Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/615

 LONDON 609 grand staircase is of white marble. The mag- nificent ball room was completed in 1856, ac- commodating over 2,000 persons. The throne room is 64 ft. long, hung with striped crim- son satin, with coved ceiling, emblazoned with arms, and with a white marble frieze represent- Buckingham Palace. ing the wars of the roses. The picture gal- lery, chiefly formed by George IV., includes now Sir Thomas Baring's Dutch and Flemish collection and other first-rate works. In the adjoining stables is an extensive riding school. St. James's palace, an irregular brick edifice, was the only royal mansion from the time of the destruction by fire of Whitehall, in the reign of William III., till the removal of Queen Victoria to Buckingham palace. The draw- ing-rooms and levees are held here, though in spite of the enlargement of the palace it is too small for such receptions. Kensington palace, where the queen was born and held her first cabinet council, was purchased from the second earl of Nottingham by William III. soon after his accession to the throne, and is chiefly remarkable for the many royal person- ages who have died there, including William III. and his wife, Queen Anne, and George II. The orangery is the work of Wren. The famous Kensington collection of pictures has been re- moved to other palaces. Maryborough house, in Pall Mall, now the residence of the prince of Wales, was built by Wren for the duke of Marlborough. In 1 81 7 it was purchased by the crown for Princess Charlotte and her husband, the future king of the Belgians, Leopold I, ; she died at Olaremont before the assignment was made, but her husband lived here for some time, and Queen Adelaide, the widow of Wil- liam IV., subsequently made it her home. The duchess of Cambridge resides at Kew pal- ace, and there are various mansions for oth- er members of the royal family. The arch- bishops of Canterbury, primates of England, have had their London residence for many centuries at Lambeth palace (see LAMBETH); and London house, St. James's square, is the residence of the bishops of London and the property of the see. The houses of parlia- ment, or the new pal- ace of Westminster, on the left bank of the Thames and between the river and West- minster abbey, occu- py the site of the old palace which was destroyed by fire Oct. 16,1834. They cover an area of eight acres, and contain 1,100 apartments, 100 stair- cases, and two miles of corridors. The foundation stone was laid April 27, 1840. The house of lords, 100 ft. long and 45 ft. in width and height, was opened in April, 1847, and is one of the most gorgeous legisla- tive halls in the world. It contains the throne for the queen, a chair for the prince of Wales, and the woolsack (a chair cushioned with wool) in the centre of the house for the lord chancel- lor. Facing the throne is the reporters' gal- lery, and over the latter is the strangers' gal- lery. At either end of the chamber are three compartments covered with fine frescoes, exe- cuted by Dyce, Horsley, and Maclise. In the windows, which are filled with stained glass and lighted at night from outside, are 12 fig- ures; and 18 niches between the windows and at either end of the chamber contain statues of the barons who compelled King John to grant Magna Charta. The entrance for the queen is at the Victoria tower; her robing room, containing Dyce's frescoes from the le- gend of King Arthur, faces the river, and from it she passes through Victoria gallery, a rich- ly decorated chamber 100 ft. long, and the prince's chamber, another superb apartment, to her seat on the throne. The gallery direct- ly fronting the throne is reserved for ladies. Since the gunpowder plot of 1605 the cel- lars underneath the house are always exam- ined two hours before the sovereign's arrival. The house of commons, of the same width and height (45 ft.) and 60 ft. long, is a more austere building. It occupies the site of old St. Stephen's hall, its former chamber, and was opened in February, 1852. The strangers' and the speaker's galleries (the latter for dis- tinguished visitors) are opposite the speaker's chair, behind which is the reporters' gallery. The royal or Victoria angle (the S. W. angle of the palace), 75 ft. square and 340 ft. high,