Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
If you would like to write a summary for this topic, email phil [at] gyford [dot] com
Abridged history of Westminster Hall is at:
A few photos of Westminster Hall
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Westminster_Hall.html
A footnote to 20 Jan 1660 says “These stationers and booksellers, whose shops disfigured Westminster Hall down to a late period, were a privileged class. In the statutes for appointing licensers and regulating the press, there is a clause exempting them from the pains and penalties of these obnoxious laws.”
If in London. Westminster Hall is very much worth a visit. It is the oldest building for miles… with a typically wonderful medieval and unsupported roof. Worth the visit just to look at it. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was recently ‘laid in state’ there… remember the pictures?
Westminster Hall is now open every year to visitors in summer as part of the guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. All the details can be found on this official website:
J[ohn].T[homas]. “Antiquity” Smith’s ‘Foundation Plan of the Ancient Palace of Westminster’, Antiquities of Westminster (1807). Parliamentary Archives
http://www.show.me.uk/gunpowderplot/adults_parliament_pwwh.htm