Completed and opened in 1859 the “new” Houses of Parliament were designed by Sir Charles Barry with interior design by Augustus Pugin, all in the then highly fashionable neo gothic style. The extensive sight covers a huge 8 acres of prime London real estate. It has over 100 staircases, 11 internal courtyards, over 2 miles of corridors, and a mind blowing 1100 rooms. London Duck Tours hopes they give the new MPs a map…or a sat nav to find their way around the corridors of power!
Best view in London or the world?!
The Houses of Parliament stretch along the riverside for an impressive 940ft (287m). The perfect way to take in this world famous sight is of course on the Thames River on your London Duck Tour! The looming tower at one end of the site is the Victoria Tower, a whopping 336ft tall and 23ft square, when built it was the tallest tower in the world – indeed the world’s first sky scraper! And well used it is too! The tower holds over 3 million parchment and paper records of laws passed in England since 1066 – a thousand years of documents! And we bet you thought you had a big pile paperwork in your house!
Fancy a lobby?
The rather odd phrases of “Lobbing” or “coming to Lobby your MP” are named after the central open space in the Houses of Parliament called the Central Lobby, which is situated exactly half way between the House of Commons and House of Lords. It is here that the general public are admitted (after the usual extensive security checks) to lobby or approach, meet and question, their Member of Parliament.
