53. Westminster Bridge
Is admired both for the grandeur and simplicity which are united in its several parts. Henry, Earl of Pembroke, promoted the erection of this bridge, and laid the first stone, in the beginning of the year 1739. It has thirteen arches, exclusive of a very small one at each end. The foundation is laid on a solid bed of gravel, and the piers are solid blocks of Portland stone, uniting strength with neatness. It was eight years and three quarters in completing, and cost £389,500 being more than double the cost of Blackfriars’. Westminster Bridge was opened for carriages about midnight, by a procession of gentlemen, the chief artificers, and a multitude of spectators. The architect was not a native of this country: his name was Labelye.
Not far from the bridge, in old Palace Yard, stands Westminster Hall.
54. Westminster Hall
Is thought to be the largest room in Europe unsupported by pillars, being two hundred and seventy feet in length, and seventy-four in breadth. The roof is of curious workmanship in oak, and reminds the beholders of a grove of trees, whose top branches extend toward each other till they unite. A great feast was held in this vast apartment, and other rooms of the palace, in the days of King Richard the Second, who is said to have entertained ten thousand guests, with his usual hospitality.
This hall was the court of justice in which the sovereign presided in person. Hence the Court of King’s Bench took its name. Charles the First was tried here, and condemned to suffer death by his own subjects. The trial of peers, or of any person impeached by the Commons, has been usually held here; and the coronation feasts have been celebrated therein for many ages.
The ground on which the hall stands is so near to the water, that on several high tides the Thames has overflowed the hall, the courts of justice have been broken up prematurely, and the people conveyed away in boats.