City of Westminster

History

After the depopulation of Roman London in the 5th century, an Anglo Saxon agricultural and trade settlement likely developed to its west, associated with the Middle Saxons, sometimes called Lundenwic ('London village' or London port'). Over time, Lundenburh ('London fort'), the former Roman city with its still-existing Roman walls, was repopulated and Lundenwic declined, becoming pastoral and partly known as Aldwych (Aldwic—'old village'), the name of which lives on for a section of Westminster. The origins of the City of Westminster pre-date the Norman Conquest of England. In the mid-11th century, King Edward the Confessor began the construction of an abbey at Westminster, only the foundations of which survive today. Between the abbey and the river he built a palace, thereby guaranteeing that the seat of Government would be fixed at Westminster, and inevitably drawing power and wealth west out of the old City of London. For centuries Westminster and the City of London were geographically quite distinct. It was not until the sixteenth century that houses began to be built over the adjoining fields, eventually absorbing nearby villages such as Marylebone and Kensington, and gradually creating the vast Greater London that exists today. Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries abolished the abbey at Westminster, although the former abbey church is still called Westminster Abbey. The church was briefly the cathedral of the Diocese of Westminster created from part of the Diocese of London in 1540, by letters patent which also granted city status to Westminster, a status retained after the diocese was abolished in 1550. The area was historically part of the county of Middlesex. Whilst an important centre of royal authority from Saxon times, Westminster was not…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  74,612
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  71,248
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  69,221
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  65,466
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  64,876
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  64,332
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  54,896
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  54,885

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2020-09-22
  5 km N of Aylesbury, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2020-09-08
  2 km WSW of Pitstone, United Kingdom
• M 3.3 — 2019-02-27
  3 km SE of Dorking, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2018-07-05
  1 km S of Ewhurst, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2018-06-27
  5 km W of Capel, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2018-04-01
  4 km E of Holmwood, United Kingdom