NEN Gallery

The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is known as Westminster Abbey was built between the 13th and 16th centuries, It has been a place of worship and education. It contains the shrine of St Edward the Confessor, the tombs of kings and queens, and many memorials to the famous and the great. It has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066. In the 1040s King Edward enlarged a small Benedictine monastery which had been founded around 960 AD. This church became known as the 'west minster' to distinguish it from St Paul's Cathedral (the east minster). In the middle of the 13th century King Henry III decided to rebuild it in the new Gothic style of architecture. Westminster Abbey was designed as a place for the coronation and burial of monarchs. Further additions were made later - The Lady chapel built later by King Henry VII and two centuries after that the western towers (left unfinished from medieval times) were completed. Picture taken early January 2007.