Westminster is an area of
Central London, part of the wider
City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
to
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
, has many
visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the
Palace of Westminster,
Buckingham Palace,
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
,
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster.
The site on which the cathedral stands in the City o ...
and much of the
West End shopping and entertainment district.
The name ( ang, Westmynstre) originated from the informal description of the
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The con ...
church and
royal peculiar
A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch, or in Cornwall by the duke.
Definition
The church par ...
of St Peter's (Westminster Abbey), west of the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
(until the
English Reformation there was also an
Eastminster, near the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
, in the
East End of London). The abbey's origins date from between the 7th and 10th centuries, but it rose to national prominence when rebuilt by
Edward the Confessor in the 11th. Westminster has been the home of
England's government since about 1200, and from 1707 the
Government of the United Kingdom
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
. In 1539, it became a city.
Westminster is often used as a
metonym to refer to the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
, in the
Palace of Westminster.
Geography
Physical geography
The
City and Liberty of Westminster and other Westminster administrative units (except the broader modern
London Borough – known as the City of Westminster – created in 1965), extended from the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
to the
old Roman Road from the
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
to western England, which is now locally called
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
.
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 the river still forms (with very slight revisions) the boundaries of the modern borough with the
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
![Westminster Civil Parish Map 1870](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Westminster_Civil_Parish_Map_1870.png)
Further north, away from the river mouth, Westminster included land on both sides of the Westbourne, notably
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End.
Toponymy
Knightsbridge is an ancien ...
(including the parts of Hyde Park west of
the Serpentine
The Serpentine (also known as the Serpentine River) is a recreational lake in Hyde Park, London, England, created in 1730 at the behest of Queen Caroline. Although it is common to refer to the entire body of water as the Serpentine, strict ...
lake – originally formed by damming the Serpentine – and most of Kensington Gardens).
Localities
Westminster includes the sub-districts of
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
,
St James,
Mayfair,
Covent Garden,
Pimlico,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dang ...
and
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End.
Toponymy
Knightsbridge is an ancien ...
(shared with neighbouring
Kensington).
Westminster merged with neighbouring
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...
and
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...
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
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
.
Open spaces
The district's open spaces include:
*
Hyde Park
*
Kensington Gardens (part)
*
Green Park
Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Marylebo ...
*
Buckingham Palace Garden
Buckingham Palace Garden is a large private park attached to the London residence of the monarch. It is situated to the rear (west) of Buckingham Palace, occupying a site in the City of Westminster and forms the largest private garden in the ca ...
*
St James's Park
St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous ch ...
Origins and administration
The development of the area began with the establishment of
the Abbey on a site then called
Thorney Island, the choice of site may in part relate to the
natural ford which is thought to have carried
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which 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 ...
over the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
in the vicinity. The wider district became known as Westminster in reference to the church.
Legendary origin
The legendary origin is that in the early 7th century, a local fisherman named Edric (or Aldrich), ferried 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 would subsequently develop into
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
. He rewarded Edric with a bountiful catch when he next dropped his nets. Edric was instructed to present the
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
and
St. Mellitus, Bishop of London, with a salmon and various proofs that the consecration had already occurred . Every year on 29 June, St Peters day, the
Worshipful Company of Fishmongers
The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers (or Fishmongers' Company) is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London, being an incorporated guild of sellers of fish and seafood in the City. The Company ranks fourth in the order of prec ...
presents the Abbey with a salmon in memory of this event.
Recorded origin
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 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
Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in E ...
and
King Edgar installed a community of
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
s 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 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
Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...
was buried alongside him. His successor,
Harold II
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...
, was probably crowned in the abbey, although the first documented coronation is that of
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
later the same year.
![BayeuxTapestryScene26](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/BayeuxTapestryScene26.jpg)
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 a dozen monks in Dunstan's original foundation, up to a maximum of about eighty monks.
Local government
Parish of Westminster St Margaret
Most of the parishes of Westminster originated as daughter parishes of
St Margaret's parish, in the
City and Liberty of Westminster,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
. 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 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
The Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter was an extra-parochial area, and later civil parish, in the metropolitan area of London, England. It corresponded to the area of Westminster Abbey and was an enclave between the parishes of St Marga ...
. Like many large parishes, Westminster was divided into smaller units called ''
Hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...
'' (meaning a territorial sub-division, rather than a small village). These would later become independent daughter parishes.
Until 1900 the local authority was the combined
vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
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.
City and Liberty of Westminster
The Liberty of Westminster, governed by the
Westminster Court of Burgesses
The Westminster Court of Burgesses was established by Act of Parliament in 1585 and abolished in 1900. It formed part of the local government of the City and Liberty of Westminster in London, England.
The court was set up following the dissol ...
, also included
St Martin in the Fields and several other
parishes and places. Westminster had its own
quarter sessions
The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...
, but the Middlesex sessions also had jurisdiction.
Metropolitan Borough of Westminster
![Westminster City Hall, Victoria Street SW1 - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Westminster_City_Hall%2C_Victoria_Street_SW1_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1284668.jpg)
Under local government reforms in 1889, the area fell within the newly created
County of London
The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...
