Westminster Abbey, London

They say that the history of Britain is in the stone and

tiles of Westminster Abbey. It lies in the heart of
London, around the corner from the Houses of
Parliament and its famous clock tower known as ‘Big
Ben’. This magnificent Gothic cathedral receives one
million visitors every year.

The Abbey is more than a thousand years old.

Benedictine monks used the site in the 10th century.
Construction on the current building began in 1245
when Henry III was king of England. Every English king
and queen has received their crown there since 1066
– there are really too many to mention. The last
monarch to be crowned there was, of course, the
current queen Elizabeth II in 1952. She has been
queen for longer than any other king or queen in the
history of Britain, even longer than Queen Victoria
(from 1837 to 1901).

English kings and queens are crowned on the famous King Edward’s Chair, which was made in 1308.
The ‘Coronation Chair’ was made for Edward I. Underneath the seat of the chair there is a special
space where the Stone of Scone is placed during coronations. The Stone is a block of red sandstone
which was taken from Scotland by the English after a war between the two countries. In 1996, the
then Prime Minister of the UK, John Major, decided to give the Stone back to Scotland, though the
Stone is returned to the Abbey in the event of a coronation.

All the most important kings, queens, princes and princesses are buried at Westminster. But it’s not
only for royals – there are also famous poets, writers, scientists and soldiers. A part of the Abbey
called Poets’ Corner has the graves of Chaucer, Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling and memorials
to Shakespeare and Jane Austen. Other famous people are also buried there, like Charles Darwin,
Isaac Newton and the explorer David Livingstone.

The Abbey also has England’s oldest garden in the Little Cloister and the oldest door which was
made in 1050. The last important event there was the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton
in 2011.

1. Westminster Abbey ...

a) is in the centre of London.
b) has a tower called Big Ben.
c) is where the British Parliament is.
d) is on the corner of the Houses of Parliament.

2. Which of these sentences in NOT true?

a) The Abbey is over a thousand years old.
b) Benedictine monks were the first to live and worship on the site of Westminster Abbey.
c) They started building the Abbey in the 10th century.
d) Henry III started the construction of the building.
3. The words ‘too many’ in paragraph 2 refer to ...
a) buildings.
b) crowns.
c) years.
d) kings and queens.

4. The longest serving monarch is ...

a) King Edward.
b) Queen Elizabeth II.
c) Henry III.
d) Queen Victoria.

5. Which word in paragraph 4 means ‘a place where a dead body lies’?

a) buried
b) memorial
c) graves
d) royals

6. Poets’ Corner ...

a) is a place for memorials for dead poets.
b) contains the bodies of many members of the royal family.
c) only contains the bodies of the royal family.
d) is where Shakespeare’s body is.

7. The word ‘there’ in the last paragraph refers to ...

a) England.
b) the Abbey.
c) the garden.
d) the Little Cloister.
KEY: 1A 2C 3D 4B 5C 6A 7B