View of Old Palace Yard, Westminster, with the east end of Westminster Abbey with the chapel of King Henry VII to the left

This view shows old Palace Yard, an open space to the south of Westminster hall, which commemorates the site of the original palace of King Edward the Confessor. To the left of the composition can be seen the exterior of King Henry VII's chapel, Westminster Abbey, which was begun in 1503 as the burial place for King Henry VI on the orders of King Henry VII, who was later buried there himself, and also houses the tombs of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. Slightly to the right of the centre of the composition, partly obscured by other buildings in the foreground, is Westminster Hall, The Great Hall, built by King William Rufus at the northern end of the palace that his father King William the Conqueror had built, as part of an intended reconstruction of the whole palace. The walls were built between 1097 and 1099 and it is one of the largest medieval halls in Europe with an unsupported roof. The oldest surviving building on the Palace of Westminster site, it has now been in continuous use for over nine hundred years. Originally designed as a a place for feasting and entertaining it became a Royal Council chamber comprising Bishops, Nobles, and Ministers, and eventually developed into what came to be known as Parliament, the forerunner of the House of Lords. During later centuries the Hall housed the courts of Law and was the place of many notable state trials for example those of Thomas More, King Charles I, and the Gunpowder plot conspirators (who were executed in Old Palace Yard). The surrounding area with its many shops and stalls became one of the centres of London Life.