Westminster Abbey is a great national church that stands near the Houses of Parliament in London. This world-famous church is one of the most beautiful in England. Westminster Abbey’s official name is the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter. Its name Abbey comes from the fact that it once served as the church of an ancient monastery.
Westminster Abbey marked the scene of many great events in English history. All the English rulers from the time of William the Conqueror, except Edward V and Edward VIII, were crowned there. In the chapel of Edward the Confessor stands the old Coronation Chair that dates from 1300. See Coronation .
Burial in Westminster Abbey is one of the greatest honors England can give. Many kings and queens are buried in the chapel of Henry VII. Political leaders and other important people of England are buried in other parts of the Abbey. The bodies of many of England’s greatest poets lie in the Poets’ Corner.
Westminster Abbey became the seat of a bishop in 1539. This act made the Abbey a cathedral. However, only that one bishop has ever served there. A dean has headed the Abbey from the time of Queen Elizabeth I to the present day.
Edward the Confessor built a church on the site of the Abbey between about 1042 and 1065. But the main part of the Abbey was begun in 1245 by Henry III. He made the Abbey one of the best examples of French Gothic architecture in England (see Gothic art ). In the 1500’s, Henry VII added the chapel that bears his name. The west towers were completed in 1740.
The floor plan of Westminster Abbey is in the shape of a Latin cross. The church is 513 feet (156 meters) long. The transepts (crossarms) extend 203 feet (62 meters). The nave (main hall) is 38 feet (12 meters) wide and 102 feet (31 meters) high. The twin towers on the west are 225 feet (69 meters) high. The square central tower barely rises above the roof.
Cloisters surrounding the Abbey date from the 1200’s and 1300’s. The chapter house was built in the 1200’s. West of the main cloisters is the famous Jerusalem Chamber, which dates from the 1300’s. Air raids in World War II damaged parts of the Abbey. A program designed to completely restore Westminster Abbey and maintain it began in 1953.
