13 Facts About Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster.

Westminster Abbey is the burial site of more than 3, 300 people, usually of prominence in British history: at least 16 monarchs, eight prime ministers, poets laureate, actors, scientists, military leaders, and the Unknown Warrior.

Abbot and monks, being adjacent to the Palace of Westminster Abbey, became a powerful force in the centuries after the Norman Conquest, with the Abbot of Westminster Abbey taking his place in the House of Lords in due course.

Westminster Abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings, but none were buried there until Henry III rebuilt it in the Anglo-French Gothic style as a shrine to venerate King Edward the Confessor and as a suitably regal setting for his own tomb, under the highest Gothic nave in England.

Westminster Abbey was restored to the Benedictines under the Catholic Mary I, but they were again ejected under Elizabeth I in 1559.

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Westminster Abbey left instructions for the sides of his and his wife's coffins to be removed so that their remains could mingle.

Westminster Abbey suffered minor damage during the Blitz on 15 November 1940.

Coat of arms of Westminster Abbey, featuring the Tudor arms between Tudor roses above the attributed arms of Edward the Confessor.

In 1905, the actor Sir Henry Irving was cremated and his ashes buried in Westminster Abbey, thereby becoming the first person to be cremated before interment at the abbey.

The majority of interments are of cremated remains, but some burials still take place – Frances Challen, wife of Sebastian Charles, Canon of Westminster Abbey, was buried alongside her husband in the south choir aisle in 2014.

Westminster Abbey is renowned for its choral tradition, and the repertoire of Anglican church music is heard in daily worship, particularly at the service of Choral Evensong.

Chapter house and Pyx Chamber at Westminster Abbey are in the guardianship of English Heritage, but under the care and management of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.

Westminster Abbey Museum was located in the 11th-century vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks' dormitory.