Page "Palace of Westminster" Paragraph 2

The subsequent competition for the reconstruction of the Palace was won by architect Charles Barry and his design for a building in the Perpendicular Gothic style.

The remains of the Old Palace ( with the exception of the detached Jewel Tower ) were incorporated in its much larger replacement, which contains over 1, 100 rooms organised symmetrically around two series of courtyards.

Part of the New Palace's area of was reclaimed from the Thames, which is the setting of its principal façade, the river front.

Barry was assisted by Augustus W. N. Pugin, a leading authority on Gothic architecture and style, who provided designs for the decoration and furnishings of the Palace.

Construction started in 1840 and lasted for thirty years, suffering great delays and cost overruns, as well as the death of both leading architects ; works for the interior decoration continued intermittently well into the twentieth century.

Major conservation work has been carried out since, due to the effects of London's air pollution, and extensive repairs took place after the Second World War, including the reconstruction of the Commons Chamber following its bombing in 1941.