112-718: Westminster is a cathedral city and the main settlement of the London Borough of the City of Westminster in Central London , England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster , Buckingham Palace , Westminster Abbey , Westminster Cathedral , Trafalgar Square and much of the West End cultural centre including
224-444: A Norman prototype in striking contrast to the rest of the design. The main structural parts of the building are of brick and concrete, the latter material being used for the vaulting and domes of graduated thickness and complicated curve. Following Byzantine tradition, the interior was designed with a view to the application of marble and mosaic . Throughout the exterior, the lavish introduction of white stone bands in connection with
336-642: A Watling Street but they are not on the route). Following the Viking invasions , the 9th-century Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum mentions Watling Street as a boundary. It is assumed that the pilgrims in Chaucer 's Canterbury Tales used the southeastern stretch of Watling Street when journeying from Southwark to Canterbury . The first turnpike trust in England was established over Watling Street northwest of London by an Act of Parliament on 4 March 1707 in order to provide
448-522: A distinguished choral tradition. It has its origin in the shared vision of Cardinal Vaughan , the cathedral's founder, and Sir Richard Runciman Terry , its inaugural Master of Music. Terry prepared his choristers for a year before their first sung service in public. For the remainder of his tenure (until 1924) he pursued a celebrated revival of great quantities of Latin repertoire from the English Renaissance , most of which had lain unsung ever since
560-502: A dozen monks in Dunstan's original foundation, up to a maximum of about eighty monks. Most of the parishes of Westminster originated as daughter parishes of St Margaret's parish , in the City and Liberty of Westminster , Middlesex . The exceptions to this were St Clement Danes , St Mary le Strand and possibly some other small areas. The ancient parish was St Margaret ; after 1727 this became
672-516: A firm footing for years to come." When the question of a musical director was first considered, the choice fell on the singer Sir Charles Santley , who had conducted the choir of the pro-cathedral in Kensington on several occasions. But Santley knew his limitations and refused. Richard Runciman Terry—Director of Music at Downside Abbey School —then became the first director of music of Westminster Cathedral. It proved to be an inspired choice. Terry
784-657: A geographical area at all; employed especially in the phrase "Westminster Village gossip", it denotes a supposedly close social circle of members of parliament, political journalists, so-called spin-doctors and others connected to events in the Palace of Westminster and in Government ministries. The area has a substantial residential population. By the 20th century Westminster saw rising numbers of residential apartments with wealthy inhabitants. Hotels, large Victorian homes and barracks exist near to Buckingham Palace . Westminster hosts
896-606: A natural ford once crossed the Thames between Thorney Island (present-day Westminster ) and the Lambeth / Wandsworth boundary. Its location means that it is possible that Watling Street crossed it. Several factors may have slowed the river here, leading to the depositing of enough sediments to create a usable ford: The Romans began constructing paved roads shortly after their invasion in AD ;43. The London portion of Watling Street
1008-477: A part of its Second Route ( Iter II ), which runs for 501 MP from Hadrian's Wall to Richborough: Some site in the middle section of this route is supposed by most historians to have been the location of G. Suetonius Paulinus 's decisive victory over Boudica 's Iceni in AD 61. The two routes of the Antonine Itinerary immediately following ( Iter III & IV ) list
1120-416: A return on the investment required to once more pave the road. The section from Fourne Hill north of Hockliffe to Stony Stratford was paved at a cost of £ 7000 over the next two years. Revenue was below expectations; in 1709, the trust succeeded in getting a new act extending the term of their monopoly but not permitting their tolls to be increased. In 1711, the trust's debts had not been discharged and
1232-582: A salmon and various proofs that the consecration had already occurred. Every year on 29 June, St Peter's Day, the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers presents the Abbey with a salmon in memory of this event. A charter of 785, possibly a forgery, grants land to the needy people of God in Thorney, in the dreadful spot which is called Westminster . The text suggests a pre-existing monastic community who chose to live in
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#17328372319091344-518: A snake, was installed at the entrance to the chapel in his honour. In 2001, a striking mosaic of Saint Alban , strongly influenced by the style of early Byzantine iconography, was installed by the designer, Christopher Hobbs. Due to the very favourable reception of the work, Hobbs was commissioned for further mosaics: the chapel to Saint Joseph which contains mosaics of the Holy Family (2003) and men working on Westminster Cathedral (2006). Hobbs also did
1456-410: A stranger in tattered foreign clothing over the Thames to Thorney Island . It was a miraculous appearance of St Peter , a fisherman himself, coming to the island to consecrate the newly built church, which later developed into Westminster Abbey . He rewarded Edric with a bountiful catch when he next dropped his nets. Edric was instructed to present the king and St. Mellitus, Bishop of London , with
1568-541: A traditional choir of men and boys was set up instead. Despite great financial problems, the Choir School opened on 5 October 1901 with eleven boy choristers, in the building originally intended for the monks. Cardinal Vaughan received the boys with the words "You are the foundation stones". The Cathedral Choir was officially instituted three months later in January 1902. Sung Masses and Offices were immediately established when
