About Westminster Abbey | A royal landmark in the heart of London

Built in 1070, it is a low vaulted room in Undercroft and the oldest part of the abbey. There are 2 heavy oak doors from the 14th century and a medieval tiled floor from the 11th century. You will find a large curved medieval chest that stored vestments and others with treaties and foreign documents.

The space above the West Door had been empty since the Middle Ages. Later, the space was filled with limestone sculptures of victims of racism, Nazism, and religious prejudice, like Dr. Martin Luther King and Wang Zhiming, and unveiled in a service attended by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.

The present Westminster Abbey building dates to the time of King Henry III’s reign. The eastern part of the 11th century Abbey, founded by King Edward the Confessor in 1065, was pulled down by King Henry III in 1245. He then rebuilt the abbey in Anglo-French Gothic style for his own burial and dedicated it to King Edward. Although the construction began in 1245, the design was completed under the reign of Richard II.

The three masons supervising the construction were Robert of Beverly, John of Gloucester, and Henry of Reyns. They took inspiration from new cathedrals Amiens, Reims, and Chartres, to add an apse with radiating chapels. They used Gothic features such as ribbed vaults, pointed arches, and rose windows. You will also find a few English features in the building such as a single aisle and a long nave with projecting transepts.

Westminster Abbey has the highest Gothic vault in England which seemed higher because of the narrow aisles. The design of the Abbey was taken from the continental system of geometrical proportion. Moreover, a spacious area was provided between the start of the quire and the high altar which was the ‘theatre’ for the coronation ceremony. The windows were filled with stunning ruby and sapphire glasses along with a pattern of heraldic shields.