Westminster

Westminster is another part of London where many historical, cultural and art masterpieces are situated. Westminster Palace and Westminster Abbey are the most important of them. More than nine centuries of history of the Kingdom are connected with them.

In older time, when there was no palace or abbey here, the settlement at this place was called the City of Westminster. They say that the earliest monastery appeared there in the seventh century. It was situated to the west of the City of London so the town was called Westminster that means “the western monastery”. It remained a small quiet town till the middle of the eleventh century when King Edward the Confessor started to build a new stone church.

The popular architectural monument Westminster Abbey we can see today was built in the thirteenth—fourteenth centuries. It is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of Gothic architecture in Western Europe. Its height is almost 157 m. The best Gothic churches of France were taken as models for the wonderful church of Westminster Abbey. In its plan the church is a cross surrounded by numerous halls and chapels.

The monastery had existed till the sixteenth century. The building of the church was closely connected with the life of royal family so it continued to be very important and played a special role in the Kingdom.

First, almost all coronations of English kings and queens took place there. The Coronation Chair stands there which is very old. Then, in Westminster Abbey English kings and queens have been buried since the thirteenth century. In the seventeenth century they started to bury famous people of England in Westminster Abbey – poets, writers, actors, scientists and others including Winston Churchill. This made Westminster Abbey quite significant for Englishmen.

The architectural complex of Westminster Abbey includes Capitola Hall which is well-known not only as an architectural masterpiece but also as a place where the English Parliament seated in the end of the thirteenth century.

Not far from the Abbey a royal palace was built in the eleventh century. At that time Westminster was separated from the City of London by the area in several kilometers. The palace was called Westminster Palace and it had been remained the main royal residence till the sixteenth century. It lived through several fires in the seventeenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries including German bombing during World War Two. Westminster-hall is the oldest part of the palace. The most important for the kingdom events took place there. Westminster hall was also used for coronations. However, only a little of the original building of the eleventh century has been preserved till today. Most of it was constructed by Charles Barry after the fire of 1834.

In our days Westminster palace is known as the Houses of Parliament. The building stretches along the Thames. The northern part of it ends with Queen Victoria Tower which is the biggest square tower in the world. It is through this tower where the Queen enters the Houses of Parliament. When the Queen is in one can see the British flag above the tower. Another tower is above the southern part of the building. It houses the main clock of the kingdom. A huge bell of the clock is called “Big Ben” after the name of Benjamin Hall the master who made the clock.

In the northern part of the building the House of Lords is placed. Its colour is red. There is the Queen’s Chair in the hall where the House of Lords seats. The southern part of the building belongs to the House of Commons. It is decorated in green. Both parts are separated by the Central Hall where the members of Parliament can meet. The chair of the Speaker in the House of Commons is situated on the same line as the Sack of the Lord-Chancellor.

Buckingham Palace is the place where the English Queen lives. One can see a monument to Queen Victoria before the palace. Every day a ceremony called “Changing of the Guards” takes place before Buckingham Palace. It attracts numerous tourists.