LON 
dred and feventy feet in length, and feventy-four in hread th. 
The pavement is of ftone; the roof of oak, of curious go¬ 
thic workmanfhip, and is greatly admired. Thacantili- 
rers which fupport the roof are decorated with angels, 
each bearing in his hands a thield, with the arms of Rich¬ 
ard II. or tiiofe of Edward the Confeffor. It was for¬ 
merly covered with lead 5 blit for fome years pail it has 
been covered with flate. 
In the year 1399, king Richard held his Chriitmas here ; 
during which time, the number of his guefts, who were 
entertained in this hall and the other rooms of the pa¬ 
lace, amounted to ten thoufand ; for whofe fupply, eighty 
oxen, three hundred (heep, and an innumerable quantity 
of poultry, were daily killed.—What would our cecono- 
niical cotemporaries have faid, had they witnefl'ed fuch 
an expenfe incurred by eating and drinking only; they 
who lament fo deplorably the lofs of a few truifes of hay 
trodden down by the feet of the happy on the night of the 
jubilee? When the Roman people called for“ bread and 
games,” panan ct circenfes, they were grateful for the impe¬ 
rial munificence, and did not abufe the Caefar who en¬ 
deavoured to make them happy—but here we load with 
farcafms and lampoons the authors of our amufements, 
though we readily rilk our limbs and lives to enjoy them. 
We intend a little farther on to give an account of the 
fetes here alluded to. 
Parliaments frequently fat in this hall; and in it was 
held the ancient court of juftice, in which the king pre- 
fided in perfon. In this hall the kings of England have 
for many ages pad held their coronation-fealts. It is alio 
generally ufed for the trying of peers acetified of crimes 
againlt the llate; and it was in this hall that Charles I. 
was tried.—We remember to haveaflifted at the long and 
tedious trial of Mr. Haltings, and more recently at that 
of lord Melville. Upon fuch occafions, a temporary (tage 
is ereited in the hall, with galleries and feats; paflages to 
the courts of juftice being contrived underneath. Thefie 
courts, namely the Chancery, King’s Bench, and Common 
Pleas, have been held here ever fince the reign of Henry 
III. and the Court of Exchequer is alfo held in an apart¬ 
ment belonging to the old palace, the entrance to which 
is from this hall. 
To the fouth of Weftminfter-hall is that part of the 
©Id palace which was ufed for the meetings of the peers, 
and ther.ce called the Houfe of Lords. But fince the late 
union of Great Britain and Ireland, the fpaciotis room 
called the Court of Requefts has been fitted up for that 
purpefe; and the tapeftry-hangings and furniture of the 
former houfe of lords have been removed hither. The 
outfide of the fouth end of this room fhows the great an¬ 
tiquity of the building, having in it twogreat round arches, 
with zigzag mouldings, our moll ancient fpecies of archi- 
tedlure. This court took its name from being that wherein 
all fuits made to the king by way of petition were heard 
and ended ; and it was alfo called the Poor Man’s Court, 
becaufe there he could have right without being'put to 
expenfe. 
The prefent House of Lords does not occupy the 
whole of the Court of Requefts, part of the north end 
being formed into a lobby, by which the commons pafs 
to the upper houfe; the height is alfo greatly reduced by 
an elevated floor of wood over the original Hone pavement. 
The fitting-up of the room is nearly fimilar to that of the 
old one. The defign of the fine old tapeftry with which 
it is hung was drawn by Cornelius Vroom, and the work 
was executed by Francis Spiering. Vroom had a hun¬ 
dred pieces of gold for his labour; the tapeftry itfelf coll 
3628I. It reprelents the defeat of the Spanilh armada in 
3588, and was befpoke by the earl of Nottingham, lord 
high admiral, and commander in chief in the engagement. 
