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The City of Westminster is one of the 32 boroughs of London, England. It contains several important landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster. It’s located just west of the City of London.
This entry is a very broad look at what you can find in Westminster. I have yet to thoroughly explore the area outside a few key attractions. Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Piccadilly Circus, and Churchill War Rooms are covered in separate posts. I apologize in advance for the quality of some of the photos.
Big Ben
I’ll start at one of the most iconic landmarks in London, the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which is popularly known as Big Ben. In reality, Big Ben is the nickname of the Great Bell located in the tower. The name of the tower is officially the Elizabeth Tower. It was renamed from Clock Tower in 2012 in honor of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
The tower was completed in 1859 and designed by Augustus Pugin. It’s 315 feet tall and there are 334 steps to the belfry. The tower is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey. The bells were silenced on August 21, 2017, in order for the tower to undergo a four year restoration project, which was completed in November 2022. Tours to climb Big Ben cost £30 for adults and £15 for children aged 11 to 17 (as of February 2024). You must be able to climb over 300 steps. This activity is very popular and reservations fill up quickly!
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the home of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was originally built in 1016 as the residence of Edward the Confessor. The Model Parliament, the first official Parliament of England, met there in 1295. All British Parliaments have met there since 1707. The original palace was destroyed by a fire that broke out on October 16, 1834. The current building was constructed between 1840 and 1876.
In front of the building is a statue of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), a controversial political figure who served as the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1653 to 1658. He was one of the signatories of King Charles I’s death warrant, and has been called everything from a traitor and dictator by Winston Churchill to a hero of liberty by John Milton. Nevertheless, he was named one of the 10 greatest Britons of all time in a 2002 BBC poll.
Tours of Parliament are available on Saturdays and most weekdays during parliamentary recess. Self-guided audio tours cost £25 for adults and £18 for visitors aged 16 to 24. One child from age 5 to 15 is free with each paying adult, otherwise it’s £8 for each additional child. Children under five are free. Audio guides are offered in English and eight other languages as well as British Sign Language. Guided tours cost £32 for adults, £26 for visitors aged 18 to 24, and £16 for children aged 5 to 15. Children under five are free. Both types of tours take about 90 minutes. Finally, the State Apartments of Speaker’s House tour costs £20 for adults and £12 for visitors aged 16 to 24. All prices are current as of February 2024. You can book online or at the ticket office.
Parliament Square
Across the street from the Palace of Westminster is Parliament Square. This large open area was developed in 1868 and featured London’s first traffic signals. Many demonstrations and protests take place there.
Parliament Square features 12 statues of British and foreign political figures, including Winston Churchill; David Lloyd George; Jan Smuts (South Africa); Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston; Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby; Benjamin Disraeli; Robert Peel; George Canning; Abraham Lincoln (USA); Nelson Mandela (South Africa); Mahatma Gandhi (India); and Millicent Fawcett.
The statue of Winston Churchill was unveiled on November 1, 1973, by his widow, Clementine Spencer-Churchill, on the spot Churchill said “where my statue will go” in the 1950s. It was sculpted by Ivor Roberts-Jones.
Treasury Building
South of Parliament Square is the Treasury Building, which houses the Churchill War Rooms. Winston Churchill directed World War II from that underground complex. Between the Treasury Building and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are the Clive Steps, which feature a statue of Robert Clive.
Bali Bombings Memorial
In front of the Clive Steps is the Bali Bombings Memorial, dedicated to victims of the 2002 terrorist bombings in Bali, Indonesia. It was designed by Gary Breeze and carved by Breeze and Martin Cook. The memorial was unveiled on October 12, 2006, the fourth anniversary of the bombings.
Downing Street
Another block north is 10 Downing Street, which is the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The road is closed off for security purposes.
Horse Guards Building
Continuing further north is the Horse Guards building. It was built between 1750 and 1759 to replace an older barracks and stables for the Household Cavalry. The earlier building was once the main entrance to the Palace of Whitehall, the main residence of English monarchs from 1530 to 1698, and later St. James’s Palace. The building faces Horse Guards Parade to the west, where jousting tournaments were held during the time of Henry VIII.
The building is still an important military headquarters, and mounted troopers from the King’s Life Guard stand outside the entrance. Part of the building is used as the Household Cavalry Museum, which is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Adult admission is £10 (as of February 2024).
The clock on top of the building dates back to 1756. It was made by Thwaites and was the main clock in Westminster until the construction of Big Ben. The clock was rebuilt in 1815 by Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy. A stain above the Roman numeral II supposedly marks the time of the execution of Charles I in 1649, which took place just outside the building.
