The southwest part of London offers us quite a few symbolic attractions that we can visit divided into 8 different smaller postal districts. The SW1 area is known to be home to some of London’s most iconic buildings, names that need no introduction to the English and people beyond the borders of England, such as Buckingham Palace or the Palace of Westminster.
The history of this building begins around the year 1700 when it was built to serve as the home of the Duke of Buckingham. This is where it got its initial name “Buckingham House”. Five decades later, George III decided to acquire Buckingham House to use as Queen Charlotte’s personal residence. After this purchase, Buckingham Palace became known as “The Queen’s House”. Beginning in 1837, after the coronation of Queen Victoria, the palace became the home of the British monarchs. Queen Victoria became a resident of the place and also ordered some developments, such as the 3 corners around the central courtyard. Edward Blore and John Nash were chosen to work as architects on the Buckingham Palace expansion. The latest modifications were brought to the palace at the beginning of the 20th century. This included the eastern façade with the well-known balcony from which the Royal Family greets the crowds in Victoria Square.
Buckingham palace
Today, Buckingham Palace is the official home of the Queen in London and is used primarily to receive guests of value or to hold ceremonial and official events for the Royal Family. The Palace is located between Hyde Park, The Green Park and St. James’s Park.
You can visit Buckingham Palace during August or September, when the Queen makes her annual visit to Balmoral. The tourist permit is granted only for the 19 state rooms, the ballroom and the gardens. But don’t worry, you won’t miss out on much, as some of the greatest treasures are in the state rooms, including impressive French and English furniture and important paintings.
Probably one of the most well-known features of the Palace is the “Changing of the Guard” ceremony that takes place every day on the esplanade at exactly 11.30am and lasts approximately 45 minutes.
Whitehall
The second area worth visiting on SW1 is Whitehall Street, the main part of the street that runs from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. Its name is given by Whitehall Palace, the place where British monarchs enjoyed living until 1698 when most of it was destroyed by fire. Also in Whitehall we find The Cenotaph, a war memorial created by Sir Edward Lutyens in 1919. It was originally designed as a short term wood and plasture structure and its purpose was to serve a parade for peace at the end of the First World War. The British loved it and until 1920 it became a permanent stone building. Every year on the Sunday closest to November 11, Remembrance Sunday takes place here.
A host of important monuments and buildings can be found in Whitehall, making it one of the most impressive streets in London. The memorials are dedicated to Prince George, Duke of Cambridge; Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig; Alan Brooke, First Viscount of Alanbrooke; Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire; William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim; Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery de Alamein, The Cenotaph (Britain’s main war memorial). The last monument built on Whitehall Street is the National Monument to the Women of World War II. It was built in 2005.
Victoria Station
With 73 million passengers passing through its doors each year, it is easy to see why Victoria Station is considered one of the most important places in London. Located between buildings of great tourist importance and that link London with the long-distance destination, this station has become, among the years, the second most important of its kind, after Waterloo. Victoria Tube Station is on the District & Circle Lines and Victoria Line. Rail trains are operated by trains from the south and southeast. The Gatwick Express train to Gatwick Airport departs from London Victoria Station.
There are two London Underground stations connected in Victoria, on different levels and built more than 100 years apart. The initial one, which resides in the northern part of the bus station, serves the District and Circle lines. The most recent, which is near the main station, serves the Victoria line. The two are connected by a pedestrian walkway below the bus station.
Construction of Victoria Station began on December 24, 1868.
Westminster Palace
The House of Parliament is an imposing building on the bank of the Thames and a landmark in London also known to many as the Palace of Westminster. This amazing building is located on the site where Edward the Confessor ordered the original palace building in the first half of the 11th century.
Even if the royalists moved to Whitehall Palace in 1547, the Lords continued to meet at Westminster, while the House of Commons met at St. Stephen’s Chapel. From those ancient times, the Palace of Westminster was the seat of the English Parliament. In 1834 a fire managed to destroy much of the old palace. All that was left after this devastating fire was the crypt chapel, a tower, and Westminster Hall. Westminster Hall was even saved by Lord Melbourne, prime minister at the time, who requested that the fire-fighting pumps be located right in the room and who personally supervised the fire-fighting operation.
The masterpiece of Renaissance Gothic architecture that you can see today was built between 1840 and 1888 by Charles Barry, who designed the building to coincide with Westminster Abbey, which is located nearby. The two imposing towers, well known tourist attractions in London are the Big Ben clock tower and the Victoria tower on which the flag is raised when Parliament is in session. Many Victorian interior arrangements were created by Barry worker, Augustus Pugin.
Entry to Westminster Hall is only permitted with an accompanying guide. The Hall can be seen from the terrace over San Esteban. Westminster Hall is 73 feet long and 18 meters wide and has a domed ceiling made of oak. These things make Westminster Hall one of the most beautiful medieval halls in Europe. In this place full of nobility and history, supreme banquets were held celebrating coronation ceremonies until 1821. The High Court of England was there until the 19th century. Oliver Cromwell statue outside the room, remember that in 1653 he was appointed Lord Protector.
To reach the upper chambers of Westminster Hall, visitors must pass through the massive wooden door of St. Stephen’s Hall. The walls of the central hall are inlaid with Latin mottos. This is where the lords met with or among their supporters and where they “lobbied” for certain laws and ideas. From the Lobby you can access the House of Lords or the Commons.
The House of Commons was destroyed by a fire bomb in 1941. The rebuilding after Barry’s original design was done after the design of St. Stephen’s Chapel, the former site of the House of Commons. The construction took place during 1950. The seats are placed very carefully, the members of the ruling party are placed to one side, while the opposition and its most prominent members are exactly opposite. The distance between them is marked on the ground with red stripes and is exactly two swords and one foot. Members of the House of Commons cannot cross these lines, ensuring that the debate runs in a civilized manner.
The House of Lords is decorated in gold and red colors and really has all the grandeur one could hope for in such a room. Here in the House of Lords, Her Majesty the Queen comes to open the parliamentary session in November of each year. A golden throne dominates the entire room. It is the one where the Queen makes her speech that opens the parliamentary session. Lord Chancellor sits opposite, in the well-known “wool bag”, a bright red cushion filled with wool. The Lord Chancellor sitting on the wool sack is a tradition dating back to medieval England which exported the largest amount of wool in the world.
St James Park
St James’s Park is often associated with many things in the political realm due to its location or literary. St James’s Park is located in the heart of London and covers an area of 23 hectares. The park has a lake where ducks, geese and pelicans coexist. At St. Ceremonies, parades or celebrations of events of national importance are often held in St. James’s Park.
Three royal palaces surround St. James Park. The oldest of these is the Palace of Westminster, now known as the seat of the British Parliament. St. James’s Palace, with its unmistakable style, still houses the Court of St. James, despite the monarchs living in the third palace, Buckingham, since 1837.
St. James’s Park is an ideal place for both tourists and Londoners. St James Park’s feature facilities include playgrounds, public restrooms and facilities for the disabled. St James Park is the oldest royal park in London and dates back to the 13th century.
