Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is of immense importance to the heritage of Britain. It is here that, from the 11th Century, the King’s and Queen’s of Britain have been crowned and where many of them were finally laid to rest.

Since William the Conqueror in 1066 to Elizabeth II in 1952 each of Britain’s monarchs have been crowned and pronounced King or Queen in Westminster Abbey. The magnificence of its French Gothic architecture and the splendour of its opulent interiors are the perfect setting for such an important state ceremony as the coronation. It is mainly for this reason that Westminster Abbey is a World Heritage Site.

Much of the Abbey as it stands today was built for Henry III between 1220 and 1272 but the interiors have been constantly added to with monuments and tombs to the great and the good throughout Britain’s history. The abbey is a virtual who’s who of Kings, Queens, Knights, Generals, Poets and Statesmen.

The main areas of interest are the Tomb to St Edward the Confessor, the first monarch to be buried here, taking centre place in the Abbey, the tombs of Queens Elizabeth I and Mary I , the tomb of Chaucer around which many other key cultural figures are commemorated in the area called Poets Corner. There are many memorials to those who died defending the realm including soldiers such as Thomas Wolfe whose tomb stands as a monument to Canadian forces who have defended the realm and of course the Tomb of the unknown soldier a noble setting for the most noble of sacrifices. And of the great statesmen who are remembered in the Abbey are men such as Churchill, Gladstone and Franklin D Roosevelt.

Exhibits in the Abbey include that of the coronation chair built by Edward I , on which every King and Queen of England since 1308 has been crowned and the medieval paintings of the Revelations of St John in the Chapter House predicting judgement day some of the scenes spookily eroded through time.

Tube Station: Westminster