romans pulled out of Britain in the fifth century, their elegant villas, carefully-planned towns and engineering marvels like Hadrian's Wall simply fell into decay as British culture was plunged into the Dark Ages. It took the Norman Conquest of 1066 to bring back the light, and the Gothic cathedral-builders of the Middle Ages played an important part in the revival of British culture. The great cathedrals and parish churches that lifted up their towers to heaven were acts of devotion in stone... However, the truth is not as simple as that. Romano-British culture - and that included architecture along with language, religion, political organisation and the arts - survived long after the Roman withdrawal.

And although the Anglo-Saxons had a sophisticated building style of their own, little survives to bear witness to their achievements as the vast majority of Anglo-Saxon buildings were made of wood. Even so, the period between the Norman landing at Pevensey in 1066 and the day in 1485 when Richard III lost his horse and his head at Bosworth, ushering in the Tudors and the Early Modern period, marks a rare flowering of British building. And it is all the more remarkable because the underlying ethos of medieval architecture was 'fitness for purpose'. The great cathedrals and parish churches that lifted up their towers to heaven were not only acts of devotion in stone; they were also fiercely functional buildings. Castles served their particular purpose and their battlements and turrets were for use rather than ornament. The rambling manor houses of the later Middle Ages, however, were primarily homes, their owners achieving respect and maintaining status by their hospitality and good lordship rather than the grandeur of their buildings. Fitness for purpose also characterised the homes of the poorer classes. Such people didn't matter very much to the ruling elite and so neither did their houses.

These were dark, primitive structures of one or two rooms, usually with crude timber frames, low walls and thatched roofs. They weren't built to last. And they didn't. Top Buildings of the Middle Ages White Tower, at the heart of the Tower of London, was begun by Bishop Gundulf in 1078 on the orders of William the Conqueror. The structure was completed in 1097, providing a colonial stronghold and a powerful symbol of Norman domination. Durham Cathedral was begun by Bishop William de St Carilef in 1093 and completed about 1175. The choir was extended in the Gothic style between 1242 and 1280. Muscular pillars and round-headed arches make Durham one of the most imposing Norman buildings in England. Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, was probably begun in the 12th century, but was remodelled and adapted at various times right through to the 16th century. It was then carefully restored in the early 20th century. Haddon shows the quality which characterises the great medieval house, in which function dictates form.

King's College Chapel, Cambridge, spans the period of transition between the Middle Ages and the Tudors. Its foundation stone was laid in 1446 by Henry VI and the structure, with its lacy perpendicular fan-vaulting, was completed by 1515 during the reign of Henry VIII. The windows were installed in 1546-7. Top The Tudors - stately and curious workmanship In a sense, the buildings of the 16th century were also governed by fitness for purpose - only now, the purpose was very different. In domestic architecture, in particular, buildings were used to display status and wealth, as William Harrison noted in his Description of England (1577): Each one desireth to set his house aloft on the hill, to be seen afar off, and cast forth his beams of stately and curious workmanship into every quarter of the country. This stately and curious workmanship showed itself in various ways. A greater sense of security led to more outward-looking buildings, as opposed to the medieval arrangement where the need for defence created houses that faced inward onto a courtyard or series of courtyards. This allowed for much more in the way of exterior ornament.

The rooms themselves tended to be bigger and lighter - as an expensive commodity, the use of great expanses of glass was in itself a statement of wealth. There was also a general move towards balanced and symmetrical exteriors with central entrances. In spite of this building boom the Renaissance was generally slow to arrive in England... In addition there was progress towards more stable and sophisticated houses for those lower down the social scale. Stone, and later brick, began to replace timber as the standard building material for the homes of farmers, tradespeople and artisans. To quote Harrison again: Every man almost is a builder, and he that hath bought any small parcel of ground, be it never so little, will not be quiet till he have pulled down the old house (if any were there standing) and set up a new after his own device. In spite of this building boom the Renaissance was generally slow to arrive in England, largely because Elizabeth's troublesome relations with Catholic Europe made the free exchange of ideas difficult. Craftsmen and pattern-books did come over from the Protestant Low Countries, but by and large our relative isolation from the European cultural mainstream led to a national style which was a bizarre though attractive mixture of Gothic and classical styles.

