Westminster

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Westminster

Westminster is an area of Central London

Central London

The term Central London refers to the districts of London which are considered closest to the centre. There is no conventional definition, nor any official one, for the entire area that can be called "central London"....
, within the City of Westminster

City of Westminster

The City of Westminster is a London borough of London with City status in the United Kingdom. It is located west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, and forms part of Inner London and the bulk of London's central area....
. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames

River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
, southwest of the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a geographically small city status in the United Kingdom within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which, along with Westminster, the modern conurbation grew....
and southwest of Charing Cross

Charing Cross

Charing Cross denotes the junction of the Strand, London, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in City of Westminster within Central London, England....
. It has a large concentration of London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
's historic and prestigious landmarks and visitor attractions, including Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal entertaining, and a major tourist attraction....
, Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic architecture Church , in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster....
and much of the West End of London

West End of London

The West End of London is an area of Central London, England, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, businesses, headquarters and the commercial West End theatres....
.

Historically

Historic counties of England

The historic counties of England are ancient subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxons kingdoms and shires....
a part of Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex , from the Old English Middelseaxe , is one of the 39 Historic counties of England of England and the List of counties of England by area in 1831....
, the name Westminster was the ancient description for the area around Westminster Abbey–the West Minster

Minster (cathedral)

In current English usage, Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in Great Britain, most famously York Minster.The term minster is first found in royal foundation charters of the 7th century; and, although it corresponds to the Latin monasterium or monastery, it then designated any settlement of clergy living a...
, or monastery church, that gave the area its name–which had been the seat of the government of England

Government of England

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Encyclopedia

Westminster is an area of Central London

Central London

City of Westminster

River Thames

City of London

Charing Cross

London

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

West End of London

Historic counties of England

Middlesex

Minster (cathedral)

Government of England

There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a Sovereignty state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain....
for almost a thousand years. Since its construction in the mid-19th century, Westminster has been location of the Palace of Westminster

Palace of Westminster

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 Sovereign state which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term....
which houses the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
.

History

The name Westminster was historically used to describe the area around Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

Minster (cathedral)

England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
for almost a thousand years. The name is also used for the larger City of Westminster

City of Westminster

Paddington

Paddington is an area of the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. It was formerly a London_borough#Inner_London_boroughs of itself, but was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965....
.

The historic core of Westminster is the former Thorney Island

Thorney Island (London)

Thorney Island was the eyot on the Thames, upstream of medi?val London, where Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster were built. It was formed by rivulets of the Tyburn , which entered the Thames near the lowest point where it could be forded from the north bank at low tide....
on which Westminster Abbey was built. The Abbey became the traditional venue of the coronation of the kings of England. The nearby Palace of Westminster

Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, in London, is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom meet....
came to be the principal royal residence after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, and later housed the developing Parliament

Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. Its roots can be traced back to the early medieval period. In a series of developments, it came increasingly to constrain the power of the King of England, and went on after the Act of Union 1707 to merge with the Parliament of Scotland and form the main basis of the Pa...
and law courts of England. It can be said that London thus has developed two distinct focal points: an economic one in the City of London; and a political and cultural one in Westminster, where the Royal Court had its home. This division is still very apparent today.

1593 Norden's Map of Westminster Surveyed and Publ 1593 (1)

The monarchy later moved to other palaces elsewhere in the city, and the law courts have since moved to the Royal Courts of Justice

Royal Courts of Justice

The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is the building in London which houses Court of Appeal of England and Wales and High Court of Justice of England and Wales....
, close to the border of the City of London. The area is still the centre of government, with Parliament now located in the Palace of Westminster and most of the major Government ministries situated in Westminster, centred on Whitehall

Whitehall

Whitehall is a road in Westminster in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards traditional Charing Cross, now at the southern end of Trafalgar Square and marked by the statue of Charles I of England, which is often regarded as the heart of London....
. "Westminster" is thus often used as a metonym for Parliament and the political community of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
generally. The civil service is similarly referred to by the area it inhabits, Whitehall, where there was also once a royal palace

Palace of Whitehall

File:Ingo Jones drawing.jpgThe Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English List of British monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire....
. "Westminster" is consequently also used in reference to the Westminster System

Westminster System

The Westminster system is a Democracy parliamentary system of government modelled after the British government . The term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the UK Parliament....
, the parliamentary model of democratic government that has evolved in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. The Westminster System is used with some adaptation in many other nations, particularly in the Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
and other parts of the former British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, and other Dependent territory ruled or administered by the United Kingdom , that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries....
.

Close to the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey is Westminster School

Westminster School

The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxbridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college....
, one of the major English public schools. Three of the four campuses of the University of Westminster

University of Westminster

The University of Westminster is a university in London, formed in 1992 as a result of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Its antecedent institution, the Royal Polytechnic Institution dated back to 1838....
are within the borough, although none in Westminster proper.

The area has a substantial residential population, a surprisingly large proportion of which is a traditional London working-class community living in council and Peabody Trust

Peabody Trust

The Peabody Trust is one of London's largest and oldest housing associations. Its own website says that it "... exists to tackle poverty, provide good, affordable housing and to make a difference through every project or initiative it undertakes."...
estates at the back of Westminster Abbey and off Millbank

Millbank

Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster....
. There is also a substantial working class community in the north of the borough.

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

Spin (public relations)

In public relations, spin is providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure....
and others connected to events in the Palace of Westminster.

Bibliographic References

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 by W H Manchee. With a Foreword by Walter G. Bell and 36 illustrations which relate to documents (some pull-outs) and artefacts.
An Account
Account

Account, in bookkeeping, refers to assets, liabilities, income, and expenses recorded on individual pages of the so called book of final entry or ledger....
of the Formation and Early Years of The Westminster Fire Office by E A Davies (Includes black and white photographic plates with a colour frontispiece
Frontispiece

*In architecture, a frontispiece constitutes the elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building; especially when the main entrance is the chief face of the building, rather than being kept behind columns or a portico....
of 'A Waterman') With a foreword by Major K M Beaumont.

Education

Footnotes

External links

, by Sir Walter Besant and Geraldine Edith Mitton and A. Murray Smith, 1902, from Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive and distribute cultural works, as founder Michael Hart said "To encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."....