The Houses of Parliament
Wednesday, 3rd May 2006 by
It's great when you realise we haven't posted classic sites like this. These are the UK Houses of Parliament or technically the Palace of Westminster. Most people will recognise Big Ben which is actually the name of the largest bell in the Great Clock of Westminster at the north eastern end of the building.
The actual clock at the top of the tower was once the biggest in the world and able to strike the first blow for each hour with an accuracy of one second. The actual face of the clock is an iron framework 23 feet in diameter supporting 312 pieces of opal glass similar to a stained glass window. On each of the four clock faces is the latin inscription "DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM" which means "Lord save our Queen Victoria I".
It has of course featured in many, many films perhaps most famously at the climax of The Thirty-Nine Steps or more recently in the awesome V for Vendetta.
Thanks: Keith T, Andy, Terry Foster, Paul Falstad, Sergio Giraldo, Maciek Godlewski, MDW, Phil and Fiona, Phil Harper, pradera & Will S. (blimey!)
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Why did you italicise Bell? :p
And whether you think V for Vendetta is a good film…well. 😉
rob: I made bell italic as most people think ‘big ben’ is the whole clock tower or building.
As for V for Vendetta, well, this isn’t the place for that discussion 🙂
It’s amazing. I cannot seem to get left.
Look, kids! Big Ben! Parliament!
As fans of The Thirty-Nine Steps will know, the clock tower is actually called St Stephen’s Tower (Robert Powell is seen entering the tower with that name over the door).
The bridge, supposedly in Scotland, used in another dramatic scene in the film is actually Victoria Bridge, part of the Severn Valley Railway in Worcestershire. It’s an awesome bridge, but doesn’t look much on Google Local: View Placemark
Ground-level shot: http://jonathan.rawle.org/gallery/uk/victoriabridge/
(two links, so that means my comment will be held for moderation, even though one will be translated to an internal link…)
Returning to Parliement… the tower at the other end is the Victoria Tower. When built, it was the tallest in the world at 102m. You can see the archway at the base which is where the Queen enters for the State Opening of Parliament. The Lords’ Chamber is north of that. In contrast to the rest, the Commons Chamber, in the northern half of the building, has a modern, flat roof – it was bombed in the second world war and was completely rebuilt by Giles Gilbert Scott.
clark:
View Placemark
I think it’s possible, with a little ingenuity, to determine the exact minute (or so) that this picture was taken.
It looks like the time on the clock is 10:35. If not, maybe 11:35 (a little analysis could get the right answer on this).
We can look up the height of the tower and measure the length and exact direction of the shadow. From there, we should be able to determine the exact date and time this picture was taken.
Of course, I’m not going to do it, but if someone out there is bored…