1680-608: A tremendous amount of work done, with mosaics placed in the Lady Chapel, in the alcoves above the confessionals, in the crypt dedicated to Saint Peter , and on the sanctuary arch. No new mosaics were installed until 1950 when one depicting St Thérèse of Lisieux (later replaced by a bronze) was placed in the south transept and another, in 1952, in memory of those in the Royal Army Medical Corps who died in World War II , in
1792-470: A very challenging location. The recorded origins of the Abbey (rather than a less important religious site) date to the 960s or early 970s, when Saint Dunstan and King Edgar installed a community of Benedictine monks on the site. Between 1042 and 1052, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in
1904-591: Is above the entrance to the cathedral. The Tympanum of the portal shows in a Byzantine mosaic technique from left to right the kneeling St Peter with the Keys of Heaven , the Virgin Mary , Jesus Christ as Pantocrator on the throne, St Joseph , the Nursing Father of Jesus with a lily in his right hand, and in a kneeling position the canonized English King Edward the Confessor in royal regalia. As Jesus Christ blesses
2016-565: Is consequently also used in reference to the Westminster system , the parliamentary model of democratic government that has evolved in the United Kingdom and for those other nations, particularly in the Commonwealth of Nations and for other parts of the former British Empire that adopted it. The term "Westminster Village", sometimes used in the context of British politics, does not refer to
2128-514: Is indicated by the Latin dedication above the portal arch: Domine Jesus Rex et Redemptor per Sanguinem tuum salva nos (English translation: "Lord Jesus, King and Redeemer, heal us through your blood"). The additional patrons are St Mary, the mother of Jesus, St Joseph , his foster father, and St Peter , his vicar. The cathedral also has numerous secondary patrons: St Augustine and all British saints, St Patrick and all saints of Ireland . The Feast of
2240-505: Is listed as taking 24 Roman miles rather than 17. The more direct route north from Londinium (London) to Eboracum ( York ) was Ermine Street . The stations between Eboracum and Cataractonium ( Catterick ) were shared with Dere Street , which then branched off to the northeast. Durocobrivis ( Dunstable ) was the site of the path's intersection with the Icknield Way . The Maiden Way ran from Bravoniacum ( Kirkby Thore ) to
2352-651: Is on the original route.) Dere Street , the Roman road from Cataractonium ( Catterick in Yorkshire ) to Corstopitum (now Corbridge , Northumberland ) to the Antonine Wall , was also sometimes known as Watling Street. A third Watling Street was the Roman road from Mamucium ( Manchester ) to Bremetennacum ( Ribchester ) to Cumbria . Preston , Lancashire , preserved a Watling Street Road between Ribbleton and Fulwood , passing
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#17328372319092464-1050: Is restricted or banned. The name Watling Street is still used along the ancient road in many places, for instance in Bexleyheath in southeast London and in Canterbury , Gillingham , Strood , Gravesend , and Dartford in Kent . North of London, the name Watling Street still occurs in Hertfordshire (including St Albans ), Bedfordshire ( Dunstable ), Buckinghamshire ( Milton Keynes ), Northamptonshire ( Towcester ), Leicestershire ( Hinckley ), Warwickshire ( Nuneaton and Atherstone ) and in Staffordshire ( Cannock , Wall , Tamworth and Lichfield ). (There are Watling Streets in Shropshire ( Church Stretton ) and in Gwynedd ( Llanrwst ), but neither
2576-435: Is richly inlaid with coloured marbles, lapis lazuli, pearl, and gold. Eight columns of yellow marble, from Verona , support the baldacchino over the high altar, and others, white and pink, from Norway , support the organ galleries. Behind the baldacchino the crypt emerges above the floor of the sanctuary , and the podium thus formed is broken in the middle by the steps that lead up to the retro-choir . The curved wall of
2688-413: Is separated by an open screen of marble, was the first to have its decoration completed. The marble lining of the piers rises to the springing level of the vaulting and this level has determined the height of the altar reredos, and of the screen opposite. On the side wall, under the windows, the marble dado rises to but little more than half this height. From the cornices the mosaic decoration begins on
2800-456: Is the 38th largest Catholic church globally in terms of interior area. The whole building, in the neo-Byzantine style, covers a floor area of about 5,017 square metres (54,000 sq ft); the dominating factor of the scheme, apart from the campanile , being a spacious and uninterrupted nave , 18 metres (59 ft) wide and 70 metres (230 ft) long from the narthex to the sanctuary steps, covered with domical vaulting . In planning
2912-505: Is traditionally cited as having been the location of the Romans' defeat of Boudica , though precisely where on the route is disputed. The Roman Antonine Itinerary lists sites along the route of Watling Street as part of a longer route of 500 Roman miles connecting Richborough with Hadrian's Wall via Wroxeter. The continuation on to Blatobulgium ( Birrens , Dumfriesshire ) beyond Hadrian's Wall in modern Scotland may have been part of
3024-506: The A5 road . The route from Dover to London forms part of the A2 road . At various points along the historic route, the name Watling Street remains in modern use. The original Celtic and Roman name for the road is unknown, and the Romans may not have viewed it as a single path at all, since parts of it were assigned to two separate itineraries in one 2nd-century list . The modern name instead derives from
3136-600: The City of Westminster and its council as Westminster City Council . The City and Liberty of Westminster and the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster were very similar in extent, covering the parts of the wider modern City of Westminster south of the Oxford Street , and its continuations Hyde Park Place. The exception is that part of Kensington Gardens , south of that road, are part of Paddington . Westminster merged with St Marylebone and Paddington in 1965, but
