Westminster Abbey
The origins of the area that is now the political and religious heart of Britain can be traced back to the end of the tenth century, when there was a small monastery on Thorney Island, near the site of the current Abbey. The abbey church of St. Peter was built by Edward the Confessor as the monastery grew and was consecrated on 28 December 1065. A year later, William the Conqueror was crowned there, and since that time Westminster Abbey has been the coronation place of all sovereigns. Nothing now remains of the original church, after it was demolished in 1245 and re-built by Henry Ill in a grander style. By 1269 the east end, the transepts, the first four bays of the nave and the Chapter House had been finished. Little progress was then made until 1503-6, when the vaulting was completed. Work also began at this time on the rebuilding of the Lady Chapel. The two square pinnacled towers at the western end, designed by Hawksmoor, were completed in 1745. Sir George Gilbert Scott carried out “restoration” works in the late nineteenth century.
To the immediate north of the Abbey is the church of St. Margaret, the parish church of the House of Commons since 1614. Originally dating from the 12th century, the church was rebuilt between 1480 and 1523 by Robert Stowell, mastermason to the Abbey.
To the south of the Abbey is the Abbey Garden, and to the west of that, arranged around Dean’s Yard, are the medieval monastic buildings (now occupied by Westminster School) founded in 1560 by Elizabeth I. The south side of Dean’s Yard is dominated by Church House, built between 1936-40 by Sir Herbert Baker.
As well as the Abbey, Edward the Confessor established the Royal Palace of Westminster in this area, on the site now occupied by the Houses of Parliament. To the palace itself was added Westminster Hall, built by William the Conqueror’s son William Rufus in 1097. At the extreme south-west corner of the palace complex stood the Jewel Tower, built in 1366. Westminster Hall was re-built between 1394-1402; this included the construction of a magnificent hammerbeam roof with massive timbers.
After Henry VIII moved to Whitehall Palace in 1529, Westminster Palace was increasingly used by the Civil Service and became the seat of the Court of Common Pleas (“the Commons”). The Hall was used by the Royal Courts of Justice for occasions such as state trials, including those of Guy Fawkes (1606) and Charles I (1649). In October 1834 a fire destroyed the old Palace, though the Hall escaped without significant damage. The subsequent competition for new and enlarged Houses of Parliament (to be in either Gothic or Tudor style) was won by Sir Charles Barry, whose axial plan for the site was complemented by A.W.N. Pugin’s Gothic detailing. The resulting neo-Gothic main buildings were completed and officially opened in 1852, followed by the Clock Tower in 1858 (housing the bell known as Big Ben) and in 1860 the Victoria Tower, which houses the records of Parliament. Barry also laid out Parliament Square, clearing the more humble buildings which occupied the site, so as to provide the new Houses of Parliament with a worthier setting. The current layout, designed by Grey Worum, dates from the post-war period. The mid-nineteenth century also saw slum clearance and new development to the immediate west, with the opening of Victoria Street in 1852, specifically designed to link Westminster with Victoria Station and the newly developed districts of Belgravia and Pimlico. Further clearance to the west of Parliament Square was carried out to provide for the large institutional buildings in keeping with the area’s administrative character, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (1896-98), the Methodist Central Hall (1905-11), Middlesex Guildhall (1906-13) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (1912). The historic nature of the area restricted further development. The Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre (1986) in Broad Sanctuary, diagonally opposite the Abbey, was built on one of the few remaining development sites within the Conservation Area.
Westminster Cathedral
The site of Westminster Cathedral, known in medieval times as Bulinga Fen, was originally marshland reclaimed by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey and used as a market. It was later used as a pleasure garden and a bull baiting ring. In 1826 a women’s prison was built, the Middlesex County prison.
The site was bought by Cardinal Manning in 1867 and the Roman Catholic Cathedral was subsequently constructed (Bentley, 1895-1903) along with associated residential buildings for the Clergy. Victoria Street was constructed in the 1850s and 1860s through an area of slums and was quickly followed by the opening of Victoria Station in 1862.
Victoria Street was remarkable in its time for the even height and scale of the buildings. The red brick mansion blocks to Carlisle Place, Morpeth Terrace, Ambrosden Avenue and Thirleby Road were constructed in the 1890s and early 20th century. They are amongst the earliest blocks of flats to be built in London. Westminster Cathedral was hidden from Victoria Street up until the late 1970s when a comprehensive development of the whole of the south side of the street from Vauxhall Bridge Road down to the Army and Navy Stores provided the opening up of a piazza in front of the Cathedral. The redevelopment of No. 46 Francis Street in 1993/94, has provided new facilities for the Cathedral.
Smith Square
The area developed in medieval times around Westminster Abbey (to the north). It was separated from the Abbey by the southern branch of the Tyburn, which ran approximately on the line of Great College Street. By the beginning of the 17th century the area was quite densely developed as far as Horseferry Road to the south and Strutton Ground to the west. Tufton Street was known as Bowling Alley in the 17th century and later became famous as the location of the Royal Cockpit, one of the last in London.
Millbank ran parallel to the river front and was separated from it by wharves and houses. Horseferry Road (previously Market Street) led to the horse ferry across the Thames. In the early 18th century new residential development took place within the existing street pattern.
Between Great College Street and Horseferry Road a new street pattern was created, focussed on Smith Square and St John’s Church (Archer, 1720-25). This new development included Barton, Cowley, Gayfere and Lord North Streets. There are a number of 20th century commercial developments both in Smith Square and in the surrounding streets, particularly to the south and east including the Conservative and Unionist Central Office and Transport House.
These buildings have tended to diminish the dominant appearance of St John’s. Following bomb damage, St John’s lay derelict until 1965-8 when it was refurbished by Marshall Sisson for use as a concert hall.
Streets of the City of Westminster