Parliament Square
|
|
Parliament Square is west of the northern end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It features a large open green area in the middle, with a group of trees to its west.
| Contents |
Surroundings
Other buildings looking on to the Square include Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's, Westminster, the Middlesex Guildhall, HM Treasury, and Portcullis House (and so Westminster tube station).
Connecting roads
Roads coming off the Square are St. Margaret Street (becoming Abingdon Street and then Millbank), Broad Sanctury (becoming Victoria Street), Great George Street (which becomes Birdcage Walk), Parliament Street (becoming Whitehall), and Bridge Street (becoming Westminster Bridge).
Statues
Statury in and around the Square are mostly of well-known statesmen, and includes ones of Winston Churchill (on the northeastern edge of the park, turned east, overlooking parliament), Abraham Lincoln (in front of Middlesex Guildhall), Robert Peel (southwestern edge of the park), Lord Palmerston (northwestern edge of the park), Ian Christian Smuts (northern edge of the park), Derby, Disraeli, George Canning and Oliver Cromwell.
History
Parliament Square was laid out in 1868 in order to open up the space around the Palace of Westminster and improve traffic flow. A substantial amount of property had to be cleared. The architect responsible was Sir Charles Barry.
The east side of the square is a common location for protests, due to its proximity to the Palace of Westminster. One man, Brian Haw, has protested on the east side of the square since June 1 2001 campaigning against British and American action in Iraq. On May 10, 2004, Haw was arrested and charged with failing to leave the area during a security alert, but returned the following day.
The central garden of the square was transferred to control of the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It has responsibility to light, cleanse, water, pave and repair the garden. It also has powers to make byelaws for the garden.