Editing Palace of Westminster (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Palace of Westminster}}

=== Old Palace ===
[[File:Westminster in the time of Henry VIII.png|thumb|Conjectural restoration of [[Westminster]] during the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547).<ref>The bird's-eye view by H. J. Brewer was published in ''[[Building (magazine)|The Builder]]'' in 1884, according to {{cite web |url-status=live |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/collections/painting-one/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013131949/http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/collections/painting-one/ |archive-date=13 October 2010 |title=Perspective view of the old Palace of Westminster |website=UK Parliament }}</ref> [[St Stephen's Chapel]] is in the centre, with the [[White Chamber]] and [[Painted Chamber]] on the left and Westminster Hall on the right.
]]
The site of the current palace and Houses of Parliament may have been used by [[Cnut]] during his reign from 1016 to 1035, and from {{Circa|1045|1050}} [[Edward the Confessor]] built a palace and the first [[Westminster Abbey]]. The oldest surviving part of the palace is Westminster Hall, which dates from the reign of [[William II of England|William II]] ({{reign | 1087 | 1100}}). The palace was the principal residence of the English monarchs in the late Medieval period. In 1512, during the early reign of [[Henry VIII]], a fire destroyed the royal apartments of the palace.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A palace for Parliament |work=All Change at the Palace of Westminster |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/church_state/westminster_palace/change_palace_westmin_08.shtml |first1=Jacqueline |last1=Riding |date=2005-02-02 |access-date=8 February 2023 |publisher=BBC History |language=en-uk}}</ref> In 1534 Henry moved to the neighbouring [[Palace of Whitehall]], formerly [[York Place]], which he had seized from Cardinal [[Thomas Wolsey]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fraser |first=Antonia |url=https://archive.org/details/wivesofhenryviii00fras_0 |title=The Wives of Henry VIII |publisher=Alfred A Knopf |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-394-58538-3 |location=New York}}</ref> Although Westminster remained a royal palace, from this point on its primary occupants were the two houses of Parliament and various courts of law.

The predecessor of Parliament, the [[Curia Regis]], met in Westminster Hall when the king was in residence. The "[[Model Parliament]]", considered the first Parliament of England, met at the palace in 1295;<ref name="Factsheet G03">{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/g03.pdf |title=A Brief Chronology of the House of Commons |date=April 2009 |publisher=House of Commons Information Office |access-date=5 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623010012/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/g03.pdf |archive-date=23 June 2015}}</ref> while medieval parliaments of England met in a variety of locations, the palace was frequently used and developed into the body's permanent home. The palace did not have purpose-built chambers for the House of Commons or the House of Lords instead using the available large gathering spaces built for the palace. In time, the Commons adapted [[St Stephen's Chapel]] for its use in the sixteenth century, and the Lords used the [[Painted Chamber]] and, from 1801, the [[White Chamber]]. 

{{anchor|Public Buildings (Houses of Parliament) Act 1800}}
The palace underwent significant alterations from the 18th century onwards, as Parliament struggled to carry out its business in the limited available space. These included a new storage and committee rooms by [[John Vardy]], completed in 1770; a new official residence for the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the House of Commons]], completed in 1795; and significant alterations and a new building by [[James Wyatt]], completed in 1801. The last alterations were undertaken by [[Sir John Soane]] between 1824 and 1827, and included new library facilities for both Houses of Parliament and new law courts for the [[Court of Chancery|Chancery]] and [[Court of King's Bench (England)|King's Bench]].

=== Fire and reconstruction ===
{{Main|Burning of Parliament}}
[[File:Joseph Mallord William Turner, English - The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834 - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting|[[J. M. W. Turner]] watched the fire of 1834 and painted several canvases depicting it, including ''[[The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons]]'' (1835).]]

On 16 October 1834, a [[Burning of Parliament|fire broke out in the palace]] after an overheated stove used to destroy the [[Exchequer]]'s stockpile of [[tally stick]]s set fire to the House of Lords Chamber. Both Houses of Parliament were destroyed, along with most of the other buildings in the palace complex. Westminster Hall was saved thanks to fire-fighting efforts and a change in the direction of the wind. The [[Jewel Tower]] and the [[St Mary Undercroft|undercroft]], [[cloister]]s, and chapter house of St Stephen's Chapel were the only other parts of the palace to survive.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/architecture/palacestructure/great-fire/ |title=Architecture of the Palace: The Great Fire of 1834 |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=5 August 2010}}</ref>