3248-552: The Feeding the multitude and the Wedding Feast at Cana . In his old age, Anrep also acted as adviser and principal sketch artist for the mosaics installed in the chapel of Saint Paul (1964–1965). These mosaics depict various moments in the life of Paul; his occupation as a tent-maker, his conversion to Christ, the shipwreck on Malta and his eventual execution in Rome . It was not until
3360-673: The High Commissions of many Commonwealth countries: Within the area is Westminster School , a major public school which grew out of the abbey, and the University of Westminster , attended by over 20,000 students. Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral , formally the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ , is the largest Roman Catholic church in England and Wales and
3472-581: The Old English Wæcelinga Stræt , from a time when "street" ( Latin : via strata ) referred to any paved road and had no particular association with urban thoroughfares. The Waeclingas ("people of Waecla ") were a tribe in the St Albans area in the early medieval period with an early name of their city being "Waetlingacaester", which would translate into modern English as "Watlingchester". The original Anglo-Saxon name for
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3584-449: The Palace of Westminster , near the abbey, became the principal royal residence, a transition marked by the transfer of royal treasury and financial records to Westminster from Winchester . Later the palace housed the developing Parliament and England's law courts . Thus, London developed two focal points: the City of London (financial/economic) and Westminster (political and cultural). The monarchs moved their principal residence to
3696-453: The Palace of Whitehall (1530–1698), then to St James's Palace in 1698, and eventually to Buckingham Palace and other palaces after 1762. The main law courts moved to the Royal Courts of Justice in the late-19th century. The settlement grew up around the palace and abbey, as a service area for them. The parish church, St Margaret's Westminster served the wider community of the parish;
3808-594: The Peabody Trust founded by philanthropist George Peabody . Given the focus on Westminster in English and British public life over centuries, the name "Westminster" is casually used as a metonym for the UK Parliament and for the political community of the United Kingdom generally. (The civil service is similarly referred to using the name of the northern sub-neighbourhood which it inhabits, " Whitehall ".) "Westminster"
3920-614: The River Tyburn , yet Victoria Street and other small streets and squares had the highest colouring of social class in London: yellow/gold. Westminster has shed the abject poverty with the clearance of this slum and with drainage improvement, but there is a typical Central London property distinction within the area which is very acute, epitomised by grandiose 21st-century developments, architectural high-point listed buildings and nearby social housing (mostly non- council housing ) buildings of
4032-514: The Romanesque style. The building was completed around 1060 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before Edward's death on 5 January 1066. A week later, he was buried in the church; and, nine years later, his wife Edith was buried alongside him. His successor, Harold II , was probably crowned in the abbey, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later
4144-510: The Stations of the Cross to be found along the outer aisles. The ones at Westminster Cathedral are by the sculptor Eric Gill , and are considered to be amongst the finest examples of his work. When the cathedral's architect John Bentley died, there were no completed mosaics in the cathedral and Bentley left behind precious little in terms of sketches and designs. Consequently, the subject and styles of
4256-590: The 1998 Gramophone Awards for both Best Choral Recording of the Year and Record of the Year, for the performance of Martin 's Mass for Double Choir and Pizzetti's Requiem, conducted by O'Donnell. It is the only cathedral choir to have won in either of these categories. When its duties at the cathedral permit, the choir also gives concert performances both at home and abroad. It has appeared at many important festivals, including Aldeburgh , Cheltenham , Salzburg, Copenhagen, Bremen and Spitalfields . It has appeared in many of
4368-621: The 7th and 10th centuries, but it rose to national prominence when rebuilt by Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. Westminster has been the home of England's government since about 1200, and from 1707 the Government of the United Kingdom . In 1539, it became a city. Westminster is often used as a metonym to refer to the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which sits in the Palace of Westminster . The City and Liberty of Westminster and other historical Westminster administrative units (except
4480-558: The B2068 road that runs from the M20 motorway to Canterbury. The route between Durovernum and the fortress and port at Regulbium ( Reculver ) on Kent's northern shore is not given in these itineraries but was also paved and is sometimes taken as a fourth terminus for Watling Street. The Sixth Route ( Iter VI ) also recorded an alternate path stopping at Tripontium ( Newton and Biggin ) between Venonis ( High Cross ) and Bannaventa ( Norton ); it
4592-540: The Blessed Sacrament chapel, the chapel dedicated to the Blessed Mother is completely open. The building of the Lady Chapel was funded by Baroness Weld in memory of her second husband. Those chapels which may be entered from the aisles of the nave are also 6.7 metres (22 ft) wide, and roofed with simple barrel vaulting . The chapel of Saints Gregory and Augustine , next to the baptistery , from which it
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4704-419: The City of London and Southwark were enfranchised. The growing Elizabethan city had a High Constable, Bailiff, Town Clerk, and a keeper of the ponds. Charles Booth 's poverty map showing Westminster in 1889 recorded the full range of income- and capital-brackets living in adjacent streets within the area; its central western area had become (by 1850) (the) Devil's Acre in the southern flood-channel ravine of
