Architecture

Persepolis: the Monument of Xerxes

The monumental city of Persepolis was the pride of the Persian empire until its destruction by fire. Richard Stoneman revisits its builders, Darius and Xerxes, and their role in its construction.

The Monument

Near London Bridge, writes W.A. Speck, the Doric column to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666 was designed by Wren and made of Portland Stone.

The Old Palace of Westminster

The remains of the Palace were almost completely destroyed by the fire of 1834 and, writes L.W. Cowie, the Houses of Parliament were rebuilt by Sir Charles Barry.

Bridewell

Briefly a royal palace, writes L.W. Cowie, Bridewell became a hospital, an apprentices’ school and a reformatory for vagrants and prostitutes.

Blackfriars in London

L.W. Cowie takes the reader on a visit to a city monastery, for three hundred years associated with the Dominicans and, after the Reformation, with the theatre.

Exeter Hall

From 1831 until 1907, writes Leonard W. Cowie, Exeter Hall played a vital part in the ameliorative work of believers in human betterment.

Justice at Westminster Hall

Once the hall of Richard II’s palace, Westminster Hall became a centre of the British judicial system and, writes Leonard W. Cowie, a popular meeting-place for Londoners.