10 World Famous Landmarks That Were Almost Destroyed

7. The Houses Of Parliament And Westminster Abbey Almost Burned To The Ground During The Great Fire Of London

Westminster Abbey has stood since the 10th Century, while the Palace of Westminster - more commonly known as the Houses of Parliament - has been at the heart of the City of London for close to 1,000 years. Yet both were nearly lost to the world during the Great Fire of London in 1666. The blaze, which started in a bakery on Pudding Lane, destroyed the majority of the city - consuming 13,200 houses and 87 parish churches - but it was put out just yards from the outside of these two iconic buildings. Flames licked the very outer perimeters of both, but they remained standing as the rest of of London burned to the ground. The Houses of Parliament have had to be rebuilt on two other occasions, however. A fire destroyed all of the Palace - apart from Westminster Hall, the Cloisters of St Stephen's, the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft and the Jewel Tower - in 1834, while another blaze had previously caused significant damage in 1512. Due to its importance to the British government, it was quickly rebuilt on both occasions.