4816-711: The Confessor . A number of Old English names testify to route of Watling Street at this time: Boughton Street in Kent ; Colney Street in Hertfordshire ; Fenny Stratford and Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire ; Old Stratford in Northamptonshire; Stretton-under-Fosse and Stretton Baskerville in Warwickshire . (The three adjacent settlements of All Stretton , Church Stretton , and Little Stretton in Shropshire ; and Stretton Sugwas in Herefordshire have
4928-517: The Dedication of the Cathedral is celebrated each year on 1 July, which from 1849 until 1969 was the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ . In 1977, as part of her Silver Jubilee Celebrations , Queen Elizabeth II visited the cathedral to view a flower show. On 28 May 1982, the first day of his six-day pastoral visit to the United Kingdom, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in
5040-466: The Grand Organ of four manuals and 81 stops occupies a more commanding position than many British cathedral organs enjoy. Built by Henry Willis III from 1922 to 1932, it remains one of the most successful and admired. One of Louis Vierne 's best-known organ pieces, " Carillon de Westminster ", the final movement from Suite no. 3 (op. 54) of Pièces de Fantaisie, was originally improvised on it in 1924, and
5152-475: The Middlesex sessions also had jurisdiction. Under local government reforms in 1889, the area fell within the newly created County of London , and the local government of Westminster was further reformed in 1900, when the court of burgesses and the parish vestries were abolished and replaced by the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster . The borough was given city status at the same time, allowing it to be known as
5264-705: The Reformation. Students at the Royal College of Music who would become household names were introduced to their heritage when Charles Villiers Stanford sent them to the cathedral to hear " polyphony for a penny" (the bus fare). This programme also required honing the boys' sight-reading ability to a then-unprecedented standard. The choir has commissioned many works from distinguished composers, many of whom are better known for their contribution to Anglican music , such as Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams . However,
5376-481: The Roman road ran along Old Dover Road , turning and running through the area of present-day Greenwich Park to a location perhaps a little north of the current Deptford Bridge. North of London, the road is designated mainly as the A5 between London and Shrewsbury . At various points along the route, the A5 leaves the Roman road to bypass settlements, but its historic route invariably remains evident even where motor traffic
5488-654: The Romans had already been used by the Britons for centuries. The main path led from Richborough on the English Channel to a natural ford in the Thames at Thorney Island , Westminster , to a site near Wroxeter , where it split. The western continuation went on to Holyhead while the northern ran to Chester and on to the Picts in Scotland. There is a longstanding tradition that
5600-507: The Thames. They did not return to Lundenburh (the City of London ) until forced to do so by the Vikings in the late 9th century. Over time, the graveling and paving itself fell into disrepair, although the road's course continued to be used in many places as a public right of way . "Watlingestrate" was one of the four roads ( Latin : chemini ) protected by the king's peace in the Laws of Edward
5712-575: The altar of the Blessed Sacrament chapel a small baldacchino is suspended from the vault, and the chapel is enclosed with bronze grilles and gates through which people may enter. In the Lady Chapel the walls are clad in marble and the altar reredos is a mosaic of the Virgin and Child , surrounded by a white marble frame. The conches of the chapel contain predominantly blue mosaics of the Old Testament prophets Daniel , Isaiah , Jeremiah and Ezekiel . Unlike
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#17328372319095824-511: The ancient Britons, mainly between the areas of modern Canterbury and St Albans using a natural ford near Westminster , the road was later paved by the Romans . It connected the ports of Dubris (Dover), Rutupiae ( Richborough Castle ), Lemanis ( Lympne ), and Regulbium ( Reculver ) in Kent to the Roman bridge over the Thames at Londinium (London). The route continued northwest through Verulamium (St Albans) on its way to Viroconium Cornoviorum ( Wroxeter ). Watling Street
5936-481: The arches at a height of 27 metres (89 ft) from the floor, the total internal height being 34 metres (112 ft). In selecting the pendentive type of dome, of shallow concavity, for the main roofing, weight and pressure have been reduced to a minimum. The domes and pendentures are formed of concrete, and as extraneous roofs of timber were dispensed with, it was necessary to provide a thin independent outer shell of impervious stone. The concrete flat roofing around
6048-428: The area began with the establishment of Westminster Abbey on a site then called Thorney Island . The site may have been chosen because of the natural ford which is thought to have carried Watling Street over the Thames in the vicinity. The wider district became known as Westminster in reference to the church. The legendary origin is that in the early 7th century, a local fisherman named Edric (or Aldrich) ferried
6160-438: The beauty and integrity of the cathedral's liturgy. Initially, he determined there should be a community of Benedictine monks at the new cathedral, performing the liturgies and singing the daily Office. This caused great resentment amongst the secular clergy of the diocese, who felt they were being snubbed. In the end, negotiations with both the English Benedictines and the community of French Benedictines at Farnborough failed and
6272-431: The bridgehead on the Thames to what would become Newgate on the London Wall before passing over Ludgate Hill and the Fleet and dividing into Watling Street and the Devil's Highway west to Calleva ( Silchester ). Some of this route is preserved beneath Old Kent Road . The 2nd-century Antonine Itinerary gives the course of Watling Street from " Urioconium " (Wroxeter) to " Portus Ritupis " (Richborough) as
