History of the Palace of Westminster

The history of the Palace of Westminster began in the Middle Ages when it was used as a royal residence. The English Parliament of the United Kingdom has met there since 1295. The Palace burned down in 1834 and was replaced by the modern building. Old Palace The Palace of Westminster site was strategically important during the Middle Ages, as it was located on the banks of the River Thames. Known in medieval times as Thorney Island, the site may have been first-used for a royal residence by Canute the Great during his reign from 1016 to 1035. St Edward the Confessor, the penultimate Anglo-Saxon monarch of England, built a royal palace on Thorney Island just west of the City of London at about the same time as he built Westminster Abbey . Thorney Island and the surrounding area soon became known as Westminster . Neither the buildings used by the Anglo-Saxons nor those used by William I survive. The oldest existing part of the Palace, Westminster Hall, dates from the reign of William I's successor, King William II.

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