The very beginning of the tour was a little nerve-wracking because the staff members make each visitor go through a metal detector, and they scan each visitor's items (bags, folders, jackets, etc) before they allow anyone to take the tour. We got our own little cards that we wore on lanyards around our necks. It felt very official. I passed through the scanners without any problem, which was excellent. Then, we all proceeded to our tour guide, whose name was Tony. He was a very friendly old man who asked each person/group where he or she was from (Dr. Kivisto went with us and spoke for all of us). Throughout the trip when anyone has asked my friends and me where we are from, we all just answer, "Chicago." It's much easier if I just play along and pretend I'm one of the bunch, mostly because we are all Midwestern and have pretty much the same culture and mannerisms. It saves me a lot of time and breath.
Anyway, on with the tour. We started off in Westminster Hall, which is the only part of the building that we were allowed to take pictures of from the inside (yay!). This was our meeting point with Tony, who then took us through some beautifully decorated halls to the Robing Room, where the Queen puts on her "best hat" (her finest crown) before the State Opening of Parliament each year. As you might expect, the room is very lavish and ornately decorated, with gilding and brilliant reds everywhere. I came to realize through the tour that Gothic Revival is basically the Regency version of Perpendicular Gothic (the traditional English style of architecture), and it's all thanks to the Royal Pavilion from yesterday!
We then wandered into a hall containing the portraits of each monarch since the Hanoverians took over the throne (early 1700s), with the exception of Queen Victoria. Her portrait hangs in the Robing Room alongside (who else?) Prince Albert. That same hall also has two magnificent frescoes, one depicting the Battle of Waterloo and the other depicting the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Nelson. Interestingly enough, these two battles--perhaps the most famous in all British history--signify battles over the French. Nicolas Sarcozy visited the Houses of Parliament a few years ago, and needless to say, he wasn't a huge fan of the frescoes. An interesting thing about them in that the artist wanted very badly to paint them with oil paints on canvas so that they would last longer. However, Prince Albert wouldn't have any of it, and he made the artist paint on plaster instead. As such, the frescoes have been slowly fading since they were painted in the late 1830s.
I should probably mention that the new Houses of Parliament were built in 1834 (or begun in 1834, rather) by two architects by the names of Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin. Many people come to see Parliament just to view Pugin's handiwork. It is a highly elaborate and decorative style, with lots of guilding, curvy lines, and flowery shapes. I should also probably mention that the interior of Parliament has great significance because as visitors follow the halls through the buildings, they slowly progress through British history, starting with the Normans. As such, both the exterior and interior of the buildings pay tribute to British tradition and British heritage. How neat!
Our next stop on the tour was the anteroom of the House of Lords. In the anteroom are portraits of important royals, including King Henry VIII and his six wives (oh, no, not them again!). The portraits were painted in the mid-1860s by art students from South Kensington, and each student was paid 50 pounds for his or her work (plus an extra 20 pounds for the gold-leaf paint applied to the background). The students were urged to paint the portraits after professional works and to try to achieve as near a lifelike and accurate image as possible. However, the students didn't do such a great job. The portrait of Katherine Parr is actually Jane Seymour, and the portrait of Jane Seymour is an unknown woman.
Finally, we entered the magnificent House of Lords. There are a large collection of soft, cushy red benches on either side of the room, and the ultra-ornate throne whereon the Queen sits lies at the head of the room. Michael Jackson visited the room a few years before his death, and he loved the throne so much that he wanted to buy it. Luckily, Parliamentary staff refused, and the throne remains where it belongs. Obviously, we were not allowed to sit on the benches, but we got to touch them, which was pretty cool. If you don't know, the House of Lords (HOL) is the unelected house of the British Parliament. The members of the HOL are called Peers, and they don't really have much of a duty except to read legislation from the House of Commons (HOC) and offer their opinion of it. They have very little power to completely override a bill from the House of Commons, so they mainly serve as a suggestion to the MPs to "look again" or reconsider legislation before it becomes law. Peers obtain their peerage by appointment from the Queen, who usually grants peerages based on lifetime contributions to the nation and to the community. Currently, there are about 80 hereditary peers, who gained their peerage from a family member. No new hereditary peers may enter the HOL, so when these 80 die, their title will die with them.
After we spent some time in the HOL, we entered a rotunda of sorts, said to be the busiest part of the whole complex during the week when MPs are hard at work. This rotunda is also the location of news broadcasts from Parliament. Members of the general public can come to the desk in the rotunda, request a green card, fill it out with the name of their elected representative, and then have a chat with their MP about whatever is on their mind. However, if the Prime Minister is that MP, it's best just to forget about the whole thing.
Then came probably my favorite part of the tour: the House of Commons (HOC). I already told you about Prime Minister's Questions, so you can imagine how cool it was to me to stand in the room where that highly entertaining event takes place. The general public is allowed to sit in on Parliamentary proceedings in the HOC: there is a gallery high above the floor with a piece of Plexiglas in front of it for normal people to sit. I saw the benches where David Cameron and Ed Milliband sit with their respective parties, which was really cool. I also saw the Speaker's chair. The speaker, as I told you before, officiates the proceedings, and all comments and questions are to be addressed to the Speaker instead of to a specific person (although MPs usually just use him as a prop, saying things like, "Mr. Speaker, So-and-So has..." as if that makes it any less personal and accusatory). The area around the HOC was much less lavish than the area around the HOL, for obvious reasons. It was mainly composed of deep brown wood, cream-colored stone, and green upholstery.
After seeing all of these splendors, we returned to Westminster Hall for the end of the tour. Westminster Hall is basically all that remains of the old palace at Westminster. Parts of the wooden roof are over 600 years old, and the roof has to be supported with steel beams to prevent its collapse. I was glad to get a few photographs at this point so that I could commemorate my visit.
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| The very stately stained glass window in Westminster Hall. I think I could have a photo album just of stained glass windows...I take way too many pictures of them... |
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| I think this picture highlights the Gothic Revival tracery really well. (This window sits opposite the stained glass window.) |
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| Angels in the (wooden) architecture. |
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| I think this is a better few of the carved angels in the ceiling of Westminster Hall. |
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| A more extended view of the ceiling of Westminster Hall (sorry if it's a bit disorienting; I couldn't really get a good, well-lit shot from any other angle). |
You are so lucky to be able to experience these wonders and to see where British Parliament takes place. As usual, the pictures are wonderful. You will have so many good memories of England.
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Grandma "C"
What a cool experience today! Your pictures are so pretty--my favorites are the window in shadow and the angels in the woodwork.
ReplyDeleteHope you have an enjoyably quiet day tomorrow.