6384-442: The broader modern City of Westminster , a London Borough created in 1965) extended from the River Thames to the old Roman road from the City to western England, which is now locally called Oxford Street . {{{annotations}}} Thorney Island lay between the arms of the former River Tyburn at its confluence with the Thames, while the western boundary with Chelsea was formed by the similarly lost River Westbourne . The line of
6496-473: The building. The music was provided by an orchestra of a hundred and a choir of two hundred, including the Cathedral Choir, directed by Richard Terry. The programme included music by Wagner , Purcell , Beethoven , Palestrina , Byrd and Tallis . The acoustics proved to be excellent. One year later, on 6 June 1903, the first performance in London of The Dream of Gerontius , a poem by Cardinal John Henry Newman , set to music by Edward Elgar , took place in
6608-515: The cathedral opened for worship in 1903, and have continued without interruption ever since. In September 2020, Cardinal Vincent Nichols responded to a strategic review of sacred music at Westminster Cathedral, asking that "all those who profess to be fervent supporters of this precious inheritance of sacred music to become regular contributors to its financial support. It is, unquestionably, time to look ahead in order to ensure that this tradition of sacred music in Westminster Cathedral...can be put onto
6720-444: The cathedral to be 350 ft long by 156 ft wide by 90 ft high. The foundation stone blessing by Cardinal Vaughan took place on a Saturday morning, 29 June 1895, before a "distinguished" gathering. After the "recitation of the Litanies, Cardinal Logue celebrated Low Mass coram episcopo . A procession composed of Benedictines , Franciscans , Jesuits , Passionists , Dominicans , Redemptorists , and secular clergy made
6832-473: The cathedral was soon attended by inquisitive musicians as well as the faithful. The performance of great Renaissance Masses and motets in their proper liturgical context remains the cornerstone of the choir's activity. Terry resigned in 1924, and was succeeded by Canon Lancelot Long who had been one of the original eleven choristers in 1901. At the beginning of the Second World War , the boys were at first evacuated to Uckfield in East Sussex, but eventually
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#17328372319096944-421: The cathedral. In January 2011 the cathedral was the venue for the reception and later ordination of three former Anglican bishops into the newly formed Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham . In 2012, the cathedral was the host of two episodes of the BBC Four three-part documentary series named Catholics : the first episode looked at women who attend and/or work at the cathedral and their faith, and
7056-415: The cathedral. On St Andrew's Day (30 November) 1995, at the invitation of Basil Cardinal Hume , Queen Elizabeth again visited the cathedral but this time she attended Choral Vespers , the first participation of the Queen in a Roman Catholic church liturgy in Great Britain. On 18 September 2010, on the third day of his four-day state visit to the United Kingdom, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in
7168-411: The cathedral. In June 2005 the choristers performed the world première of Sir John Tavener 's Missa Brevis for boys' voices. Westminster Cathedral Choir made its first recording in 1907. Many more have followed in the Westminster Cathedral Choir discography , most recently the series on the Hyperion label, and many awards have been conferred on the choir's recordings. Of these the most prestigious are
7280-492: The cathedral. The composer himself conducted, with Richard Terry at the organ. Once again, the proceeds went to support the Cathedral Choir School. John Tavener's The Beautiful Names , a setting of the 99 names of Allah found in the Qur'an , premièred in the cathedral on 19 June 2007, in a performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the presence of Charles, Prince of Wales . The founder of Westminster Cathedral, Cardinal Herbert Vaughan laid great emphasis on
7392-439: The central entrance, flanked by tribunes, and stairway turrets. The elevation on the north, with a length of nearly 91.5 metres (300 ft) contrasted with the vertical lines of the campanile and the transepts, is most impressive. It rests on a continuous and plain basement of granite, and only above the flat roofing of the chapels does the structure assume a varied outline. Marble columns, with capitals of Byzantine type, support
7504-507: The chapel in honour of Saint Thomas Becket illustrating the saint standing in front of the old Canterbury Cathedral on the chapel's east wall and the murder of Thomas on the west wall. The vault is decorated with a design of flowers, tendrils and roundels (2006). As of 2011 , there were plans for further mosaics, including depictions of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Anthony in the narthex . Despite its relatively short history compared to other English cathedrals, Westminster has
7616-415: The chapel of Saint George . From 1960 to 1962, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel was decorated in a traditional, early Christian style, with the mosaics being predominantly pale pink in order to afford a sense of light and space. The designer, Boris Anrep , chose various Eucharistic themes such as the sacrifice of Abel , the hospitality of Abraham and the gathering of the manna in the wilderness, as well as
7728-406: The choir is particularly renowned for its performance of Gregorian chant and polyphony of the Renaissance . Unlike most other English cathedrals, Westminster does not have a separate quire ; instead, the choir are hidden from view in the apse behind the high altar . This, with the excellent acoustic of the cathedral building, contributes to its distinctive sound. Located in the west gallery,
