The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative chambers which occupy the building. The palace is one of the centres of political life in the United Kingdom; "Westminster" has become a metonym for the UK Parliament and the British Government, and the Westminster system of government commemorates the name of the palace. The Elizabeth Tower of the palace, nicknamed Big Ben, is a landmark of London and the United Kingdom in general. The palace has been a Grade I listed building since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
Sir Charles BarryFRS RA was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens. He is known for his major contribution to the use of Italianate architecture in Britain, especially the use of the Palazzo as basis for the design of country houses, city mansions and public buildings. He also developed the Italian Renaissance garden style for the many gardens he designed around country houses.
Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge crossing over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side.
BBC Parliament is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel from the BBC that showcases parliamentary content from across the United Kingdom. It broadcasts live and recorded coverage of the British Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the London Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd. When none of these chambers are sitting, the channel does not broadcast, and its feed is given over to a simulcast of the BBC News channel.
The Circus is a historic ring of large townhouses in the city of Bath, Somerset, England, forming a circle with three entrances. Designed by architect John Wood, the Elder, it was built between 1754 and 1768, and is regarded as a pre-eminent example of Georgian architecture. "Circus" (Latin) means a ring, oval or circle in English. The construction has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
Sir Robert Smirke was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles. As an attached architect within the Office of Works, he designed several major public buildings, including the main block and façade of the British Museum and altered or repaired others. He was a pioneer in the use of structural iron and concrete foundations, and was highly respected for his accuracy and professionalism. His advice was often sought in architectural competitions and urban planning, especially later in his life.
Daniel Gordon Raffan Cruickshank is a British art historian and BBC television presenter, with a special interest in the history of architecture.
Around the World in 80 Treasures is a 10-episode art and travel documentary series by the BBC, presented by Dan Cruickshank, and originally aired in February, March, and April 2005. The title is a reference to Around the World in Eighty Days, the classic adventure novel by Jules Verne.
BBC Breakfast is a British television breakfast news programme, produced by BBC News and broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel every morning from 6:00am. The simulcast is presented live, originally from the BBC Television Centre, London before moving in 2012 to MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester. The programme is broadcast daily and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items. When BBC Breakfast is not broadcast on BBC One, it is transmitted via BBC Two.
Waldemar Januszczak is a Polish-British art critic and television documentary producer and presenter. Formerly the art critic of The Guardian, he took the same role at The Sunday Times in 1992, and has twice won the Critic of the Year award.
Highpoint I was the first of two apartment blocks erected in the 1930s on one of the highest points in London, England, in Highgate. The architectural design was by the Georgian-British architect Berthold Lubetkin, the structural design by the Anglo-Danish engineer Ove Arup and the construction by Kier.
One Foot in the Past is a British television series on BBC2 that ran from 1993 to 2000. It considered conservation in, and the architecture, heritage and history of, the British Isles and, in three episodes, France, Italy and India. The series was a magazine programme. Each programme ran for 30 minutes.
Daniel Robert Snow is a British popular historian and television presenter. He is an ambassador of the Electoral Reform Society (ERS).
Building Design Partnership Ltd, doing business as BDP, is a firm of architects and engineers employing over 900 staff in the United Kingdom and internationally.
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are four series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. The Buildings of England series was begun in 1945 by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, with its forty-six original volumes published between 1951 and 1974. The fifteen volumes in The Buildings of Scotland series were completed between 1978 and 2016, and the ten in The Buildings of Wales series between 1979 and 2009. The volumes in all three series have been periodically revised by various authors; Scotland and Wales have been partially revised, and England has been fully revised and reorganised into fifty-six volumes. The Buildings of Ireland series was begun in 1979 and remains incomplete, with six of a planned eleven volumes published. A standalone volume covering the Isle of Man was published in 2023.
New Palace Yard is a yard northwest of the Palace of Westminster in Westminster, London, England. It is part of the grounds not open to the public. However, it can be viewed from the two adjoining streets, as a result of Edward Middleton Barry, who also assisted with its landscaping, having used railings rather than walls or fencing in its design. The yard has existed since about the year 1100, but was greatly reduced in the 18th century to allow for the construction of new streets and buildings, the most notable of which is the wing taking up the eastern end and having the most prominent tower of the current palace. Speaker's Green fronts the Thames. An underground car park used by Members of Parliament is beneath. Before latest incarnations of the palace, the yard was an open public space used diversely such as for speeches, tournaments, pilloryings, and executions. It has twice been the scene of terrorist attacks.
Warwick James Rodwell is an archaeologist, architectural historian and academic. He was lately visiting professor in the Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, and is Consultant Archaeologist to Westminster Abbey, where he is also a member of the College of St Peter in Westminster. He is the author of many books and articles, including the standard textbook on church archaeology. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and the Royal Historical Society.
Blenheim Palace has frequently been the setting for books, TV programs and films and other events. These include:
Henry Soskin, better known as Henry Lincoln, was a British author, television presenter, scriptwriter, and actor. He co-wrote three Doctor Who multi-part serials in the 1960s, and — starting in the 1970s — inspired three Chronicle BBC Two documentaries on the alleged mysteries surrounding the French village of Rennes-le-Château — and, from the 1980s, co-authored and authored a series of books of which The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail was the most popular, becoming the inspiration for Dan Brown's 2003 best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code. He was the last living person to have written for Doctor Who in the 1960s.
Lucy Worsley is an English historian, author, curator, and television presenter. She is joint chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces but is best known as a presenter of BBC Television and Channel 5 series on historical topics.
