Westminster Hall Houses

The site of the Houses of Parliament is the Palace of Westminster, a royal palace and former residence of kings. The layout of the Palace is intricate, with its existing buildings containing nearly 1,200 rooms, 100 staircases and well over 3 kilometres (2 miles) of passages. Among the original historic buildings is Westminster Hall, used nowadays for major public ceremonial events.

William I, having established his first stronghold at the Tower, later moved to Westminster; and it is from the reign of his son, William Rufus, that the first extant buildings on the site date, including Westminster Hall, the Great Hall, which was built at the northern end of the Palace and still stands today after celebrating nine hundred years of continuous use in 1999.

Visitors wishing to watch the proceedings of either House should either obtain tickets well in advance - normally seven to eight weeks - from their MP, or else join the queue outside St Stephen's Entrance. It is generally easiest to get in to the House of Commons between 6.00pm and 10.30pm on Mondays, after 1.30pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and at 9am on sitting Fridays.