The-earl fold it to James I. but it was not put up till the 
year 1650, two years after the extinilion of monarchy, 
when the houfe of lords was ufed as a committee-room 
by the commons. Before it was put up in its prefent 
fituation, it was cleaned ; and is now- judicioufly fet off by 
large frames of brown (tained wood, that divide it into 
four compartments, refpeCtively containing the feveral 
portions of the ltory, viz. 1. The firft appearance of tlm 
Spanilh fleet. 2. The feveral forms in which it lay at 
different times on our coafts. 3. The place and difpofi- 
tion of ir when engaged with the Englilli fleet. And 
laltly, its departure. The heads of the naval heroes who 
commanded on that glorious day, form a matchlefs border 
round the work, animating poiterity to emulate their il- 
lullrious example. 
At the upper end of the room is the throne, on which the 
king is feated, on particular occafions, in his robes, with the 
crown on his head, and adorned with all the enligns of ma- 
jefty. On the right hand of the throne is a feat for the prince 
of Wales; on the left is another for the next perfon of 
the royal family ; and behind the throne are places for the 
young peers who have no votes in the houfe. Beneath 
the throne, on the king’s right hand, are the feats of the 
two archbilhops, and a little below them the bench of bi- 
fhops. Before the throne are three broad feats acrofs the 
room, on which are feated the dignitaries of the law. On 
the firft of thefe heareft the throne fits the lord-chancellor, 
or keeper of the great feal, who, by his office, is lpeaker 
of the houfe of lords : on the other two fit the lord chief 
juftice, the mailer of the rolls, and the other judges, who 
attend occafionally to be confulted on points of law. The 
benches for the lords are covered with red cloth; and 
there is a bar acrofs the houfe at the end oppofite to the 
throne. Without the bar fits the king’s firft gentleman 
ulher, called the Black Rod, from a black wand he carries 
in his hand. Under him is a yeoman-ulher, who waits at the 
infide of the door ; a crier without; and a ferjeant at mace, 
who always attends the lord-chancellor. When the king 
is prefent with the crown on his head, the lords fit unco¬ 
vered, and the judges lland till his majefty gives them 
leave to fit. In the king’s abfence, the lords, at their en¬ 
trance, do reverence to the ihrone; as do all who enter 
the prefence-chamber. The judges, in the king’s abfence, 
mult not be covered till the lord-chancellor, or keeper, 
fignifies to them that the lords permit them fo to be. The 
king ufualiy goes in Hate to the houfe of lords on the firft 
and laft days of the fellions, when he opens or clofes the 
parliament with a fipeech from the throne; and he alfo 
goes occafionally during the feflion to pafs fuch bills as 
require difpatch ; but either of thefe parts of the royal 
office may be exercifed by commifiioners fpecially autho¬ 
rized for that purpofe. On his majefty’s arrival at the 
houfe of lords, lie enters a room a joining to it, called 
the Prince’s Chamber, where he puts on his robes and 
crown, and from thence is conduced into the houfe by 
the lord-chamberlain, where all the lords are drefled in 
their fcarlet robes; and his majefty, being feated on the 
throne, fends for the commons by the gentleman ufnerof 
the black rod. When the commons appear, his majefly’s 
fpeech is read to this grand united aflembly ; after which 
the king returns in the fame flate as he came. 
Adjoining to the fouth-eaft angle of Weltminfter-hall 
is a building called St. Stephen’s Chapel, from having 
been formerly dedicated to that faint. In the year 1347, 
it was rebuilt in a magnificent manner by king Edward 
III. w ho converted it into a collegiate church ; but, on its 
fuppreflion in the reign of Edward VI. it was adapted for 
the aflembly of the reprefentatives of the commons of 
England 5 for which purpofe it has been ufed from that 
time to the prefent, and is now generally known by the 
name of the House of Commons. It is a fpacious room, 
wainfeoted to the ceiling, from the centre of which hangs 
a very handfome branch. It is large enough to hold fix 
or feven hundred perfons ; and about it are very commo¬ 
dious apartments. The benches for the members gradu¬ 
ally afeend one above another, and are covered with green 
cloth; the floor is matted. Round the houfe are galleries 
fupported by flenderiron pillars adorned with Corinthian 
capitals 
