The Medieval Palace of Westminster Research Project

Antiquarian graphic material. Westminster's social and political importance and, especially, the growth of antiquarian interest in ancient buildings from the 18th century, happily ensured that it was frequently the subject of drawings, plans, watercolours, and oil paintings. These range from 16th-century panoramas to perspective views of the palace in the immediate aftermath of the 1834 fire. Historic measured survey. A substantial number of measured surveys, comprising plans, elevations, and sections, were carried out by antiquarian draughtsmen and, in the 20th century, by the Ministry of Works. Overall dimensional precision is missing from many of these surveys, so computer rectification procedures have been used to allow their integration with a new survey (see below). Archaeological records. Some archaeological discoveries made in the 19th century were recorded. Most relevant are the records of parts of the foundations of the Lesser Hall and the Receipt of the Exchequer, and Sidney Smirke's records of the discovery of the original fenestration of Westminster Hall (1836). The archaeological records have been collated, assessed and then assimilated into the CAD (computer aided drawing) model. Documentary sources. As a royal palace, Westminster is well documented in the medieval period, and this provided the basis for Howard Colvin's analysis of the buildings in The History of the King's Works. The principal documents relating to the period of the pilot project are the Pipe Rolls of Henry II, which are available in the Public Record Office. These documents have been partially published or at least calendared. Analysis of such documentary sources is vital to the interpretation of the function and identification of the components of the medieval Palace of Westminster. New measured survey. The only known part to survive of the Romanesque palace is Westminster Hall, and much of this has been refaced. New survey work, therefore, has been restricted to preparing the first accurate ground plan of the hall using a conventional total station theodolite (EDM) for the control, and a laser `reflectorless' EDM for measurement of detail. Geophysical survey. The famous hammerbeam roof of Westminster Hall (1394-9) replaced that of William Rufus. Debate on the form of Rufus's hall has given rise to suggestions that it had a single arcade along the centre of the building in the manner of certain Continental examples, a double arcade, or even that the huge span was always unsupported. In an attempt to resolve this contentious issue, we undertook a survey of the interior of the hall using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) using a Pulse EKKO 1000 GPR provided by the NERC geophysical equipment pool.