Extract from Lords debate on Palace of Westminster: Restoration and Renewal - Feb 6
Wednesday, 7 February 2018 07:56
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab):...The borough sensibly decided to
retain the building and in the 168 years since it has been used for
many different purposes, notably as an Indian hospital
during the First World War. There was again talk of demolition in
the 1920s, but restoration was begun using money gifted by the
Government as recompense for wartime damage. Restoration stopped in
the 1930s and it was not until after the Second World War that more
work was undertaken. Some of this...Request free trial
(Lab):...The
borough sensibly decided to retain the building and in the 168
years since it has been used for many different purposes, notably
as an Indian hospital during the First World War.
There was again talk of demolition in the 1920s, but restoration
was begun using money gifted by the Government as recompense for
wartime damage. Restoration stopped in the 1930s and it was not
until after the Second World War that more work was undertaken.
Some of this was less than clever, particularly the use of
fibreglass in replacing damaged minarets, but the primary problem
with the restoration was that it was undertaken in fits and starts
with differing visions for the building and an uneven flow of
capital to complete a programme of works. It did not help that it
was subject to an arson attack in 1975, or that during the great
storm a minaret tipped through the roof of the music room. However,
by then the council had determined that a full and managed
restoration programme was essential if the pavilion was to play a
full part in the regeneration of the emerging city by the
sea...
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