Home » Rent » Area Guides » Westminster

Westminster - "Fit for a Queen"

Westminster is known as the centre of London, if not the United Kingdom and once the British Empire, is the nation’s administrative district of central government and houses a high concentration of historic and prestigious landmarks and visitor attractions.
The area today is also residential, which consists of a large proportion of its residents living in social housing (including the Peabody Trust estates at the back of Westminster Abbey) alongside high rented luxury apartments.

Unit a few centuries ago, Westminster was administered by the county of Middlesex (only the City of London was recognised as ‘London’) – ironically the Middlesex Sessions House is still located on Parliament Square. The name ‘Westminster’ derives from the area around the Abbey, it being ‘west of the Minster’ (Benedictine Monastery) first founded by Aldrich who fished salmon fisherman from the River Thames, and had a vision of St Peter. A stone building was erected in 1045 by Edward the Confessor and consecrated a week before his death in December 1065. It became the site of the last coronation before the Normans invaded these shores the following year. The Abbey was later rebuilt in 1245, with additions by successive kings.
Similar to other medieval monastic buildings, the site for Westminster Abbey was chosen due to its inaccessibility, namely Thorney Island. Since the Norman Conquest, in 1066, the Gothic Abbey has been the traditional coronation venue of the monarchs of England and burial site for kings, queens, poets and heroes. The Palace of Westminster was built opposite which housed Parliament and law courts of England.