About Westminster Abbey
Since William the Conqueror in 1066, English and British coronations have taken place here: 40 so far. The church you see began to be built in 1245 on the orders of Henry III, and its Gothic design keeps pulling your eyes upward, even with the stream of visitors shuffling single file down the nave.
Inside are more than 3,300 tombs and memorials, including Poets' Corner and the monument to Isaac Newton. Look for the Coronation Chair, made in 1296 for Edward I: it even has a battle scar, having lost a corner to a bomb planted by suffragettes in 1914.
