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1016 to the Wars of the Roses

c1016
King Canute began building a royal residence on Thorney Island where the Palace of Westminster now stands

c1042-65
Edward the Confessor built a royal palace on the site so that he could oversee the construction of Westminster Abbey

1097-9
William Rufus, the son of William the Conqueror, built the original Westminster Hall

c1220
The Exchequer (government finance department) moved to Westminster from Winchester

c1220-30
Henry III re-designed the Queen's Chapel, the Queen's Chamber and the King's Chamber (known as the Painted Chamber from the 14th century onwards)

1238
The Prince's Chamber was completed

1245
Henry III began re-constructing Westminster Abbey

1259
First mention of Parliament being opened in the Painted Chamber

1263
Decorations in the Painted Chamber destroyed by fire, and had to be re-worked

c1270
New Exchequer buildings constructed around the north end of Westminster Hall. The Court of Common Pleas came to be located within the Palace.

1292-97
Edward I began constructing St Stephen's Chapel and the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft

1347
Building of St Stephen's Chapel completed

1348
Edward III established St Stephen's Chapel as a college of secular canons

1363
Painting and decoration of St Stephen's Chapel completed

1365-6
Edward III built the Jewel Tower

1367
Edward III constructed a clock tower in New Palace Yard

1394-9
Richard II rebuilt Westminster Hall in its present form

1443
A new fountain, or great conduit, was erected in New Palace Yard

Biographies

You can access biographies of

King Canute
Edward the Confessor
William Rufus
William the Conqueror
Henry III
Edward I
Edward III
Richard II

from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography for free, online, using your local library card number (includes nine out of ten public libraries in the UK) or from within academic library and other subscribing networks.