In 1097, William Rufus added to the Palace of the Confessor a central group of buildings, of which a vast banqueting hall, with a double row of pillars down the centre, was the chief feature. This hall fell to ruins shortly afterwards and was pulled down by Richard II., who erected on its foundations the present beautiful building, measuring 110 ft. high, and 290 long by 68 wide. It has a carved timber hammer-beam roof, the largest unsupported by pillars in the world, and is considered the finest existing example of this species of construction in England.
The old Palace of Westminster was the home of our sovereigns and the seat of Legislature until about 1530, when it was partly destroyed by fire, and finally deserted as a residence by the royal family of England.
William Rufus lived at Westminster for more than half his reign; Stephen added the chapel named after him; Edward I. was born in it; to it the baby monarch, Henry VI., when only eight months old, was carried for his first introduction to his faithful Lords and Commons; in it Edward IV. died, and here Henry VIII. made his first public appearance as king with his young bride Katherine of Aragon.