St. James’s Park
To the west of Horse Guards Parade and the Churchill War Rooms is St. James’s Park. The land for the park was purchased in 1532 by Henry VIII. It was established as a royal park in 1603, making it the oldest royal park in London.
St. James’s Park was landscaped several times over the years, most notably by French landscaper André Mollet in the mid-17th century. A canal was built around the same time, but it was turned into a lake by architect John Nash in 1826. The park is bordered on the west by Buckingham Palace and on the north by The Mall.
Guards Memorial
On the eastern end of the park, across from Horse Guards Parade, is the Guards Memorial. It commemorates fallen soldiers from the Guards Division in World War I, and the Household Division in World War II and other conflicts since 1918. The Guards Memorial was designed by H. Chalton Bradshaw and built by the Birmingham Guild. It was unveiled on October 16, 1926.
Old War Office Building
Across Parliament Street from the Horse Guards building is the Old War Office Building. It was completed in 1906 and housed the War Office until it was abolished in 1964. The Ministry of Defence continued to use the building into the 21st century. It reopened as the Raffles Hotel, a luxury hotel and residential building by the Hinduja Group and OHL Developments, in Spring 2023.
Trafalgar Square
Continuing north along Parliament Street is Trafalgar Square. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, a British naval victory over France and Spain on October 21, 1805. The current look of the square was laid out by architect Charles Barry in 1840. After redevelopment, it opened to the public on May 1, 1844.
In the center of Trafalgar Square is Nelson’s Column, a monument to Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), a British naval hero killed in the Battle of Trafalgar. It was erected in 1843 and designed by William Railton. The four bronze lions at the base were added in 1867 and designed by Edwin Landseer. Nelson’s Column stands just over 169 feet tall and is topped by a statue of Nelson carved by E.H. Baily.
National Gallery
The National Gallery sits on the north side of Trafalgar Square. It’s open daily from 10am to 6pm and until 9pm on Fridays. Admission is free except for special exhibitions (as of February 2024).
Admiralty Arch
On the southwest side of Trafalgar Square is Admiralty Arch, which opens onto The Mall. It was designed by Aston Webb and commissioned by Edward VII in memory of his mother, Queen Victoria. Construction finished in 1912, and the building initially served as the official residence of the First Sea Lord. It also held the offices of the Admiralty and other government agencies, including the Cabinet Office. Admiralty Arch is being redeveloped into a luxury hotel by Waldorf Astoria. It’s set to open in early 2025 (as of February 2024).
Wellington Arch
Moving west of Buckingham Palace at Hyde Park Corner is Wellington Arch. The arch was commissioned by George IV and designed by Decimus Burton. It was built between 1826 and 1830 and originally intended to be an outer entrance to Buckingham Palace. The arch was structurally completed but left without the crowning sculpture intended by Burton.
In the 1830s, it was decided that the arch would become a monument to the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Matthew Cotes Wyatt sculpted the largest equestrian statue ever made, of the Duke on his horse, and it was placed on top of the arch in 1846. The size of the statue was disproportionate to the arch and the government demanded it be removed, but the Duke of Wellington refused and threatened to resign from all his public posts.
The statue remained on top of Wellington Arch until February 1883, when the arch was dismantled and reassembled at its current location. A quadriga by sculptor Adrian Jones was placed on top in 1912.
Wellington Arch served as a park keeper’s residence from 1886 to 1937, and the smallest police station in London until about the late 1950s. The arch opened to the public in 2001 and contains exhibitions about the Battle of Waterloo and the history of the arch as well as an observation deck. Adult admission is £7.50 (as of February 2024) or free with an Overseas Visitors Pass through English Heritage. You can save 10% if you buy your tickets online in advance. Wellington Arch is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm.
Shepherd Market
A couple blocks north of the Wellington Arch is Shepherd Market, which contains a good variety of boutique shops, pubs, restaurants, and cafés. It was first developed in 1735. In the 1920s, it became one of the most fashionable areas of London, and remains so to this day.
Mysteriously, The Who drummer Keith Moon and Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas died at 9 Curzon Street in Shepherd Market four years apart, both at the age of 32. Elliot died on July 28, 1974 while Moon died on September 7, 1978. The flat was owned by Harry Nilsson at the time of both deaths.
Harrods
Finally, west of Wellington Arch on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge is Harrods, one of the most famous department stores in the world. It was founded in 1849 by Charles Henry Harrod, who started in a single room with two assistants and a messenger boy. Harrod quickly had to expand his business. On November 16, 1898, Harrods introduced the first “moving staircase” (escalator) to England. The current building was built between 1894 and 1905, and was designed by C.W. Stephens.
