Visit to The Houses of Commons, The Lords and the Cabinet War Rooms
Derek Youell our acting Social Secretary is to be congratulated in organising this very successful and enjoyable as well as educational trip on Monday 6th October 2003 and thanks to Sainsbury's for allowing us to use their car park free of charge for the day.
This visit really resulted from a previous Probus presentation by Richard Skelton on "Life in the House of Lords". Richard presented an amusing and very informative coverage of his twenty five years experiences as part of the Black Rod team at the House of Lords. He recounted the 900 years history and the cultural influences on the status and conduct of this prestigious body. His insights to many of the personalities and activities of their Lordships held the Probus membership enthralled and at times in fits of laughter. This was so well received that Derek in his wisdom started to arrange a visit to the Houses of Commons and Lords.
Hence, as arranged just over 50 members and friends left on time at precisely 10.00 as ordered! Epsom coaches provided a well heated coach and helpful driver who got us up to Westminster in record time, soon we were split into three parties and conducted over the Lords and then the Commons. The various facilities are of the highest order and in parts really sumptuous, but worthy of our fine tradition and heritage, a fact that we should all be proud.
The guides supplied were excellent in their knowledge of the present membership and changes taking place in both Houses, but able to expand on parliamentary history and well able to answer a whole range of questions, some of which are noted below.
(shown in red)
The UK Parliament is one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world, having its origins in the mid-13th Century. From the 14th Century, parliamentary government in the United Kingdom has been based on a two-chamber system. The House of Lords (the upper house) and the House of Commons (the lower house) sit separately and are constituted on entirely different principles. The relationship between the two Houses is governed largely by convention but is in part defined by the Parliament Acts. The legislative process involves both Houses of Parliament and the Monarch.
The main functions of Parliament are to:
make all UK law
provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government
protect the public and safeguard the rights of individuals
scrutinise government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure
examine European proposals before they become law
hear appeals in the House of Lords, the highest Court of Appeal in Britain
debate the major issues of the day.
Parliament has a maximum duration of five years. At any time up to the end of this period, a general election can be held for a new House of Commons.
There are devolved Parliaments/Assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland created by legislation passed by the UK Parliament.
By the 1250s King Henry III (1216-72) was running into difficulties with his nobility. They were angry at the cost of some of his schemes, such as the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey and a proposed campaign to make one of his younger sons King of Sicily. The Provisions of Oxford (1258), imposed on Henry by his barons, established a permanent baronial council which took control of certain key appointments. The leader of the baronial movement was Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester. In 1259 the Provisions of Westminster reformed the common law.
Henry eventually renounced both sets of provisions and challenged the barons. Civil war broke out in 1264, initially going well for Simon de Montfort. During the conflict he sought to boost his baronial support by summoning knights of the shires and burgesses to attend his parliament. This was the first time that commoners had been represented.
De Montfort was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, but his innovation of summoning the commons to attend parliaments was repeated in later years and soon became standard. Thus it is from him that the modern idea of a representative parliament derives.
In the 14th Century, under King Edward III (1327-77) it was accepted that there should be no taxation without parliamentary consent, still a fundamental principle today. Two distinct Houses of Parliament were emerging for the first time, with the 'Commons' sitting apart from the 'Upper House' from 1341. The 'Good Parliament' of 1376 saw the election of the first Speaker, Thomas Hungerford, to represent the Commons. It also saw the use of 'impeachment', whereby the House of Commons as a body could accuse officials who had abused their authority and put them on trial before the Lords.
The 16th Century saw the legal union of Wales - which had long been subject to the English crown - with England under King Henry VIII (1509-47). Henry's reign also saw the Church of England break away from the Roman Catholic Church. The 'Gunpowder Plot' of 1605 may have been hatched when it became clear that the new King, James 1, intended to do nothing to ease the plight of Catholics in the country. The Queen today remains the Supreme Governor of the Church of England and, as the sovereign, must by law be a member of that Church.
In the 17th Century, tensions increased between parliament and monarch, such that in 1641 the King and Parliament could not agree on the control of troops for repression of the Irish Rebellion. Civil War broke out the following year, leading to the execution of King Charles 1 in January 1649. Following the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, the role of parliament was enhanced by the events of 1688-89 (the 'Glorious Revolution') and the passage of the Bill of Rights which established the authority of Parliament over the King, and enshrined in law the principle of freedom of speech in parliamentary debates.
