The Victoria Tower is the square tower at the southern end of the Palace of Westminster in London, facing south and west onto Black Rod\'s Garden and Old Palace Yard. At 98.5 metres (323 ft) , it is slightly taller than the more famous Clock Tower at the north end of the Palace (96.3 metres (316 ft)). It houses the Parliamentary Archives in archive conditions meeting the BS 5454 standard, on 12 floors. All 14 floors of the building were originally linked via a single wrought iron Victorian staircase of 553 steps, of which five floors still survive.

The Victoria Tower is the square tower at the southern end of the Palace of Westminster in London, facing south and west onto Black Rod\'s Garden and Old Palace Yard. At 98.5 metres (323 ft) , it is slightly taller than the more famous Clock Tower at the north end of the Palace (96.3 metres (316 ft)). It houses the Parliamentary Archives in archive conditions meeting the BS 5454 standard, on 12 floors. All 14 floors of the building were originally linked via a single wrought iron Victorian staircase of 553 steps, of which five floors still survive.

The main entrance at the base of the tower is the Sovereign\'s Entrance, through which the Monarch passes at the State Opening of Parliament. On top of the Victoria Tower is an iron flagstaff, from which the Union Flag is flown when Parliament is in session

History:
The Victoria Tower was purpose-built as a \'fireproof repository for books and documents\' as required by the competition to rebuild the Palace of Westminster after the f ...more