[Picture: Westminster Hall]
Is thought to be the largest room in Europe unsupported by pillars, being
two hundred and seventy feet in length, and seventy-four in breadth. The
roof is of curious workmanship in oak, and reminds the beholders of a
grove of trees, whose top branches extend toward each other till they
unite. A great feast was held in this vast apartment, and other rooms of
the palace, in the days of King Richard the Second, who is said to have
entertained ten thousand guests, with his usual hospitality.
This hall was the court of justice in which the sovereign presided in
person. Hence the Court of King’s Bench took its name. Charles the
First was tried here, and condemned to suffer death by his own subjects.
The trial of peers, or of any person impeached by the Commons, has been
usually held here; and the coronation feasts have been celebrated therein
for many ages.
The ground on which the hall stands is so near to the water, that on
several high tides the Thames has overflowed the hall, the courts of
justice have been broken up prematurely, and the people conveyed away in
boats.