Interesting things to know about Westminster Abbey

Despite its name, Westminster Abbey is no longer truly an abbey. Since the 16th century, it has been a Royal Peculiar, meaning it’s directly under the monarch’s authority. This unusual status ties it uniquely to royal events, state ceremonies, and national traditions.

Tucked inside the Abbey is Britain’s oldest surviving door, dating to the 1050s. Its oak once grew around 924, making it over 1,000 years old. Though smaller today, it still connects visitors with early medieval craftsmanship and England’s distant, mysterious past.

Every English and British monarch since 1066 has been crowned here. That’s forty coronations across nearly a thousand years. Each uses the Cosmati pavement and ancient rituals, making Westminster Abbey the oldest continuously used coronation site anywhere in the world.

Geoffrey Chaucer was buried in the Abbey in 1400 for government service, not poetry. Soon others followed, creating Poets’ Corner. Now, over 100 authors, playwrights, and poets rest here, turning a single grave into literature’s most prestigious commemorative space.

Playwright Ben Jonson was buried standing up in a tiny grave in 1637. Later excavations proved his bones are vertical, an incredibly rare burial in England. His small plot is marked with the inscription “O rare Ben Jonson.”

The Cosmati pavement, installed in 1268, mixes mosaics with mystical numbers. Inscriptions predicted the world would end 19,683 years later. Though simply decorative to some, its strange mix of prophecy, science, and spirituality continues to intrigue curious visitors today.

In 1940, bombs struck the Abbey’s Lady Chapel, killing a verger. Instead of erasing all traces, part of the damage was preserved. Visitors today can still see the scars, standing as reminders of London’s wartime endurance and resilience.