Top Tudor Palaces and Houses Hampton Court Palace (1515 onwards). The great house that Cardinal Wolsey began and then gave to Henry VIII in 1525, in a desperate attempt to stay in the King's favour, has undergone many changes since the 16th century. Christopher Wren rebuilt the south and east ranges for William and Mary between 1689 and 1694, and the Palace contains some remarkable Tudor work, notably Henry VIII's hammer-beamed Great Hall. Longleat House, Wiltshire, which was completed in 1580, exemplifies the confidence of Tudor craftsmen in a society that was more stable than that of their medieval ancestors. It looks outwards rather than in on itself, whilst classical detailing such as the pilasters that flank the expanses of glass, and the roundels carved with busts of Roman emperors, show that Renaissance ideas were creeping slowly into Britain during the mid 16th century. Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire (1591-97). This is the archetypal late-Elizabethan house: tall, compact and beautiful.

It was designed, probably by Robert Smythson, for Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury who was better known as Bess of Hardwick. Her descendants, the Dukes of Devonshire, made Chatsworth their principal seat, and left Hardwick more or less unscathed. A remarkable survival. Whilst Elizabethan houses in England concentrated on the conspicuous display of wealth, Scotland saw the building of castles and fortified houses continue well into the seventeenth century. In fact, fortification became a style in its own right, and the turrets and strongly vertical emphases of Scottish Baronial houses mark one of Scotland's most distinctive contributions to British architecture. Top Styles of the 17th century - a world turned upside down With the exception of Inigo Jones (1573-1652), whose confident handling of classical detail and proportion set him apart from all other architects of the period, most early 17th century buildings tended to take the innocent exuberance of late Tudor work one step further. Traditional planning was cloaked in the splendidly overblown ornament - the sort of details described at the time as 'a heap of craziness of decorations... very disgusting to see'.

But during the 1640s and 50s the Civil War and its aftermath sent many gentlemen and nobles to the Continent either to escape the fighting or, when the war was lost, to follow Charles II into exile. There they came into contact with French, Dutch and Italian architecture and, with Charles's restoration in 1660, there was a flurry of building activity as royalists reclaimed their property and built themselves houses reflecting the latest European trends. The style is heavy and rich, sometimes overblown and melodramatic. As the century wore on, this resolved itself into a passion for the Baroque grandeur which Louis XIV had turned into an instrument of statecraft at Versailles. Formal, geometrical and symmetrical planning meant that a great lord could sit in his dining chamber, at the physical as well as the metaphorical centre of his world, with suites of rooms radiating out in straight lines to either side. His gardens would reflect those lines in long, straight walks and avenues. The British Baroque was a reassertion of authority, an expression of absolutist ideology by men who remembered a world turned upside down during the Civil War.

The style is heavy and rich, sometimes overblown and melodramatic. The politics which underpin it are questionable, but its products are breathtaking. Top Buildings of the 17th century The Queens House, Greenwich, was begun for Queen Anne between 1616 and 1619 and completed for Henrietta Maria between 1630 and 1635. Greenwich Hospital was built from 1696 onwards. The Queens House is by Inigo Jones and the Hospital is largely Christopher Wren's. St Paul's Cathedral, London, (1675-1710) is not only one of the most perfect expressions of the English Baroque, but also one of the greatest buildings anywhere in England. It was designed by Wren to replace the old cathedral which had been devastated during the Fire of London in 1666. Although built in the 18th century, the ideology behind Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire lies firmly in the 17th century.

Conceived as a monumental homage to the Duke of Marlborough, whose victory over Louis XIV's army at Blenheim in Bavaria gives the palace its name, it was designed by John Vanbrugh and is the nearest thing Britain has to a Versailles Top Styles of the 18th century - rules cramp the genius To the Whigs who came to power on the accession of George I in 1714, the Baroque was inextricably linked with the authoritarian rule of the Stuarts. A new style was needed for a new age, and the new ruling class, which aspired to build a civilisation that would rival that of ancient Rome, looked for a solution in antiquity. Or so it thought. Actually, the solution was found in an antiquity which had been heavily re-interpreted by the 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508-80). Palladio's Four Books of Architecture methodically explored and reconstructed the buildings of ancient Rome.

