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Hotels near the Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey has been the Royal church for coronations, weddings and funerals since the Norman Conquest. A "royal peculiar", the building is technically neither a cathedral nor a parish church: it is under the jurisdiction of a Dean and Chapter, subject only to the Sovereign.
The building we see today has been added to and altered over centuries, the original Norman abbey being entirely rebuilt by Henry III in the 1200s, a great era for cathedrals, which also saw the building of Canterbury and Chartres. More recent and one of the finest architectural additions to the abbey are Nicholas Hawksmoor's twin towers, an 18th-century take on medieval Gothic.
A little-known gem in the East Cloisters is the Chapter House, once the place where the King's Great Council and the Commons met before the building of Parliament. It has a spectacular floor of 13th-century tiles, magnificent medieval paintings and sculpture and beautiful vaulted ceilings. Don't miss it during your visit.
Westminster Abbey Information
When: Daily
Where: London
Cost: £10; concessions £7; under 11s free; family of four £24.
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 9.30am-4.45pm (last entry 3.45pm); open for worship on Sun
Address: Parliament Square, London, SW1P 3PA
Hotels near Westminster Abbey
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Hammersmith
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Bromley
Ilford
Harrow
Hounslow
Watford
Epping
Weybridge
Reigate
Sevenoaks
Welwyn Garden City
Windsor
Gravesend
Hemel Hempstead
Horley
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