Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, William the Conqueror went on to build the Tower of London but later moved to Westminster. None of the buildings used by William survive today, although nearby Westminster Abbey was originally built prior to the Conquest and during the reign of Edward the Confessor. It was William the Conqueror's son, William II, who began the construction of the oldest part of the palace, Westminster Hall, which was built in 1097 and originally used for medieval feasts and entertaining.

The sheer size of the hall soon meant that its purpose became more geared towards political issues and it began to house some of the meetings of the Royal Council but only if the King was present in Westminster at the time.

Westminster Hall went on to become the site of the first English Parliament that saw the representation of commoners during the reign of King Henry III in 1265. Triggered by the King's questionable management of state, a rebellion led by the Earl of Leicester was initially successful and saw the King and his son, Prince Edward, placed under house arrest. The Earl then went about raising support by summoning the 'knights of the shire' from across England to attend his parliament. The Earl was later killed after Prince Edward managed to escape but the concept of summoning 'the commons' continued in the years to come and so a representative institution was born.

This embryonic form of parliament was refined by Edward I in 1295 to outline various counties and boroughs, each represented by two knights of the shire and two elected citizens. They joined members of the clergy and aristocracy, although things were still a far cry from the democracy we know today and the balance of power lay firmly with the aristocracy, and of course, the Monarch.

It was not until the reign of Edward III (1312 - 1377) that the upper House of Lords and lower House of Commons were separated as they are today, although the Palace of Westminster remained a Royal Residence.

Following Henry VIII's house move to the Palace of Whitehall in 1530 and the abolishment of all private chapels, the House of Commons were provided with their own chamber in St Stephens Chapel in 1547.

An attempt to blow up the palace, the famous 'Gunpowder Plot', was foiled in 1605 and is still celebrated every year on Guy Fawkes Night. Had the attempt been successful, as it almost was, it is likely that large parts of the palace would have been completely destroyed.

In 1834, a huge fire swept through the Palace, burning most of it to the ground and the only areas to survive were Westminster Hall, St Stephens Chapel and the Jewel Tower. Architect Charles Barry was assigned to the rebuild and it is he who came up with the neo-gothic style buildings which are seen today.

A German air attack in 1941 destroyed the House of Commons Chamber, although this was rebuilt taking great care to faithfully replicate the original as much as possible. During the reconstruction, the Commons used the Lords Chambers and the Lords moved to the Royal Robing Room.

• Big Ben
• Houses of Parliament
• House of Commons
• House of Lords
• State Opening of Parliament