As we toured along the corridors of the Houses we passed many pictures depicting periods in the life of Parliament versus the Monarchy etc. one was of Sir William Waller's Parliamentary troops besieging Basing House in 1643, this mansion stood by the River Loddon, a tributary of the Thames, at Old Basing and recorded the same event as given by a Probus guest speaker.
1707 brought the Union with Scotland and the first Parliament of Great Britain. Growing pressure for reform of parliament in the 18th and 19th Centuries led to a series of Reform Acts which extended the electoral franchise to most men (over 21) in 1867 and, finally, to women over 21 in 1928.
The legislative primacy of the House of Commons over the Lords was confirmed in the 20th Century by the passing of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949.
When was the current Palace of Westminster built?
The new Palace of Westminster was built in the years following the fire of 16 October 1834 which destroyed nearly all the Old Palace. Work began in 1840 and was substantially completed by 1860, although only in 1870 actually finished. It was formally opened in 1852.
When was the Old Palace built?
The origins of the Old Palace can be traced to the middle of the 11th century. The Palace was the principal residence of the kings of England until 1512 when the building was damaged by fire. During the Middle Ages, it was often not possible to accommodate the whole of Parliament within the Palace and the House of Commons did not have a permanent meeting place of their own before 1547. Edward VI handed over the royal Chapel of St Stephen in the Palace of Westminster to the Commons for their use in 1547. The Commons assembled here until the fire of 1834.
What is the oldest remaining part of the Old Palace?
Westminster Hall, which was built between 1097 and 1099 by William Rufus. The Hall has been altered over the centuries and its famous hammer-beam roof was built between 1394 and 1399. The Hall is now used for major public ceremonies. Other buildings to survive are the Crypt of St Mary Undercroft (built between 1292 and 1297) and the Jewel Tower on Abingdon Street (administered by English Heritage).
Who designed the new Palace of Westminster following the fire in 1834?
The architect Sir Charles Barry who won a public competition. Barry was assisted by Augustus Welby Pugin well known for his interior designs.
How tall is the Clock Tower?
96.3m (316 ft)
How much does Big Ben (the Great Bell) weigh?
Big Ben weighs 13.8 tonnes.
What is the origin of the name 'Big Ben'?
There are two theories of how the bell got its name. The first suggests that it was taken from the nickname of a champion heavyweight boxer of the time called Ben Caunt. The second and more probable explanation, is that it was named after the bulky Welshman Sir Benjamin Hall, who was First Commissioner of Works from 1855 to 1858 and whose name was inscribed on the bell.
When was the Commons Chamber destroyed during the Second World War?
10 May 1941 - the Chamber was destroyed by bombs and a subsequent fire. It was rebuilt after the war by the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.
What are the dimensions of the Commons Chamber?
The Chamber is 20.7m by 14m at floor level (68 ft by 46ft), rising to 31.4m by 14.4m across the galleries (103ft by 48ft). The height of the Chamber is 14m (46 ft).
What other buildings make up the parliamentary estate?
The House of Commons has taken over nearby buildings as its functions and staff have increased. These include the Norman Shaw North Buildings and 35-37 Parliament Street, renamed the Parliament Street Building in 1991. A new Parliamentary building, designed by Michael Hopkins and called Portcullis House (nicknamed The Titanic by the Epsom and other coach drivers!), was completed in August 2000.
A more formal account of Parliament can be found on the following website CLICK here
Very soon we were in the cafeteria eating a nice selection of refreshments before a little walk to the cabinet war rooms, after a little hiatus where we lost a few members until the "good shepherd" Derek Youell drove all the party to an underground bunker where we enjoyed an excellent illustrated presentation by one of the staff, even though most of us had experienced some of the segments encapsulated in "Subterranean London during the War" the lecture gave a well rounded but of course brief covering aspects some of which individually we had not encountered.
We all were then issued with a audio device which allowed us to circulate along a defined route at our own pace, with the options to hear more or less of the dialogue or wartime speeches written by those who had officiated in the underground headquarters during wartime. It was amusing to see members of Ewell Probus passing like ships in the night, with an audio clamped to their ear and seemingly unaware of others around or indeed friends well known, as somebody remarked like zombies!
