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A Gothic revival building from 1870 by Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin, the Houses of Parliament cover 8 acres and have 1,100 rooms around 11 courtyards. The Commons Chamber is where Members of Parliament sit and debate policy.

The huge Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster is popularly known as Big Ben. However, the name actually refers to the clock’s 14-tonne bell, named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who was Chief Commissioner of Works when it was installed in 1858.

Westminster Hall is about all of the original palace that remained after the 1834 fire. For centuries the high court sat beneath its marvellous hammerbeam roof.

Winston Churchill was among many eminent figures to marry in this 15th-century church. William Caxton (1422–91), who set up the first printing press in England, and Sir Walter Raleigh, who established the first British colony in America, are both buried here. Charles I is also remembered .

This powerful statue of Britain’s wartime leader (1874–1965), dressed in his famous coat, is one of several statues in the square. These include prime minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81), American president Abraham Lincoln (1809–65), and many other statesmen and soldiers.

This large assembly hall, built in a Beaux Arts style, was funded by a collection among the Methodist Church who wanted to celebrate the centenary of their founder John Wesley (1703–91).

Buildings around this secluded square were used by monks before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s which closed their school here. A new Westminster School was founded by Elizabeth I in 1560 and it remains one of Britain’s top public schools.

Built in 1336 to safeguard the treasure of Edward III, this is an isolated survivor of the 1834 fire. A small museum about the history of parliament is housed inside.

Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) presided over England’s only republic, which began after the Civil War. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, but when the monarchy was restored in 1660, his corpse was taken to Tyburn and hanged as though he were a criminal.