I have been collecting contemporary engravings of the 1834 fire at Parliament during my researches. They’re quite hard to come by, but I have three of them. This first one shows the view from the Lambeth bank of the Thames – from left to right: the Painted Chamber, the House of Commons Library, the residence of the […]
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Parliament Buildings of the World: No 5 – Sicily
Is there anywhere in the world, I wondered last week, which like the old Palace of Westminster a) was a palace complex built by a Norman king b) had a royal chapel as glorious as St Stephen’s, with an adjoining cloister c) contained a royal bedroom as stunning as the Painted Chamber d) was turned […]
A Regency Stroll Around Westminster,1817
Walks through London including Westminster and the Borough of Southwark was written by David Hughson in 1817 and published in two pocket-sized volumes, with handy maps for the curious. It indicates that just as the Houses of Parliament is a tourist attraction today, so it was in the Regency. I love these nostalgic descriptions. They seem like the musings […]
Westminster’s Body Double
Those of you who’ve recently seen The Iron Lady will also have seen a very experienced body double in action. No, not a stand-in for Meryl Streep (congrats on the BAFTA, by the way, Meryl!), but a regular stand-in for the Palace of Westminster: Manchester Town Hall. Alfred Waterhouse’s design at Manchester was, like Barry and Pugin’s in […]
Parliament Buildings of the World: No 4 – Catalunya
The autonomous Catalonian Parliament is in its capital, Barcelona; I’ve just returned from there after a post-Christmas break. Cloudless skies and English summer temperatures allowed me to take these pictures the day before New Year’s Eve. The institution can trace its origins back to some 11th century legislative assemblies, which developed into a tricameral system with a written constitution by 1283. Its […]
A New Year Progress Update
I’m so excited about recent progress in marching smartly down the road to publication, that I just had to write this update. Excuse the gush that follows (or stop here, if you prefer). Just before Christmas I created a Facebook page for The Day Parliament Burned Down. Do please ‘like’ if you’re on FB! I admit I’ve become a pretty shameless social […]
