1-232-666 - Reproduced by permission of Historic England/Heritage Images

Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, 2002.There has been a Royal Palace at Westminster from about 1040 onwards, which has acted as the principal palace of the sovereign, and housed the principal Courts of Justice, the Exchequer, and administrative offices of the kingdom for over 500 years. The medieval palace was largely destroyed by fire in 1834 and the present structure built mainly between 1839 and 1854. The first bridge here was opened in 1750, the present one dates from 1854-62.