Historic Places: A Brief History of the UK

The main part consists of an inner horseshoe shape and an outer circle made of Sarsen (a kind of sandstone). There is also a circle and oval made of smaller “bluestone.” Other stones sit outside of this central area, including a large stone known as the Heel Stone.

We are looking through the outer circle, toward the inner horseshoe shape. The stones are aligned so that at midsummer the sun rises over the horizon near the Heel Stone, and at midwinter, the sun sets in between the two tallest trilithons.

Many of the large stones are capped by horizontals known as lintels (two stones capped by a lintel are called trilithons). The lintels were held in place using mortice holes and tenons (a projecting piece that fits in the mortice).

Every mile along the wall had a small guard post called a milecastle, and in between those were two turrets (towers) for observation.

Along the wall were forts for the soldiers who guarded the wall and Housesteads is the best preserved example. A regiment of eight-hundred 800 or so men were stationed here. The Latin name for the fort was Vercovicium, “the place of the effective fighters.”

Archaeologists are still studying Hadrian’s wall today—only a small proportion of it has been studied. The wall was famous in its own day as the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire—archaeologists have found souvenirs of the wall, inscribed with the names of various forts.

The priory consisted of a church and other buildings where the monks lived and worked. The buildings date mostly to the 1100s. In 1537, during the Protestant Reformation the priory was closed on the orders of King Henry VIII.

The large arch we see in the distance is known as the Rainbow arch. It was one of several “ribs” that formed part of a vault (stone ceiling) at the east end of the church, near the altar.

The arches before us are what remains of the north aisle of the church. The round arches (and small windows) are characteristic of a style of architecture known as “Romanesque” since it resembles ancient Roman architecture.

We’re looking toward the west end, the main entrance of the church. Tall towers once stood on either side of the entrance, making for an imposing and impressive facade. A third tower above the rainbow arch.

Here are some of the other buildings that formed the priory. The large empty space in front of us may have been the chapter house (for meetings). On the left are the remains of a dormitory, and on the right, cellars, likely used for storage.

About a hundred years later, the church was repaired and used as a parish (Anglican) church. In the 19th century, the Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott transformed the church yet again.

We are looking down the nave (the central aisle) toward the altar. Windows in the side aisles and above the arches on either side of the nave allow light to flood into this space, and for Gothic architects, light was associated with the divine.

We’re looking up at an astoundingly beautiful ceiling, and although stone fan vaulting was a common feature of Gothic architecture in the 14th and 15th century, this is not original. Sir George Gilbert Scott replaced the old wooden ceiling with the one we see today.

This is where the two houses of Parliament for the United Kingdom, the House of Lords and the House of Commons, meet. Most of the older palace that was here before burned down in the Great Fire of London in 1834.

This is a part of Westminster Palace called Westminster Hall—the only part of the ancient Palace that survived the fire of 1834 nearly unscathed. It boasts the largest medieval timber roof in Northern Europe. Today it is used for ceremonies and state occasions.

Victoria Tower was built to house the historic records of the Houses of Parliament. A spiral staircase inside links 12 floors—each with about eight rooms containing parliamentary records. Today, the archive is open to the public for research.

We are looking at the exterior of the Chapel of Henry VII, part of Westminster Abbey which was built between the 13th-16th centuries in the Gothic style. The Abbey has been the site of every coronation of the monarchy for almost a thousand years.

The British Museum’s collection now includes more than 8 million objects from around the world and the museum hosts 6 million visitors a year, but it started with the collection of just one man—a physician, naturalist and collector, Sir Hans Sloane.

The building we see today was built in the early nineteenth century in the Neo-classical style—meaning that it draws on the style of classical (ancient Greek and Roman) architecture. The facade, with its rows of columns and triangular pediment above resembles an ancient Greek Temple.

In the centre of the Pediment we see a standing female figure representing Enlightenment, and holding a lamp of knowledge. To the right, are other allegorical figures standing for the artistic and scientific disciplines of architecture, sculpture, painting, science, geometry, drama, music and poetry.

The clean, sleek lines of the Hoover building are typical of the Art Deco style. Today the building is owned by Tesco, the supermarket chain, so you can go grocery shopping in this restored Art Deco factory.

Though it strove to be entirely new and modern, Art Deco borrowed decorative forms from ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern art.

This can be seen in the decorative red and blue faience tiles (a glazed ceramic used in ancient Egypt and the ancient Near East) that frame the facade overall and form a typical Art Deco chevron pattern above the doorway.

With a glass canopy uniting the facades of the buildings in the courtyard to the Reading Room, Foster + Partners created a grand public space with information points, a bookshop and café.

This doorway, framed by classical columns, gives us a view to the main entrance to the museum and the large entry hall. The ceiling of the hall is covered with lovely coffers (indented squares)—another feature derived from classical architecture.

The glass roof you see above you is made of steel latticework and glass and spans between the space with no visible supports. The complex geometry of the space means that each of the 3,312 triangular glass panels is different in size and shape.