Your Places or Mine
A podcast about places and buildings, with tales about history and people. From author and publisher Clive Aslet the architectural editor of Country Life, John Goodall
Your Places or Mine
Medieval Majesty at the Heart of Parliament
Clive and John discuss one of the most spectacular medieval buildings in Britain, Westminster Hall. Originally built by William the Conqueror’s heir, the voracious William Rufus, it was a structure of immense ambition — said to be the biggest hall of its kind north of the Alps. In the 14th-century, this huge space was reimagined as a statement of royal majesty by art-loving Richard ll; carved angels looked down on the divinely appointed king from the hammer beam roof. Ironically, this would be where Charles I was tried and condemned to death in 1649.
Attached to the Houses of Parliament, this ancient space remains a natural setting for great national events, such as addresses given to Parliament by visiting foreign dignitaries or HM Queen Elizabeth II’s lying in state in 2022.
