Westminster

Westminster
OS grid reference	TQ295795
London borough	Westminster
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW1
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Cities of London and Westminster
London Assembly	West Central
European Parliament	London
List of places: UK • England • London

Coordinates: 51°′″N 0°′″W / 51.4995, -0.1333

Westminster is an area of Central London, United Kingdom, within the City of Westminster. It is the location of the Palace of Westminster which houses the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Westminster is situated south west of the City of London and half a mile (0.8 km) south west of Charing Cross.

History

The name was historically used to describe the area around Westminster Abbey – the West Minster, or monastery church, that gave the area its name – which has been the seat of the government of England for almost a thousand years. The name is also used for the larger City of Westminster which covers a wider geographical area and since 1965 has included the former boroughs of St. Marylebone and Paddington.

The historic core of Westminster is the former Thorney Island 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 came to be the principal royal residence after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, and later housed the developing Parliament and law courts of England. London thus developed two distinct focal points – an economic one in the City of London and a political/cultural one in Westminster, where the Royal Court had its home. This division is still very apparent today.

Westminster in 1593.

The monarchy later moved to other palaces elsewhere in the city, and the law courts have since moved to the Royal Courts of Justice, 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. "Westminster" is thus often used as shorthand for Parliament and the political community of the United Kingdom generally. The civil service is similarly referred to by the area it inhabits, Whitehall, where there was also once a royal palace. "Westminster" is consequently also used in reference to the Westminster System, the parliamentary model of democratic government that has evolved in the United Kingdom. The Westminster System is used with some adaptation in many other nations, particularly in the Commonwealth of Nations and other parts of the former British Empire.

Westminster Cathedral

Close to the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey is Westminster School, one of the major English public schools. Three of the four campuses of the University of Westminster 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 estates at the back of Westminster Abbey and off Millbank. 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 and others connected to events in the Palace of Westminster.

References

External links

The Houses of Parliament

• http://www.westminster.gov.uk
• Westminster Walks - from Findlay Muirhead's 1927 guidebook to London and its Environs

Education

For education in Westminster see the main City of Westminster article.

City of Westminster
Districts	Bayswater · Belgravia · Covent Garden · Fitzrovia · Holborn · Hyde Park · Knightsbridge · Lisson Grove · Maida Vale (including Little Venice) · Mayfair · Marylebone · Millbank · Paddington · Pimlico · Queen's Park · St. James's · St. John's Wood · Soho (including Chinatown) · Victoria · Westbourne Green · Westminster
Attractions	West End theatre · Westminster Abbey · Buckingham Palace · National Gallery · Tate Britain · Trafalgar Square · Horse Guards · Other locations and landmarks in Westminster
Royal Parks	Green Park · Hyde Park · Kensington Gardens · Regent's Park · St James's Park
Constituencies	Regent's Park and Kensington North · Cities of London and Westminster
Parks and open spaces in Westminster

Donate to Wikimedia