They also provided illustrations, in the form of its author's own designs for villas, palaces and churches, of a way in which the early Georgians might adapt those rules to create an architecture of the classical tradition - the yardstick by which all civilised activity was measured. By the end of the 18th century, the idea of a single national style of architecture had had its day. But architects soon found the Palladian search for an ideal architecture pointlessly limiting. Whilst the buildings of the ancients should 'serve as models which we should imitate, and as standards by which we ought to judge', a more eclectic approach was called for. In the words of the later 18th century's greatest architect, Robert Adam, 'Rules often cramp the genius and circumscribe the idea of the master'. By the end of the 18th century, the idea of a single national style of architecture had had its day. Austere neo-classical masterpieces were still being produced; but so too were huge mock-abbeys, battlemented castles, picturesque sixteen-bedroomed cottages and even, as the 19th century dawned, oriental palaces such as John Nash's Royal Pavilion at Brighton.

The Cult of Styles had arrived. Top Buildings of the 18th century Loosely modelled on Palladio's Villa Capra, Lord Burlington's Chiswick House was one of the first shots fired in the war waged by the Georgians against the Baroque. In case anyone was slow to appreciate where Burlington's architectural allegiances lay, he had Michael Rysbrack design two statues to flank the entrance stair with Palladio on the left, and his earliest English disciple Inigo Jones on the right. Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire (1758-77), is a high point of British neo-classicism. The Palladian layout had already been established when the up-and-coming Scottish architect Robert Adam was asked to take over the project in 1760 by the owner, Sir Nathaniel Curzon. The austere, delicate interiors, with their remarkably unified decoration, show Adam at the height of his powers. Kedleston, the Glory of Derbyshire, was one of the most consistently praised of all Georgian houses. 'I am going to build a little Gothic castle at Strawberry Hill', announced Horace Walpole in 1750.

Over the next three decades Walpole transformed the uninteresting villa he had bought by the Thames at Twickenham into one of the landmarks of the Gothic Revival in Britain. Strawberry Hill aroused enormous interest - Walpole had to issue tickets to restrict the number of visitors coming to see it - and demonstrated that native medieval architecture could be every bit as valid as classicism. Top Victorian times - Merry England In the early 19th century, the French Revolution was recent enough to provide an awful example of what might happen if the upper classes lost control, whilst Peterloo and demonstrations against the Six Acts in 1819 were a reminder that it could happen here. The building classes took refuge in a fictitious past, such as the Middle Ages of Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (1819) or the romantic Elizabethan style of Kenilworth (1821). The myth of Merry England, with its strictly ordered society and its chivalric code of values, had a strong appeal for a ruling elite which felt under threat from social and political unrest at home and abroad. ...reformers like John Ruskin and William Morris made a concerted effort to return to hand-crafted, pre-industrial manufacturing techniques.

The huge glass-and-iron Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, shows another strand to 19th century architecture - one which embraced new industrial processes. But it wasn't long before even this confidence in progress came to be regarded with suspicion. Mass production resulted in buildings and furnishings that were too perfect, as the individual craftsman no longer had a major role in their creation. Railing against the dehumanising effects of industrialisation, reformers like John Ruskin and William Morris made a concerted effort to return to hand-crafted, pre-industrial manufacturing techniques. Morris's influence grew from the production of furniture and textiles, until by the 1880s a generation of principled young architects was following his call for good, honest construction. Top Victorian buildings The Houses of Parliament (Charles Barry and A.W.N. Pugin, 1840-60) replaced the building destroyed by fire in 1834. A good example of the period's confused love affair with the past, it was summed up earlier this century as classic in inspiration, Gothic in detailing, and carried out with scrupulous adherence to the architectural detail of the Tudor period.

