Westminster Hall

The huge Westminster Hall, completed in 1099.  During its early history, the main use of the hall was for feasts and banquets.  From the 12th to the 19th century, it was home to the courts of King's Bench, Chancery, and Common Pleas. Important state trials were held here, including those of Thomas More, Guy Fawkes and Charles I. Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill lay in state here.

At the far end of the hall was the Parliamentary War Memorial, also known as the Recording Angel Memorial, unveiled in 1922.  There was some local interest in the memorial as one of the names inscribed was that of Lieutenant Robert Bailey, who was the brother of Mrs Helen Lees-Milne of Wickhamford Manor.  Robert Bailey had been Clerk to the House of Commons before the war.

Just before leaving Westminster Hall, above the entrance to St Stephen’s Hall, was “New Dawn”, a contemporary light installation by Mary Branson celebrating women’s suffrage.  It changes over a 12½-hour period linked to the Thames’s tidal movements.

Photo:  Tony Spinks.