Built in 1070, it is a low vaulted room in the Undercroft and the oldest part of the abbey. There are 2 heavy oak doors from the 14th century and a medieval tiled floor from the 11th century. You will find a large curved medieval chest that stored vestments and others with treaties and foreign documents.

The space above the West Door had been empty since the Middle Ages. Later, the space was filled with limestone sculptures of victims of racism, Nazism, and religious prejudice, like Dr. Martin Luther King and Wang Zhiming, and unveiled in a service attended by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.

The Westminster Abbey you see today owes its look to King Henry III, who decided the old 11th-century church just wasn’t grand enough. In 1245, he tore down Edward the Confessor’s eastern end and started building a new one in dramatic Anglo-French Gothic style. His goal? A majestic final resting place, dedicated to Edward himself. Although construction kicked off under Henry, it took until Richard II’s reign for the full design to come together.

The brains behind the Abbey’s Gothic makeover were masons Robert of Beverly, John of Gloucester, and Henry of Reyns. Inspired by French cathedrals like Amiens and Chartres, they added striking features like an apse with radiating chapels, ribbed vaults, pointed arches, and rose windows. But it’s not all French flair, look closely and you’ll spot English touches too, like the single aisle and the extra-long nave with standout transepts.

Westminster Abbey boasts the tallest Gothic vault in England, made to feel even higher thanks to its narrow aisles. Its design followed precise geometric proportions borrowed from continental Europe. A wide open space between the quire and high altar was built as the grand stage for coronations. Look up and around to spot dazzling ruby and sapphire-stained glass, framed by patterns of royal heraldic shields.