Westminster Abbey

Why go

Exhibits The exhibits include a collection of royal and other funeral effigies (funeral saddle, helm and shield of Henry V), together with other treasures, including some panels of mediaeval glass, 12th-century sculpture fragments, Mary II's coronation chair and replicas of the coronation regalia, and historic effigies of Edward III, Henry VII and his queen, Elizabeth of York, Charles II, William III, Mary II and Queen Anne.

What to look for

• Then on May 10/11 1941, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by incendiary bombs.
• Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral.
• There have been at least 16 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100.

The full story

Since 1560, however, the building is no longer an abbey nor a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England "Royal Peculiar"—a church responsible directly to the sovereign. The building itself is the original abbey church. Construction of the present church began in 1245, on the orders of King Henry III. Since 1066, when Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror were crowned, the coronations of English and British monarchs have been held there. Two were of reigning monarchs (Henry I and Richard II), although, before 1919, there had been none for some 500 years. The first reports of the abbey are based on a late tradition claiming that a young fisherman called Aldrich on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter near the site.

Your next visit

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