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Westminster Cathedral

J. F. Bentley, London, 1903

 

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View of Cathedral from the south-east 

E. Dockree     Download Original

  • View of Cathedral from the south-east    
  • Westminster Cathedral from the corner of Ashley Place    
  • The apse from the south-east showing the sacristy on the left    
  • Southern half of the west window of the nave    
  • View of roof from the south-west corner looking north    
  • View of domes over the nave looking west    
  • View from the north-east corner of the nave looking east and showing the stepping stepping to dome    
  • Dome over the sanctuary    
  • View of the nave looking east    
  • View of the north transept and the sanctuary    
  • Bay on the north side of the nave    
  • The north transept from the nave    
  • View from the window in the north transept    
  • View of the crypt    
  • Window of room over north-west porch    
  • Panel on north wall of the sanctuary    
  • Ground floor plan    
  • Plan of the crypt    
  • Sketch of the Cathedral from the sanctuary    

Built in a Neo-Byzantine style, incorporating central nave, sanctuary, crypt and 12 individual chapels, Westminster is the largest Roman Catholic Cathedral in the UK

The seat of the Archbishop of Westminster was designed in an early Christian Byzantine style inspired by St Mark's in Venice and the Santa Sophia in Constantinople.

The basic structure took eight years to complete and used 12.5 million hand-made bricks to construct. External brick and stone banding adds to the Cathedral's distinctive look.

The campanile, St. Edward's Tower, stands 84 metres high and is asymmetrically placed over the first bay of the outer northern aisle.

Eight marble columns support a huge canopy over the high altar, while Byzantine mosaics cover the chapels and the vaulting of the sanctuary. The friezes of the fourteen Stations of the Cross, by the sculptor Eric Gill, are world-renowned.

Data

  • Begun: Jun 1895
  • Completed: 1903
  • Sector: Religious
  • Address: 42 Francis Street, London, SW1P 1QW, United Kingdom

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