Salfordian
Royal Standard - Westminster
Westminster Hall, the oldest existing part of the Palace of Westminster, was erected in 1097. The roof was probably originally supported by pillars but, during the reign of King Richard II, it was replaced by a hammerbeam roof designed by Henry Yevele and Hugh Herland. Westminster Hall is one of the largest halls in Europe and has the largest clearspan medieval roof in England; it measures 21 by 73 m (68 by 240 ft). Despite an Essex legend that the oak timber came from woods in Thundersley, Essex, it is known that the roof timberwork was entirely framed in 1395 at Farnham in Surrey, 35 miles south-west of London. Accounts record the large number of wagons and barges which delivered the jointed timbers (see timber framing article) to Westminster for assembly.
Westminster Hall has served numerous functions. It was primarily used for judicial purposes, housing three of the most important courts in the land: the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of Chancery. In 1873, these courts were amalgamated into the High Court of Justice, which continued to meet in Westminster Hall until it moved to the Royal Courts of Justice in 1882. In addition to regular courts, Westminster Hall also housed important state trials, including impeachment trials and the trial of King Charles I at the end of the English Civil War.
Westminster Hall has also served ceremonial functions. From the twelfth century to the nineteenth, coronation banquets honouring new monarchs were held here. The last coronation banquet was that of King George IV (1821); his successor, William IV, abandoned the idea because he deemed it too expensive. Westminster Hall has also been used for lyings-in-state during state funerals and ceremonial funerals. Such an honour is usually reserved for the Sovereign and for their consorts; the only non-royals to receive it in the twentieth century were Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts (1914) and Sir Winston Churchill (1965). The most recent lying-in-state was that of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002.
Royal Standard - Westminster
Westminster Hall, the oldest existing part of the Palace of Westminster, was erected in 1097. The roof was probably originally supported by pillars but, during the reign of King Richard II, it was replaced by a hammerbeam roof designed by Henry Yevele and Hugh Herland. Westminster Hall is one of the largest halls in Europe and has the largest clearspan medieval roof in England; it measures 21 by 73 m (68 by 240 ft). Despite an Essex legend that the oak timber came from woods in Thundersley, Essex, it is known that the roof timberwork was entirely framed in 1395 at Farnham in Surrey, 35 miles south-west of London. Accounts record the large number of wagons and barges which delivered the jointed timbers (see timber framing article) to Westminster for assembly.
Westminster Hall has served numerous functions. It was primarily used for judicial purposes, housing three of the most important courts in the land: the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of Chancery. In 1873, these courts were amalgamated into the High Court of Justice, which continued to meet in Westminster Hall until it moved to the Royal Courts of Justice in 1882. In addition to regular courts, Westminster Hall also housed important state trials, including impeachment trials and the trial of King Charles I at the end of the English Civil War.
Westminster Hall has also served ceremonial functions. From the twelfth century to the nineteenth, coronation banquets honouring new monarchs were held here. The last coronation banquet was that of King George IV (1821); his successor, William IV, abandoned the idea because he deemed it too expensive. Westminster Hall has also been used for lyings-in-state during state funerals and ceremonial funerals. Such an honour is usually reserved for the Sovereign and for their consorts; the only non-royals to receive it in the twentieth century were Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts (1914) and Sir Winston Churchill (1965). The most recent lying-in-state was that of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002.