London summer openings

Magazine Antiques, August, 2001 by Miriam Kramer

The traditional long summer vacation taken by official London means that the Houses of Parliament and parts of Buckingham Palace are open to the public on a very limited basis.

The Houses of Parliament make their home in the Palace of Westminster, as they have since the sixteenth century. The present building was designed by Sir Charles Barry. The House of Lords first sat in it in 1847 and the House of Commons in 1850. Edward the Confessor built the original palace, of which nothing remains, in the first half of the eleventh century. The son of William I, William Rufus (later William II), built Westminster Hall (1097-1099) as part of his palace, and this was the principal royal residence until 1512.

Visitors to the summer opening of the palace follow the same route as the monarch does during the state opening of Parliament. They enter the building at the Sovereign's Entrance, proceed to the Queen's Robing Room, the Royal Gallery, the Princes Chamber, and the House of Lords. Unlike the queen, visitors visit the various lobbies, the Commons Corridor, and the House of Commons. Saint Stephen's Hall and Westminster Hall are also on the itinerary.

Because the queen spends the summer out of London, some of the state rooms at Buckingham Palace are open to visitors. The palace was built as Buckingham House for John Sheffield, first duke of Buckingham and Normandy, about 1705. It was sold to the crown in 1761, and it became known as the queen's house after George III and Queen Charlotte moved in. In the 1820s George IV retained John Nash to extend the building to its present proportions. The work was completed with the involvement of other designers in the 1840s, and the building was renamed Buckingham Palace. Under Queen Victoria it became the primary London residence of the monarch.

The route taken by visitors includes the grand staircase, the picture gallery, the state dining room, the throne room, the music room, and a number of drawing rooms. The picture gallery is largely hung with Dutch paintings, and includes work by David Teniers, Jan Steen, Aelbert Cuyp, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Frans Hals, and Pieter de Hooch. Elsewhere in the public rooms are examples of Chinese and Sevres porcelain, furniture by Jean Henri Riesener, and sculpture by Antonio Canova. This year there is a special display to mark the centenary of Queen Victoria's death.

The Palace of Westminster is open from August 6 until September 29, Tickets, which cost [pound]3.50, can be bought from Ticket master through its Web site (www.ticketmaster.co.uk). The state rooms at Buckingham Palace are open from August 4 until September 30. Tickets cost [pound]11 and can be reserved at its Web site (www.the-royal-collection.org.uk).