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Westminster Hall, attached to the House of Commons, is the largest medieval secular hall in Europe. Until 1821 a banquet was held in the hall following a coronation, and the monarch's knight in full armour would ride into the hall to challenge any who dared dispute his sovereign's right to the throne.
Guy Fawkes was tried in the Hall in 1605 for attempting to blow up the House of Lords and he was hung, drawn and quartered in the Old Palace Yard where the statue of Richard I now stands.
Oliver Cromwell was later sworn in as Lord Protector after executing Charles I in 1649. When Charles II ascended the throne in 1660 Cromwell's head was stuck on a pike above the Hall where it hung for many decades until blown off in a gale.
The House of Commons, Big Ben and the House of Lords were built in 1834 in the Gothic Revival style. The design was heavily criticised at the time but they are now loved by Londoners and recognised all over the world.
Website: www.parliament.uk