7840-439: The choir school was closed altogether for the remainder of the war. The music at the cathedral was performed by a reduced body of professional men singers. During this period, from 1941 to 1947, the Master of Music was William Hyde, who had been the sub-organist under Richard Terry. Hyde was succeeded by George Malcolm , who developed the continental sound of the choir and consolidated its musical reputation—in particular through
7952-412: The circuit of the grounds. The choir, directed by the Rev. Charles Cox, rendered, among other pieces, Webbe's 'O Roma Felix' and 'O Salutaris'. At the luncheon which followed, the speakers included Cardinal Vaughan, Cardinal Logue, the Duke of Norfolk , Lord Acton , Henry Matthews MP , Lord Edmund Talbot , and Sir Donald Macfarlane." The cathedral opened in 1903, a year after Bentley's death. One of
8064-501: The civil parish of 'St Margaret and St John', the latter a new church required for the increasing population. The area around Westminster Abbey formed the extra-parochial Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter . Like many large parishes, Westminster was divided into smaller units called Hamlets (meaning a territorial sub-division, rather than a small village). These would later become independent daughter parishes. Until 1900
8176-430: The combined area was allowed to keep the title City of Westminster . For a list of street name etymologies for Westminster see Street names of Westminster The former Thorney Island , the site of Westminster Abbey , formed the historic core of Westminster. The abbey became the traditional venue of the coronations of the kings and queens of England from that of Harold Godwinson (1066) onwards. From about 1200
8288-461: The creditors took over receivership of the tolls. In 1716, a new act restored the authority of the trust under the supervision of another group appointed by the Buckinghamshire justices of the peace. The trust failed to receive a further extension of their rights in 1736 and their authority ended at the close of 1738. In 1740, a new act named new trustees to oversee the road, which the residents of Buckinghamshire described as being "ruined". The road
8400-427: The crypt is lined with narrow slabs of green carystran marble. Opening out of this crypt is a smaller chamber, directly under the high altar. Here are laid the remains of the first two Archbishops of Westminster , Cardinal Wiseman and Cardinal Manning . The altar and relics of Saint Edmund of Canterbury occupy a recess on the south side of the chamber. The little chapel of Saint Thomas of Canterbury , entered from
8512-447: The death of the artist, George Bridge. Mosaics installed during the period 1912–1916 were mostly done by devotees of the Arts and Crafts Movement . Those in the Lady Chapel were installed by the experienced mosaicist Gertrude Martin (who had worked with George Bridge), in 1912–1913. The work was supervised by Anning Bell and Marshall, who later designed the mosaic of Christ enthroned which
8624-474: The domes is covered with asphalt. The sanctuary is essentially Byzantine in its system of construction. The extensions that open out on all sides make the corona of the dome seem independent of support. The eastern termination of the cathedral suggests the Romanesque , or Lombardic style of Northern Italy. The crypt with openings into the sanctuary, thus closely following the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio , Milan,
8736-561: The entertainment precinct of West End Theatre . The name ( Old English : Westmynstre ) originated from the informal description of the abbey church and royal peculiar of St Peter's (Westminster Abbey), west of the City of London (until the English Reformation there was also an Eastminster , near the Tower of London , in the East End of London ). The abbey's origins date from between
8848-509: The first public liturgies to be celebrated in the cathedral was Cardinal Vaughan's Requiem Mass; the Cardinal died on 19 June 1903. When the debt on the building fund was liquidated, consecration ceremony took place on 28 June 1910 Under the laws of the Catholic Church, no place of worship could be consecrated unless free from debt. The decoration of the interior had hardly been started at
8960-502: The fort at Epiacum ( Whitley Castle ) with its remarkable ramparts, and on to the Hadrian's Wall fort of Magnis (Carvoran) . By the time of the Saxon invasions , the Roman bridge across the Thames had presumably fallen into disrepair or been destroyed. The Saxons abandoned the walled Roman site in favour of Lundenwic to its west, presumably because of its more convenient access to the ford on
9072-512: The galleries and other subsidiary parts of the building. The marble selected for the columns was, in some instances, obtained from formations quarried by the ancient Romans, chiefly in Greece . The central feature of the decoration in the cathedral is the baldacchino over the high altar . This is one of the largest structures of its kind, the total width being 9.5 metres (31 ft), and the height 11.5 metres (38 ft). The upper part of white marble
9184-481: The late 19th century, the Roman Catholic Church 's hierarchy had only recently been restored in England and Wales, and it was in memory of Cardinal Wiseman (who died in 1865, and was the first Archbishop of Westminster from 1850) that the first substantial sum of money was raised for the new cathedral. The land was acquired in 1884 by Wiseman's successor, Cardinal Manning , having previously been occupied by
9296-662: The local authority was the combined vestry of St Margaret and St John (also known as the Westminster District Board of Works from 1855 to 1887), which was based at Westminster Town Hall in Caxton Street from 1883. The Liberty of Westminster, governed by the Westminster Court of Burgesses , also included St Martin in the Fields and several other parishes and places . Westminster had its own quarter sessions , but
9408-628: The major concert halls of Britain, including the Royal Festival Hall , the Wigmore Hall and the Royal Albert Hall . The cathedral choir also broadcasts frequently on radio and television. Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England , running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter . The road crosses the River Thames at London and
