Hotels in Westminster, London

OUR VIEW
Westminster began as a rural community about 3 miles west and upriver from the Roman settlement of London. In the 8th century an abbey was built on the marshy land adjoining the river, and three centuries later Edward the Confessor chose this unlikely spot to found a new abbey and create the Palace of Westminster as a seat of government, close enough to London to be accessible but not so close as to be overwhelmed by the growing power of the City of London.

Under Edward, Westminster became the centre for royal administration, and when the Confessor came to build his great cathedral beside the Thames, Westminster Abbey, the new area became the centre for British spiritual life as well. Kings and queens were crowned at Edward's Westminster Abbey, and eventually buried there, beside the great and good of political, military, and literary fame. The business of government is now carried out at the successor of Westminster Palace, the grand Gothic Revival Palace of Westminster (better known simply as the Houses of Parliament).

MAPS
Get an Ordnance Survey map covering the London area.