AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Westminster Hall is the oldest surviving building on the Parliamentary estate in London, a vast medieval great hall whose hammerbeam roof and storied walls have witnessed nearly nine centuries of British history. Built in 1097 for William II, it has served as a royal banquet hall, the beating heart of England's legal system, and the stage for some of the nation's most solemn ceremonies—from state trials to lyings in state.↗↗
Today the hall remains a working space for Parliament, hosting addresses by visiting world leaders and commemorative events. Visitors on a tour of the Palace of Westminster can step inside and look up at one of the greatest achievements of medieval timber architecture.↗
A Thousand Years of Power
Westminster Hall was completed by 1099 as a Great Hall for William II, making it at the time the largest hall in England and possibly all of Europe. Its earliest uses were grand: William held the Whitsun feast here, and the first coronation banquets were staged within its walls. As the centuries passed, the hall became the administrative and legal centre of the kingdom—the courts of King's Bench, Chancery, and Common Pleas all sat here, and the hall was the scene of state trials that shaped the nation.
