Westminster Leasing

Did You Know?

One of the most central boroughs of London is also the center of British government, history, and culture. While the nearby area had been the site of various settlements since before the Romans, it began to take shape when Edward the Confessor began work on Westminster Abbey and the original Palace of Westminster.

The City of Westminster has more than 11,000 listed buildings of architectural or historical importance. These include not only the Abbey and Houses of Parliament, but also Buckingham Palace, the Royal Mews, the Victoria Memorial, St. Martin-in-the-Fields church, the National Gallery, Nelson’s Column, the Wellington Arch, the Royal Albert Hall, and more.

The Palace of Westminster, where the House of Lords and the House of Commons meet, has 1,000 rooms, 100 staircases, 11 courtyards, a hair salon, a rifle range, 6 restaurants, and as many as 8 pubs. The pubs are difficult to access unless you’re a passholder for the estate, but those with a pass can get entry for up to 3 guests.

The earliest surviving blue plaque in the UK is in King Street, St James’s, Westminster. It was erected in 1867 and commemorates Napoleon III.

An oak door by the Chapter House that connects a cloister that the Cannons of Westminster live behind to the Abbey itself has been carbon dated to approximately the year 1050. The oak wood used to make it originally came from Hainault. For years, a legend grew that hide found on the door was that of a flayed thief but has since been proven to be cow’s hide.

The City of Westminster is one of the most densely-populated boroughs in London. The total population as of mid-2014 is 233,292 and with a total square mileage of 8.29, the population density is approximately 28,000 per square mile.

The last beer flood in Westminster was 200 years ago in 1814 when a beer vat burst in Tottenham Court Road and nine people were drowned.

Many of Britain’s greatest authors, poets, and playwrights are buried or have memorials in Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey. Some of the notable names include Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Thomas Hardy, George Frederic Handel, Rudyard Kipling, Jane Austen, William Blake, the Bronte sisters, Lewis Carroll, Lord Byron, and more.

Westminster Abbey’s museum holds the wax figures of many previous monarchs, with nearly all of them in traditional full costume. They were often used during funerals, either displayed on top of royal tombs or paraded before the casket. Many were made from death masks, a plaster cast made of the deceased’s face shortly after death.