, 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 City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, city status ...
at the same time, allowing it to be known as the
City of Westminster and its council as
Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...
.
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
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
, and its continuations Hyde Park Place. The exception is that part of
Kensington Gardens, south of that road, are part of
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...
.
Westminster merged with St Marylebone and Paddington in 1965, but the combined area was allowed to keep the title
City of Westminster.
History
''For a list of street name etymologies for Westminster see
Street names of Westminster''
Royal seat
![Bird Eye Pictures of London Westminster in 1909](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Bird_Eye_Pictures_of_London_Westminster_in_1909.jpg)
The former
Thorney Island, the site of Westminster Abbey, formed the historic core of Westminster. The abbey became the traditional venue of the
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...
s of the
kings and queens of England from that of
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...
(1066) onwards.
From about 1200 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
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
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 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
The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...
in the late-19th century.
Medieval and Tudor
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; 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
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
period became connected through urban
ribbon development Ribbon development refers to the building of houses along the routes of communications radiating from a human settlement. The resulting linear settlements are clearly visible on land use maps and aerial photographs, giving cities and the countrys ...
with the City along the Strand.
Henry VIII's
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in the early 16th century abolished the abbey and established a cathedral – thus 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 the City of London and Southwark were enfranchised.
Victorian divide
Charles Booth's
poverty map
A poverty map is a map which provides a detailed description of the spatial distribution of poverty and inequality within a country. It combines individual and household (micro) survey data and population (macro) census data with the objective o ...
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 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 building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s and nearby
social housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...
(mostly non-
council housing) buildings of the
Peabody Trust
The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody. founded by philanthropist
George Peabody
George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy.
Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry g ...
.
Wider uses of the name
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
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
".) "Westminster" 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
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...
and for other parts of the former
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
that adopted it.
The term "Westminster Village", sometimes used in the context of British politics, does not refer to 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.
Economy
The area has a substantial residential population. By the 20th century Westminster saw rising numbers of residential
apartments
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...
with wealthy inhabitants. Hotels, large Victorian homes and barracks exist near to
Buckingham Palace.
High Commissions
Westminster hosts the
High Commissions of many
Commonwealth countries:
*
Australia
*
The Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
*
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...
*
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
*
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
*
Eswatini
*
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
*
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
*
Lesotho
*
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
*
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
*
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
*
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
*
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
*
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...
*
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
*
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
*
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
*
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
Education
Within the area is
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
, a major
public school which grew out of the abbey, and the
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...
, attended by over 20,000 students.
Notable people
*
Andy Bray (born 1981), cricketer
*
Alice Liddell
Alice Pleasance Hargreaves (''née'' Liddell, ; 4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip beca ...
(1852–1934), inspiration for Alice In Wonderland
*
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...
(24 December 1922 – 25 January 1990), American actress and singer
*
Arthur Barnby (1881–1937), first-class cricketer and Royal Marines/Royal Naval Air Service officer
*
Richard Colley (1833–1902), first-class cricketer and British Army officer
*
Geoffrey Cooke (1897–1980), first-class cricketer and British Army officer
*
John Fuller (1834–1893), first-class cricketer, clergyman and theologian
*
Hady Ghandour (born 2000), footballer
*
Tatiana Hambro (born 1989), fashion writer and editor
*
Tom Hiddleston
Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is an English actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starting with ''Thor'' in 2011 and most recently in the Disney+ series ''Loki'' in 2021 ...
(born 1981), Golden Globe-winning actor
*
Stephanie Leonidas (born
1982) - actress
*
Dua Lipa (born 1995), singer and songwriter
*
Edward Low
Edward "Ned" Low (also spelled Lowe or Loe; 16901724) was a notorious pirate of English origin during the latter days of the Golden Age of Piracy, in the early 18th century. Low was born into poverty in Westminster, London, and was a thief from ...
(1690–1724),
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
during the latter days of the
Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa ...
*
Eddie Redmayne
Edward John David Redmayne (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. Known for his roles in biopics and blockbusters, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Olivier Awards.
He ...
(born 1982), Oscar-winning actor
*
Quintin Twiss (1835–1900), first-class cricketer and stage actor
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Manchee, W. H. (1924), ''The Westminster City Fathers (the Burgess Court of Westminster) 1585–1901: Being some account of their powers and domestic rule of the City prior to its incorporation in 1901''; with a foreword by Walter G. Bell and 36 illustrations which relate to documents (some pull-outs) and artefacts. London: John Lane (The Bodley Head).
* Davies, E. A. (1952), ''An Account of the Formation and Early Years of The Westminster Fire Office''; (Includes black-and-white photographic plates with a colour
frontispiece of 'A Waterman' and a foreword by Major K. M. Beaumont. London: Country Life Limited for the Westminster Fire Office.
* Hunting, P. (1981), ''Royal Westminster''.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the val ...
. Printed by Penshurst Press. (paper); (cased).
Further reading
*
External links
Westminster Borough Council*
ttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21648 Westminster by Sir Walter Besant and Geraldine Edith Mitton and A. Murray Smith, 1902, from
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
Palmer's Village, a deserted village in Westminster
{{Authority control
Districts of the City of Westminster
Areas of London
Market towns in London
Districts of London on the River Thames