An old engraving of the old Palace of Westminster, London, England, UK in the early 1600s. It is from a Victorian history book of Here a royal barge is setting out from the palace to be rowed up the river Thames. The Palace of Westminster began in the early eighth century, when an Anglo-Saxon church became the West Minster. It was adopted as a royal church, then a royal palace in the 11th century. King Henry VII used it as his principal residence. It was used by Parliament and by the royal law courts. The Palace burned down in 1834 and was replaced by today’s building.
An old engraving of the old Palace of Westminster, London, England, UK in the early 1600s. It is from a Victorian history book of Here a royal barge is setting out from the palace to be rowed up the river Thames. The history of the Palace of Westminster began in the early eighth century, when an Anglo-Saxon church dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle became the West Minster. It was adopted as a royal church, which subsequently became a royal palace in the 11th century. Edward the Confessor, the penultimate Anglo-Saxon king, began the building of Westminster Abbey and a neighbouring palace to oversee its construction. William the Conqueror adopted the Palace of Westminster as his own. His son, William II (William Rufus) laid the foundations of the Great Hall (Westminster Hall). From as early as 1259, the state openings of parliamentary occasions were held in the King's private apartment at Westminster, the Painted Chamber. The English (and subsequently British) Parliament of the United Kingdom has met at Westminster since the ‘Model Parliament’ was called by Edward I in 1295. In 1512, during the early years of the reign of King Henry VIII, fire destroyed the royal residential (‘privy’) area of the palace. In 1534, Henry VIII acquired York Place from Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a powerful minister who had lost the King's favour. Renaming it the Palace of Whitehall, Henry used it as his principal residence. Although Westminster officially remained a royal palace, it was used by the two Houses of Parliament and by the various royal law courts. The Palace burned down in 1834 and was replaced by today’s building.
Size: 3444px × 3780px
Location: Westminster, London, England, UK
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1500s, 1600s, 16th, 17th, architecture, barge, black, boat, british, building, buildings, century, early, england, english, engraving, fifteen, great, hall, historical, home, hundreds, illustration, london, maritime, monarchy, palace, parliament, residence, river, row, rowing, royal, seventeenth, sixteen, sixteenth, state, thames, uk, westminster, white, whitehall
