Victoria Tower

Infobox building
building_name = Victoria Tower
native_building_name=

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imagesize = 100px
caption = Victoria Tower is at the House of Lords end of the Palace of Westminster
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building_type = Tower
architectural_style = Perpendicular Gothic
structural_system =
location = London, England, UK
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landlord =
coordinates = coord|51|29|57.5|N|00|07|29.1|W|display=inline,title|region:GB_type:landmark|name=Palace of Westminster
start_date =
completion_date = 1855
demolition_date =
height = convert|323|ft|m
diameter =
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floor_area =
main_contractor =
architect = Charles Barry
structural_engineer =
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awards = :"This article is about Victoria Tower in London. For other places named "Victoria Tower" see Victoria Tower (disambiguation)."

Victoria Tower is the square tower at the south end of the Palace of Westminster in London, facing south and west onto Black Rod's Garden and Old Palace Yard. At convert|323|ft|m, it is slightly taller than the more famous Clock Tower at the north end of the Palace (convert|316|ft|m). It houses the Parliamentary Archives in archive conditions meeting the BS 5454 standard, on 12 floors with an average of 8 rooms per floor. All 12 floors of the building are linked via a single wrought iron Victorian staircase of 553 steps.

The main entrance at the base of the tower is the Sovereign's Entrance, through which the Monarch passes at the State Opening of Parliament. On top of the Victoria Tower is an iron flagstaff, from which the Union Flag is flown (unless the Sovereign is present in the Palace, when it is replaced by the Royal Standard).

History

The Victoria Tower was purpose-built to house records after the fire of October 22 1834 which destroyed the Palace of Westminster and almost all of the House of Commons' records. The records of the House of Lords survived the conflagration because they were at the time stored in the Jewel Tower, which was at a distance from the main building, and still stands across the road from the Victoria Tower.

Charles Barry's design for the new Palace of Westminster featured a tower over the Sovereign’s Entrance, every floor of which incorporated record storage. Augustus Pugin produced most of the architectural designs and elevations for the project and also the interior design. The first stone of the Tower was laid by Queen Victoria on her birthday, December 22 1843, and it was completed in 1860.

The tower incorporates a cast-iron framework which, rather than the visible stonework, provides the main strength supporting the structure.

The tower was originally named "The King's Tower" because the fire of 1834 which destroyed the old Palace of Westminster occurred during the reign of King William IV.

When the wrought iron flagstaff was erected in 1855 the Tower became the tallest square tower in the world, at convert|323|ft|m high to the base of the flagstaff, and a further convert|72|ft|m to the top of the Crown at its summit.

The Parliamentary Archives underwent a compelete reconstruction between 1948 and 1963 to provide 12 floors of air-conditioned document storage.