London monuments

Big Ben 

Big Ben is not open to the public. Possibly the most famous clock face and chimes in the world, Big Ben is actually the name of the biggest bell (13.5 tons) inside The Clock Tower (320ft) which forms part of the Houses of Parliament. Built in 1858/9 the bell was named after one Sir Benjamin Hall and when it was cast it was Britain’s heaviest bell. The clock’s four dials each have a diameter of 23ft, the minute hands are 14ft long and the numerals on each face are nearly 2ft high. The placing of old pennies in the mechanism controls the accuracy of the clock movement, yet it is incredibly accurate.
The tower which houses Big Ben has been called by many names, one of the most popular is St Stephen’s Tower. The official line, from the Head of Public Information at the Palace is that the Clock Tower is simply called The Clock Tower. However, the name Big Ben has now passed into every day use and the locals call it Big Ben so we’ll go along with that too.

Buckingham Palace 

Buckingham Palace has been the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837 and evolved from a town house that was owned, from the beginning of the eighteenth century, by the Dukes of Buckingham. Buckingham Palace is the London home of The Queen and Prince Philip. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to take up residence here after the architect John Nash transformed it from Buckingham House into a palace. In 1845 Queen Victoria asked for the Palace to be extended to make more room for her growing family of four children. As part of the alterations, Marble Arch, which was originally the entrance to the palace, was moved to a new position at the corner of Hyde Park.

The Palace is also the administrative headquarters of the monarchy. The Queen receives visiting heads of state at the palace and it is here that the Queen holds garden parties and bestows knighthoods and other honours. Foot Guards from the Household Division, in their distinctive red tunics and black bearskins, can be seen on guard duty outside the palace daily. The Changing The Guard ceremony now takes place only every other day in the winter but it is still daily in the summer months.

After a serious fire damaged Windsor Castle in 1993 the Queen allowed the Palace State rooms to be opened to the public for the first time, to help pay the Windsor Castle repair bill. When not away, The Queen and Prince Philip spend most weekends at Windsor Castle, where they enjoy horse riding.

Westminster Abbey 

Westminster Abbey is one of Europe's finest Gothic buildings and the scene of coronations, marriages and burials of British monarchs. It dates back to the 11th century, and highlights include the Coronation Chair made in 1300, Poets' Corner and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. 

An architectural masterpiece of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, Westminster Abbey also presents a unique pageant of British history - the Confessor’s Shrine, the tombs of Kings and Queens, and countless memorials to the famous and the great. It has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 and for numerous other Royal occasions. Today it is still a church dedicated to regular worship and to the celebration of great events in the life of the nation. Neither a cathedral nor a parish church, Westminster Abbey is a “royal peculiar” under the jurisdiction of a Dean and Chapter, subject only to the Sovereign.

The Coronation chair is here. Coronations, marriages and burials of English Monarchs have taken place at this church which was originally built by Edward the Confessor in 1065, rebuilt and added to in the 13th to 18th centuries.

Trafalgar Square

It would seem all roads lead to Trafalgar Square, and most cars seem to end up there, in a perpetual traffic jam. So if Nelson's column is on the agenda, get the tube (Charing Cross) and leave the car behind. The statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson, buried at St Pauls Cathedral, stands high above the traffic at Trafalgar square. Below him, tourists gather to feed the frightening number of pidgeons who sweep in and out of the crowds and accross to St Martin in the Fields, a church which has been standing since the thirteenth century. Worth a visit, especially for it's stunning interior. 

Windsor Castle

William the Conqueror chose to build a castle at Windsor more than 900 years ago to defend the western approach to the capital. As one of the Queen's official residences Windsor Castle still plays a formal role in State and official occasions. Visitors can marvel at St George's Chapel, which was founded by George IV and is one of the best examples of gothic architecture in the country. Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones were married there in June 1999. It is also the burial site for 10 sovereigns. Equally stunning is St George's Hall, which has been completely restored following a fire in 1992 and is still used by the Queen for state banquets and receptions. 

The State Apartments are also open to the public and are lavishly furnished with paintings by Rubens, Holbein and Rembrandt, sculpture and tapestries. In the Drawings Gallery, visitors have an opportunity to see artwork from the Royal Library and Queen Mary's Dolls' House will delight everyone with its perfect rooms and furnishings in miniature. Built on a scale of 1:12 the dolls' house was crafted in the 1920s.