Victoria Tower is the tallest tower in London's Palace of Westminster, with a height of 323 feet, or 98.45 meters, which is two meters more than the world-famous Big Ben. At the time of the final erection (the second half of the XIX century) it became the highest square structure in the world. Victoria Tower is located in the southwest corner of the residence of the British Parliament. The building was erected in the style of the new Gothic (neo-Gothic) by the English architect Charles Barry.
Empress of India and Queen of Great Britain
Victoria, in whose honor the largest number of architectural buildings was erected, did not seem to make a special impression: she had a stout physique and was no higher than one hundred and fifty centimeters. The first years after the death of Albert’s husband, she was not so famous in Britain as after the publication of her letters and some diary entries, thanks to which the world learned about the scale of her political influence.
In the second half of the 19th century, she enjoyed popular love for embodying the empire in a matriarchal form. Her name around the world named a variety of memorial sites, memorials and towers. Victoria laid the first stone in the construction of the future southwestern building of the Palace of Westminster, which was completely built by 1860.
Construction history
The Royal Tower - this is the name that the future archival building had during its design. The supporting structure was constructed of cast iron, after which the builders walled it in masonry. Victoria Tower consists of fourteen floors, twelve of which are occupied by two million archival documents of the British Parliament. In the periods from 1948 to 1963 and from 2000 to 2004, the keeper of political history was undergoing tremendous reconstruction, the purpose of which was to improve storage conditions in archive rooms.
The tower device (both external and external) is fire resistant. In 1834, during a fire that broke out in the Palace of Westminster, all the securities of the House of Commons were destroyed , while the documents belonging to the House of Lords were not damaged due to the fact that they were stored in the Tower of Jewels (located on the territory of the Palace of Westminster). It was this event that prompted the government to build a refractory archive room. The top of the tower is made in a pyramidal shape, on which the flagpole is located. Its height is 20 meters.
Destination
The main function of the tower is the storage of parliamentary documents. The length of racks containing various securities is nine kilometers! Victoria Tower has government records, manuscripts, the Bill of Rights, and death sentences that have been imposed since the fifteenth century in its cast-iron walls.
The building has a special entrance (its name is “Royal Entrance”), through which the royal people pass during the ceremonial opening ceremonies of government meetings or other equally important government events. The entrance is made in the form of an arch, which is richly decorated with a sculptural group. During the king’s stay in the palace (we recall that at present there is only a queen in Britain) the Victoria Tower in London is crowned with the official flag of the current ruler. On ordinary days, the flag of the United Kingdom flies on the flagpole.
Palace of Westminster
This building is known worldwide as the seat of the British Parliament. On the territory of the Palace of Westminster is located the Victoria Tower Gardens Park, which was named after the highest building of the British Parliament.
After a fire in 1834, which destroyed almost all buildings, a competition was held among architects for the restoration of damaged buildings. As a result, Charles Barry and his assistant were chosen, who over 30 years successfully rebuilt the palace, including the Queen Victoria Tower. Architectural structures were attached to the restored building, miraculously surviving the fire.