[[William IV]] offered the almost-completed [[Buckingham Palace]] to Parliament, hoping to dispose of a residence he disliked; however, the building was considered unsuitable for parliamentary use and the gift was rejected.<ref>[[#Jones|Jones (1983)]], p. 77; [[#Riding|Riding and Riding (2000)]], p. 100; [[#Port|Port (1976)]], p. 20.</ref> The Painted Chamber and White Chamber were hastily repaired for temporary use,<ref>[[#Jones|Jones (1983)]], pp. 77–78; [[#Port|Port (1976)]], p. 20.</ref> and in 1835, following that year's General Election, the King permitted Parliament to make "plans for [its] permanent accommodation".<ref>{{Cite Hansard |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1835/feb/24/kings-speech|title=King's Speech  |house=House of Lords |date=24 February 1835 |column_start=63 |column_end=64}}</ref> Each house created a committee<ref>{{Cite Hansard |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1835/mar/02/new-houses-of-parliament|title=New Houses of Parliament  |house=House of Commons |date=2 March 1835 |column_start=469 |column_end=471}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Hansard |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1835/mar/03/new-houses-of-parliament |title=New Houses of Parliament|house=House of Lords |date=3 March 1835 |column_start=489 |column_end=490}}</ref> and a Perpendicular Gothic Revival design by the architect [[Charles Barry]] was chosen. Barry was inexperienced with Gothic, and relied heavily on [[Augustus Pugin]] to design details. The Lords Chamber was completed in 1847, and the Commons Chamber in 1852. Although most of the work had been carried out by 1860, construction was not finished until a decade afterwards.

=== Second World War damage and restoration ===
[[File:Old House of Commons.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|The old chamber of the House of Commons was in use between 1852 and 1941, when it was destroyed by German bombs in the course of the [[Second World War]].]] During the Second World War the palace was hit by bombs on fourteen separate occasions. A bomb that fell on 26 September 1940 lifted the [[Richard Coeur de Lion (statue)|statue of Richard the Lionheart]] from its pedestal and bent its sword, an image that was used as a symbol of the strength of democracy, "which would bend but not break under attack".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/uk_parliament/3768088819/in/set-72157621747072869/ |title=Richard I statue: Second World War damage |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=27 December 2009|date=28 July 2009 }}</ref>

The worst raid took place in the night of 10–11 May 1941, when the palace took at least twelve hits and three people (two policemen and Resident Superintendent of the House of Lords, Edward Elliott<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/documents/War-Memorial-Lists/War-Memorials-Westminster-Hall-WW2.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623011628/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/War-Memorial-Lists/War-Memorials-Westminster-Hall-WW2.pdf|date=23 June 2015}} Names on the Parliamentary War Memorial.</ref>) were killed.<ref name="Fell, p. 27">[[#Fell|Fell and Mackenzie (1994)]], p. 27.</ref> The Commons Chamber and the roof of Westminster Hall were both set alight; as the firefighters could not save both, the hall was prioritised and saved, while the chamber was destroyed.<ref>[[#Field|Field (2002)]], p. 259.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/uk_parliament/2713947202/ |title=Bombed House of Commons 1941 |author=UK Parliament |work=[[Flickr]] |access-date=5 August 2010|date=29 July 2008 }}</ref> The Lords Chamber and Clock Tower were damaged in the same raid.<ref name="Fell, p. 27" /> The Commons Chamber was rebuilt in a simplified style after the war, being completed in 1950.<ref>{{Cite web|title='The House' Returns|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/the-house-returns|access-date=8 February 2023|website=British Pathé|language=en-GB}} Newsreel 50/87, issue date 30 October 1950.</ref>

=== Recent history ===
As the need for office space in the palace increased, Parliament acquired office space in the nearby [[Norman Shaw Building]] in 1975 and in the custom-built [[Portcullis House]], completed in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/g13.pdf |title=The Norman Shaw Buildings |date=April 2007 |publisher=House of Commons Information Office |access-date=5 August 2010}}</ref> This increase has enabled all [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament (MP)]] to have their own office facilities.<ref name="Factsheet G03" />

The palace was designated a [[Grade I listed building]] in 1970 and a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1987. The fabric of the building is in urgent need of restoration. In January 2018, the House of Commons voted for both houses to vacate the palace to allow for a complete refurbishment of the building, which will take at least six years and start no sooner than 2025.<ref>{{cite news|title=MPs set to leave Houses of Parliament for £3.5bn restoration|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jan/31/mps-set-to-leave-houses-of-parliament-for-35bn-restoration|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=1 February 2018}}</ref> In September 2022, the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, a joint committee of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, was formed to oversee the necessary works.<ref>{{cite web |title=Restoration and Renewal Client Board |url=https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/616/restoration-and-renewal-client-board/membership/ |website=Houses of Parliament |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>