Hello and welcome to How Westminster Works, a podcast from Politics Home that takes a deep dive

into the history, quirks and peculiar practices of UK politics. I'm your host Alan Tolhurst,

and this episode will explore one of parliaments, if not one of the country's most incredible

buildings, Westminster Hall. If I ask you to think of the buildings of Westminster, the first to come to

mine would probably be the House of Commons, maybe the House of Lords or perhaps even Big

Ben, which is actually known as the Elizabeth Tower. But standing tall on the parliamentary estate,

nearly 1,000 years old, is a building with an embarrassment of stories to tell,

and that is still used by MPs this very day. We will speak to historians about the amazing story

of Westminster Hall, and Labour MP Angela Eagle will explain what Westminster Hall debates are and what they

are used for in 2022. So, where to begin? Well, Westminster Hall was completed in the year 1099. It was built like King William

Rufus, the son of William the Conqueror, a few decades after his dad had led the Norman invasion

of England. At nearly 100 feet tall and 240 feet in length, the palace was the largest hall in England

at the time, and probably the biggest in Europe. It was designed to impress, and in the early

days played host to lavish feasts. Since then, it has hosted all sorts of functions. Samuel Peeps wrote in his

famous 17th century diaries that he went to weekend markets in Westminster Hall to see and to be

seen. Tennis balls dating back to the 16th century have been found jam within the hall's

magnificent wooden ceiling. There are little evidence to support the rumour, however, that it was Henry VIII's

Ropey tennis, which resulted in the balls getting stuck up there.

For historian Mark Collins, who sat down with politics homes Adam Payne in Westminster Hall,

1265 is the first key date in this building's remarkable tale.

It was this year when barons, knights and officials from major

towns came together in Westminster Hall for the first time. They discussed major reforms and how to help

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