Mar 02, 2020 21:00:00

A `` secret passage '' sleeping on the wall of the Parliament building from 360 years ago is discovered

Westminster Palace in central London was destroyed by a fire in 1834, but was rebuilt in 1860 and has been used as the British Parliament since the 16th century. It is reported that a small loophole was found on the wall of the British Parliament.

Secret doorway rediscovered in the House of Commons-News from Parliament-UK Parliament
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2020/february/secret-doorway-rediscovered/

At UK Parliament, Long-Forgotten Secret Passageway Is Discovered In A Wall: NPR
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/28/810345171/long-forgotten-secret-passageway-discovered-in-a-wall-at-uk-parliament

Westminster Palace was built at the end of the 11th century and was originally used as a royal palace. However, after Henry VIII moved to Whitehall Palace in 1530, Westminster Palace was used as the House of Parliament and Courthouse.

The original palace was almost destroyed by a fire in 1834 and rebuilt over more than 30 years at Westminster Palace with a new Gothic design. The Westminster Palace served as the British House of Parliament, surviving the WWII London air raid , but its aging became a problem due to the use of water, electricity, gas pipelines and asbestos. Since 2017, a local group company of Nippon Koei has been undertaking a major renovation of Westminster Palace. Historians have also joined the restoration, analyzing the blueprints of the Palace of Westminster.

In the meantime, based on the remaining literature, we conducted a survey and found that one of the wooden panels on the corridor of the lower house was small. Brass ( Shinchu ) A keyhole made of steel was discovered. When the staff at the renovation site unlocked, a secret passage was found beyond the door.

Liz Haram Smith, a historian at York University and a history consultant on the renovation team, said, `` The 10,000 Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission archive document relating to the Westminster Palace has been archived. While I was looking for it, I found an entrance in the hallway behind Westminster Hall. '

The secret passage was equipped with lighting that was supposed to have been installed in the 1950s, so the air defense was initially installed after World War II Trench ( Gou ) It seems that it seems to be a facility like this, but since the ceiling material of the room is made of wood cut in 1659, it turned out that the secret passage was at least 360 years old.

Further investigation showed that this secret passage led to the hall where the king and queen sat, and was used by legislators to access Congress during the coronation ceremony.

According to historian Mark Collins, who surveyed the secret loophole, 'The secret loophole found this time is an exciting discovery, but there is definitely more secrets asleep in the Palace of Westminster. I would like to return to the appearance of the palace and tell it to those who have visited the palace when it has been handed down for generations and has never been forgotten. '