Towers of the Palace of Westminster

1. Victoria Tower

This tower is the tallest of all 3 - it's 3 meters tall. It occupies the south-western corner of the Palace.

The initial tower was called the King's Tower. But in October 16,1834 (during the reign of King Will IV) occurred a big fire which destroyed almost the whole complex of the Westminster Palace! The fire also destroyed nearly all the records of the House of Commons, so the main purpose of a new tower was a "fireproof repository for books and documents".

The competition for the best design for a new palace was won by Sir Charles Barry and August Pugin. Barry's design included twelve floors for the storage of the Parliament archives and also a new tower was going to become the royal entrance to the Palace. Augustus Pugin created most of the architectural designs and the interior designs. The first stone of the Tower was laid by Queen Victoria in December 22, 1843. The Tower was completed in about 1858-1860 and at that time it was the tallest secular building in the world!

King's Tower was officially renamed as the Victoria Tower in honour to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

The Sovereign's Entrance (the main entrance at the base of the tower) is used by the Monarch every time to enter the Palace to open Parliament or other occasions.

On the top of the Victoria Tower is an iron flagstaff from which we can see the Union Flag. But when the Sovereign is present in the Palace, it changes to the Royal Standard.

The archway is beautifully decorated with sculptures. Some of them are the statues of Saints George, Andrew and Patrick and of Queen Victoria herself.

2. Elizabeth Tower

Elizabeth Tower which was previously called the Clock Tower was constructed also after the fire of 1834. Even though Sir Charles Barry was the chief architect, this tower was designed by Augustus Pugin a neo-Gothic style. The design of the Clock Tower was Pugin's last one before he lost his mind completely and died.

As the King's Tower was renamed as the Victoria Tower due to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, so in June 2, 2012, the Members of Parliament supported the proposal to change the name from Clock Tower to Elizabeth Tower on the same occasion - Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.

The clock was designed by A. Pugin, too. At the base of each clock dial there is an inscription in Latin - DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM (O Lord, save our queen Victoria).

The clock mechanism was started by Edward John Dent, but he soon died in 1853 and his stepson or nephew Frederick Dent had to finish his job. In one year, in 1854, the clock mechanism was ready, but it had to wait some years more, until the Tower itself was finished in 1859.

The main bell of the Elizabeth Tower is officially called the Great Bell but its nickname is Big Ben which is used more often. Someone sometimes even refers to both the clock and the tower. However, some scholars say it's not correct.

The mystery of the origin of the nickname is still intriguing. There are many theories but the one that seems the most appropriate is that it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who served as a member of the House of Commons for almost thirty years and saw the main stages of the Tower's development - from the fire of 1834 to its final installation.

The clock is a cultural symbol of the UK and I doubt there is someone who has never seen this tower! It's a British cultural icon known in all around the world and it's been listed in a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

3. Central Tower

This is the shortest of all the three main towers of the building - it is 91 meters tall. This octagonal tower stands over the middle of the building, just above the Central Lobby.

At first, the Central Tower wasn't in a designed plan of Charles Barry, but the man who was in charge of the ventilation of the new Houses of Parliament, Dr. David Boswell Reid, insisted on building a chimney through which the heat and smoke would go out.

To make the Palace's exterior design look even more beautiful, Barry decided to give it a form of a spire. In the end, the Central Tower didn't prove to be able to fulfill the stated purposes, though...

But nevertheless, thanks to this now we can see this little tower that gives it charm to the whole Palace complex.

As it's been already mentioned, these towers are the main ones. Apart from these ones, there are some other turrets, which were added for particular reasons (e.g. for ventilation purpose).

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