The Houses of Parliament — formally the Palace of Westminster — sit on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. The current Gothic Revival building was designed by Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin after a fire destroyed most of the medieval palace in 1834. Westminster Hall, dating from 1097, is the oldest surviving part.
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At the north end of the building stands the Elizabeth Tower (renamed in 2012 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee). The huge bell inside it is called Big Ben — a name now informally used for the whole tower as well. Parliament Square outside is home to statues of UK and international political leaders, including Sir Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi.
You may be asked the official name of "Big Ben" (the bell, with the tower called the Elizabeth Tower), or who designed the modern Palace of Westminster.
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