Tag Archives: London

08/6/12

Westminster Palace

Today, Westminster Palace is the seat of the British government. “The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament after its tenants, the Palace lies on the Middlesex bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, in central London. Its name, which derives from the neighbouring Westminster Abbey, may refer to either of two structures: the Old Palace, a medieval building complex that was destroyed by fire in 1834, and its replacement New Palace that stands today. For ceremonial purposes, the palace retains its original style and status as a royal residence.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster

No floor plans of what Westminster Palace looked like in the middle ages still exist, but we do know a few things:

“When William the Conqueror’s son, William Rufus, came to the throne in 1087 he decided to build a new Palace which would rival the size and splendour of Westminster Abbey. This Palace was never fully completed, but its major Hall still exists to this day and is now called Westminster Hall. It is this chamber which has since become the site of some of the most famous Trials in English History.

In the Twelfth Century the White Hall was built to the South of the Great Hall, a statue of Richard I now stands on its site. At the same period, another chamber was added to the North East corner of Westminster Hall.

During the reign of King Henry III in the Thirteenth Century, the Painted Chamber, the Queen’s Chamber and the Queen’s Chapel were added to the South East of the site, with access to the Garden and the River. It was probably within the Painted Chamber that the Death Warrant of Charles I was signed in 1649. By the end of the thirteenth century Westminster Hall had come to be the site of the Courts of Kings Bench, Chancery, and Common Pleas. All lay within the perimeter of the Hall, except the Court of Exchequer which was in a building adjoining the North of the West wall.”  http://www.explore-parliament.net/nssMovies/11/1111/1111_.htm

Westminster Hall: 240 by 67 feet

One of the oldest buildings of Westminster is still standing–the hall, which was built in 1097 “under William II (Rufus), the son of William the Conqueror, and was completed two years later. He had conceived the project to impress his new subjects with his power and the majesty of his authority.

According to one story, when the King first inspected the Hall, one of his attendants remarked that it was much larger than needed. The King replied that the Hall was not half large enough, and that it was a mere bedchamber when compared to what he had in mind.

But the Hall was indeed by far the largest hall in England, and probably in Europe at that time. Measuring 73 by 20 metres (240 by 67 feet), it had a floor area covering 1,547 square metres (about 17,000 square feet), with a length of almost four cricket pitches end-to-end.

Indeed, the Hall was so large that other halls were needed at Westminster for normal use, and the royal household usually ate in a smaller hall nearby.

The great mystery about the Hall is the form of its original roof. Not until the 13th or 14th century could carpenters create roofs significantly wider than the length of the available timber, and so it was assumed that a single or double row of columns was needed to support the Hall’s roof.

However, recent archaeological explorations found no evidence of these, and that the roof may have been self-supporting from the beginning.

The Hall was enclosed with stone walls fully two metres, or six feet thick; these largely remain today, though heightened and refaced.

Inside the Hall was an arcade with large arches and windows and a wall passage around all four sides. Above the windows was a chequer-work pattern of light and dark stones.

The inside walls were plastered and painted, and decorative hangings were draped from the arcade.”  http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/westminsterhall/architecture/early-history/

This is a floor plan of it now:

08/3/12

Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, London

Okay, this has nothing to do with Wales, but it does feature in my latest book AND is medieval :)

St. Paul’s Cathedral was initially built (maybe) in 604 AD, during a time that Christianity was just getting a foothold in Britain. That was the first church.  There were several more between then and 1087, when the Normans began their church.

“Old St Paul’s Cathedral was the medieval cathedral of the City of London that, until 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul’s Cathedral. Built in 1087–1314 and dedicated to Saint Paul, the cathedral was the fourth church on the site at Ludgate Hill.[1] Work began during the reign of William the Conqueror after a fire in 1087 that destroyed much of the city. Work took more than 200 years, and construction was delayed by another fire in 1135. The church was consecrated in 1240 and enlarged again in 1256 and the early 14th century. At its completion in the middle of the 14th century, the cathedral was one of the longest churches in the world and had one of the tallest spires and some of the finest stained glass.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_St_Paul’s_Cathedral

Fascinatingly, St. Paul’s was used as far more than a church.  It was the site of political intrigue, a market was held in the nave, and was famous for ‘Paul’s Walk’, a meeting point of the rich and famous of London:  ”Paul’s walk in Elizabethan and early Stuart London was the middle aisle of Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, where people walked up and down in search of the latest news. At the time, St. Paul’s was the centre of the London grapevine. “News-mongers”, as they were called, gathered there to pass on the latest news and gossip.[1] Those who visited the cathedral to keep up with the news were known as “Paul’s-walkers”.

According to Francis Osborne (1593–1656):

It was the fashion of those times, and did so continue till these . . . for the principal gentry, lords, courtiers, and men of all professions not merely mechanic, to meet in Paul’s Church by eleven and walk in the middle aisle till twelve, and after dinner from three to six, during which times some discoursed on business, others of news. Now in regard of the universal there happened little that did not first or last arrive here…And those news-mongers, as they called them, did not only take the boldness to weigh the public but most intrinsic actions of the state, which some courtier or other did betray to this society. Amongst whom divers being very rich had great sums owing them by such as stood next the throne, who by this means were rendered in a manner their pensioners. So as I have found little reason to question the truth of which I heard then, but much to confirm me in it.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul%27s_walk

For images and drawings of the old Cathedral: http://www.medart.pitt.edu/image/england/london/old-saint-pauls/london-ospaul.html