👑 Westminster Abbey

About This Sacred Site

Westminster Abbey is one of Britain's most important Gothic buildings and has been the coronation church for English and British monarchs since 1066. Nearly every sovereign since William the Conqueror has been crowned here, and the abbey contains the graves of monarchs, poets, scientists, and statesmen — including Newton, Darwin, Chaucer, and Dickens. The shrine of Edward the Confessor, the abbey's founder-saint, lies at the heart of the building. The Chapter House, Poets' Corner, and the medieval Cosmati pavement are among its treasures.

Key Facts

• •Every English and British coronation since 1066 has taken place here
• •Over 3,300 people are buried or memorialized within the abbey
• •The Coronation Chair, made in 1296, is the oldest piece of English furniture still in use
• •The Cosmati pavement before the high altar dates to 1268
• •The abbey was founded as a Benedictine monastery by King Edgar in 960 CE

Location

Coordinates: 51.4993, -0.1273