Westminster Abbey 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Westminster Abbey — Unsplash

Legend has it that the first Christian King of the East Saxons, Saberht founded a church on this very site in the early 7th century.

In 785 there was a small community of monks that resided here giving it the name ‘west minster’ meaning west monastery. The church was rebuilt in 960 and again in 1065 under King Edward the Confessor (who is buried here). Every coronation since 1066 beginning with William the Conquerer has taken place at Westminster Abbey.

But the building you see today was added under King Henry III who began construction in 1245 and replaced all but the nave with a new church in the pointed gothic style.

This 13th century church was built to rival Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and as a burial place for Henry III and his family. In 1503 Henry VII replaced the older chapel with a new chapel in the Gothic perpendicular style noteworthy for its fan vaulting.

North transept completed in the 13th century — amandabhslater CC BY-SA 2.0

Westminster Abbey is a burial place for over 30 monarchs and other prominent figures like Isaac Newton. The abbey continues to be a place of worship as it has been for over one thousand years.