Newsademic British English edition 260

18th February 2016 
N ew sadem ic.com
™
 - British English edition 
page 
4
The skin from calves, sheep, goats, 
and deer can be used to make 
parchment. The skin is washed 
and then soaked in a special liquid 
for many days. This removes most 
o f the animal hair. Afterwards the 
skin is stretched across a wooden 
frame. The parchment maker then 
scrapes both sides with a knife 
as the skin dries. This gets rid 
o f any remaining hair and makes 
the parchment the same thickness. 
Therefore making a small amount 
o f parchment can take several 
weeks. Parchment made from calf­
skin is usually called vellum. This 
name comes from an old French 
word that means calf.
Long ago all books were hand­
written and made o f parchment. In 
England all laws made by parlia­
ment were recorded on long pieces 
o f vellum. These were rolled up to 
be stored. Vellum is very durable. 
It can last for thousands o f years.
The A cts o f P arliam ent storeroom a t the Palace
o f Westminster, in London, the capital o f the UK
Some o f the U K ’s most famous 
historical documents were written 
on vellum. The Domesday Book 
and Magna Carta are examples. 
The Domesday Book was pro­
duced in 1068. It is a record o f all 
the towns, villages and farmland in 
England. Magna Carta is a Latin 
phrase. It means ‘Great Charter’. 
King John o f England put his seal 
on Magna Carta. The charter lists 
many rules. A group o f wealthy 
landowners forced the king to
agree to them in 1215. Many his­
torians say that Magna Carta was 
the world’s first constitution. This 
is the set o f rules by which a coun­
try is governed.
Paper was invented in China over 
two thousand years ago. Papermak­
ing slowly spread around the world. 
It was first used in the Middle East 
around the year 700. By the 1400s 
paper was being made in most 
European countries. As paper was 
quicker and less expensive to make, 
it soon replaced parchment.
The Palace o f Westminster, in London
However, in England, important 
documents continued to be written 
or printed on vellum. The elected 
members o f the U K ’s parliament 
meet at the Palace o f Westminster, 
in London, the country’s capi­
tal city. The parliament has two 
‘houses’, the House o f Commons 
(usually called the Commons) and 
the House o f Lords (usually called 
the Lords). The Commons is the 
lower house and the Lords the 
upper. M ost people in the House 
o f Lords are appointed. None 
are elected. The Lords’ job is to 
check all legislation that is passed 
by the Commons.
In the Palace o f Westminster 
there is a room where all the Acts 
o f Parliament are stored. The older 
ones were written on rolls o f vel­
lum. Nowadays, new laws are draft­
ed on paper. Then, after the law is 
finalised, two copies are printed in 
booklets made from vellum.
The House o f Lords wanted to 
stop using vellum to save money. 
It said that archive paper would 
be used for new laws. This paper 
lasts for about 500 years. Many 
people complained. David Cam­
eron is the prime minister o f the 
UK. A few days after the House 
o f Lords’ announcement, a person 
who works for M r Cameron’s of­
fice declared that vellum would 
still be used. The prime m inister’s 
office would now pay for it. Only 
one company still makes vellum 
in the UK. Its boss said that the 
prime m inister’s office had made 
a sensible decision. □
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