Jump to content

Victoria Tower: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 51°29′54.01″N 00°07′31.76″W / 51.4983361°N 0.1254889°W / 51.4983361; -0.1254889 (Palace of Westminster)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
KolbertBot (talk | contribs)
Bots
1,166,042 edits
m Bot: HTTP→HTTPS (v485)
→Gallery: uppercase per link (neo-Gothic)
 
(39 intermediate revisions by 35 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Tallest tower of the Palace of Westminster}}
{{About|the Victoria Tower in London}}
{{about|the Victoria Tower in London}}
{{Infobox building
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
| name = Victoria Tower
⚫
[[File:Palace of Westminster Victoria Tower Gardens South 2020 Tower.jpg|thumb|The Victoria Tower stands at the [[House of Lords]] end of the [[Palace of Westminster]]]]
| native_name =
⚫
The '''Victoria Tower''' is a square tower at the south-west end of the [[Palace of Westminster]] in London,<ref>coord|51|29|54.01|N|00|07|31.76|W</ref> adjacent to Black Rod's Garden on the west and [[Old Palace Yard]] on the east. At {{convert|98.5|m|ft}}, it is slightly taller than the [[Big Ben|Elizabeth Tower]] (known formerly as the Clock Tower and popularly as Big Ben) at the north end of the Palace ({{convert|96.3|m|ft}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Victoria Tower |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/architecture/palacestructure/victoria-tower/ |website=UK Parliament}}</ref> It was designed by [[Charles Barry]] in the [[Perpendicular Gothic]] style and was completed in 1860. It houses the [[Parliamentary Archives]] in archive conditions meeting the [[BS 5454]] standard, on 12 floors. All 14 floors of the building were originally linked via a single [[wrought-iron]] Victorian staircase of 553 steps, of which five floors survive. The steps are made of granite quarried from Cairngall in [[Aberdeenshire]].<ref name="McKean">{{cite book |last=McKean |first=Charles |title=Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide |date=1990 |publisher=Mainstream Publications Ltd. |isbn=185158-231-2 |page=163}}</ref>
| image = Victoria Tower from the south-west.jpg
| image_size = 240px
⚫
| caption = The Victoria Tower stands at the [[House of Lords]] end of the [[Palace of Westminster]]
| building_type = [[Tower]]
| architectural_style = [[Perpendicular Gothic]]
| structural_system =
| location = [[London]], England, UK
| owner =
| current_tenants =
| landlord =
⚫
| coordinates = {{coord|51|29|54.01|N|00|07|31.76|W|display=inline,title|region:GB_type:landmark|name=Palace of Westminster}}
| start_date =
| completion_date = 1860
| height = {{convert|98.5|m|ft}}
| diameter =
| other_dimensions =
| floor_count =
| floor_area =
| main_contractor =
| architect = [[Charles Barry]]
| structural_engineer =
| services_engineer =
| civil_engineer =
| other_designers =
| quantity_surveyor =
| awards =
}}
⚫
The '''Victoria Tower''' is the square tower at the south-west end of the [[Palace of Westminster]] in London, facing south and west onto Black Rod's Garden and [[Old Palace Yard]]. At {{convert|98.5|m|ft}}, it is slightly taller than the more famous [[Elizabeth Tower, Palace of Westminster|Elizabeth Tower]] (formerly known as the Clock Tower and popularly known as 'Big Ben') at the north end of the Palace ({{convert|96.3|m|ft}}).<ref>http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/architecture/palacestructure/victoria-tower/</ref> It houses the [[Parliamentary Archives]] in archive conditions meeting the [[BS 5454]] standard, on 12 floors. All 14 floors of the building were originally linked via a single [[Wrought iron|wrought-iron]] Victorian staircase of 553 steps, of which five floors survive.


