Facing the Houses of Parliament is Westminster Abbey. Much of the present abbey, the third on the site, was built in the 13th century in the early English Gothic style by Henry 3rd, although the chapel east was added by Henry 7th in the 16th century. The abbey was an important monastery until 1534 when henry 8th dissolved the monasteries after the pope refused him a divorce. However, the abbey was still used as the royal church for coronations and buruals, and all but two monarchs from William the Conqueror in 1066 were crowned there.
Beyond the nave, in the south transept, is Poets Corner. Geoffrey Chaucer was the first poet to be buried here, in 1400. Behind the sanctuary are ornate royal chapels and tombs.
The tomb of the unknown warrior, west of the nave, houses the body of a solilder brought back from France after World War 1 - an anonymous representative of the countless dead.
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