Dramatic Photos

Mother of Parliaments.

LOC.

The 19th century neo-Gothic Palace of Westminster, on the banks of the Thames, backlit by bomb blasts during the Blitz. The earlier Palace of Westminster which this replaced had been burned down during the 19th century due to the incautious action of some Irish labourers involved in its renovation, who thought it a good idea to use some of the wooden tally sticks in its basement to light a fire. Unfortunately, there were a Hell of a lot of tally sticks in the basement, medieval and tinder-dry. The fire spread to the general body of tally sticks, with inevitable results ... JR.