The main entrance at the base of the tower is the Sovereign's Entrance, through which the Monarch passes at the [[State Opening of Parliament]]. On top of the Victoria Tower is an iron flagstaff from which flies the [[Union Flag]] or, when the Sovereign is present in the Palace, the [[Royal Standard of the United Kingdom|Royal Standard]]. The flag used to be flown only on days when either House of Parliament sat, but since January 2010 it has been flown every day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40851 |title=Early Day Motions – EDM 1199: Union Flag at Parliament |publisher=UK Parliament |date=29 March 2010 |accessdate=20 February 2010}}</ref>
The main entrance at the base of the tower is the Sovereign's Entrance, through which the monarch passes at the [[State Opening of Parliament]]. On top of the Victoria Tower is an iron flagstaff from which flies the [[Union Flag]] or, when the Sovereign is present in the Palace, the [[Royal Standard of the United Kingdom|Royal Standard]]. The flag used to be flown only on days when either House of Parliament sat, but since January 2010 it has been flown every day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40851 |title=Early Day Motions – EDM 1199: Union Flag at Parliament |publisher=UK Parliament |date=29 March 2010 |access-date=20 February 2010}}</ref>


== History ==
== History ==
[[File:London Thames (1930).jpg|thumb|right| London from the Victoria Tower in the 1920s]]
[[File:London Thames (1930).jpg|thumb|right| View of London from the Victoria Tower in the 1920s]]
[[File:Casas del Parlamento. Palacio de Westminster - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|Panorama of the Palace of Westminster, with the Victoria Tower at left]]
⚫
The Victoria Tower was purpose-built as a "fireproof repository for books and documents", as required by the competition to rebuild the Palace of Westminster after the [[Burning of Parliament|fire of 16&nbsp;October 1834]], which had destroyed the building and almost all of the records of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. The records of the [[House of Lords]] survived the conflagration because they were, at the time, stored in the [[Jewel Tower]], which was at a distance from the main building and still stands across the road from the Victoria Tower.


⚫
[[Sir Charles Barry]]'s design for the new Palace of Westminster featured a tower over the Sovereign's Entrance, 12 floors of which incorporated record storage. [[Augustus Pugin]] produced most of the architectural designs and elevations for the project and also the interior design. The first stone of the Tower was laid by [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] on 22&nbsp;December 1843, and construction was completed in 1860.
⚫
The Victoria Tower was purpose-built as a "fireproof repository for books and documents", as required by the competition to rebuild the Palace of Westminster after the fire of 16&nbsp;October 1834, which had destroyed the building and almost all of the records of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. The records of the [[House of Lords]] survived the conflation because they were, at the time, stored in the [[Jewel Tower]], which was at a distance from the main building and still stands across the road from the Victoria Tower.


⚫
The tower was originally named "The King's Tower" because the fire of 1834 that destroyed the old Palace of Westminster occurred during the reign of King [[William IV]].
⚫
[[Charles Barry]]'s design for the new Palace of Westminster featured a tower over the Sovereign's Entrance, 12 floors of which incorporated record storage. [[Augustus Pugin]] produced most of the architectural designs and elevations for the project and also the interior design. The first stone of the Tower was laid by [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] on 22&nbsp;December 1843, and construction was completed in 1860.


⚫
The Victoria Tower incorporates a cast-iron framework which, rather than the visible stonework, provides the main strength supporting the structure. When the wrought-iron flagstaff was erected, the tower became the tallest square tower in the world, at {{convert|98.5|m|ft}} to the base of the flagstaff, and a further {{convert|22.3|m|ft}} to the top of the crown finial at its summit.
⚫
The tower was originally named "The King's Tower" because the fire of 1834 which destroyed the old Palace of Westminster occurred during the reign of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|King William IV]].


⚫
In 1897, the King's Tower was officially renamed as the "Victoria Tower" in tribute to [[Queen Victoria]] in her [[Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria|Diamond Jubilee year]].<ref name=hough>{{cite news |last=Hough |first=Andrew |title=The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: 'Big Ben to be renamed Elizabeth Tower' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9307060/The-Queens-Diamond-Jubilee-Big-Ben-to-be-renamed-Elizabeth-Tower.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=2 June 2012 |access-date=9 July 2014}}</ref>
⚫
The Victoria Tower incorporates a cast-iron framework which, rather than the visible stonework, provides the main strength supporting the structure. When the wrought-iron flagstaff was erected, the tower became the tallest square tower in the world, at {{convert|98.5|m|ft}} to the base of the flagstaff, and a further {{convert|22.3|m|ft}} to the top of the crown finial at its summit.

