Influential meetings, political views, laws and legislation and the house of commons and lords are all significant sights that touch our thoughts only at the magnificently erected Houses of Parliament. For a school trip, I visited the Palace for observing the roles people take up and also the world-renowned political rooms.
Educational Visit
If you’re visiting the Houses of Parliament on behalf of your school, you need to be noted that there is a specific procedure to further entertain and enhance the political visit.
When you enter, from the rear entrance(quite distant from the houses) you will go through airport style security which, for us, took prolonged time. After the shuffling and duration of the security check, they require you to enter the building without any bags; ensure you remember which bag-case you leave your bag in, it could get frustrating if you misplaced your bag among many other visitors.
A Brief History
Following the wild, “kids running around” intro, you will enter what was originally the old Parliament that remained after the great burning in 1834. Side note: Here’s a little history of the great burning…
The building that we now refer to the Houses of the Parliament actually composes of many important sections. It contains the Houses of Lords, Commons, the Elizabeth Tower, the Victoria Tower and many more meeting and educational rooms. Altogether, it is known as the Palace of Westminster.
The Palace was first erected in 1016 (time of William the Conqueror) and was mainly used as a royal hall for banqueting. It was not until the 13th Century that many of the significant parliamentary buildings had been established in Westminster; it became the center of political meetings.
On 16th October 1834, a fire broke out, and the timbre-frame erection had burnt the worst fire in London at that time. The Great Fire of London had blazed to flames and part of the Palace was lost. This was known as the ‘great burning of 1834’.
Between 1840-76, the Palace was rebuilt and the remains were renovated and kept for less significant arrangements.
And now back to my trip.
A Special Tour
We were split into individual groups and we were given an exemplary tour around the building about the rules and regulations followed in the Parliament.
After the themed entrance, we organised ourselves collectively in the main hall for the momentary walk of senior politicians into the houses.
Much of our time was spent in the hall and the educational rooms for school groups. Fortunately, our local MP, Mark Francois visited for a small introduction and an entertaining Q&A session. Despite not having the opportunity to see the Houses, we walked out knowing much more than when we first walked through the doors. It was simply by discussing, debating, attentively observing and actively listening to the guides. Our trip was for sure a worthy visit and I recommend anyone to go there for a unique experience of understanding how the handle that steers our nations is controlled.
Design
The design of the parliament was simply extravagant both inside and out. Every detail was cared for and it was obvious that the mightiness was open to the atmosphere. The majestic ceilings and the Gothic style seemed extravagant and vivid to the eye. Unfortunately, neither of the two main designers, Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin survived to see the finished design.
Occasionally, the touristic blocks of the Palace are redesigned to symbolize unique political ideas, which seemed very interesting. When we visited the old Parliament section, we saw a magnificent calendar-clock framework which symbolized gender equality at the time of visit. A visit on a special occasion is definitely suggested as there are lots of meanings and interesting thoughts that revolve the designs of the Palace.
After a day out on behalf of the school, I can confidently say that the trip is thoroughly enticing and interesting as a school group more than perhaps as a family or individually. There are heaps to be gained from just spending a few hours in the Palace; I recommend choosing a special occasion and planning as a group. And then the excitement automatically follows.
Leave a Reply