Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey
Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster
Westminster Abbey's western façade
Westminster Abbey
Location	Dean's Yard, London, SW1
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Previous denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Website	westminster-abbey.org
History
Status	Collegiate church
Founded	c. 959
Consecrated	28 December 1065, 13 October 1269
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	UNESCO World Heritage Site
Designated	1987
Specifications
Nave width	85 feet (26 m)[1]
Height	101 feet (31 m)[1]
Floor area	32,000 square feet (3,000 m2)[1]
Number of towers	2
Tower height	225 feet (69 m)[1]
Materials	Reigate stone; Portland stone; Purbeck marble
Bells	10
Administration
Diocese	Extra-diocesan (royal peculiar)
Clergy
Dean	David Hoyle
Canon(s)	see Dean and Chapter
Laity
Director of music	Andrew Nethsingha (Organist and Master of the Choristers)
Organist(s)	Peter Holder (sub-organist) Matthew Jorysz (assistant)
Organ scholar	Dewi Rees
Coordinates	51°29′58″N 00°07′39″W / 51.49944°N 0.12750°W / 51.49944; -0.12750
Founded	c. 959
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iv
Designated	1987 (11th session)
Reference no.	426
Country	United Kingdom
Region	Europe and North America
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Westminster Abbey (The Collegiate Church of St Peter)
Designated	24 February 1958
Reference no.	1291494[2]

Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs. At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey since 1100.

Although the origins of the church are obscure, an abbey housing Benedictine monks was on the site by the mid-10th century. The church got its first large building from the 1040s, commissioned by King Edward the Confessor, who is buried inside. Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of Henry III. The monastery was dissolved in 1559, and the church was made a royal peculiar – a Church of England church, accountable directly to the sovereign – by Elizabeth I. The abbey, the Palace of Westminster and St. Margaret's Church became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 because of their historic and symbolic significance.

The church's Gothic architecture is chiefly inspired by 13th-century French and English styles, although some sections of the church have earlier Romanesque styles or later Baroque and modern styles. The Henry VII Chapel, at the east end of the church, is a typical example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture; antiquarian John Leland called it orbis miraculum ("the wonder of the world").

The abbey is the burial site of more than 3,300 people, many prominent in British history: monarchs, prime ministers, poets laureate, actors, scientists, military leaders, and the Unknown Warrior. Due to the fame of the figures buried there, artist William Morris described the abbey as a "National Valhalla".