⚫
In 1897, the King's Tower was officially renamed as the "Victoria Tower" in tribute to Queen Victoria in her [[Queen Victoria#Diamond Jubilee|Diamond Jubilee year]].<ref name=hough>{{cite news| first=Andrew| last=Hough| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9307060/The-Queens-Diamond-Jubilee-Big-Ben-to-be-renamed-Elizabeth-Tower.html| title=The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: 'Big Ben to be renamed Elizabeth Tower'| work=Daily Telegraph| date=2 June 2012| accessdate=9 July 2014}}</ref>


The [[Parliamentary Archives]] underwent a complete reconstruction between 1948 and 1963 to provide 12 floors of air-conditioned document storage, and again between 2000 and 2004 to bring it up to contemporary archive storage standards.
The [[Parliamentary Archives]] underwent a complete reconstruction between 1948 and 1963 to provide 12 floors of air-conditioned document storage, and again between 2000 and 2004 to bring it up to contemporary archive storage standards.

The records are preserved by cleaning, flattening and repairing old documents. New parchment was created for the Acts whose skins was torn. Some were pasted on linen and then covered with silk gauze to protect them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/cultural-collections/archives/victoriatower/storingtherecords/|title=Storing the records|website=UK Parliament}}</ref>


==Gallery==
==Gallery==


<gallery>
<gallery>
Image:The base of Victoria Tower on Abingdon Street.jpg|A view of the tower from across Abingdon Street, in front of the [[Jewel Tower]].
File:The base of Victoria Tower on Abingdon Street.jpg|A view of the tower from across Abingdon Street, in front of the [[Jewel Tower]]
Image:The Entrance to Victoria Tower looking north.JPG|The [[neo-gothic]] ornament of the entrance to Victoria Tower looking north.
File:The Entrance to Victoria Tower looking north.JPG|The [[neo-Gothic]] ornament of the entrance to the Victoria Tower, looking north
File:Palace of Westminster - Victoria Tower and south elevation from the south - 240404.jpg|Victoria Tower from the south.
File:Palace of Westminster - Victoria Tower and south elevation from the south - 240404.jpg|The Victoria Tower from the south
File:The Union Flag on Victoria Tower.JPG|The Union Flag on Victoria Tower
File:Victoria Tower London GB.jpg|The Union Flag on the Victoria Tower
File:Top of Victoria Tower.jpg|Upper part of the Victoria Tower
</gallery>
</gallery>


== References ==
== References ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Commons category}}
⚫
{{Reflist}}{{Parliamentary Estate}}{{Buildings in the United Kingdom timeline}}
{{Reflist}}

⚫
{{Buildings in the United Kingdom timeline}}
{{Buildings in Europe timeline}}
{{Buildings in Europe timeline}}
{{Queen Victoria}}
{{Jubilees of British monarchs}}
{{Authority control}}
⚫
{{coord|51|29|54.01|N|00|07|31.76|W|display=title|region:GB_type:landmark|name=Palace of Westminster}}


[[Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster]]
Line 72: Line 50:
[[Category:Towers completed in 1860]]
[[Category:Towers completed in 1860]]
[[Category:Towers in London]]
[[Category:Towers in London]]
[[Category:1860 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria]]

Latest revision as of 13:31, 12 October 2024

This article is about the Victoria Tower in London. For other uses, see Victoria Tower (disambiguation).