With its quiet, unassuming love for the vernacular of Kent and Sussex, and its rejection of Victorian pomposity, Philip Webb's Red House at Bexleyheath (1859-60) is the building which started the Arts and Crafts movement. It was originally designed for newly-weds William and Janey Morris. Castell Coch, near Cardiff (1872-79), is a piece of inspired lunacy by William Burges, best known for his restoration of Cardiff Castle, an opium habit and the fact that he used to relax at home with a pet parrot perched on the shoulder of his hooded medieval robe. This reconstruction of a 13th century chieftain's stronghold - right down to the working portcullis - is scholarly, at least as far as the exterior is concerned. The interior is downright weird, combining High Victorian romanticism with Burges' own eclectic drawings from ancient British history, Moorish design and classical mythology. Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art (1896-99, 1907-9) proves that there were a few dissenting voices raised against the Victorian trend to return to the past.

Mackintosh was uncompromising in his rejection of historicism, and his buildings have more in common with the vertical geometry and sinuous curves of Art Nouveau work in France, Belgium and Austria. But his decadent approach to design met with hostility in Britain and, a few years after the School of Art was completed in 1909, he gave up architecture. Top Styles of the 20th century - conservatism and change The most important trends in early 20th century architecture simply passed Britain by. Whilst Gropius was working on cold, hard expanses of glass, and Le Corbusier was experimenting with the use of reinforced concrete frames, we had staid establishment architects like Edwin Lutyens producing Neo-Georgian and Renaissance country houses for an outmoded landed class. In addition there were slightly batty architect-craftsmen, the heirs of William Morris, still trying to turn the clock back to before the Industrial Revolution by making chairs and spurning new technology.

Only a handful of Modern Movement buildings of any real merit were produced here during the 1920s and 1930s, and most of these were the work of foreign architects such as Serge Chermayeff, Berthold Lubetkin and Erno Goldfinger who had settled in this country. Local authorities, charged with the task of rebuilding city centres, became important patrons of architecture. After the Second World War the situation began to change. The Modern Movement's belief in progress and the future struck a chord with the mood of post-war Britain and, as reconstruction began under Attlee's Labour government in 1945, there was a desperate need for cheap housing which could be produced quickly. The use of prefabricated elements, metal frames, concrete cladding and the absence of decoration - all of which had been embraced by Modernists abroad and viewed with suspicion by the British - were adopted to varying degrees for housing developments and schools. Local authorities, charged with the task of rebuilding city centres, became important patrons of architecture. This represented a shift away from the private individuals who had dominated the architectural scene for centuries.

Since the War it has been corporate bodies like these local authorities, together with national and multinational companies, and large educational institutions, which have dominated British architecture. By the late 1980s the Modern Movement, unfairly blamed for the social experiments implicit in high-rise housing, had lost out to irony and spectacle in the shape of post-modernism, with its cheerful borrowings from anywhere and any period. But now, in the new Millennium, even post-modernism is showing signs of age. What comes next? Post-post-modernism? Top Buildings of the 20th century Cardiff's imposing Civic Centre is a vast complex including a City Hall and Law Courts by Lanchester & Richards, and the University College by W D Caroë. It was hailed as one of the most magnificent examples of civic planning in Britain but, in retrospect, its deeply conservative architecture also seems both arrogant and strangely out of touch with contemporary building in the rest of Europe. The De le Warr Pavilion at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, is a superb expression of all that is best about the Modern Movement.

Commissioned by Lord De La Warr, mayor of Bexhill, and built by Eric Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff between 1933 and 1936, it was an attempt to make Bexhill as attractive as exotic French and Italian resorts. It goes without saying that it failed, but the recent restoration of the Pavilion's clean, sweeping lines is a cause for national celebration. The Royal Festival Hall (Sir Leslie Martin and the Architecture Department of the London County Council, 1951) is all that survives of the complex laid out on London's South Bank for the 1951 Festival of Britain. The festival buildings were important for the opportunity they afforded of presenting a showcase for good modern architecture and Martin's concert hall, while not exactly earth-shattering, is a timely reminder of what good festival architecture looks like.

Question: Which famous London building was destroyed by fire in 1834?
Answer: Houses of Parliament