The new Palace of Westminster was primarily the work
of the architect Charles Barry. Although his estimates of
both cost and time were far from accurate, his design
resulted in one of the world's most famous buildings -
notable for the way in which it combines ceremonial
functions with practical everyday use, the sympathetic
inclusion of Westminster Hall, and its two great towers
(the Clock Tower and Victoria Tower), both of which were
constructed without external scaffolding.
Barry was knighted for his work - but much of the credit for the external appearance of the Palace should go to Augustus Pugin, an eccentric genius who died, quite mad, in 1852. Obsessively dedicated to Gothic ideals, he designed virtually every external feature at Westminster, from the Royal throne to screws in the doors.
