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Westminster Abbeyウェストミンスター寺院 -- Formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminister, Westminister Abbey (seats 2000) is known as the place where all the coronations of English and British monarchs since William the Conqueror was crowned in 1066. It is a place of royal weddings and more than 3300 prominent Britains, including prime ministers, monarchs, scientists, and military heros. One of the more recent interments was that of the British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. Westminister Abbey has the status of a Church of England “Royal Peculiar” – a church responsible diretly to the sovereign. As such, it is no longer an abbey or a cathedral. It is different from Westminister Cathedral, the mother church of the Catholic church in England located in Westminister, and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminister and located about one kilometer from Westminister Abbey. To confuse matters more for those unfamiliar with the Church of England, Prince Charles married Princess Diana at St Paul’s Cathedral (seats 3500, about 3 km from Westminister Abbey), the Anglican Cathedral in London which, as the cathedral of the Bishop of London, serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London and sits on the hill overlooking the City of London. Furthermore, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the symbolic head of the Church of England and the diocesan bishop of Canterbury. All of these buildings are entangled in the history of England, and each is worthy of a visit. Each is famous for a different reason. Just do not visit them all on the same day as you will get a sore neck from gazing heavenward and a case of large church architecture/history burnout. We visited Westminister Abbey and passed by both Westminster Cathedral and St Paul’s Cathedral in the fall of 2019.…
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Date of experience: December 2019
3 Helpful votes
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I was in Westminster Abbey to take part in a service to mark the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Warrior. I felt very safe being there - social distancing was being observed, both in the way the chairs were laid out, and with personal contact. The staff with whom I had dealings were all extremely polite and helpful. It's such a beautiful building with so much history. If you're in London I would definitely recommend a visit.…
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Date of experience: November 2020
1 Helpful vote
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Opened about a year ago and not accessible during the first lockdown and beyond, this is a new option with an impressive extensive collection, very little of which has previously been readily accessible, if at all. The entrance stair tower by Ptolemy Dean (which you also need to view from the outside) is a fantastic addition to the facilities and blends perfectly inside and especially out, with all else that’s been built and added during the last eight centuries. Among the important items up in the triforium are the Coronation Chair and many funereal wooden and other pieces. Too much to list here but make sure that while up there you try to see as much as you can glimpse across and down into the nave and more. Pity that the lockdown is beginning again. When it does, it is again likely to be only on the basis of advance booking online.…
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Date of experience: July 2020
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+1
Westminster Abbey is a national treasure with so much to see. I loved the new David Hockney stained glass window. There were hundreds of memorials, gravestones and statues to learn about with the help of the guidebook and audio tour. The Lady Chapel was superb architecturally but sadly, due to Covid, the chapels containing the tombs of Elizabeth 1 and Mary 1, as well as Mary Queen of Scots and the Princes in the Tower, were both closed. The new galleries were well worth a visit and contained some interesting costumes, replica Crown Jewels as well as Queen Mary 11's coronation chair. Also the marriage certificate of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Magna Carta and some priceless manuscripts and books. Poet's Corner was full of famous graves and my favourite was the memorial to Hayley in the Cloisters, in the shape of a comet. The Guides were knowledgeable and the audio tour was well worth £5.…
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Date of experience: August 2020
1 Helpful vote
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Wow what an amazing church to visit. So much history and just so beautiful. Highly recommend a visit and guided tour as so much to be learnt.
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Date of experience: October 2020
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