The Houses of Parliament ( VIDEOS )

By Harry Preston

For many, Big Ben - as the clock tower is commonly and mistakenly known (it is actually the name of the bell within) - is London's most iconic image. A symbol of the Houses of Parliament, it conjures up the chambers of debate below, in which 646 Members and more than 700 Lords and Bishops noisily pursue the business of government. The nation waits for it to strike midnight on 31 December to celebrate the start of each new year. Protesters against the state occasionally try to scale its 96m (315 feet) - and sometimes succeed.

Parliament's other name, the Palace of Westminster, alludes to the complex history of British democracy which evolved over centuries from rule by dominant chieftains, royalty and the Church into a government of elected representatives of the people. Hence, the medieval building that stood on the site until the early 19th century, in which the foundations of the modern system were laid with Edward I's Model Parliament of 1295, was also the principal home of British monarchs until 1530.

Having survived the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 by a group of Catholics intent on blowing up the Protestant King James I within, the Palace of Westminster was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1834. Westminster Hall, which dates from 1097, survived and is the oldest part of today's building.

William IV offered Buckingham Palace as a replacement, but Parliament wanted to hang on to the prominent river site that William the Conqueror had made his base nearly 800 years before. Public debate over what style should be employed for the new building was fierce. It should be a fitting emblem of a country with an empire on which "the sun never set". A neoclassical design, such as the US White House or Congress, was ruled out because of revolutionary or republican connotations. In 1836, after studying 98 proposals, a Royal Commission chose Charles Barry's plan for a Gothic palace that would embody a welcome dose of conservatism.

Democracy in Britain began to come of age only in 1918 when the vote was given to all men over 21 and women over 30, though women had to wait 10 years for equal rights. Even now it continues to develop: under Tony Blair's premiership, power was devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northem Ireland in 1999; while the form of the second chamber, the House of Lords, is unsettled.

UK residents can arrange free tours of Parliament throughout the year through their MP or a lord; visitors from abroad have to pay and can tour only during the summer when Parliament is not in session, but they may attend debates through the year. Both tours last about 75 minutes and include the Commons and Lords debating chambers, as well as the Queen's Robing Room. The State Opening of Parliament, at which the reigning monarch presents the government's plans to members of both the House of Lords and Commons, is a colourful ceremony and usually takes place in November.

For an online guided tour of London, England, or for more information about the city of London visit http://www.GuidedTourLondon.com.

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