The history of the Houses of Parliament goes back to the 12th Century when King's councils were held. During these councils, barons and archbishops alike would discuss Politics, judgements and of course, taxes. Inevitably the councils too on a more formal role and saw knights representing individual counties and by the 13th century the word Parliament were being used to discuss the councils.

During the 14th century Parliament had split to into two houses, the commons and the Lords. Lords consisted of members of the clergy and nobility and the commons saw men from counties, towns and cities representing their local area in London. It was King Henry V who eventually put the commons on an equal footing with the Lords in the 15th century. Little did he know that this move would lead to Parliament rebelling against the monarchy and the onset of civil war.

However, in 1660 the monarchy was restored and in 1689 a Bill of Rights was agreed that gave parliament the authority over the monarchy; allowing parliament to be responsible for passing laws. The Parliament acts of 1911 and 1949 increased the authority of the commons over the lords and effectively created our modern day parliament.

The House of Parliament have become one of the leading tourist attractions in London. A royal palace has stood on the site since 1065 when Edward the Confessor was in power, and the buildings are still referred to as the Palace of Westminster. Westminster is the oldest part of Parliament, the walls date back to 1097 and the hall is one of Europe's largest medieval halls. The Houses of Parliament have been extensively rebuilt after being ravaged by fire and bombs.

One of the most dramatic aspects of the Houses of Parliament is the clock tower, affectionately called Big Ben. Big Ben was built in 1859 after a fire destroyed most of Parliament, the winning new design from Charles Barry was dominated by a large clock tower; the rest as they say is history.

UK Residents can arrange a tour of Big Ben in advance through their local MP or Lord for free! A guide will outline the history of the tower. Find out more about visiting Big Ben.

Tours of the Houses of Parliament are also free, but again only available to UK residents who apply for tickets in advance through their local MP or Lord. Find out more about Tours.

UK residents can also attend debates in Parliament; again tickets for debates must be procured through your local MP, to find out more details here.

Public committee sessions and Judicial Hearings are open to everyone; these committee sessions take place Monday to Thursday, visitors wishing to attend should get there early and join the queue, to find out what is where click on the hyperlinks above.

The Parliamentary archives are open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm, no advanced tickets are required, but proof of identity is. If you wish to view specific records, you should book a space and check the availability of the records, you can find out more here.

In these days of heightened security photography and recording inside the Houses of Parliament is heavily restricted, the building is protected by a multitude of security and police officers who limit what is allowed to enter the Houses of Parliament, so only take what you need in a small bag and expect to be searched on arrival.

If all of the above sounds like a bit too much hassle (they don't exactly make it easy for visitors these days) then you may be satisfied with viewing the buildings from the Southbank or Parliament Square. Parliament Square is full of statues featuring political figures from the pages of history; the most recent addition was a statue of Nelson Mandela.

In recent months protestors have been camping out in Parliament Square campaigning about the war in Iraq and they are always eager to educate visitors on what they are doing and why.

Find out more about the Houses of Parliament.

How to get there

The closest tube station is at Westminster.

If travelling by bus the 3, 11, 12, 24, 53, 87, 88, 148, 159, 211 and 453 all serve Westminster.