9520-548: The mosaics were influenced by donors as well as designers, overseen by a cathedral committee established for this purpose. Indeed, Bentley's influence is, in reality, only seen in the chapel dedicated to the Holy Souls. Due to the prevailing absence of any real designs by Bentley, there was no real agreement as to how the mosaics should look, and in one instance, works already installed (in the Sacred Heart shrine) were removed after
9632-467: The nave, a system of supports was adopted not unlike that to be seen in most Gothic cathedrals, where huge, yet narrow, buttresses are projected at intervals, and stiffened by transverse walls, arcading and vaulting. Unlike in a Gothic cathedral , at Westminster they are limited to the interior. The main piers and transverse arches that support the domes divide the nave into three bays, each about 395 square metres (4,250 sq ft). The domes rest on
9744-519: The north transept, is used as a chantry for Cardinal Vaughan . A large Byzantine style crucifix , suspended from the sanctuary arch, dominates the nave. The chapel of the Blessed Sacrament , on the north side of the sanctuary, and the Lady Chapel on the south, are entered from the transepts; they are 6.7 m (22 ft) wide, lofty, with open arcades, barrel vaulting, and apsidal ends. Over
9856-627: The now legendary recording of Victoria's Tenebrae responsories . More recent holders of the post have included Francis Cameron, Colin Mawby , Stephen Cleobury , David Hill , James O'Donnell and Martin Baker . In May 2021, Simon Johnson was appointed as the Master of Music. In addition to its performances of Renaissance masterpieces, Westminster Cathedral Choir has given many first performances of music written especially for it by contemporary composers. Terry gave
9968-494: The old path. A section of Watling Street still exists in the City of London close to Mansion House underground station on the route of the original Roman road which traversed the River Thames via the first London Bridge and ran through the City in a straight line from London Bridge to Newgate . The sections of the road in Central London possess a variety of names, including Edgware Road and Maida Vale . At Blackheath ,
10080-430: The open colonnade under the eaves, the timber roof following the curve of the apex, are all familiar features. The large buttresses resist the pressure of a vault 14.5-metre (48 ft) in span. Although the cruciform plan is not very noticeable inside the building, it is emphasised outside by the boldly projecting transepts. These with their twin gables, slated roofs, and square turrets with pyramidal stone cappings suggest
10192-469: The parish ranked as a "City", although it was only a fraction of the size of the City of London and the Borough of Southwark at that time. Indeed, the cathedral and diocesan status of the church lasted only from 1539 to 1556, but the "city" status remained for a mere parish within Middlesex. As such it is first known to have had two Members of Parliament in 1545 as a new Parliamentary Borough , centuries after
10304-546: The premières of music by Vaughan Williams (whose Mass in G minor received its liturgical performance at a Mass in the cathedral), Gustav Holst , Herbert Howells and Charles Wood ; in 1959 Benjamin Britten wrote his Missa brevis for the choristers; and since 1960 works by Lennox Berkeley , William Mathias , Colin Mawby and Francis Grier have been added to the repertoire. Most recently four new Masses—by Roxanna Panufnik , James MacMillan , Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Judith Bingham —have received their first performance in
10416-570: The red brickwork (itself quite common in the immediate area) produces an impression quite foreign to the British eye. The bricks were hand-moulded and delivered by Faversham Brickfields at Faversham in Kent and Thomas Lawrence Brickworks in Bracknell . The main entrance façade owes its composition, in a measure, to accident rather than design. The most prominent feature of the façade is the deeply recessed arch over
10528-587: The river still forms (with very slight revisions) the boundaries of the modern borough with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . Further north, away from the river mouth, Westminster included land on both sides of the Westbourne, notably Knightsbridge (including the parts of Hyde Park west of the Serpentine lake (originally formed by damming the river) and most of Kensington Gardens). Westminster includes
10640-547: The same route, leading some scholars to call this Watling Street as well, although others restrict it to the southern leg. In the early 18th century, England's first turnpike trust was established to pave the route through Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire . In the early 19th century, the course between London and the Channel was paved and became known as the Great Dover Road . The route from London to Wroxeter forms much of
10752-581: The same year. The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey, together with the adjacent Palace of Westminster , is in the Bayeux Tapestry . Some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory, an extension of the south transept, survive in the Norman Undercroft of the Great School, including a door said to come from the previous Saxon abbey. Increased endowments supported a community that increased from
10864-643: The seat of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster . The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of Westminster was purchased by the Diocese of Westminster in 1885, and construction was completed in 1903. Designed by John Francis Bentley in a 9th-century Christian neo-Byzantine style , and accordingly made almost entirely of brick , without steel reinforcements, Sir John Betjeman called it "a masterpiece in striped brick and stone" that shows "the good craftsman has no need of steel or concrete." In
10976-442: The second Tothill Fields Bridewell prison. After two false starts, in 1867 (under architect Henry Clutton ) and 1892 (architect Baron von Herstel ), construction started in 1895 under Manning's successor, the third archbishop , Cardinal Vaughan , with John Francis Bentley as architect, in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture . The cost of the building was anticipated at £150,000 and its area 54,000 sq ft,
