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Westminster Cathedral, London
Westminster Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral and should not be confused with Westminster Abbey.
Westminster Cathedral was started in the late 19th century, opened in 1903 and is the only example of neo-Byzantine architecture in London. The architectural style is known as Edwardian Blood and Bandage.
The great campanile, St. Edward's Tower, is 274 feet high and you can go from the gift shop to the top, in a lift, for which there is a charge.The tower is about 60 feet higher than the western towers of Westminster Abbey, but is 30 feet lower than the Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament (Big Ben).
Entrance to the cathedral is free.
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Looking down the nave the dark green columns on either side are verde antico marble from Thessaly in Greece. They come from a series of ancient quarries which supplied the columns for Byzantine churches such as Santa Sophia and Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople. Between the columns are great brick-built piers also clad in marble.
Including the aisles the nave is 150 feet wide - the widest in England.
| Comment | More of the Interior |
There are four domes on the roof but only three are visible in this picture. This is an interesting view of the cathedral building and its surroundings seen from the viewing platform atop the 274 feet high campanile or tower.
| Comment | More from the Tower |
Feral pigeons in London are considered to be a pest and one method of contolling them is this Harris Hawk and its handler. It was a lovely bird and not at all worried by the noise and bustle around it.
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