The Victoria Tower stands at the House of Lords end of the Palace of Westminster

The Victoria Tower is a square tower at the south-west end of the Palace of Westminster in London,[1] adjacent to Black Rod's Garden on the west and Old Palace Yard on the east. At 98.5 metres (323 ft), it is slightly taller than the Elizabeth Tower (known formerly as the Clock Tower and popularly as Big Ben) at the north end of the Palace (96.3 metres (316 ft)).[2] It was designed by Charles Barry in the Perpendicular Gothic style and was completed in 1860. It houses the Parliamentary Archives in archive conditions meeting the BS 5454 standard, on 12 floors. All 14 floors of the building were originally linked via a single wrought-iron Victorian staircase of 553 steps, of which five floors survive. The steps are made of granite quarried from Cairngall in Aberdeenshire.[3]

The main entrance at the base of the tower is the Sovereign's Entrance, through which the monarch passes at the State Opening of Parliament. On top of the Victoria Tower is an iron flagstaff from which flies the Union Flag or, when the Sovereign is present in the Palace, the Royal Standard. The flag used to be flown only on days when either House of Parliament sat, but since January 2010 it has been flown every day.[4]

History

[edit]
View of London from the Victoria Tower in the 1920s
Panorama of the Palace of Westminster, with the Victoria Tower at left

The Victoria Tower was purpose-built as a "fireproof repository for books and documents", as required by the competition to rebuild the Palace of Westminster after the fire of 16 October 1834, which had destroyed the building and almost all of the records of the House of Commons. The records of the House of Lords survived the conflagration because they were, at the time, stored in the Jewel Tower, which was at a distance from the main building and still stands across the road from the Victoria Tower.

Sir Charles Barry's design for the new Palace of Westminster featured a tower over the Sovereign's Entrance, 12 floors of which incorporated record storage. Augustus Pugin produced most of the architectural designs and elevations for the project and also the interior design. The first stone of the Tower was laid by Queen Victoria on 22 December 1843, and construction was completed in 1860.

The tower was originally named "The King's Tower" because the fire of 1834 that destroyed the old Palace of Westminster occurred during the reign of King William IV.

The Victoria Tower incorporates a cast-iron framework which, rather than the visible stonework, provides the main strength supporting the structure. When the wrought-iron flagstaff was erected, the tower became the tallest square tower in the world, at 98.5 metres (323 ft) to the base of the flagstaff, and a further 22.3 metres (73 ft) to the top of the crown finial at its summit.

In 1897, the King's Tower was officially renamed as the "Victoria Tower" in tribute to Queen Victoria in her Diamond Jubilee year.[5]

The Parliamentary Archives underwent a complete reconstruction between 1948 and 1963 to provide 12 floors of air-conditioned document storage, and again between 2000 and 2004 to bring it up to contemporary archive storage standards.

The records are preserved by cleaning, flattening and repairing old documents. New parchment was created for the Acts whose skins was torn. Some were pasted on linen and then covered with silk gauze to protect them.[6]

[edit]
  • A view of the tower from across Abingdon Street, in front of the Jewel Tower
    A view of the tower from across Abingdon Street, in front of the Jewel Tower
  • The neo-Gothic ornament of the entrance to the Victoria Tower, looking north
    The neo-Gothic ornament of the entrance to the Victoria Tower, looking north
  • The Victoria Tower from the south
    The Victoria Tower from the south
  • The Union Flag on the Victoria Tower
    The Union Flag on the Victoria Tower
  • Upper part of the Victoria Tower
    Upper part of the Victoria Tower

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victoria Tower.
  1. ^ coord|51|29|54.01|N|00|07|31.76|W
  2. ^ "The Victoria Tower". UK Parliament.
  3. ^ McKean, Charles (1990). Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Mainstream Publications Ltd. p. 163. ISBN 185158-231-2.
  4. ^ "Early Day Motions – EDM 1199: Union Flag at Parliament". UK Parliament. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  5. ^ Hough, Andrew (2 June 2012). "The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: 'Big Ben to be renamed Elizabeth Tower'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Storing the records". UK Parliament.

51°29′54.01″N 00°07′31.76″W / 51.4983361°N 0.1254889°W / 51.4983361; -0.1254889 (Palace of Westminster)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Victoria_Tower&oldid=1250777845"