GREAT REFORM ACT AND BILL OF RIGHTS NOW AVAILABLE IN VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

The Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament is 150 years old this year.  To commemorate its completion in 1860, a virtual tour of the Tower, which holds the historic records of Parliament back to the 15th century, is now available on the Parliamentary website.

The online tour gives everyone behind-the-scenes access to the Parliamentary Archives, which stores over three million records from the House of Lords and House of Commons. These include some of the most important constitutional records in the country.  Six panoramas allow you to climb the 98m (323ft) to the top of the Victoria Tower, one of the most familiar sights of the London skyline.

Online visitors can stop off along the way to explore inside the Tower to discover its treasures that include Charles I’s death warrant (1649), the Bill of Rights (1689), and the Great Reform Act (1832).  They Visitors can also see the view of the Queen’s coach when it arrives underneath the Tower in the Sovereign’s Entrance at the State Opening of Parliament, marvel at its amazing spiral staircase (a huge feat of Victorian engineering), discover exactly how large the Union Jack is at the top of the Tower, and look out on incredible views across London from the Tower’s gilded roof pinnacles.

To visit the online tour of Victoria Tower go to: 

http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/online-tours/virtualtours/

The Victoria Tower was completed in May 1860, following a design by Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament.  It was designed as a state-of-the art archive repository, following the fire which burnt down the old Houses of Parliament in 1834.  Barry died on 12 May 1860, and the Union Jack first flew from the flagpole on top of the Tower (at half mast) for his funeral on 22 May 1860.  Barry’s tomb in Westminster Abbey is marked with a brass engraving showing his design for the Victoria Tower, which he intended to be his lasting masterpiece, yet it was Big Ben which captured the public’s imagination.

Big Ben was completed one year earlier in 1859, and there were celebrations for that anniversary last year.

The Victoria Tower tour is the last in a series of 13 virtual tours that allow 360 degree access to the Houses of Parliament’s most important interiors. 

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