11088-491: The section of the route between Canterbury and London was Casingc Stræt or Key Street, a name still borne by a hamlet on the road near Sittingbourne . This section only later became considered part of Watling Street. Watling Street has been used as a boundary of many historic administrative units, and some of these are still in existence today, either through continuity or the adoption of these as by successor areas. Examples include: The broad, grassy trackway found by
11200-501: The servants of the palace and abbey as well as the rural population and those associated with the high status homes developing on the road from the city. The area became larger and in the Georgian period became connected through urban ribbon development with the City along the Strand. Henry VIII 's Reformation in the early 16th century abolished the abbey and established a cathedral – thus
11312-463: The stations from Londinium to " Portus Dubris " ( Dover ) and to " Portus Lemanis " ( Lympne ) at the north eastern edge of the Romney Marsh , suggesting that they may have been considered interchangeable terminuses. They only differ in the distance to Durovernum : 14 and 17 Roman miles , respectively. The route to Lemanis was sometimes distinguished by the name "Stone Street" ; it now forms most of
11424-540: The sub-districts of Soho , St James , Mayfair , Covent Garden , Pimlico , Victoria , Belgravia and Knightsbridge (shared with neighbouring Kensington ). The former City of Westminster merged with the neighbouring boroughs of Paddington and Marylebone in 1965 to form a larger modern borough. These neighbouring areas (except for a small area of Paddington in part of Kensington Gardens), lie north of Oxford Street and its westward continuation, Bayswater Road. The district's open spaces include: The development of
11536-402: The subsequent 1927 published version is dedicated to Willis. The apse organ of fifteen stops was built in 1910 by Lewis & Co . Although the Grand Organ has its own attached console, a console in the apse can play both instruments. On 3 May 1902, some 3,000 people attended a concert of sacred music in the cathedral, organised to raise money for the Choir School and to test the acoustics in
11648-503: The third episode looked at the men training to become priests at Allen Hall seminary , and in the episode was a brief scene of their ordination at the cathedral. In May 2021, during the Covid Pandemic and the banning of public mass, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds were wed at the Cathedral. Westminster Cathedral is the 50th largest church in the world in terms of interior area (5,017m²), seating up to 2,000 people. It
11760-554: The time of consecration, as the decoration in Byzantine churches is applied, rather than integral to the architecture. Therefore finishing the decoration of the cathedral was left to the subsequent generations. It is an architectural gem with its interior notable for rich marble decorations and the beautiful, but still incomplete, mosaics. In 1895, the cathedral was dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ . This
11872-549: The viewer with his right hand, he holds in his left hand the Book of Life . The Latin inscription of the opened book pages reads: Ego sum ostium per me si quis introierit salvabitur (I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved; Gospel of John 10,9). The mosaics in the chapel dedicated to Saint Andrew , paid for by The 4th Marquess of Bute , also belong to work of the Arts and Craft Movement. The five-year period 1930 to 1935 saw
11984-436: The visit of Pope John Paul II in 1982 that the next mosaic was installed above the north-west entrance. Rather than a scene, this mosaic is an inscription: Porta sis ostium pacificum per eum qui se ostium appellavit, Jesus Christum (May this door be the gate of peace through Him who called Himself the gate, Jesus Christ). In 1999, the mosaic of Saint Patrick , holding a shamrock and a pastoral staff as well as trampling on
12096-470: The walls and vault. This general arrangement applies to all the chapels yet each has its own distinct artistic character. Thus, in sharp contrast to the chapel dedicated to St. Gregory and St. Augustine which contains vibrant mosaics, the chapel of the Holy Souls employs a more subdued, almost funereal style, decoration with late Victorian on a background of silver. As in many Catholic churches, there are
12208-551: Was again paved in the early 19th century at the expense of Thomas Telford . He operated it as a turnpike road for mail coaches from Ireland . To this purpose, he extended it to the port of Holyhead on Anglesey in Wales. During this time, the section southeast of London became known as the Great Dover Road . The tolls ended in 1875. Much of the road is still in use today, apart from a few sections where it has been diverted. The A2 road between Dover and London runs over or parallel to
12320-410: Was both a brilliant choir trainer and a pioneering scholar, one of the first musicologists to revive the great works of the English and other European Renaissance composers. Terry built Westminster Cathedral Choir's reputation on performances of music—by Byrd , Tallis , Taverner , Palestrina and Victoria , among others—that had not been heard since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and Mass at
12432-473: Was rediscovered during Christopher Wren 's rebuilding of St Mary-le-Bow in 1671–73, following the Great Fire . Modern excavations date its construction to the winter from AD 47 to 48. Around London, it was 7.5–8.7 m (25–29 ft) wide and paved with gravel. It was repeatedly redone, including at least twice before the sack of London by Boudica 's troops in 60 or 61. The road ran straight from
12544-706: Was used in Classical Antiquity , Late Antiquity , and throughout the Middle Ages . It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main Roman roads in Britannia (Roman-governed Great Britain during the Roman Empire ). The line of the road was later the southwestern border of the Danelaw with Wessex and Mercia , and Watling Street was numbered as one of the major highways of medieval England. First used by
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