What was once a royal palace has turned into the greatest political power of the United Kingdom. Located on the bank of the River Thames in the borough of Westminster stands the Palace of Westminster, also called the Houses of Parliament. At first glance it appears that the building is in despair, with all the scaffolding and renovating being constructed. Even the popular tourist attraction, Big Ben, was unrecognizable. Yet this is only the beginning of what will be the new versions of both historical landmarks. Bringing up questions as to maybe the outer appearance of the building could be an inner meaning of what is really happening within the Parliament walls and government.
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| New Dawn by Mary Branson |
Entering the Westminster Hall I was welcomed with the smell of power and history filling up my senses. I was enamored by the light sculpture, New Dawn, propped above the entrance to the St. Stephens Hall celebrating women's suffrage. Linked to the tides of the River Thames so that it would always be changing and signified the campaign for equality in modern day London. Once in the Central Lobby you are given different hallways to enter a new realm, each gothic room filled with its own personality reminding us that great leaders have walked these same floors. Murals of major historical events filled the rooms depicting the struggle for British liberty. However, not much of what we saw is the original form due to a big fire in 1834 that nearly destroyed most of the palace.
Each room had its own story to tell and usually I am not big on history, let alone analyzing situations like this, but one can easily tell by the contrast between the green benches in the House of Commons verses the red benches in the House of Lords, shows where the true power lies. Upon leaving the hall, I looked up one last time at the New Dawn to see that it has become more lit due to the tide rising. Taking in all of what's left of it till it goes through a full decant.
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