History of the Cabinet War Rooms
, among the many new weapons and threats which the First World War introduced to mankind was the aerial bombardment of cities: the attempt to destroy centres of commerce, civilian life and, above all, government, which until then had been remote from the physical impact of conflict. The bombing of undefended cities was practised during the First World War and the Spanish Civil War, causing many civilian casualties.The fear that cities, and particularly London, would be the first targets of an enemy conducting a war against Great Britain troubled successive British governments in the 1920s and 1930s.
It seemed that the nightmare of mass slaughter of civilians and the destruction of ordered government might be realised and the question became more urgent as to how the Prime Minister, his Cabinet and the central core of the military command could be protected in the event of a war involving the European powers.
RAF planners drew a horrifying picture of 600 tons of bombs raining down on the capital, causing 200,000 casualties in just the first week of a war. Schemes for the evacuation of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and its administrative machinery were prepared as early as the 1920s. Numerous competing schemes were studied, costed, and even constructed throughout the 1930s, among them the adaptation of basement offices and the tunnelling of deep shelters in central London and in the capital's northwest suburbs.
Eventually the concern that the public might think their leaders were deserting them persuaded the planners to look to the possibility of providing a secure 'Central War Room', nearer to the traditional home of government.
The site chosen was nothing grander than the basement chambers of the Office of Works' building which faced St. James's Park and Horseguards Road on one side and Great George Street on the other. Known properly as the 'New Public Offices' - so called when it was constructed at the turn of the century - but referred to throughout the war simply as 'George Street', this building offered the strongest structure of any in Whitehall and was conveniently situated between Parliament and the Prime Minister's office-residence at Number 10 Downing Street.
Work began in June 1938 on adapting these humble storage areas, ten feet below ground, to house the central core of government and a unique military information centre to serve the Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff of the air, naval and land forces. The events of the Munich crisis in the early autumn speeded up the process.
Seen by most planners as no more than temporary, the rooms were constructed under the watchful eye of Major-General Sir Hastings (later Lord) Ismay, assisted by Major (later Major-General Sir Leslie) Hollis, and became fully operational on 27 August 1939, exactly a week before the German invasion of Poland and Britain's declaration of war. This 'temporary' measure was to serve as the central shelter for government and the military strategists for the next six years.
With the surrender of the Japanese forces in the Far East in August 1945, the Rooms were no longer needed and, on 16 August 1945, the lights in the Central Map Room were switched off for the very first time since the start of the war and the door was locked. This room, its annexe, Churchill's office-bedroom, and the Cabinet Room were then left intact and undisturbed until an announcement in the Parliament in 1948 ensured their preservation as an historic site.
Restricted access was subsequently possible, but few were even aware of the existence of this previously top secret installation and it was only in 1981 when the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, decided that the site should be made more easily accessible that its history became more widely known.
During the next three years the Imperial War Museum and the Department of the Environment arranged for the careful preservation and restoration of the complex and made the adaptations which were necessary to give visitors an intimate view of the contents of the Rooms and the routines of life in them.
In April 2003 newly restored historic areas of the Cabinet War Rooms were revealed to the public for the first time. Now known as 'The Churchill Suite', these nine historic rooms had lain neglected and unseen since the war.
Working from wartime photographs and using original furniture and fittings, the Cabinet War Rooms have faithfully restored these subterranean rooms. Adapted in 1941, the rooms were originally known as the 'Courtyard Rooms' and were intended to provide a sheltered space where the people Churchill valued most could eat, sleep and work in safety, while the bombs rained down outside.
This sequence of rooms provided private chambers for Winston Churchill's private office staff and his wife, Clementine, as well as a dining facility for himself and 'Clemmie' and a meeting room for his Chiefs of Staff.
All of these rooms were stripped out at the end of the war and were subsequently used as low-grade storage and even as a gymnasium, until their restoration in 2003. The work of restoration was greatly assisted by a series of detailed photographs taken of the rooms at the end of the war. Using these, every effort was made to make the rooms resemble their original wartime format.
Although most of the furnishings had to be found from government office basements, second-hand shops and the attics and garages of private individuals, some of the original room contents were kept and have been restored to their original position. More information...................
After this under ground tour the Probus group reassembled in real daylight and wondered how staff had coped with such dim lighting over a six years period, but gladly boarded our coach for a nice scenic tour of the north bank of the Thames river to arrive back in Epsom at precisely 5.30 p.m. as arranged by Derek who received a well earned vote of thanks from our President Ken Robinson.
