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Westminster Abbey
built 289 days ago
Westminster Abbey is a large church in the Gothic style in London, England. Edward the Confessor built an abbey here (an abbey is a place for monks or nuns to live and pray) in 1050 AD, in the Romanesque style. William the Conqueror was crowned in the Abbey, and so have been all English kings and queens since his time right up to now. By 1245... that old Romanesque church seemed hopelessly old-fashioned, and so Henry III decided to tear it down and build a new church in the Gothic style. The facade (the front) of Westminster Abbey, though, wasn't actually finished until the 1400's. Because of this, it is in a Late Gothic style which is much more vertical.
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Richard Jenkyns is Professor of the Classical Tradition at Oxford University and his book, entitled Westminster Abbey, is a cornucopia of royal, architectural, literary and political history. Within the Abbey's walls are buried the great and the good, a couple of frauds and even a traitor. But it began as a project of the Saxon king, Edward the Confessor, who consecrated this unique church in 1065.
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One morning this April, in a conference center near Westminster Abbey, London Mayor Ken Livingstone welcomed 1,200 Russian government and business guests. Large and powerful companies, including Sibneft, Norilsk Nickel and Alfa Bank, were represented. The mayor, known as Red Ken for his left-leaning ways, invoked the "warmth and sympathy" Britons feel for an old ally against Hitler. He encouraged business leaders to look upon the London Stock Exchange as the world's "most approachable" financial market. And he noted that Russian tourists now spend as much as Americans. "Russians," he concluded, "are welcome in this city, both as individuals and for the business that they bring."
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Westminster Abbey is famous throughout the world as one of the greatest churches in Christendom, and draws visitors from all corners of the globe. For over a thousand years the people of this nation have seen their monarchs crowned in settings of pomp, tradition and splendour, unsurpassed in todays modern age. The interior is an absolute delight, the gothic arcitechture draws the eye repeatedly and one wonders how such an emense structure of beauty could have been built hundreds of years ago. The roof of the nave is one of the finest of any building in the world., it soars above you as you crane your neck to view its immense design and great height.
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The reconstruction of Westminster Abbey that had begun in the reign of Henry III in the 13th century was finally completed when the nave was finished in 1517 during the reign of Henry VIII. The monastary that had been on the site since the reign of Edward the Confessor was surrendered in 1540 during the dissolution of the monastaries in the Reformation.
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Westminster Abbey is ... closely associated with the Order of the Bath, which uses Henry VII's Chapel as its own. The Dean of the Abbey is a member of the Order and the Banners of the Prince of Wales, the Great Master of the Order and the Sovereign, the Queen, hang in the Chapel. The Queen is the only member to have an embroidered banner.
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Westminster Abbey