Westminster Hall's floors damaged by 250,000 mourners seeing Queen lying-in-state

Damage has been done to the floors of Westminster Hall after 250,000 people came to pay their respects to the Queen lying-in-state, it is reported.

The queue to see the coffin wound its way around London streets to Southwark Park with some people waiting 14 hours.

Measures were made to protect the floor with a carpet glued on but it was not enough to prevent damage to the 180-year-old Yorkstone floor.

But a spokesperson for the House of Lords did not appear to see the damage as serious.

"As a consequence of the high-level continuous footfall through Westminster Hall during the lying-in-state some delamination to the Yorkstone floor has occurred," he reportedly said.

There were 250,000 people who came to pay their respects (Press Association)

"It has exposed some areas of bare stone that will blend in with the surrounding areas over time. This does not present a structural risk," he told The Telegraph.

Delamination is usually where a material has cracked with one layer separating away close to the surface.

And with the Yorkstone it will mean that some of it has come away and for the new stone surface it may start a slightly different colour but it will blend in due to exposure to the air.

The House of Lords spokesperson added: "That will blend in over time as it is exposed to the air so as it becomes unnoticeable."

The ancient hall has suffered considerable damage in the past when the building caught fire in 1834 after the blaze spread from two underfloor stoves in the basement of the House of Lords.

Some people waited 14 hours to see the Queen lying-in-state (AFP via Getty Images)

Both Houses of Parliament were destroyed and Westminster Hall was saved partly due to the efforts of fire fighters and also a change in the wind direction during the night.

It was confirmed by the Government that more than 250,000 people paid their respects to the Queen in Westminster Hall and that the queue had to be stopped several times after it exceeded the planned 10 miles.

Hundreds of thousands of people lined the route from Westminster Abbey to Windsor where the late sovereign was laid to rest.

Meanwhile, some 200,000 people lined up to visit the Queen Mother when she lay in state in Westminster Hall in 2002.