Westminster Abbey

Mute witness of English history

Westminster Abbey. History

• The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster has its origin in a fisherman who saw a vission of Saint Peter. In the present era, the Fishmongers´ s Company till gives a salmon every year.

Westminster Abbey. History

• Between 1042 and 1052 Edward the Confessor rebuilt the Abbey in the Norman Romanesque style. When he died, he was buried there.

Westminster Abbey. History

• When the Normans conquered England, their duke, William I was crowned in 1066. Since then, the English kings and queens are crowned there.

Westminster Abbey. History

• The current church were built by Henry III in 1245. It was built in a new style, the Anglo-French Gothic. The works continued until 1517.

Westminster Abbey. History

• During the Anglican reform, Henry VIII asumed direct royal control of the abbey in 1539 and gave the abbey the status of cathedral. It was a cathedral only until 1550.

Westminster Abbey. History

• The last works were made between 1722 and 1745, when the two western towers were built by Nicholas Hawksmoor.

Westminster Abbey. Today

• The abbey has hosted very famous events like the funeral and the wedding of Lady Di or the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Westminster Abbey. Ghosts

• Some people say that in nights, the ghosts of John Bradshaw, a judge of the XVII century and of William of Canterbury, a monk, haunt the Abbey.

Westminster Abbey. Ghosts

• The ghost of William of Canterbury’s first apparition was three centuries ago. Some workers were working whe the ghost appeared and started to bless them.

Westminster Abbey

• The abbey is a indispensable landmark to visit if you go to London so, come in and see all of it!