The houses of parliament (also called the palace of Westminster)is a place where they make important laws.It was given this name because many royals lived there until Henry VII moved to White hall in 1512.

When Henry moved out,Lawyers moved in.Henry's break with the holy church in Rome,his various divorces and subsequent changes to the line of succession,gave the lawyers and politicians at Westminster plenty to do and its role as a centre for law and governance was cemented.

The custom of the green benches of the house of commons go back 300 years and the current chamber was rebuilt in 1945 by sir Giles Gilbert Scott after the original was destroyed in the London blitz.In 1812,Prime-minister Spencer Percival was assassinated there.During the blitz the palace was hit no less than 14 times.A 9kg bomb planted by the IRA exploded in Westminster hall in 1974 and a car bomb exploded in the car park killing conservative politician Airey Neave.