Overview
Westminster Abbey stands on Thorney Island by the River Thames in the City of Westminster, London. A monastery existed from the 10th century; Edward the Confessor rebuilt it in Romanesque style (consecrated 1065). Henry III began the present Gothic abbey in 1245, creating one of England's finest French-inspired interiors with soaring choir, triforium, and nave completed over centuries.
British coronations have taken place here since William the Conqueror (1066). The abbey is a royal peculiar outside diocesan control. Poets' Corner memorialises writers from Chaucer to Ted Hughes; scientists including Newton and Darwin lie buried or commemorated. Recent royal weddings and funerals keep the church in global news cycles.
The adjacent Westminster Palace (Houses of Parliament) and St Margaret's Church share the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey" (1987). The 2020s restoration of the exterior continues conservation of soft Caen stone.